Formula 1: 2018 mid-season awards

Most impressive team: Haas

In just their third season of Formula 1, Haas have clawed their way to the front of the mid-pack and overtaken Force India as the second best customer team behind Red Bull Racing. They sit in fifth place in the constructor standings with 66 points.

By the ninth race in Austria, where Haas claimed 22 points, their highest ever in a single Grand Prix, thanks to fourth and fifth place finishes from Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen respectively, the team had already scored more points in 2018 than they did in the entirety of last season (47, good for eighth place in the constructor standings).

Furthermore, they head into Belgium requiring only 10 points to match their complete point total over the past two seasons (76).

Thanks to their Ferrari power unit, the eyebrow-raising decision to “replicate” the 2017 chassis of the Prancing Horse, and the almighty resurgence of Kevin Magnussen, Haas have all but proven that they have the fourth best car on the grid at every track except for Monaco and in the standings. They trail Renault by 16 points in for fourth place in the constructor standings.

However, it is difficult to say that Haas would not be currently in fourth place if not for the double-retirement from fourth and fifth place in the Australian Grand Prix thanks to a faulty wheel gun and if not for Grosjean’s eight-race scoreless streak of horrid luck and poor form to start the season.

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has expressed concern over the team throwing points away. He admitted the following, according to ESPN.

"“We need to stop losing points. We are in the points now but we lose them, we do it ourselves. While last year we need to get into the points, now in the moment we need to stop falling out of the points so that’s what we need to get better at.”"

In any case, with Haas committing to develop their car for a longer period this season, with Grosjean back on track, scoring all of his 21 points in the last four races, and with Magnussen firing on all cylinders, they should seriously challenge Renault for “best of the rest” honors over the remaining nine races of 2018.

With how impressive Haas have been so far this year, I would not bet against them.

Honorable mentions: Ferrari, Renault and Sauber

Ferrari have built a faster car than Mercedes this year, so that deserves something.

Renault are trending in the right direction and positioning themselves nicely towards the 2021 regulation changes. Another sizable leap forward in 2019, and we could see Daniel Ricciardo or Nico Hulkenberg steal a podium finish.

Maybe Sauber have only improved slightly, but Charles Leclerc makes it look like a lot.