BMW At the start of the year, they looked like giving the top two teams a hard time, but the development curve of McLaren and Ferrari has put some clear blue water between them and the rest. Nick Heidfeld has made full use of the improved competitiveness of this year’s car but since Robert Kubica’s accident at Montreal, the young Pole has comprehensively seen off Heidfeld.

Renault They lost a lot with the move from Michelin tyres to Bridgestones this year and had developed a fairly extreme confi guration around the traits of the Michelin tyre, particularly with regard to weight distribution. They also lost Fernando Alonso and, although their drivers Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella have done a generally good job, that has to have hurt too.

Williams They are having a good year, albeit you sense that as an independent they are beginning to run out of development steam against the factory teams. Nico Rosberg has come alive. He’s aggressive and determined in the car and a joy to watch. Alex Wurz has done fine too.

Toyota It's difficult to see what they are achieving in F1. They have a huge budget but mediocre results and it's going to take a sea change of attitude to make that any different. They've had poor reliability, notably in the suspension department. Jarno Trulli has done a great job in qualifying but fades in the race. Ralf Schumacher is just not getting with the car and has struggled badly.

Red Bull They have had a disappointing year. A lot was expected of their fi rst Adrian Newey-designed car but it hasn’t delivered. They have had poor reliability, particularly with their seamless shift gearbox and should really have bought that technology in rather than do it themselves. Under these circumstances, it’s diffi cult to rate their drivers David Coulthard and Mark Webber

Super Aguri They have boxed above their weight with last year’s Honda. It was astonishing to see Takuma Sato passing Kimi Raikkonen and Alonso in Montreal, and even though he was aided by his tyre choice he fully deserved his points there. Anthony Davidson has had less luck

Torro Rosso This team confuses me. In practices they show a good turn of speed but then invariably qualify in the back six. It’s the same car as the Red Bull but with a different engine and the potential seems locked away somewhere. The team don’t have much faith in their drivers Tonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed. Liuzzi is a good driver struggling to put it all together

Spyker I don’t quite understand what they are doing in F1. Their owners have all the hallmarks of people who are just passing through. Adrian Sutil is a good driver but Christijan Albers struggled and has been ditched. It’s diffi cult to see how they can move forward

Remaining Grands Prix

July 22 European, Nürburgring

Aug 26 Turkish, Istanbul

Sep 9 Italian, Monza

Sep 16 Belgium, Spa

Sep 30 Japanese, Fiji

Oct 7 Chinese, Shanghai

Oct 21 Brazilian, Sao Paulo

Constructor Standings

1 McLaren-Mercedes 128pts

2 Ferrari 103pts

3 BMW 56pts

4 Renault 31pts

5 Williams-Toyota 13pts

6 Toyota 9pts

7 Red Bull-Renault 6pts

Driver Standings

1 Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren 70pts

2 Fernando Alonso (Sp) McLaren 58pts

3 Kimi Räikkönen (Fin) Ferrari 52pts

4 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 51pts

5 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW 33pts

6 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW 22pts

7 Giancarlo Fisichella (It) Renault 17pts