2010 F1 Season Review: Driver Rankings

By on Tuesday, February 1, 2011

27 of the best – okay, that’s certainly debatable – racing drivers in the world took part in the 2010 Formula One Season. Some of the best took wins whilst at the other end of the scale just finishing was viewed as a success. But with 2010 being labelled as one of the closest fought seasons ever, rating the top drivers is a very difficult task. Nevertheless, we reflect on each driver’s successes – of which there are very few for some – and rate them from 27 to 1.

27. Sakon Yamamoto

Well, were you expecting any other place but last? He was consistently off the pace, even in a car that had about as much speed and grip as the best GP2 car. Yamamoto’s never set the world alight in junior formulae yet thanks to his financial backing – quite astonishing how his seat was rumoured to be costing him $500,000 a race – he got the chance. Came in at Silverstone in place of Senna but from Hockenheim onwards he replaced Chandhok. He outqualified a team mate for only the second time in his career in Korea on his way to equalling his best result of 15th. That was a highlight as he was dropped after the race and Klien was drafted back in. It may be the last we’ve seen of Sakon in Formula One and he’s unlikely to be missed.

26. Lucas di Grassi

Despite Virgin regularly being woeful in terms of pace, the Brazilian earned the unfortunate nickname of ‘Lucas di Crashi’ after a few incidents in the season. The worst easily came during the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka where he suffered a monumental accident on the way to the grid at 130r. He was uninjured but the car was completely and utterly destroyed and even more frustrating was the fact that the cameras didn’t catch a good angle of what was a huge crash. Probably the best we saw of him was when he put up a good defence against Fernando Alonso in Monaco, even to the extent where the Spaniard had to use his ‘I’m annoyed and I’m going to wave my arm about’ tactic. The car suffered from hydraulics issues multiple times throughout the season which limited his race progress but it was in qualifying where he was beaten so comfortably by Timo Glock. Only Vitaly Petrov has statistics as bad as di Grassi in that department. Overall it was a struggling debut season for the Brazilian and he did little to impress. Given a better chance of course he could score points, but he won’t be a superstar.

25. Bruno Senna

Well it was never going to be easy but it’s unlikely that Senna imagined it would be quite this difficult. Two years ago he was on the verge of a Honda (which then became Brawn) seat but now he’s had a season full of misery but to his credit, he was the only HRT that – almost – survived a full season. Debut lasted longer than expected before the car packed in but his pace was disappointing compared to team mate Chandhok, whom he easily outpaced when they were GP2 team mates. Race finishes were few and far between in the early part of the season. Overall his season had very few highlights and he didn’t do his stock any help by not dealing with Christian Klien in their 3 races together – although his final event in Abu Dhabi was an improvement from Singapore & Brazil. Admittedly, he will never usurp the achievements of his Uncle but he is a fine racing driver. After all, what if Ross Brawn had chosen him over Rubens..?

24. Karun Chandhok

When it was announced that he would drive for new team HRT, there were a few concerns. These concerns became serious when a lack of any running meant that the first time he drove the car was in Q1 in Bahrain. As it was, his pace was respectable and his approach to the sport gained him many new fans who felt that he was a proper bloke just having fun. Took HRT’s best finish of the season in Australia when he was classified 14th despite a few trips through the gravel. Scary moment came in Monaco when Jarno Trulli launched into and over his F110. Talking to F1Zone about the incident, he commented ‘I was a bit lucky’.  The 4th word in that phrase is a slight understatement. Despite the crash he was still classified and finished 8 of the 10 races in which he started. When Sakon Yamamoto stumped up more money, Chandhok’s place in the team became obvious. Relegated to third driver role ever since, his last outing came in Silverstone.

Since the summer he has been commentating primarily for the BBC and his enthusiasm and knowledge of the sport, as well as his clarity, has made him a popular man behind the microphone. He does, however, have more talent behind the wheel and he had the measure of his team mate for the majority of their partnership. With an Indian Grand Prix on the way in 2011, Bernie Ecclestone may just work his magic for Karun.

23. Christian Klien

Klien was drafted in a few hours before first practice in Singapore after Sakon Yamamoto was struck down by ‘food poisoning’. The internet seemed to suggest that it may have been financially motivated and a perfectly healthy looking Yamamoto in the HRT garage on Saturday did little to dispel the rumours. He ran very well though, made no mistakes, outqualified Senna despite only a five practice sessions of running in the F110 and was running ahead of the Brazilian when a mechanical failure forced him into the pits and into retirement. He later compared the HRT machine to a rally car which gives an indication of the struggles the guys at the back are going through. Klien is a talented driver who always seems to be overlooked for race seats but in his three starts he impressed. However, for a team like HRT, financial gain is always going to be more important than picking a better driver, especially when the car is utterly incapable of getting anywhere near the points.

22. Pedro de la Rosa

Perhaps his appointment was slightly surprising, but with Sauber in a dire position financially at the start of the season, the amiable Spaniard came with a mild sponsorship boost. His sacking after Italy came as a shock for him and the rapidness at which it was carried out was of intrigue to some. It has been reported since that he was due to be replaced from Silverstone but Burger King stumped up enough money for another 5 races, which ran out at the end of the European season.

In terms of points, he was vastly outscored by his inexperienced team mate Kamui Kobayashi, but the tally masks issues which plagued his season. The first eight races saw three engine failures, one of which occurred when he was running in 4th place. Another failure at Monaco when points were in the offing and there was his home race where he was involved in a collision with Buemi. Furthermore, he was side swiped by Petrov in Montreal and hit by Sutil in Silverstone when on course for points; he also collided with Kovalainen in Germany – another incident in which he was largely blameless. Overall, Pedro & Kobayashi were level in qualifying 7-7 but Sauber became frustrated with his lack of general pace. 7th in Hungary was one of the few highlights of the season. Aims to use his role as Pirelli’s test driver to work his way back into a race seat and whilst his knowledge of the tyres may help a little, it is unlikely to be enough to see him return on a permanent basis for a team which wouldn’t be languishing at the bottom of the timesheets.

21. Jarno Trulli

When Mike Gascoyne was announced as a senior figure at Lotus and Toyota pulled out of Formula One, it didn’t take a genius to work out that Jarno Trulli would end up at the Malaysian run team for 2010. Seemed to struggle up against team mate Kovalainen and was often behind him during the races and compared to the Finn, appeared to be lacking motivation. After 19 races he ended up pointless for the first season in his career but that statistic wasn’t a surprise. Despite the Lotus T127 being the fastest car from the new teams, it still wasn’t good enough to get anywhere near the Top 10. Retired from 8 of the 19 races and the majority of those were down to issues with the notoriously frail ‘hydraulics’. Finished the teams first race but didn’t start in Australia and his car was blighted by failures in the opening part of the year compared to the sister car. Best finish of the season was in Japan where a chaotic opening wiped out 6 cars although despite finishing 13th, he was again behind Kovalainen. Furthermore, he was outqualified in Monaco for the first time in 12 years as a Formula One driver. It wasn’t a disastrous season but it was far from vintage.

20. Vitantonio Liuzzi

Started the season on a positive note, finishing in the points on a few occasions. However, a trademark of his season was a poor qualifying performance from which he failed to recover – although a 5th place start in Canada was phenomenal. Sadly he crashed with Massa on Lap One and scraped home in 9th. The latter part of the season was littered with accidents although none of them really his fault. In Japan he was sideswiped by Massa, in Brazil the car broke, pitching him into the barriers and in Abu Dhabi he was helpless as he nearly decapitated Michael Schumacher. Did he do enough to retain his seat? No. He took 21 points compared to the 47 of Sutil and his performances were far less impressive. He has the odd flashes of brilliance but lacks the consistency. He's had 2 chances and that may be that.

19. Vitaly Petrov

On the whole, a very disappointing season. Take out Hungary & Abu Dhabi and there’s very little to be optimistic about. He was the top rookie but he was heavily outscored by Robert Kubica. Another factor of his season was the amount of crashes he had. Granted, they weren’t all his fault but he made a mess of more than one R30. Here’s the list (take a deep breath): Slammed into the wall at the final turn in Shanghai, braked on a wet patch in Catalunya and destroyed the car, crashed in Monaco, collided with De La Rosa in Canada, crashed in qualifying in Belgium, crashed in qualifying in Singapore, crashed at the start of the race in Japan, crashed out of the race in Korea and slid into the barriers in practice in Brazil. That’s a lot of crashes and whilst none of them were di Grassi levels of embarrassment, the sight of a yellow car missing lots of parts was not an uncommon sight. Put in a few brave moves – overtaking Rosberg around the outside of Les Combes in Spa is one that sticks out – but quite often he suffered brain fade or simply didn’t have the pace. After all, he only outqualified Robert Kubica twice. Finished in the points on five occasions and arguably cost Renault a shot at challenging Mercedes for 4th in the Constructors Championship. Will forever be riled in Spain for being the man who was holding up Fernando Alonso in Abu Dhabi. Well, he was racing him. For once, he didn’t throw it off the road and Alonso was held up by one of the drivers who had replaced him at Renault!

18. Sebastien Buemi

You know that it’s probably not been the best season when your most memorable moment came when both wheels simultaneously fell off the car under braking, at around 200mph. The right front upright failed, causing the front-right wheel to break free. The front-left wheel followed suit when the left upright was suddenly forced to bear the entire load of the front end. These parts were new and were subsequently taken off of the car. Luckily, it happened in practice. Like in 2009, he finished 16th in the championship but scored two more points this season (although in real money, he only scored 1 point compared to 6 in 2009). Other good moment came in the Canadian Grand Prix where he stayed out long enough to even lead a lap of a race for the first time in his career but the season was marred by midfield mediocrity both in qualifying and in the races – the majority of his finishes seemingly lying between 10th place and 14th place. Retained for 2011 but Daniel Ricciardo is waiting in the wings and whilst Buemi is being groomed for a Red Bull seat, he’s produced little to suggest that he would be capable of fighting at the front. Whilst there is an argument that it’s difficult to star in the Toro Rosso, Jaime Alguersuari managed it on a few occasions and some bloke called Sebastian Vettel shone in the Toro Rosso in 2008. Not sure whatever happened to him…

17. Nick Heidfeld

In the little time in which Heidfeld had in 2010, he did himself justice with the performances he put in. Within 3 races he’d scored as many points as Pedro de La Rosa had managed throughout the previous 14 races and that was even with his compatriot Michael Schumacher driving into him in Singapore. He started the season as test driver for Mercedes but with no running and only a few PR outings to show for his year, he turned his attention to a return to the grid and took the role of the Pirelli test driver. Had outings in Mugello, Paul Ricard & Jerez before Sauber came calling when they dropped De La Rosa. In the races he had, he was restricted by the problematic Ferrari engines which had hampered his predecessor earlier in the season. De La Rosa used engine Number 9 in Spa and Heidfeld had to use the same engine for several races.

16. Timo Glock

For Timo, 2010 has been a huge missed opportunity. Not because of any missed chances during the season in terms of potential points lost, but the fact that at the end of 2009, he could have gone to Renault. How different might his career have panned out had he done that? With uncertainty surrounding the Renault team, Glock chose to join newcomers Manor Grand Prix and was initially impressed with their direction, especially when the team was renamed as Virgin. However, the opening half of the season was blighted by reliability issues as the fuel tank wasn’t big enough to finish the races and when he did reach the finish, the Lotus’ were often far ahead. He was usually fighting Kovalainen & Trulli for ‘new team pole’ but come the races the VR-01s were no match for the T127’s. But to show the effort Glock was putting in, you only have to look at the fact that he outqualified his team mate 17 times to 2. That’s very impressive, only Kubica can boast similar figures. When he did get up into the midfield, he was often struck by more misfortune. This occurred most prominently in Korea when there was a sniff of a lucrative 12th place finish when Sebastien Buemi came careering into the sidepod. Game over. Best result of the season was 14th place which wasn’t enough to lift him any higher than 25th in the drivers’ championship with the team in last, behind HRT. Wirth Research continues to go against the usual wind tunnel methods and with Lotus looking to make gains; Virgin is starting to fall behind. The fact that they continued to bring new parts to the races whilst Lotus stopped developing after Hungary was a slightly concerning sight as the gap between the two hardly varied. Timo stays with Virgin for 2011 but if they don’t make gains then the plucky German will be looking for options elsewhere.

15. Heikki Kovalainen

Humiliated by Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, Kovalainen sought refuge at new team Lotus and his enthusiasm and drive pushed the team further than they could have hoped for. Ran as high as 6th during the Chinese Grand Prix when he didn’t pit and occasions like this got him noticed by the wider audience. Only failed to make the finish on 6 occasions and for a new team that’s extremely impressive when you consider that one of those times was when Mark Webber went all 747 on his rear wing. With Jarno Trulli heading towards a likely retirement within a few seasons, Lotus’ hopes are surely being centred on Kovalainen, whilst the team are searching for a young Malaysian driver – keep your eye on Nabil Jeffri. He can take the team further in 2011 and with their black and gold livery, it may well be a glorious sight to behold. He claimed Lotus’ best finishes in 2010 with a 12th place finish in Japan which earned the Norfolk squad a huge financial boost. 20th in the championship for Kovalainen in 2010 doesn’t exactly look impressive, but a 10th place in 2011 may well move the team up another gear and with Red Bull parts & Renault engines, the future’s bright.

14. Nico Hulkenberg

Qualifying has ended at the Brazilian Grand Prix and Car Number 10 has taken pole position by a whopping margin – over a second, in a package that was lacking pace throughout practice. It was a phenomenal achievement that gained him many plaudits but it didn’t secure his drive for 2011 nor was the 8th place finish that followed hugely eye catching. Nevertheless, it was his moment in the sun of which there were fewer than expected. Overall, the man who had a mightily impressive junior formulae record disappointed, with early races littered with mistakes and a general lack of pace. The European Grand Prix marked something of a turning point, as Hulkenberg matched Barrichello for most of the weekend and was running strongly when the car gave up, prompting a reaction more suited to a different kind of ‘Hulk’. Most impressive drive of the season came in Hungary, but even then he was outshone by Vitaly Petrov, although across the whole season, there were far fewer FW32’s with damage than there were R30’s. Points wise, he wasn’t ‘Rookie of the Year’. He scored less than half of the points of his team mate and he often fell backwards in the races. Nonetheless, the general consensus is that his performances were better than that of his fellow rookies and that his star is still shining. There is though a certain sad irony that the man who he obliterated in 2009 as team mates in GP2 takes his seat. Now Force India test driver, he's the main man to look out for in the next Silly Season

13. Jaime Alguersuari

For a man heralded as ‘F1’s danger man’ in 2009, 2010 was something of a revelation. As the more experienced drivers – who one day used to be the ones spinning off left, right and centre – were vocally negative about Alguersuari’s appointment at Toro Rosso, the Spaniard defended his ability and got on with the job. His end of 2009 performances was not indicative of his talents though and Toro Rosso rightly gave him a full time drive in 2010. Happily, he rewarded their commitment with some stellar drives although so much more could have been achieved. He finished 11th in Australia having kept Michael Schumacher behind him for most of the race and followed this up with 9th in Malaysia, including a couple of brilliant moves, more reminiscent of a man with more than 10 races experience. A feature of his season has been his reliability. He was the 4th best driver in terms of racing laps completed and the two races in which he failed to finish were both down to the car failing rather than his own mistakes. Qualifying has been what has restricted him this year and when he did get it right; there was a tendency for something to go wrong. In Singapore, he had to start from the pits after a strong lap on Saturday. Finished 11th on five occasions and his drive at Abu Dhabi won Vettel the title, according to Adrian Newey, as his refusal to allow Webber past for a few laps and then doing so tricked Ferrari into pitting Alonso. He also kept Felipe Massa at bay for most of the race. Has to impress again in 2011, but it’s Buemi – not Jaime – who should be wary of any possible replacements, of which Daniel Ricciardo could be one.

12. Michael Schumacher

The legend returns. The greatest driver – statistically – of all time paired with the return of the Silver Arrows. Ross Brawn at the helm in a team that took both titles in style in 2009. It promised so much, yet it delivered so little. Schumacher warned that he would be a bit rusty and so it proved, but he asked that he needed 4 races to get back in the groove. So when the European season arrived, much was expected and in all honesty, things started to improve. He came 4th in Spain and Turkey whilst he showed he still had all his race craft when nabbing Alonso at the final corner in Monaco. The move was deemed illegal but the rulebook – since rewritten – was not exactly clear. A poor race in Canada was followed by an abject performance in Valencia which marked one of his worst ever races as he trailed home 15th. Controversy followed him in so much of his first career and it came back to him in Hungary when he over-defended against a charging Barrichello. Got his wrist slapped but stormed from 24th to 7th in Spa at which point the old Schumacher was starting to creep back into the 2010 version. He never liked the car, it didn’t suit him but by the end of the season he was matching – and beating – Rosberg and he was racing strongly. He was lucky not to be injured in Abu Dhabi, and a return to Pirelli’s and a more Schumi-friendly 2011 car may return Schumacher to the podium and possibly the top step. Although, how many people would have thought that a podium would have been a good result for a 7 times world champion?

11. Felipe Massa

Abu Dhabi, Qualifying 3. Felipe Massa crosses the line with a second to spare before the lights turn red, signalling the end of the session. Rather than continue and hope he crossed the line with enough time, he backs off and enquires with the team. Such things separate a good driver with greatness. How badly has the injury affected him? Just what went so wrong in 2010 that left him with just 5 podiums whilst his team mate – new to the team – was within 4 points of the title? Well, Massa struggled with the new Bridgestone tyres. He couldn’t get the heat into them quickly enough and that compromised his qualifying performances – only 4 times did he beat Alonso to best grid position. After such a bad season, it’s difficult to believe that he once led the championship and the early part of the season for him was consistent, if not hugely impressive. Three non-scoring races meant that he dropped off the leaders but Hockenheim was the turning point. It well and truly established him as the Number 2 driver although his magnanimous handling of the situation brought back memories of Brazil in 2008. From then on Massa looked demoralised and his approach to the first corner at Suzuka simply reminded fans of his early days. Ferrari has promised him equal treatment for 2011 but if he doesn’t show the kind of form that nearly won him the title in 2008, then he probably won’t be at Ferrari for too much longer. After all, there are quite a few of the Tifosi already discontented with the Brazilian’s performances and he desperately needs a strong 2011 and he must win a race again.

10. Adrian Sutil

So often at the back of the grid in the first three years of his career, Force India finally gave Sutil a decent car with which he was at last able to exploit his talents. The first two races were disappointing as he was involved in a collision with Kubica in Bahrain before the car gave up in Melbourne. However, a strong 4th on the grid in Malaysia was followed up by an impressive 5th in the race, in which he kept Lewis Hamilton at bay for most of the race. Seventh place at the Spanish Grand Prix sparked a run of 6 consecutive finishes in the points but the season seemed to take a turn for the worse. Apart from a very creditable 5th in Spa, he only scored 2 points in the other races in the final half of the season. Twice he clashed with team mate Liuzzi on track and the car dropped off the pace to the extent where it went from being a regular occurrence to be in Q3 to sometimes scraping into Q2. The Korean Grand Prix was arguably his worst performance as he acted like the old Sutil and seemed to try to hit anything that was in his way and he eventually crashed out. Season ended with two retirements, a twelfth and a thirteenth place finish in a car that had slipped to being 8th best. The lack of consistency hampered Force India in 2010 and whilst the opening part of the season showed maturity from Sutil, it didn’t continue when the going got a bit tough.

9. Kamui Kobayashi

Monaco 2010. Kamui Kobayashi trudges back to the pits after his gearbox has packed up. It’s his fifth retirement of the season already and his only finish has been a mediocre 12th. Fans and media alike were starting to question the young Japanese driver and whether BMW Sauber had made a mistake in appointing him on the back of just 2 races. He finally scored a point in Turkey but the first part of the season was marred by accidents and a slow car which was hampered by some woeful reliability. However, Mark Webber’s flying lesson in Valencia marked some sort of a turnaround. Sauber chose not to pit Kobayashi under the safety car and this elevated him to third place. With the gap that he built up, he pitted and with fresher tyres he put on a show, including a smooth move on Fernando Alonso. He followed this up with more points in Britain, Hungary and Belgium whilst adding entertainment to the show thanks to his unpredictable and aggressive nature. His best drive of the season came in Japan where he turned the hairpin into his own passing place, overtaking 5 cars at a spot where few had ever dared to attempt a move. He scored 32 of Sauber’s 44 points and easily had the measure of his more esteemed team mates. His driving style earned him many fans and with Sauber gaining investment and an improved engineering team thanks to the appointment of James Key, the future looks very good for Kobayashi. It’ll be interesting to see how he’ll cope with leading the team properly with a rookie as his team mate but he could be the best racing driver Japan has ever had.

8. Rubens Barrichello

Having challenged for the title in 2009, it was always going to be a step down for Barrichello in 2010 by moving to a team who haven’t won a race since 2004. However, he impressed the team so much that he was heralded as one of the best drivers that the team has ever had – high praise for a team that has fielded drivers such as Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell amongst others. The car at the start of the season was rarely strong enough to get into Q3, but in Valencia, Barrichello managed to finish a fine 4th at a track where he excels. He finished in the points in 10 of the 19 races and only retired twice – once where he sustained a puncture at high speed and the other when he misjudged the braking at Spa (as did so many others) but was unfortunate enough to encounter Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari. Became the most experienced driver when he started his 300th race at Spa, although various sources bickered with each other over which race actually marked his 300th start and he doesn’t look like he wants to stop any time soon. He had the measure over team mate Nico Hulkenberg for most of the season and he continued his tradition of having a comically poor home race. Occasionally had run-ins with his old foe Michael Schumacher and a highlight of the season for him was surely that move in Hungary, even if it was extremely dangerous. He’ll be back in 2011 and aiming higher than in 2010.

7. Nico Rosberg

When you get to this point in ranking drivers, it becomes incredibly difficult to figure out who should be placed between about 4th and 7th, therefore Nico Rosberg coming 7th was just due to the others doing ever so slightly better than he did. Nonetheless, he scored three podiums in a car that looked unresponsive and difficult to drive. It’s still difficult to judge Rosberg as a driver as Nakajima wasn’t exactly the best benchmark whilst an ageing Schumacher is still not the best comparison. Won praise by Ross Brawn for his ability and he outqualified Schumacher more often than not. Furthermore, he only didn’t make the finish in three races and none of them were his fault, therefore he is virtually error free. The wheel fell off in Hungary and again in Japan whilst in Korea he was taken out by the stricken Mark Webber, whilst running in a promising position. He scored points in 15 races and only ended up 2 points behind Felipe Massa, coming 7th in the championship. There were worries about Rosberg not getting equal treatment thanks to Schumacher’s presence in the team but those concerns seem to have abated. If Mercedes can unveil a car capable of challenging for wins in 2011 then there’s no reason why it won’t be him, rather than Schumacher, claiming the top spot. It would be a deserved success that is long overdue.

6. Robert Kubica

He finished two points behind Rosberg but whilst Nico was solid and safe, Kubica caught the eye more often with his performances and he did very well considering – he claims – that Renault stopped developing the R30 after the Belgian Grand Prix. There were doubts about his ability before the season having come off the back of a disappointing season with BMW in 2009. But after just a handful of races, the F1 world was reminded of his talents that saw him pushing for the title in 2008. He outqualified Petrov 17-2 and every time they both finished a race, Kubica was ahead and usually by a considerable margin which leads us to a difficult quandary. Was it a case of Kubica outperforming the car and Petrov being average or was it that Kubica was just driving the car normally and Petrov was underachieving? The R30 looked like a good car but its ultimate performance is still something of an unknown. Highlights of the season had to be his three podiums and all of them were won in equally impressive fashion. He also pulled off some stunning overtaking manoeuvres, especially in Singapore where he had a late race cameo after pitting for fresh tyres. He made Q3 on all but one occasion but quite often he struggled to get higher than 6th or 7th and therefore his race progress was limited, albeit in a better position than Petrov’s. Sticks with Renault for 2011 and there’s no reason why they can’t be more successful than in 2010.

5. Jenson Button

He didn’t manage to beat Lewis Hamilton very often, but he certainly didn’t embarrass himself like many pundits thought he would. Sheer tactical brilliance saw him take his first McLaren victory in his second race for them in Australia and his conservation of the tyres astounded Bridgestone. Second win followed in China as he again mastered the wet conditions better than anyone else and he even led the championship for a few rounds. However, too often his ultimate pace wasn’t quite enough to match Lewis Hamilton. Sure, sometimes it was only a few tenths but that would be the difference between two rows on the grid. He only retired twice in the nineteen races and neither were his own fault. His adaptability has improved but he was still a long way behind Hamilton at races such as Bahrain and Spain whilst his pace in Hungary was just woeful. His decision to go for an unconventional high down force set-up in Monza was inspired, leaving Martin Brundle to exclaim that he had never seen such a brave decision taken at that track. For much of the season, the car lacked the pace to battle for wins and when it did, Hamilton was often in front of Button to take the plaudits. He also pulled off some good overtaking moves, such as his battle with his team mate in Istanbul and the fact that he hardly made a mistake all season – except for a spin in Korea – aids his cause. He has pinpointed qualifying as his main weakness as he failed to make the Top 10 on a number of occasions and he has to start nearer the front on a regular basis if he is to reclaim his title in 2011.

4. Mark Webber

Had this review been written just after the summer break, there’s no doubt that Mark Webber would either be first or second. However when it mattered, Webber dropped slightly off of the pace and failed to win the title. His season started poorly when he was nowhere in Bahrain before a dismal performance in his home race. Inspired choice of tyres in wet qualifying in Malaysia earned him pole, only for him to throw away victory by leaving the door open for Vettel at the first corner. Wins in Spain and Monaco were magnificent but Vettel was unable to challenge him as he was driving a cracked chassis. Whether Webber would have been challenged anyway is up for debate. Considering his pace in those two events, the answer is unlikely to be yes. Further wins followed in Britain and in Hungary but he made a few crucial errors and over the course of the season he probably made more errors than his rivals. Crash in Korea was the killer blow and as stated previously, his pace was lacking and his performance in the final event was simply dismal. He also had the advantage of not losing any points due to reliability, whereas Vettel lost 63 points, Hamilton around 40 whilst Button and Alonso were both compromised in this area. Nevertheless, it was a strong season for the Australian but some of his comments didn’t endear him to his team. His ‘not bad for a Number 2 driver’ comment after Silverstone came after controversy over favouritism whilst in the build up to Brazil, the war of words between the Red Bull drivers sparked rumours of Webber’s imminent retirement. He’ll be back in 2011 but you have to wonder whether he has squandered his best chance?

3. Fernando Alonso

Choosing between the top three was very, very, difficult but Alonso comes 3rd thanks to an uncharacteristically large amount of errors at the start of the season. A jump start in China and a practice crash in Monaco compromised him in both races whilst his comments that the European Grand Prix was ‘manipulated’ were unnecessary for a driver of his calibre. He was also unlucky with a contentious steward’s decision in Britain but the luck went the other way as well having inherited wins in Bahrain and Korea as well as the team orders saga in Germany. Emotional win in Monza was probably one of the highlights of the season whilst his performance in Singapore was stunning as he took the first Grand Chelem (pole, all laps led, fastest lap and the win) since 2004. One race that often goes unnoticed was in Malaysia, where he started near the back and matched Massa’s pace despite driving without a clutch. It was the sort of pace that shouldn’t have been achievable yet somehow he did it and he kept his foot to the floor when the engine blew just to make his point. Conversely, the Turkish Grand Prix had Ferrari at a low point as Alonso questioned their upgrades and having won just one of the first 10 races, his championship challenge looked to be stuttering. He easily has the advantage over team mate Felipe Massa and he can slowly build his own empire at Ferrari for the best part of the next 10 years. He claims it’s his best season but he’s come home empty handed. For the sake of Ferrari, they have to win a championship in 2011 (they only have one drivers’ and two constructors’ wins since 2004) and a motivated Alonso will be hard to beat if the F10’s successor is just that little bit faster.

2. Lewis Hamilton

The fact that Hamilton was still in the title fight with a race to go shows you the resilience and the determination that are just some of the characteristics of the young Brit. First of all, there’s the great side of Hamilton – his overtaking moves are some of the finest such as the one he put on Rosberg in Melbourne or Kobayashi in Suzuka – and his ability to never know when he’s beaten is admirable. However, the latter of these attributes can sometimes be his downfall. His title challenge was arguably dealt a severe blow when he needlessly tried to overtake Massa in Monza, whilst his collision with Webber in Singapore was also avoidable, although Hamilton was unlucky to retire from that contact. Over the course of the season, the car simply didn’t have the pace to challenge Red Bull, but when it did, Lewis let them know it and his wins in Turkey, Canada and Belgium were sublime. His constant pressure on the Red Bulls in Turkey played a part in their collision whilst his antics after claiming pole position in Canada added some humour to the season. There’s also the less approachable side to Hamilton, with some of his driving being deemed as too aggressive and he received a number of reprimands as well as the off track incident in Melbourne. The car also let him down on a few occasions, most gut-wrenchingly in Spain. Hamilton had driven a stunning race on a track where the Red Bulls had dominated by around a second a lap – a track where car performance is key. Hamilton had put himself in a Red Bull sandwich when the wheel rim let go on the penultimate lap. He also had a driveshaft failure in Hungary and a gearbox issue in Japan. For 2011, Hamilton needs to focus more on tyre management. He was often seen complaining about the state of his tyres during the races, especially during Korea when he went too aggressive too soon. With Pirelli promising tyres that won’t last as long, this may be something that either hinders Hamilton or it may well help him as (hopefully) there’s no hope of them lasting long enough to be conserved. There’s no doubt he’s a keen racer as seen by his radio messages in Korea! Hamilton has challenged for the title in 3 of his 4 seasons in Formula One and with more composure, a slightly quicker car and a bit more luck, 2011 could be his for the taking.

1. Sebastian Vettel

Guillaume Rocquelin comes on the radio: “It’s looking good…” (pause) “WELTMEISTER!!!” Vettel’s turnaround in the final race of the season was commendable and a worthy champion was crowned. The fact that Vettel himself did not know his title winning position until after the finish resulted in an outpouring of emotion in a highly stressful season where there were many highs and also some lows. His season was blighted by reliability issues with victories lost in Bahrain, Australia and Korea. Furthermore, his own errors in Turkey and Hungary also lost victories and without that he would have waltzed to the title long before the battle had kicked off so we have to thank Sebastian for that! Red Bull’s decision not to favour either driver at the end of the season was rewarded when Vettel won three of the final four races and took a maiden title by just 4 points. Crash in Turkey was mainly his fault and his gesticulations only contributed to a backlash from the media and fans which kicked off furious debate over whether he was being backed for the championship. Now that he has the title, it will be interesting to see how Vettel copes with the pressure of the #1 on his car in 2011 and whether there will be more composure in his driving. The latter was lacking on occasion in 2010 with a major mistake in Belgium and a few fluffed starts which cost him a couple of places. Qualifying performances were simply in a different league to the rest of the grid. He took 10 pole positions and only qualified outside of the Top 3 on two occasions – Spa and Monza where he started 4th and 6th respectively. A defining moment came in Korea. Two, actually. The first was when the race proper got underway. He simply sped off into a different race and was 2 seconds ahead after the first racing lap. This put the pressure on Mark Webber and he subsequently found the wall. The second was when he retired. He got out of the car, put the fire out and returned to the pits and thanked the team, putting on a brave face for the media. He could have said his hopes were over and blamed the team but he didn’t, despite being 25 points down with 50 up for grabs. It was a sort of role reversal after Turkey. The fastest man in the fastest car won in the end, but it wasn’t straight forward. He’ll be hoping to claim back to back titles next year, and win it by a bigger margin and before the final race. He deserved his 2010 success, but there are drivers out there determined to make sure it won’t happen again…

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