Without last year’s rear diffuser, the Red Bull Racing lacked speed and directionality in the inaugural Australian GP, but have since come a long way when Sebastian Vettel overtook Fernando Alonso in the championship rankings. This is also thanks to their all-new McLaren-type exhaust layout.

On the contrary Alonso in his Ferrari was enjoying a healthy points lead before two first corner shunts in Spa and Japan respectively resulted in a zero point tally for the Spaniard.

The Lotus F1 team too seems to be losing its edge, repeating where it left off last year, starting off with a very good base car but with the car’s development coming to a standstill as the season progressed.

They did, however, develop a very innovative double drag reduction system which both drivers have been reluctant to use, arguing that the contraption would only be effective on a few circuits. However, this system could be beneficial for Lotus in India and Brazil.

Sahara Force India and Toro Rosso have shown potential on all fronts and have been very consistent. They were never close to the front-runners but their racing pace was always good.

In Korea, Nico Hulkeneberg and the Toro Rosso duo were all points scorers.

Next week, India will be eagerly raced. Ferrari will be ready with more updates while Red Bull will consolidate their raw speed out of the corners. The determining factor, however, will be the tyres.