Felipe Massa

By Andrew Benson Chief F1 writer

Felipe Massa headed into 2012 knowing it was an important year for him, and that he was not expected to keep his seat at the team that has been his home since 2005.

So the last thing he needed was a difficult car. Yet in the F2012 that is what Ferrari delivered and Massa had a terrible time at the start of the season.

Team: Felipe Massa Team-mate: Fernando Alonso Previous teams: Sauber Nationality: Brazilian Born: 25/04/1981, Sao Paulo Grand Prix debut: Australia 2002 But some head-scratching after the Spanish race led his engineering team to the conclusion that they had gone the wrong way in their approach to setting up the car and a re-think has led to more encouraging recent performances.

Even if that form continues, it remains to be seen whether it is enough for a stay of execution at Ferrari.

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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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VIDEO: Maldonado's mad moments

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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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VIDEO: Classic F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix 1997

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Watch highlights from the 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix as Damon Hill suffers last-lap heartache as a throttle linkage failure costs him victory at the Hungaroring.

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AUDIO: Ron Dennis on Hamilton future

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