In this series of articles we will take a look at how team mates fared against each other in the teams that finished tenth through to thirteenth in the Championship. Which of Ocelots plethora of drivers proved the strongest, and which teams drivers ended up exactly level in every aspect? IngramIngram primarily ran Nikolai Milkovich and Jean Mattson for what was their third consecutive season together as team mates. Each driver was swapped out for a single race to allow long-serving driver Diego Campos a final bow before departing the team but in each race he was comfortably swept aside, qualifying six tenths behind Mattson in Spain and seven back from Milkovich in the United States.
There is one way to separate them however, as the average qualifying gap went in favour of Milkovich, but only by 0.044 seconds. To note, Mattsons largest gap back to Milkovich was in Japan at 0.549 seconds, while Milkovich was ahead by more than this in four races, including a whopping 1.109 gap in Australia. The table above shows no real pattern in performance, it was solely down to each weekend. Milkovichs form had dropped slightly prior to being taken out of the car for Spain but his week away seemed to perk him back up slightly before tough weekends in Italy, Portugal & Turkey, and again at the end of the season. This could have been a rejuvenated Mattson, or a sign that the rumours suggesting it would be Mattson who stayed for 2018 were affecting Milkovich on track. FUNWith FUN leaving the series, their drivers were in a crucial fight to prove they were both worthy of a seat elsewhere for 2018. They have both secured drives - Olen Inman with multiple Champions Franklin, and Carson Davenport with new outfit Phoenix - but did the teams makes the correct decisions? Inmans FUN career started with a miserable weekend in Australia where he could not even attempt to qualify, meaning - barring further problems - the battle could not be drawn come year end. Try as he might, the Monegasque was just beaten, as Davenport headed him 9-8. Inman was level in terms of race results, finishing ahead five times in the ten races they both finished, though it should be noted Davenport had two mechanical failures to Inmans one. The average qualifying gap went in favour of Davenport by 0.097, but was probably the closest throughout the season. Aside from the wet qualifying sessions (highlighted by the *), no driver beat the other by more than one second throughout the season. Inman fought hard early in the season, but from Portugal onwards Davenport showed him the way save for two qualifying sessions where he was bested, but barely. Although the announcement for FUN departing was only made late on, it is possible the team knew before, and Davenport stepped up a gear to ensure himself of a drive. While neither driver could perform to maximum, it is no surprise to see both sticking around based on previous performance, but perhaps more so that they have ended up where they have. OcelotOcelot ended the year with a considerably weaker line-up than what they started with as with drivers ended up loaned to other teams as they fought financial battles. Which of their four proved strongest however, and have they made the right decision in retaining Puccio Giodano of the four for 2018, alongside rookie Ryota Yoshida?
0.095 was the average gap Beckenbauer had over Giodano after three races, and the smallest any Ocelot gap would be all year. He departed with a rather convincing 0.496 advantaged to Jochem, while strong first and final sessions in the wet against Nowosinki helped the Dutchman to a 0.615 gap. While it is difficult to judge Giodano from just three races, the latter part of his season at Franklin paints a clearer picture. Beckenbauer bettered him and proved to be the stronger of the duo, and will look to thrive at Westwood next season. He also fairly comfortably swept Jochem aside with the Dutchman reeling from his Franklin demotion, but upon the arrival of Nowosinki he was rejuvenated. Jochem can feel hard done by but at least still has a drive in IndyVirtual, while it is no surprise to see Nowosinki seemingly leave the series. MeteorIt was announced early on that neither Meteor driver would remain in 2018, instead replaced by a pair of French rookies, but they still had pride to fight for. For a while, Stuart Harrison had to prove himself to find a seat, while Johan Halvosen had to show North Star they had made the correct decision to sign him alongside Judson Sikes for 2018. Halvosen and Harrison have now spent two and a bit seasons as team mates, and the result has never been any different. From the moment the Dane stepped into the car he has put Harrison in the shade. The Americans race craft is much better than his one lap pace however and he used it to great effect to secure the teams sole eleventh place in Austria and guarantee them tenth overall, but even in that category he was bested over the season, despite Halvosen failing to finish one race with a mechanical failure. The average qualifying gap paints an even clearer picture of Harrison's lack of qualifying pace. At no point could he beat Halvosen by more than 0.454, while Halvosen did it on six occasions, three notably in the wet where he usually excels. The average gap at seasons end was 0.436 in favour of the Dane. Note: The China result has been discounted from both graphs above as Halvosen's only lap was some five seconds slower than anyone else due to a mechanical fault. While the season did ebb and flow, it went more in favour of Halvosen. Save for a lapse in Austria he was Meteors leading charge and pulling the best results, with his stunning fourth place on the grid following a wet Brazil qualifying one of the finest performances of the season.
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