BMW Sauber has done a very good job this year, especially from the halfway point onwards.
Robert Kubica coming in seems to have ramped up
Nick Heidfeld and they definitely seem to be making some good progress. The team is consistent and reliable, which is obviously a good effort. With just a one point lead over
Toyota though, it definitely cannot relax and will need to maintain form to keep fifth.
Both Williams and
Red Bull Racing only got one car home at Suzuka and I can’t see their fortunes changing this time out.
RBR has become stale as it is very focused on next year. Doing that can be good in some respects, but it can be bad in others as you can get left behind when too much emphasis is put on next year. You need to make sure you continue to develop this season, so that you know where you are going for the next. The team has taken a bit of a risky strategy.
Williams, meanwhile, has been flat-out trying to develop what it has got available, and the Grove boys have made some impression during the season. They have just been stifled with some reliability issues, which has been quite costly. To be just eighth in the manufacturers’ will really hurt and I can’t imagine the team will have a very good Christmas party. It hasn’t exactly had much to celebrate.
For the tailenders,
Super Aguri were in the limelight a bit more in Japan, with it being the team’s home event - not to mention the fact that it has two Japanese drivers in
Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto. They put in a good showing, relative to what they have done this year, and it was a great achievement for them. It props them up nicely for Brazil, and for next season.
Spyker M
F1 is obviously going through another element of change with new owners, and I think there is a lot going on there at the moment, putting in new names and faces and with a new emphasis on where it wants to be. The team has a new engine deal too - with
Ferrari - and things look bright there.
