A look at the WEC

The next Formula 1 race is still a week away. In the meantime the fantastic LMP1 cars of the WEC are racing in the six hours of Belgium at the challenging Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The pole time was not far away from the times of Formula 1 race pace, these are seriously quick cars. Combined with LMP2 and the two GT classes this is a series which provides a taste of the Le Mans 24 hours, which starts in just over a months time.

I've already been able to experience watching these machines at Silverstone a few weeks ago. With many an ex-Formula 1 drivers including Mark Webber, Alexander Wurz and Anthony Davidson in the ranks as well as current Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg racing in Belgium and Le Mans, it was quite the mesmeric watch, especially as the LMP1 cars sliced through the GT cars. And although it's not easy to follow without a radio plugged into your ear, there was some good action. For a six hour race the LMP1 cars kept close to each other throughout with only 15 seconds separating the top three by the end. 

Here's a few pictures of a fine if windy race day at Silverstone.

The number 2 Toyota on the formation grid

Number 7 Audi getting a few last minute checks

Wurz gracefully getting out of his Toyota

World Champion Anthony Davidson calming everyone down

Mark Webber heads over to his pole sitting Porsche

Webber getting ready to lead the grid away

Sebastien Buemi taking the first stint in the No. 1 Toyota

Racing under way, the GT cars provided a lot of close action

No. 2 Toyota still with Wurz at the wheel.

Buemi staying near the front

It was close for a long time in the LMP1 class.

No. 8 Audi would fall back later on after challenging at the front.

Webber led the early going but a problem took the car out of the race

The Toyota didn't look as fast as the Audi or Porsche.

No. 7 Audi would swap the lead for a long way into the race.

The LMP1 cars just cut through the back-markers.

No. 18 Porsche kept the race alive.

Gulf sponsored Aston Martin looks great.

Davidson pushed hard to stay in contention.

Another look at the Aston.

No. 7 Audi despite late pit stop and penalty kept the lead.

No. 1 Toyota managed to get on the podium.

But the No. 7 Audi won, ahead of the 18 Porsche and 1 Toyota.

Marcel Fassler, Andre Lotterer & Benoit Treluyer take their rewards.

Michelin man watches as it's time for Champagne.

Drivers of the year Q1

It's that time of the year, the time to make lists and to wrap 2014 up in a nice little bow. There's nothing better to do that with than a list of the best drivers in Formula 1 this year. I've got three parts to whittle it down to the best of the year. We'll begin with knocking out the first seven of the 24 drivers who competed in this years championship starting with a Caterham driver. And then another...

24. Will Stevens (Caterham)

Replaced Marcus Ericsson at the struggling Caterham outfit for the finale in Abu Dhabi. He's had limited success in Formula Renault 3.5 but didn't disgrace himself, qualifying half a second behind Kamui Kobayashi and making it to the finish in the race.





23. Andre Lotterer (Caterham)

I was tempted to put him higher up than Ericsson, but he was another one race wonder for Caterham in Belgium. His vast experience in single seaters and World Endurance Championship for Audi meant he impressed straight away despite not having driven a Formula 1 car for over 10 years when he tested for Jaguar. Out-qualified Ericsson, but retired after only one lap when his power unit packed up. Made you wish he'd had more of a chance.

22. Marcus Ericsson (Caterham)

A budget got him the drive, a budget has kept him in Formula 1 instead of drivers further up this list. Ericsson has talent, he's won titles in junior Formulae and scored three GP2 wins over four seasons in the category, but for whatever reason he did not shine this season. There were only a couple of races where he looked to have genuinely outpaced his team mate Kobayashi and that looked like it was because the Japanese's car was hobbled.

21. Max Chilton (Marussia)

Two seasons in the sport and it's sad that Chilton's F1 career looks to have come to an end as he comes across as a nice guy. But nice guy status doesn't make you successful and although he looked to have made progress compared to his results last year, ultimately he was blown away by his team mate Jules Bianchi again. Unless he can use his money for a drive elsewhere, it's probably the last we'll see of Chilton.

20. Pastor Maldonado (Lotus)

Maybe, just maybe going off the track while you're looking at something on the steering wheel can be excused once. But a second time? Really? This was not Maldonado's finest season, there were far too many crashes this year. Previously these may have been overlooked because he can be extremely fast, but the Lotus mechanics saw little of that speed, but plenty of broken carbon fibre. The Lotus wasn't a worthy car either, but apart from shining in the USA to pick up two points there was little to be happy about.

19. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber)

Another driver to come to the end of their second F1 season with not much to show for it other than being out of a job. Sauber were poor this year, neither car managed to score a point, but their drivers looked to be lacking too. After improving towards the end of 2013 and bagging some points, I thought Gutierrez might blossom this time around. Not to be, comprehensively out qualified by Sutil and just the highlight of 12th in Australia. Looked set for points in Monaco after a decent drive but threw them away, crashing at La Rascasse 19 laps from the end.

18. Adrian Sutil (Sauber)

Sauber have replaced both drivers for next year despite Sutil having a contract. Although it is debatable whether the team have improved their lot on this seasons performance I'm not sure Sutil can have too much to argue about. His first year away from Force India and it couldn't have gone worse. In 2013 Gutierrez was no match for Hulkenberg. In 2014 he matched Sutil for race pace quite often. Sutil often looked in despair with the car and it seemed he just didn't have the heart to drag it around. A sad finish to what must be the end of his F1 career.

Q2 is available here

all photos taken from autosport.com