McLaren's 2015 Struggle

Throughout the start of the season, McLaren have been struggling and often finding themselves mid-field rather than at the front, where most fans would argue they belong. At the end of last year, after they announced that they had signed their previous driver, Fernando Alonso, things started looking up. People believed that Fernando would not be moving to a team where he couldn't win, and with his previous experience came trust of his judgment.

As expected, McLaren fans have stayed loyal. If there's a quality that F1 fans possess, it's loyalty. We have the ability to believe in and stick with a team or driver in the toughest of times. In some cases they spend years without a drive and in others they spend a season struggling for a single championship point. This is why there is no decrease in McLaren belief. Fans are sure that they will return to their former glory but with the new Honda power system, it's unsure as to when this will occur.

Many people were ecstatic to see the return of the Honda/McLaren alliance, the team being one of the people. However, it has recently been questioned if they are happy about their decision, looking back on it. In addition to this, the media and fans alike have been questioning if Fernando feels like he made the right choice. Especially since Ferrari seem to be thriving this season. It must feel like rubbing salt in the wound.

Despite this, we have been reassured by Fernando that he did not rejoin the team for points and wins. Rather he rejoined because it's where he feels he belongs. It's important for a driver to feel comfortable within the team to ensure results are the best they can be. This of course, brings Jenson Button into the equation.

He's had a better year than last as he's been married, however, Jenson doesn't seem to be his happiest when at work. However, being pilot to a struggling car is never fun. We all saw the effects it had on last year's Sauber drivers. McLaren are set to improve but it will take time, as any steps forward in motor sports will. The progress cannot be marked on a timeline but it's rather exciting to see where they'll be at the end of this season.

----
Article Written By: Frances Fry
No copyright infringement intended

Mid-Season: Championship & Constructors Standings

As Formula 1 enters the half-way point in the 2014 season, it's time to look at the Drivers and Constructors championship standings and how things could play out with the rest of the season.

Nico Rosberg is currently leading in the Drivers Championship with 202 points. His team-mate, Lewis Hamilton is in Second with 191 points. That's a mere 11 points seperating the two from being this years F1 Champion. Lewis could very well take the lead at the next race in Belgium if he at least comes in 4th and Rosberg does not finish in the points. But, as we all know, things aren't always that easy but they are always unpredictable.

Further down the row, there's a battle between Valtteri Bottas of Williams and last year's Champion, Sebastian Vettel. The German is yet to win a race this year, but has seen the podium. He has 88 points, but compared to last year.. That's far off from his 2013 point count. Bottas has 95 points, so only 7 more than Vettel. But like I said with the Mercedes duo, all it takes is one finishing better than the other.

While that could be repeated for most drivers, there's some drivers batteling in the standings without even getting points. The drivers without points are placed accordingly to how many races they've finished as a singular driver or as the team's pair. Kamui Kobayashi is currently the last in the standings. Not a good year for him compared to his time at Sauber. But Sauber is struggeling in the standings as well with neither driver having scored points. However, Sauber is now looking strong and will probably be able to gain points in the later half of the season. 

Here are the full Driver standings and then below are the Constructors standings.

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

1. Nico Rosberg / Mercedes-Mercedes / 202 Points

2. Lewis Hamilton / Mercedes-Mercedes / 191 Points

3. Daniel Ricciardo / Red Bull-Renault / 131 Points

4. Fernando Alonso / Ferrari-Ferrari / 115 Points

5. Valtteri Bottas / Williams-Mercedes / 95 Points

6. Sebastian Vettel / Red Bull-Renault / 88 Points

7. Nico Hulkenberg / Force India-Mercedes / 69 Points

8. Jenson Button / McLaren-Mercedes / 60 Points

9. Felipe Massa / Williams-Mercedes / 40 Points

10. Kevin Magnussen / McLaren-Mercedes / 37 Points

11. Sergio Perez / Force India-Mercedes / 29 Points

12. Kimi Raikkonen / Ferrari-Ferrari / 27 Points

13. Jean-Eric Vergne / Toro Rosso-Renault / 11 Points

14. Romain Grosjean / Toro Rosso-Renault / 8 Points

15. Daniil Kvyat / Toro Rosso-Renault / 6 Points

16. Jules Bianchi / Marussia-Ferrari / 2 Points

17. Adrian Sutil / Sauber-Ferrari / 0 Points

18. Marcus Ericsson / Caterham-Renault / 0 Points

19. Pastor Maldonado / Lotus-Renault / 0 Points

20. Esteban Gutierrez / Sauber-Ferrari / 0 Points

21. Max Chilton / Marussia-Ferrari / 0 Points

22. Kamui Kobayashi / Caterham-Renault / 0 Points

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

1. Mercedes AMG Petronas-Mercedes -  393 Points

2. Infiniti Red Bull Racing-Renault - 219 Points

3. Scuderia Ferrari-Ferrari - 142 Points

4. Williams Martini Racing-Mercedes - 135 Points

5. Sahara Force India-Mercedes - 98 Points

6. McLaren-Mercedes - 97 Points

7. Scuderia Toro Rosso-Renault - 17 Points

8. Lotus-Renault - 8 Points

9. Marussia-Ferrari - 2 Points

10. Sauber-Ferrari - 0 Points

11. Caterham-Renault - 0 Points

Article Written By: Amy Hawk

No copyright infringement intended.