Sebastian Vettel profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Sebastian Vettel has had to get used to a very different Formula 1 than the one with which he was familiar for the last two years, and it appears to have taken some time.

Early in the season, there was the odd hint of frustration as Vettel re-adjusted his mindset to the fact that he no longer had the fastest car on the grid.

But despite an up-and-down start to 2012, in which he did not take his first win until the fourth race of the season, Vettel's many qualities have remained on show and he has been a consistent presence at the top of the championship.

Team: Red Bull Team-mate: Mark Webber Previous teams: BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso Nationality: German Born: 3/07/1987, Heppenheim Grand Prix debut: US 2007 World Championships: 2010, 2011 Vettel has struggled when the car has not been to his liking, and he has not enjoyed the same dominance over team-mate Mark Webber as he did in 2011.

But any poor qualifying result - China and Monaco, for example - has tended to be followed by a strong race performance.

And he and Red Bull have generally done well in maximising their opportunities.

Pole position in Bahrain was followed by a win which, for all its superficial resemblance to his many in 2011, was hard-fought and required coolness and steadfastness in defence from Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus.

Vettel remains electric over one lap in a car with which he is happy, but his race form has if anything been more impressive this year.

He remains a force to be reckoned with and can be expected to be a serious contender for the rest of the season.

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Nico Hulkenberg profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Nico Hulkenberg waited patiently on the sidelines in 2011 as Force India's reserve driver and his reward was a race drive in 2012.

Team: Force India Team-mate: Paul di Resta Previous teams: Williams Nationality: German Born: 19/08/87, Emmerich am Rhein Similar in height, and in their down-to-earth characters, the battle between Hulkenberg and team-mate Paul di Resta, two promising rising stars in equal cars, was always expected to be one of the highlights of 2012 for discerning observers.

So far, Di Resta has had slightly the upper hand, out-qualifying and out-scoring the German.

In reality, though, the two have been close on performance, and it will be fascinating to watch Hulkenberg's progress as he builds some momentum through the season and shakes off the cobwebs of not racing for a year.

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Timo Glock profile

Not so very long ago, Timo Glock was driving for the big-budget Toyota team and taking podium finishes alongside the Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari drivers.

That ended with the Japanese giant's withdrawal at the end of 2009, and the German grasped the only career lifeline available to him at the time - with the new Virgin team.

Team: Virgin Team-mate: Charles Pic Nationality: German Born: 18/03/82, Lindenfels Grand prix debut: Canada 2004 Two seasons of bitter struggle later, it is to Glock's credit that not only has he rarely let his frustrations show, but his reputation within F1 remains solid.

There were times in 2011 when Glock seemed a little below his best - pre-season, not many would have predicted that the admittedly capable Belgian pay-driver Jerome d'Ambrosio would out-qualify him five times.

But a wholesale technical reshuffle through 2011, overseen by the vastly experienced former Renault engineering director Pat Symonds, has raised hopes of a stronger future for Virgin.

In Glock, they have a driver who can be relied upon to do justice to the car.

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Daniel Ricciardo profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Daniel Ricciardo has had an up-and-down start to his first full season in Formula 1.

Team: Toro Rosso Team-mate: Jean-Eric Vergne Nationality: Australian Born:01/07/89, Perth Grand prix debut: British Grand Prix 2011 Drafted in alongside fellow Red Bull protégé Jean-Eric Vergne for the latest in a series of shoot-outs to which the company subjects its young drivers, the results so far are inconclusive.

He has generally had the better of Vergne in qualifying, and his performances include a stunning sixth place on the grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

But his race performances have, with one or two exceptions, been less convincing - and that brilliant result in Bahrain was thrown away with a messy first lap.

The team's highly experienced technical director Giorgio Ascanelli described Ricciardo's performance in Bahrain in qualifying as a breakthrough that had allowed him to access a higher level of performance, likening it to a similar moment Sebastian Vettel achieved in Valencia in 2008.

But, Ascanelli says, the difference was that Vettel, once he had made it, never looked back, whereas Ricciardo has not yet found a way to repeat it.

If he does, Ricciardo could have a bright future.

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Bruno Senna profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Bruno Senna finally got his chance to show what he can do in Formula 1 this season courtesy of Williams, and it's fair to say it has been a tough start.

Team: Williams Team-mate: Pastor Maldonado Nationality: Brazilian Born: 15/10/83, Sao Paolo There have been flashes of promise - including an excellent drive to sixth place in the wet in Malaysia - but on balance he has been comfortably out-performed by team-mate Pastor Maldonado.

Inevitably, that has led to rumours that the Brazilian will be ditched in favour of the team's highly rated test driver Valtteri Bottas.

That seems unlikely to happen this year, especially in light of the substantial sponsorship package Senna brings to Williams.

But if he does not improve as the season goes on, his position will begin to look vulnerable.

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Sergio Perez profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Sergio Perez came within a whisker of scoring his maiden grand prix victory in Malaysia, only for a mistake while chasing Fernando Alonso's Ferrari to consign him to second place.

Team: Sauber Team-mate: Kamui Kobayashi Nationality: Mexican Born: 26/01/90, Guadalajara Grand prix debut: Australia 2011 Despite the obvious disappointment of losing a victory that seemed to be on a plate, it was an impressive drive that merely underlined the potential the Mexican has appeared to have since he made his debut in Formula 1 last year.

Perez arrived at Sauber bankrolled by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, reputedly the world's richest man, but he soon proved he was more than a pay driver.

An eye-catching drive to a seventh-place finish in his maiden grand prix, getting to the end on just two sets of tyres, set the tone, and he continued in similarly impressive vein.

He lost some momentum with a nasty crash in qualifying at Monaco, which knocked him unconscious and forced him to miss the next race in Canada, too.

But he recovered to finish the season strongly and the good form has continued into 2012.

As a member of the Ferrari young driver programme, he is widely spoken of as a potential future driver for the legendary Italian team.

But it seems if that is true, Perez will have to wait - president Luca di Montezemolo has made it clear he wants someone more experienced as Fernando Alonso's team-mate.

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Mark Webber profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Mark Webber has wasted no time in putting behind him memories of a frustrating 2011 in team-mate Sebastian Vettel's shadow.

The rule changes that banned exhaust-blown diffusers over the winter have returned Formula 1 cars to a more conventional footing and Webber is back where he was in 2010.

Team: Red Bull Team-mate: Sebastian Vettel Previous teams: Minardi, Jaguar and Williams Nationality: Australian Born: 27/08/1976, Queanbeyan Grand Prix debut: Australia 2002 That means, on balance, every bit as convincing as his team-mate in both qualifying and race, and a serious title contender.

Vettel may have won Red Bull's first race this season but it did not take long for Webber to follow it up. And although one has generally had an advantage over the other on a given weekend, there has been nothing to choose between them on balance over the season so far.

Webber will be 36 this August but he has made it clear already this season that retirement is a long way from his mind.

When he's driving like he has been in 2012, you can see why. He remains one of the toughest and best drivers on the grid.

Mark Webber wins Monaco 2012

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Pastor Maldonado profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Inconsistency has been a charge levelled at Pastor Maldonado for much of his career, and this year has been no different.

Team: Williams Team-mate: TBA Nationality: Venezuelan Born:09/03/85, Maracay Grand prix debut: Australia 2011 In Australia, a sixth place in the opening race of the season was thrown away when he crashed chasing Fernando Alonso on the last lap.

He took a beautifully controlled and mature maiden victory in Spain - beating Alonso along the way - but then tossed away the chance of another strong result in Monaco with some inexplicable mistakes.

And just when he needed a steady weekend to get himself back on track, he had another poor race in Canada - and then was to blame for the incident that took Lewis Hamilton out in the closing stages of Valencia.

Maldonado won his seat at Williams last year because he was bankrolled by the Venezuelan government, by way of the state oil company.

But he has since proved that he has a bundle of natural talent, which more than merits a place on the grid. What he needs to do now is find a way to maximise it every weekend.

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Michael Schumacher profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Michael Schumacher has had a pretty dismal time since he returned to Formula 1 at the start of 2010 after three years in retirement - but at least in 2012 he can finally point the finger somewhere other than at himself.

The German legend has looked more convincing this season than at any time since his comeback - and the biggest improvement has been in qualifying.

By the second half of last season, he and team-mate Nico Rosberg were reasonably evenly matched in races, but the older man just could not extract the ultimate from the car over one lap.

But this year it seems finally to have clicked, and the two are pretty level pegging on Saturday afternoons and have continued to show comparable pace in races.

Team: Mercedes Team-mate: Nico Rosberg Previous teams: Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari Nationality: German Born: 03/01/1969, Hürth-Hermülheim Grand Prix debut: Belgium 1991 World Championships: 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 The one exception was China, when Mercedes were in dominant form and Schumacher was half a second off Rosberg in both qualifying and the race.

He might have made up for that in Monaco, when he qualified on pole, but for a five-place grid penalty that had been imposed on him for running into the back of Bruno Senna in the previous race in Spain. The third time within a year he had misjudged a situation and smacked into the back of a rival, it has to be said.

What has really derailed his season, though, has been lamentable reliability on behalf of his team. Schumacher had finished only three races before the British Grand Prix.

Schumacher's contract expires this season and one suspects that the man himself will probably fancy at least another.

Whether Mercedes feel they want to continue with a Schumacher who is better than he has been, but still neither as good as he used to be or the very best of the current crop, remains to be seen.

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Kamui Kobayashi profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Kamui Kobayashi suffered what might be termed 'difficult second season syndrome' last year, but he has recovered strongly in 2012.

Team: Sauber Team-mate: Sergio Perez Nationality: Japanese Born:13/09/86, Hyogo Grand prix debut: Brazil 2009 If his headline results are not quite as eye-catching as those of team-mate Sergio Perez, Kobayashi has still put the Sauber to good use in taking impressive sixth and fifth places in Australia and Spain, and some strong if unfulfilled performances elsewhere.

The swashbuckling overtaking style that first caught the eye during his first two races in 2009 and then his first full season in 2010 has also continued to impress from time to time.

But the question remains about both Sauber drivers - are they getting the best out of what in 2012 is clearly a very competitive car?

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Jean-Eric Vergne profile

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Before this season, inside Red Bull, there were those would tell you last year that of all the aspiring young drivers in their programme, Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne was the one with the most potential.

Team: Toro Rosso Team-mate: Daniel Ricciardo Nationality: French Born:25/05/90, Pontoise So his grand prix debut with Toro Rosso was awaited with some interest this season.

It got off to a good start in Australia, with the intense Frenchman out-qualifying his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo before losing out to the Australian - and on a point - in a madcap last-lap scramble involving a number of other cars.

Ironically, since then, Vergne's qualifying performances have generally been poor, while in races he has often looked extremely impressive.

There was a strong eighth place in Malaysia in the wet, and that was set to be followed by an even more eye-catching seventh in Monaco before his team gambled on a late shower of rain that never materialised.

Meanwhile, his qualifying has been suffering from over-driving - trying too hard, basically. If he can calm himself down and discover the secret of Saturday afternoons, Vergne could be one to watch.

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