The 2007 ISF Season Review - F1
by Steve "The Wrench" Ratchett
12/31/2007
The 2007 ISF F1 season campaign was a toughly fought contest.
Like the GTP review we continue with our grading system.
Team Renault/Jordan
Mike Fitzlaff: Fast cars. Renault never looked as good as Jordan. Switched back for the final few races and looked as if there is some glimmer of light for 2008 to get back to being a top three team. It will be a close fight for 2nd or 3rd in the championship.
Grade: C
Dan Margetta: I said in my pre-season predictions that Margetta might get "a win or two." He did. I also said he "might be a title contender if he makes all the races." He did not. Grid loves his energy and sense of humor.
Rivalries are nothing without Margetta. Ask Dean Strom, John Shea, John Wiedemann, etc. etc�..
Grade: C+
Team Ferrari
John Shea: What happened? No handling and no speed compared to the Williams is what happened. One win. Unusual for him.
Grade: B-
Everet Kamikawa: Won on the Indy track for 5th consecutive win on that track. That was the high. Getting beaten by a rookie in a Toro Roso was the low point.
Grade: C-
Williams
Jim Iverson: Wins and steady pace for the team leader. He missed defending his title, which holds to his pattern of only winning the title in even years. Took the fight down to the last two races.
Grade: A-
Mark Walczak: Two wins to start the season set the tune that the other would have to try and sing for the rest of the year. Looked shakey in the 2nd third of the season, but gathered it together to win the title. No alarm klaxxons this year for "3 Mile Mark." Even money to win the championship again in 2008.
Grade: A
Team McLaren
Larry Rotter: He won four races and was competitive at every stop. Just needed a little more luck.
Grade: A
Amy Butler: Two starts in 2007 showed that her HOCC successwasn't a fluke. The series and McLaren would still probably like to see her in the car more often.
Grade: C-
Spyker
Dean Strom: Driver in demand settled in with a new team with full support from Williams. Several early frustrations lead him to quit the series full-time when he complained his car wasn't being set up right and he was being put at a disadvantage by Williams. That conflict somehow got resolved and the now veteran ran better in the subsequent races he entered.
Grade: C-
Andy Spehert: Settled in ISF nicely and matured in 2006 and had a decent 2007 HOCC campaign. Disappeared from 2007 ISF grid for schedule conflicts.
Grade: incomplete
Red Bull
Chad Sorce: Veteran has several schedule conflicts that have kept him from all but a handful of starts the last three years. He does still have the pace though when he is in the field. Will Red Bull be moving over to Mark Walczak, or will Walczak be joining Sorce since Red Bull sponsors Walczak in other divisions?
Grade: Incomplete
Toro Roso
John Wiedemann: He got accustomed to the cars more and more and gained a teamate. Having another friend/competitor in the series helped him as well. Won a couple of heat races including one over Ferrari and seemed more confident in the car. Move to Jaguar in 2008 might be a small step back as the team gets sorted out technically, but when the smarts kick in all should be well.
Grade: C+
Mike Lack: A newcomer to the league, Lack proved that he has the speed to compete by the end of the season. Qualifying pace is not there, but pal John Wiedemann says Lack will be on the sharp end of the grid before too long.
Grade: Incomplete
Jaguar
Nick Bartolone: Another newcomer to the league who only competed in the last two events, Bartolone didn't have the seat time to prove anything, however when teamed with John Shea in the endurance race he proved his pace and car handling. That amount of time will serve him well in 2008.
Grade: Incomplete
