AUTOSPORT's half term F1 report

With the halfway point of the Formula 1 world championship fast approaching, it's time to take a look at who is performing, who's been unlucky, and who has to step up their efforts.

Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are just three of the drivers who have starred at different points, but who has been the outstanding competitor of an unbelievably unpredictable season so far?

As part of our British GP build-up, Jonathan Noble looks back at the first eight remarkable races of 2012 and assesses all 24 drivers...

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: A
Team: Red Bull Racing
Champ pos: 4th
Wins: 1 - Bahrain
Poles: 3 - Bahrain/Canada/Europe
FLs: 2 - Bahrain/Canada

Sebastian Vettel was probably as shell-shocked as the rest of the paddock when what had appeared to be a stunning winter of work with the RB8 did not produce a race-winning car from the off. It took the reigning champion a few races to get totally comfortable with the post-blown diffuser era cars - but once sorted the results soon followed. Victory in Bahrain was his first triumph of the campaign - but more encouraging (even though the result did not follow) was his dominance of the Valencia weekend. That performance points to Red Bull moving in to top gear over the second half of the season.

Mark Webber

Mark Webber © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B+
Team: Red Bull Racing
Champ pos: 2nd
Wins: 1 - Monaco
Poles: 1 - Monaco
FLs: 0

Mark Webber came in to 2012 feeling fitter and more motivated than he had for a while - and that lift in spirits showed in his on-track performances. While Red Bull's early season niggles prevented him finishing on the podium, his run of consistency has been impressive - and he was mighty on the streets of Monaco as he delivered his first win of the campaign. But despite being firmly in the title hunt, he knows he is going to need to moves things up and deliver regular podium finishes if he is to turn that potential into an actual championship.

Jenson Button

Jenson Button © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C+
Team: McLaren
Champ pos: 8th
Wins: 1 - Australia
Best qual: 2nd - Australia/Malaysia
FLs: 1 - Australia

Jenson Button had the world at his feet as he left the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, having delivered a performance that left many convinced a full-on title charge was underway. But the 2012 challenge has proved to be much more difficult than he imagined, as the competiveness of the field and a set-up direction he took to try and deal with Pirelli's tyre characteristics left him struggling to even score points. A change of philosophy for the European GP appears to have arrested that decline, but he needs a dramatic lift in performance if he is not going to see his title hopes slip from his grasp early.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: A
Team: McLaren
Champ pos: 3rd
Wins: 1 - Canada
Poles: 2 (excluding Spain) - Australia/Malaysia
FLs: 0

Lewis Hamilton pinned his hopes on McLaren delivering him a competitive car from the off; and that is exactly what he appeared to have after taking pole position for the first two races. But this most tricky of campaigns has left it impossible for anyone to pull clear at the front, and Hamilton has found that consistency is more important than going all-out for wins. Victory in Canada showed there is nothing too wrong with the car/driver combination, but there have been frustrations too - a number of pitstop errors, a costly clash with Pastor Maldonado in Europe, and those niggly contract talks - that mean he does not appear as comfortable as he should be considering the opportunities he has for this season.

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: A+
Team: Ferrari
Champ pos: 1st
Wins: 2 - Malaysia/Europe
Best qual: 2nd - Spain
FLs: 0

Fernando Alonso had feared the worst going in to the season, with Ferrari's F2012 being far below the lofty targets the team had set itself. But the one element of the Ferrari package that has been supreme this year is the driver - for Alonso has been superb. His victories in Malaysia and Valencia were of the highest order. In doing what he has on track, he has helped lift spirits and determination off it to improve the car and get it towards the front of the grid on pure pace. And if Alonso has managed to lead the championship in a difficult car, his opposition should worry about what is going to happen when Maranello gets everything in order.

Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C-
Team: Ferrari
Champ pos: 16th
Best result: 6th - Monaco
Best qual: 6th - Canada
FLs: 0

It is never going to be easy to impress as Fernando Alonso's team-mate, but the pressure was really on Felipe Massa to deliver at the start of the campaign after his difficult 2011. Those expectations were far from fulfilled early on, though, as he fell well short of what was needed after struggling to get comfortable in the difficult F2012. But set-up changes made for Monaco helped improve his situation - and produce his best performance of 2012 so far. More form like that is needed, but there was every chance he could have done that at Valencia were it not for bad luck with debris and a collision with Kamui Kobayashi. The pressure remains on Massa, but for now he is no longer holding on to his Ferrari drive by his finger tips.

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B
Team: Mercedes
Champ pos: 13th
Best result: 3rd - Europe
Best qual: 2nd - China (excluding Monaco)
FLs: 0

Michael Schumacher's results this season do not do justice to what he has delivered on track, because this has been by far the best season for the German since he returned to F1. After years of his career where he enjoyed bulletproof reliability, Schumacher has faced all of Mercedes' mechanical issues in 2012 - which has cost him valuable podium finishes. But he never let his spirits drop, and his performance to set the fastest time in qualifying for the Monaco GP, allied to the podium in Valencia, point to a man who still has plenty to offer F1 when his car is up to the job.

Nico Rosberg

Nico Rosberg © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B
Team: Mercedes
Champ pos: 5th
Wins: 1 - China
Poles: 1 - China
FLs: 1 - Europe

Nico Rosberg enters the second half of the season as the dark horse contender for the world championship. His qualifying performances have been consistently quick and if you ignore the troubles he suffered in the first two races with tyres, his race efforts have been among the best. He is in the finest form of his career, and remains one of the few men who has completed every single racing lap so far this year. In a season where delivering points at every opportunity is going to be essential, a bit more performance eked out of the W03 could be all that Rosberg needs to step up and challenge the big boys for the title.

Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B-
Team: Lotus
Champ pos: 6th
Best result: 2nd - Bahrain/Europe
Best qual: 4th - China/Spain
FLs: 1 - Malaysia

Kimi Raikkonen's Formula 1 return has delivered its fair share of ups and downs. The highs have been the podium finishes - and that sniff of victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix. But there have been frustrations too - especially when it comes to his working relationship with the team amid difficulties with his power-steering. Things should bed down though, although the Finn is going to have his work cut out as he comes up against a team-mate in Romain Grosjean who is proving to be the real deal. Raikkonen's natural ability is immense, but the question now boils down as to whether or not he is willing to go that extra mile to help push Lotus to that maiden 2012 win.

Romain Grosjean

Romain Grosjean © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B+
Team: Lotus
Champ pos: 7th
Best result: 2nd - Canada
Best qual: 3rd - Australia, Spain
FLs: 1 - Spain

Romain Grosjean had very few expectations surrounding him as he started the season: here was a man pretty broken after that troubled half campaign in 2009 going up against one of F1's very best drivers. Early exits from races at the start of the season did little to change perceptions: but then growing speed and confidence showed just why Lotus boss Eric Boullier was so keen to have him. His performances in Canada and Valencia were brilliant and, although still lacking experience, there is no reason to believes that Grosjean will not deliver a win this season if a proper opportunity comes his way.

Paul di Resta

Paul di Resta © XPB

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B-
Team: Force India
Champ pos: 11th
Best result: 6th - Bahrain
Best qual: 8th - Canada
FLs: 0

In a year as competitive as this one, it was hard early in the campaign to get an appreciation of how good each team's car was. Force India might have felt disappointed to be battling around the lower reaches of the top 10, but that is no mean feat nowadays considering how close things are. Paul di Resta has had to dig deep this season to produce results, but his sixth in Bahrain showed how good he can be on his day. His prospects for the remainder of the year rest on the level of updates his team can bring - but in di Resta the team knows it can rely on a driver to extract every ounce of performance.

Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg © XPB

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B-
Team: Force India
Champ pos: 14th
Best result: 5th - Europe
Best qual: 8th - Europe
FLs: 0

Nico Hulkenberg had waited more than a year for his big chance to return to F1, and he has made the most of opportunities that have come his way. The fight between himself and Paul di Resta has been a closely fought one: which was inevitable when two highly talented men are slotted in alongside each other in similar equipment. But now having got himself back up to full racing speed, the next phase of the campaign will be crucial in seeing whether one of them can start nailing home an advantage.

Kamui Kobayashi

Kamui Kobayashi © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C+
Team: Sauber
Champ pos: 12th
Best result: 5th - Spain
Best qual: 3rd - China
FLs: 1 - China

The advent of DRS in Formula 1 has taken away Kamui Kobayashi's star quality of being an ultra brave overtaker, but the Japanese still has a tough-man quality that helps him muscle through. Sometimes that aggressive attitude has led to trouble, and the Japanese has spent much of 2012 trying to unlock the full potential from Sauber's swift C31. His chance of glory in China was effectively over at the start when he had the misfortune to start on an oil slick, and despite results like his solid fifth in Spain he has lived in the shadow of team-mate Sergio Perez. In a field as competitive as we have right now, he needs to improve if he is to secure his F1 future.

Sergio Perez

Sergio Perez © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B-
Team: Sauber
Champ pos: 9th
Best result: 2nd - Malaysia
Best qual: 5th - Spain
FLs: 1 - Monaco

It has been a years of highs and lows for Sergio Perez, whose season has delivered some stunning podium finishes in Malaysia and Canada but also some big frustrations. Perez's near-miss on victory at Sepang prompted a wave of Ferrari speculation around him, but a run of four races with no points highlights how much the Mexican still needs to improve if he is to get his chance with a topline team. The inherent speed is clearly there, but the challenge he faces in the second half of the season is in unlocking it regularly.

Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C
Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Champ pos: 18th
Best result: 9th - Australia
Best qual: 6th - Bahrain
FLs: 0

It would take an awful lot of bad fortune for Daniel Ricciardo to stop smiling, but even he must be feeling a bit frustrated as the second half of the season nears. Toro Rosso came into the year with a pretty competitive car - and a brilliant tussle with team-mate Jean-Eric Verge in Australia pointed to a good campaign. But since his giantkilling sixth on the grid in Bahrain, things have slipped away - as STR has struggled to match the progress of other teams and is now under threat from Caterham. At that end of the grid it's hard for any driver to impress.

Jean-Eric Vergne

Jean-Eric Vergne © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C-
Team: Scuderia Toro Rosso
Champ pos: 17th
Best result: 8th - Malaysia
Best qual: 11th - Australia
FLs: 0

Jean-Eric Vergne began the year auditioning for a 2013 Red Bull seat, but he now needs the second half of the campaign to rebuild his reputation after some pretty tough times on track. The low-point of a collision with Heikki Kovalainen in Valencia came after a run of poor qualifying performances that has resulted in him emerging as the man most likely not to make it out of Q1. It matters little that he appears stronger on race days, for his tag of a poor qualifier is something he needs to shake off quickly if he is not to find Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko breathing down his neck.

Pastor Maldonado

Pastor Maldonado © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: B-
Team: Williams
Champ pos: 10th
Wins: 1 - Spain
Poles: 1 - Spain
FLs: 0

No man has proved how quickly a driver can go from hero to zero in Formula 1 than Pastor Maldonado this season. From the joys of Spain, where a classy drive produced a sensational victory, to a moment of madness in practice in Monaco that handed him a penalty and effectively wrecked his weekend. Those up/down moments have characterised a campaign where he is sometimes brilliant, but also occasionally lets aggression get the better of him. If he can do more of the former, and get a better grip of the latter, then further wins will be on the cards.

Bruno Senna

Bruno Senna © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C
Team: Williams
Champ pos: 15th
Best result: 6th - Malaysia
Best qual: 13th- Malaysia/Monaco
FLs: 0

Bruno Senna had hoped that the breakthrough of landing a competitive car for a full season would allow him the chance to prove his position as a topline grand prix driver; but the first half of the season has not panned out the way he had hoped. Despite a truly great drive in the tricky conditions in Malaysia, he has found it hard to get the most of his tyres in qualifying - and that has invariably had knock-on effects for the races where progress these days is quite hard to make. Getting it right on Saturday is the key now to try and have a better second half of the year.

Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C+
Team: Caterham
Champ pos: 19th
Best result: 13th - Monaco
Best qual: 16th - Bahrain/Europe
FLs: 0

Heikki Kovalainen had every reason to feel a bit disappointed with the start of the campaign, where Caterham's hopes of a step forward to establish itself in the midfield did not materialise. But he kept his chin up as the team worked on new parts, and sure enough a breakthrough in Valencia points to more encouraging times in the second half of the season. He has not had everything his own way, with Vitaly Petrov making things tough for him on race days, but if the team can keep its upward trajectory then that elusive point could yet come.

Vitaly Petrov

Vitaly Petrov © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C
Team: Caterham
Champ pos: 20th
Best result: 13th - Europe
Best qual: 18th - Bahrain/Spain/Monaco/Canada
FLs: 0

Vitaly Petrov has had to get used to life at the back end of the grid this season, and it's not so easy to impress when you are up against someone so quick and so at home with those around him as Heikki Kovalainen. But despite the disadvantages caused by his weight, Petrov has knuckled down to the task in hand. He may have had to give best to Kovalainen more often than not in qualifying, but on Sundays he has challenged more - and if he keeps up his progression could yet beat his team-mate to that first Caterham point.

Pedro de la Rosa

Pedro de la Rosa © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C
Team: HRT
Champ pos: 24th
Best result: 17th - Europe
Best qual: 20th - Bahrain/Monaco/Canada
FLs: 0

Pedro de la Rosa knew exactly what he was letting himself in for when he signed up for HRT this season, as the rebuilding of the team was never likely to deliver instant results. But even he admitted to be a bit disappointed about how much work there was to do. Nevertheless, the Spaniard knuckled down and has done his best to enjoy the delights of racing again. He might not have the team's best result of the campaign underneath him, but he has led the way in qualifying and delivered on being that focal point for the squad as it makes its bid to move forward.

Narain Karthikeyan

Narain Karthikeyan © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C
Team: HRT
Champ pos: 23rd
Best result: 15th - Monaco
Best qual: 22nd - Monaco/Europe
FLs: 0

Narain Karthikeyan may have limited opportunities to show what he can do on his day, but the highlight of the opening part of the campaign was him sitting pretty inside the top 10 during the red flag period at the Malaysian GP. That elusive point may have evaporated soon after - and hours later he found himself labelled a 'cucumber' by Sebastian Vettel - but Karthikeyan has kept trying his best in machinery that is not yet in a place to challenge the cars ahead. He needs to keep his fingers crossed for the wet conditions that always allow him to shine.

Timo Glock

Timo Glock © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C
Team: Marussia
Champ pos: 21st
Best result: 14th - Australia/Monaco
Best qual: 19th - Monaco
FLs: 0

The MR01 might be Virgin/Marussia's best F1 car thus far, but it has not yet proved good enough to give it that lift up in to the midfield. It must be frustrating for the German, who took on the challenge of joining a new team because he thought it would deliver results in the long term. Until his machinery is ready to mix it in the midfield, Glock is going to struggle to rediscover the kind of results he produced at Toyota, and his biggest challenge is simply not getting frustrated at the situation he finds himself in.

Charles Pic

Charles Pic © LAT

AUTOSPORT's Rating: C
Team: Marussia
Champ pos: 22nd
Best result: 15th - Australia/Europe
Best qual: 19th - Bahrain
FLs: 0

Charles Pic has had a fairly anonymous campaign, with the performance of the Marussia making it hard for him to make a big impression during his rookie season. Nevertheless, he has shown some flashes of speed, and done enough to keep the more experienced Timo Glock on his toes throughout the early stages of the year. Heading to more familiar venues in the second half of the season should give us more opportunity to see what the Frenchman can do, and whether he stands the chance of securing a second chance in F1.