So the season has ended, the dust is settling over in Brazil and Sebastian Vettel has come out on top for the second consecutive year. But who were the best drivers over the course of the year?
Twenty-eight drivers took part during the season, so here is a quick run down from 28 to 11, judging on how I think they performed given their cars.
28. Karun Chandok (Lotus) 0pts; Best Result (BR): 20th – One race wasn’t enough time, had problems and was four laps down at the end in his only appearance.
27. Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber) 0pts; BR: 14th – Fourteenth wasn’t a bad result in Canada as he replaced the injured Perez.
26. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) 0pts; BR: 17th x 3 – Often behind his team mate, although in Indian race was impressive.
25. Jarno Trulli (Lotus) 0pts; BR: 13th x2 – Couldn’t have had a worse year, absolutely dominated by Kovalainen, looked demotivated and I’m surprised he’s even got a drive next year, although it’s looking debatable whether that’s a race drive or not.
24. Jerome d’Ambrosio (Virgin) 0pts; BR: 14th – On occasion looked good, but hasn’t done enough to retain his seat.
23. Tonio Liuzzi (HRT) 0pts; BR: 13th – Was once a bright talent, now I’m doubting he’ll be around next year.
22. Daniel Ricciardo (HRT) 0pts; BR: 18th x2 – Showed a great deal of promise but was he spectacular enough to deserve a potential seat at Toro Rosso as part of Red Bull’s young driver program?
21. Timo Glock (Virgin) 0pts; BR: 15th x2 – Generally quicker than d’Ambrosio, but another to look slightly ticked off with the struggle at the back.
20. Bruno Senna (Renault) 2pts; BR: 9th – Car was lacking development by the time he got in but still showed good speed in qualifying on occasion.
19. Nick Heidfeld (Renault) 34pts; BR: 3rd – It was wrong to get rid of him, replaced eight races from the end, Petrov still only outscored him by three points. Didn’t make enough use of the car he had at the start of the year though.
18. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) 1pt; BR: 10th – Drove brilliantly in Monaco before Lewis Hamilton used him as a brake losing sixth place. Often on the pace of his more experienced team mate.
17. Rubens Barrichello (Williams) 4pts; BR: 9th x2 – Still has the passion and the speed to be in Formula 1, dragged the Williams to more points than it probably deserved.
16. Vitaly Petrov (Renault) 37pts; BR: 3rd – He may have been in the top 10 in qualifying and he achieved a podium in Australia, but results haven’t been as forthcoming later in the year. By default after Robert Kubica’s rally crash he was team leader but I think there are better drivers than him to be filling that seat for next year.
15. Sergio Perez (Sauber) 14pts; BR: 7th – Looked quick all year and an impressive talent for the future, although more often than not results didn’t go his way. Dealt well with the bang to the head he received in Monaco to come back even stronger.
14. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 30pts; BR: 5th – Scored more points than his team mate, but was often out qualified. Still made some daring moves in the races and had a number of back of the grid charges. However, it all went a bit quiet towards the end of the season.
13. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 118pts; BR: 5th x6 – What has happened to Massa? Probably the big bang on the head he received in Hungary 2009. There’s no way he should be so far behind Alonso, he’s a better driver than that. While his team mate grabbed podium after podium, Massa had to settle for several fifths as his best result of the year. Although mostly not his fault, his targeting of Lewis Hamilton after their many incidents looked more like he was trying to deflect attention away from how bad his own year was. Really needs to get back to the level he demonstrated in 08/09.
12. Heikki Kovalainen (Lotus) 0pts; BR: 13th – Here is a team player. He knew they were going to struggle and were still building up the team and dealt with it accordingly. Never less than enthusiastic about the future and where the team was heading, something other drivers at the back should take notice of and get a little perspective despite the frustrations. He trounced Trulli in qualifying and was even better in the races, often in the latter half of the year mixing it with the tail end of the mid-field. Great stuff, an integral part of this teams bright future.
11. Sebastien Buemi (Toro Rosso) 15pts; BR: 8th x2 – I’ve got to say I’ve become a big fan of the Toro Rosso pair. Mostly they’ve been fighting for their seats the entire year, so the pressure was intense. Buemi had a number of great drives, the particular highlight in Hungary, finishing eighth from twenty-third on the grid. He lost a few other great results through no fault of his own and should get another year at the team, but I’m doubting whether that’ll be the case.
Top ten driver's can be found here.
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