As we knew at the start of the season, the 4 top teams were McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes. By and large, these have been the top 4 teams as the season has progressed, maybe with the exception of Mercedes who have been off-form in a few races. So excluding these 8 drivers, who has performed the best so far this season and who is challenging the supremacy of the top 4?

5. Kamui Kobayashi

After a shocking start to the season for the Japanese driver, Koyayashi has excited the fans during the mid-season. 16 of his 17 points have come in the last 4 races, proving that he is finally getting used to the BMW Sauber which appears to be an absolute dog of a car. Kobayashi is starting to get a reputation as a real racer, especially from the back of the pack. The Japanese driver has started lower than 16th on the grid on 6 separate occasions this season, including the last race in Hungary where he started 23rd and finished an incredible 9th.

4. Rubens Barrichello

The veteran had many doubters at the start of the season as to whether he could still cut it in Formula One but has proven them wrong with some solid drivers into the top 10. Barrichello was meant to be seen as a tutor for Nico Hulkenburg but has totally outraced the young German and finds himself a whole 20 points ahead of him. The Brazilian has found himself knocking on the door of the top 4 teams in recent races in a car that truly does not deserve to be above the mid-field.

3. Adrian Sutil

Like Kubica, Adrian Sutil has consistently managed to get much more than he should out of the Force India car. Just 3 points off Schumi in the Championship, the German will be looking to join Kubica and jump his compatriot before the end of the season. And who would bet against it? We’ve seen in the past that the Force India has immense straight line speed and with Spa and Monza coming up, Sutil will fancy his chances off overhauling the 7-time World Champion.

2. Jaime Alguersuari

Some may see this as a surprise choice in 2nd place. The young Spaniard has performed better than his more experience team mate Sebastian Buemi but still finds himself with just 3 points so far this season. The Toro Rosso driver has been very unlucky when in good scoring positions but has impressed fans and pundits alike with his smooth style and speed.

1. Robert Kubica

The Polish driver has been, without doubt, the best performer of the middle pack drivers this season. Kubica has managed to drag the Renault car consistently into the last part of qualifying and currently finds himself just 8 points off being 6th in the World Championship. He is currently the only driver who has been able to break the dominance of the top 8, with the Pole having over double the points total of a certain Michael Schumacher. Kubica’s undoubted talent has not gone unnoticed with him being constantly linked to a Ferrari drive in the future.

Those are my top 5 picks for the mid-field drivers so far this season. Other candidates that came very close to making it were both Lotus drivers and Karun Chandhok but I don’t think the Lotus or Hispania teams are classed as ‘mid-table’ teams quite yet!

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