This is kind of a dead week in mortorsport with no Indycar, F1 or major sports car events. So…a good time to take a brief look at F1 as it stands pretty much half way through the season before we head into next week’s Hungarian GP.

Driver standings look like this in the top 6:

(Full driver standings here>>> http://www.formula1.com/results/driver/2013/ )

So we can see that Vettel is in a strong position for his fourth consecutive championship after only just turning 26 earlier this month.  Now sure, he’s got the best car in the business designed by the best aerodynamicist in the land-jet game in Adrian Newey.  But the Baby Faced Killer is still driving the car to victory lane and pole positions consistently and if he is out in front early in a race, look for him to stay there unless the car breaks.  He will also still dick over anyone to get a win, even a teammate (see Webber, Mark in Malaysia) showing that he’s got the cold hearted nature of a true F1 champion despite looking like Opie in a fire suit.  So short of a real revolution in the other cars, like the Mercedes being easier on its rear tires, there doesn’t seem to be anybody capable of fielding a car to defeat Vettel driving the Red Bull Infiniti.

Alonso can pull magic out of the hat like no one else and overperform in a mediocre mount, so he is looking strong to finish runner up (again).  This is particularly true given the the pig that McClaren has produced this year and the fact that the Mercedes boys seem destined to take points off of each other as they have in the first half of the year.  Drivers like Vettel and Alonso, who are the undisputed Number 1s on their teams, have an advantage over the “1 and 1A”-type situation that exists between Hamilton and Rosberg and, to a lesser extent, Button and Perez.

The wild card is probably the Iceman, Kimi Raikonnen, in the up and down Lotas.  It seems like the Lotas is actually the best on this year’s very fragile Perelli tire selection (Have they really found the cure for stopping them blowing out at awkward moments? Hope so!), especially in Kimi’s hands.  But it’s hard to see anyone beating the reliability and versatility of the Red Bull chassis, so no doubt Kimi will have a few more storming drives but with the Lotas-Renault team underfunded and facing an uncertain future, probably just best to fantasize about the Iceman taking Webber’s seat next year.  With the big Aussie off to drive Porsche’s new hot shit prototype in the FIA World Endurance Championship next year, imagining Kimi duking it out with the ultra-competative Vettel in the new 1.6 liter/V6 turbo 2014 formula is probably the most anticipated rivalry since Senna-Prost at McClaren Honda on the late 90s.  Even if it’s still only a hypothetical, a guy can dream..

More thoughts to come as we get closer to Hungary next week.

For more on F1 current events, drivers’ and constructors’ standings and history, check out the official F1 site: http://www.formula1.com/default.html

And for more independent commentary on the F1 scene and other series, check out Autosport.com: http://www.autosport.com/ A lot is behind a pay wall but what’s free is still very good.

And in the States, F1 you can find practice, qualifying and the race broadcast on NBC and NBCSN: http://www.nbcsports.com/motor-sports