The battle for best of the rest 2022

[BTCC frog]

With Ferrari back among the frontrunners, and the top three teams appearing to stretch out a gap, it looks as though we find ourselves, like in 2017-19, with a great battle for 4th in the constructors' championship and 7th in the drivers', for the title of 'best of the rest.' (sometimes called Class B or F1.5).

For now, Haas appear to have the fastest car in this class, with Kevin Magnussen winning in Sakhir and being unlucky to only place fourth in Jeddah. However, it is questionable whether they will be able to stay ahead in the development race against teams with greater budgets, and the driver lineup is also not the best in the group, with Mick Schumacher still inexperienced and struggling so far, and Magnussen doing well at the moment but I don't believe he is quite on the level of Gasly, Bottas or the Alpine drivers.

I would say that Alfa Romeo currently have marginally the second-best car, with Bottas taking pole and finishing second in Sakhir, before retiring in Jeddah. Like Haas, they may struggle in the development race, and although Zhou has impressed so far, he is a rookie and is not on the level of his teammate. Bottas appears to be doing well but his racecraft is still letting him down a little, but this will improve with more experience in the midfield.

The third-best car is probably currently the Alpine, although in Jeddah they were quicker than Alfa Romeo and possible Haas. Esteban Ocon leads the championship, with a win and a third, and the team lead the constructors' championship. A key strength of Alpine is that they have two equally-matched strong drivers in Ocon and Alonso, both at least on the level of the lead driver at Alfa Romeo and Haas, and they should also progress well in the development race. My money would be on Alpine for the constructors' championship, but the drivers' should be closer.

Next in the pecking order would be the Alpha Tauri, although they have been difficult to judge so far. Pierre Gasly is probably the strongest driver in this class besides Norris, and has made Q3 twice, while Yuki Tsunoda was the weak link in the team last year but, on the small sample we have so far this year, appears to have made progress. They will be there or thereabouts, but I would be surprised if they were to be best of the rest in 2022.

The McLaren was probably the slowest car in Bahrain but improved to fifth in Jeddah. They may be uncompetitive at the moment but with the strongest driver lineup in the class, and more resources than their rivals, I expect progress over the course of the season, with Lando Norris surely likely to feature in the championship battle by the end of the year. It is a shame they have gone backwards after years of improvement.

While any of the first five teams could be crowned unofficial Class B champions, the final two appear a little adrift at the moment, with Aston Martin the sixth-best team on the grid. Lance Stroll does not appear to be improving any further, while Vettel is still young enough that he shouldn't be declining yet, but his heart just doesn't seem in it anymore. Hopefully Vettel will return a stronger driver and drive the team forward, but I can't see Aston Martin finishing higher than ninth overall. It is ironic that the team have gone backwards significantly since the large influx of cash when Lawrence Stroll took over (barring the one season of the pink Mercedes).

And, unfortunately, the slowest team at the moment are Williams, although I don't think they have gone backwards since the improvements of 2021, rather Alfa Romeo and Haas have improved significantly. Alexander Albon is a good signing and will surely thrive with less pressure as Pierre Gasly did, while Latifi is a very anonymous driver and so far has struggled this year.

Current championship points:

1. Esteban Ocon 40
2. Kevin Magnussen 37
3. Lando Norris 19
4. Valtteri Bottas 19
5. Zhou Guanyu 18
6. Pierre Gasly 15
7. Yuki Tsunoda 12
8. Fernando Alonso 10
9. Lance Stroll 10
10. Nico Hulkenberg 8
11. Mick Schumacher 6
12. Alexander Albon 6
13. Daniel Ricciardo 1
14. Nicholas Latifi 0


1. Alpine 50
2. Haas 43
3. Alfa Romeo 37
4. Alpha Tauri 27
5. McLaren 20
6. Aston Martin 18
7. Williams 6

If people are interested, I will provide updates over the course of the season.