Some of the most intriguing and captivating battles in 2011 came in the midfield as four teams battled it out for mid-table supremacy.

Renault:

Renault’s season suffered an early set back as a rally crash in February put Kubica on the shelf for the rest of the season. Petrov and Heidfeld stepped up and they began the season brightly, both men securing a third place and podium finish in the opening two races.

However it began to go downhill from there and after round 4 in Turkey, the team failed get both drivers in the top ten for the remainder of the season. Rule changes in Silverstone and a driver change didn’t help their cause either. In 2012, they have a new name, a new car and two new drivers – hopefully it will signal a new era for the team.

Force India:

Arguably the surprise package of 2011 – Force India really pushed on last year, especially, in the latter half of the season where they amassed 57 of their 69 points.

Paul diResta was voted by many critics as the Rookie driver of the year; out qualifying his team-mate 10-9 as well as amassing 29 points, it’s not hard to see why. Adrian Sutil started quietly but found his form later but apparently this wasn’t good enough for team bosses who have replaced him with Nico Hulkenberg for 2012.

Many see Sutil as being hard done by and Hulkenberg will not need to be told that he is expected to deliver next season.

Sauber:

Sauber provided another solid performance in 2011 with Kamui Kobayashi leading their charge. A run of six points scoring finishes from the Japanese driver early on, including a fifth place in Monaco, was a warning sign to the rest of the midfield. Kamui couldn’t quite keep up his good run of form and lost his spark slightly towards the end of the season.

Arguably the surprise package of 2011 – Force India really pushed on last year

Perez delivered in his rookie season and did well to recover after a big smash in Monaco. Five points scoring finishes from the Mexican, he has provided Sauber with a good driver pairing who will both look to push-on and improve next year.

Toro Rosso:

Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari might have started slow but began to deliver some good results for Red Bull’s feeder team last season. They had a very good car, technical wise, but Red Bull decided that the driver’s efforts were good but not great and gave both men the chop once Interlagos was all said and done.

In come two more protégés, Vergne and Ricciardo, who will only need to look at their predecessors to see the price paid of failing to deliver.

By Matthew Roulstone

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