Working out who was the best F1 driver is never easy – a driver typically only has one rival who has the same equipment, and even within teams two cars are not necessarily always the same.
And it’s been even harder this year with the sudden emergence of Brawn and Red Bull as front runners, and the complication of drivers missing races and switching teams.
So thanks to everyone who offered their suggestions for how to rank the best drivers of 2009. I’ve looked at your lists, weighed up the stats and re-watched the races to produce my verdict on the top races of the year. Starting in reverse order here are the bottom ten drivers of 2009 with my thoughts on their performances and a selection of your comments.
No rank: Nelson Piquet Jnr
It would be wrong to rate Nelson Piquet Jnr as if he were just another driver.
He has damaged Formula 1 with calculated cynicism, agreeing to crash a car on purpose and then confessing to it a year later in an attempt to damage his former team.
Regardless of the self-serving nature of his actions, the FIA granted him immunity. He escaped the ban faced by co-conspirators Flavio Braitore and Pat Symonds – but any team manager would be mad to hire him after this.
Spin in Melbourne (blaming the brakes), three spins in China (destroying multiple nose cones), calling Buemi inexperienced after their crash in Monaco, crying to the press before being fired, crying some more after being fired, then almost causing an entire team to drop out of Formula 1 (maybe still time for that to happen) in one of the biggest scandals in a scandal-ridden sport, while pretending to be a victim in a crash he caused, in a situation he should’ve been man enough to just say no.
Four words: Reject of the Year.
Pedro Andrade
24. Luca Badoer
He was rushed in at Ferrari after it became clear Michael Schumacher would not be able to race.
At first Badoer’s struggles at Valencia were explained away by him being unfamiliar with the track. But at Spa it became clear the problem was driver-related.
Giancarlo Fisichella’s subsequent struggles with the F60 gave some insight into the difficulty Badoer faced. But not enough to excuse him being whole seconds off the pace of the next-slowest car.
Yes Luca, it was the media’s fault you were dropped. Specifically the medium of television, through which we could all see how bad you were.
Icthyes
23. Sebastien Bourdais
No noticeable improvement over last year, he usually failed to beat his rookie team mate. It’s fair to ask why Toro Rosso get through so many drivers but even so it wasn’t a surprise to see Bourdais get dropped.
His second year could have gone either way, sadly it went bad.
Bullfrog
22. Kazuki Nakajima
The only driver to start every race and not score a point. Given that his team mate racked up 34.5 and finished seventh in the championship, Nakajima’s dismal performance is hard to excuse.
Very close qualifying was Nakajima?óÔé¼Ôäós downfall. Rosberg got into Q3 14 times. Nakajima managed it four times. That margin left him with zero points.
Chalky
21. Romain Grosjean
Grosjean got a laot of criticism for his lacklustre showings for Renault, especially at Brazil where he seemed to go backwards.
A realistic appraisal has to take into account he was driving a dog of a car for a team that was reeling from the Singapore revelations, and up against one of the very best in the business.
In that context, lapping within a third of a second of Alonso at Yas Island is not something we should criticise him too harshly for, especially when he had little opportunity to test the car before his debut.
After some decent performances in GP2 I did expect a bit from Grosjean, but he was thrown into the deep end against Alonso no less. He properly deserves another decent shot at least, like Alguersuari.
Zenobia
20. Jaime Alguersuari
Became the youngest driver to start a Grand Prix despite lurid predictions he would crash into rivals, run over his mechanics and usher in the apocalypse.
In fact he beat Sebastien Buemi home in their first race together as team mates. It didn’t happen again, largely because of Alguerusari’s poor finishing rate (five retirements from eight starts) though that was largely down to the car.
Alguersuari qualified at the back and stayed there. I wish that Bourdais had been kept on.
sw6569
19. Kamui Kobayashi
A difficult driver to place: Kobayashi only raced twice and gave two very different performances. In Brazil he qualified well behind Jarno Trulli and was criticised for some questionable defensive driving.
But his Abu Dhabi drive was a revelation. He kept Kimi Raikkonen at bay at the start to become the best of the ‘one stop’ runners, put a vital pass on Jenson Button after the new world champion had pitted, and jumped up to sixth ahead of team mate Jarno Trulli by the chequered flag.
Some may feel 19th is too low but given he only started twice putting him any higher would be a bit presumptuous. As many of you mentioned, hopefully the loss of backers Toyota from the grid next year won’t keep him from finding a drive for 2010.
Little time but already a solid performance from him.
Pedal to the Vettel
18. Adrian Sutil
Sutil should have been the driver to score Force India’s first points. But a crash in the rain Shanghai and an utterly unnecessary run-in with Kimi Raikkonen at the Nurburgring put paid to that.
Even after becoming de facto team leader following Fisichella’s Ferrari move, Sutil continued to squander good qualifying performances with avoidable clashes – with Nick Heidfeld at Singapore, and at Brazil where he paid the price of giving a rival no ‘racing room’.
Showed plenty of promise but still several mistakes and crashes.
David A
17. Vitantonio Liuzzi
Parachuted in at Force India for the last few rounds, he ran well at Monza before his car failed. He finished more times than Sutil in their five races together, was right behind his team mate at Suzuka and beat him at Yas Island.
There are many people who think Toro Rosso gave up on Liuzzi too soon, and his brief appearance in F1 this year suggests he deserves a spot on the grid in 2010.
Liuzzi gets my understated performance of the year award. His first race at Monza back in an F1 car was fantastic, he definitely would have picked up points and possibly a podium if his engine hadn’t blown up.
sw6569
16. Sebastien Buemi
All told, a decent maiden season for the young Swiss driver. Especially given how the STR4 struggled to emulate the success of its predecessor, and was noted for its unreliability.
He got off to a strong start by scoring on his debut and adding an eighth in the rain at China. A long point-less spell followed but towards the end of the year the car came good and suddenly Buemi’s name was getting noticed in practice sessions.
At Suzuka he impressed by reaching the top ten – despite several very wayward moments and a crash late in the session. But he was back in the points in the final two races and qualified a fine sixth at Interlagos.
Good first season in F1.
SaloolaS
Join us for part two covering positions 15 to six tomorrow. The top five will be published on Friday – along with your chance to vote for the driver of the year.
Ned Flanders
25th November 2009, 12:09
I personally think Grosjean wasn’t that bad in the 7 races he was involved in. Unlike Piquet, he came straight into F1 without any testing for months, into a team in crisis against a double champion.
And remember, Renault ended the year with arguably the worst car on the grid. We couldn’t have expected much more than we got from him.
steph
25th November 2009, 12:38
I agree. I don’t want to criticise him or Jaime (I feel the STR driver shows more promise) they have had no testing so I don’t see what anyone expects. And everything you say about Renault was right. It wasn’t going to be easy for any rookie going in at that time.
I feel they are in the right place as couldn’t really shine but that at same time they don’t deserve much criticism
Tim
25th November 2009, 13:29
Fisichella proved how important testing is when he went from Force India podium finisher to Ferrari backmarker in one easy step. Giancarlo is never going to be one of the greats, but he’s a race winning, experienced F1 driver who really struggled to get anything out of the Ferrari without any testing.
The fact that a driver of Fisichella’s experience did so badly puts Grosjean and Alguersuari’s performances into context – both are a lot better than they appeared in 2009. Both deserve a decent Winter testing programme and another chance in 2010.
Kobayashi, on the other hand, at least had some testing and a reasonably competitive car. The last two races probably made him look slightly better than he really is – Kazuki Nakajima also looked pretty good on his debut at Interlagos ’07 and look what he did this year…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th November 2009, 13:51
I couldn;t agree more – that definitely figured in my thinking when it came to some of the rookies.
Clay
25th November 2009, 22:30
When did Koby have testing? Pre-season? So did every driver on the grid, Fisi included. Fisi had been racing all year up until Brazil when Koby arrived, with one wet day of practice at Suzuka a couple of weeks before as his only F1 run in well over 6 months.
Looking at his performance against those of Alguersuari and Grosjean Koby was a standout. A little rough around the edges maybe, but quick, determined and willing to take risks. He must get a seat next year.
Mike "the bike" Schumacher
25th November 2009, 23:01
Yes Kobi was brilliant but he had a fast car, in brazil toyota might have even been in the hunt for victory, thats why I think trulli was so upset with sutil. Fisi was alwys going to struggle as Ferrari had stopped developing the car, he was always going to go backwards, so I think its unfair to compre Fisi to Kobi.
But yes Fisi should have done better.
Tim
26th November 2009, 8:24
Kobayashi had some running in the ’09 Toyota before the season started – he had a relatively good car under him in which he’d tested. I’m not suggesting Kobayashi doesn’t deserve a shot in 2010, but I don’t think he’s quite as good as he looked in just two races.
If memory serves, Grosjean also tested but not in the ’09 Renault – so he had a dog of a car (one of the worst on the grid) that he’d never driven outside race weekends.
Alguersuari had nothing beyond a demo run in an old Toro Rosso – his superlicence came from his British F3 title.
Fisichella did test pre-season – but not once in a Ferrari…
damon smedley
26th November 2009, 6:35
chuck norris was the best driver
PJA
25th November 2009, 12:58
Pretty much agree with your rankings so far. I think a lot of people will say that Kobayashi should be higher but I understand your reasons for placing him where you did.
GeeMac
25th November 2009, 12:59
I think a lot of people would say Badoer, Bordais or NJP were 2009’s worst drivers, but for me it was Kazuki Nakajima. He started every single race and managed to score a frightful 0 points. That is a poor result in a car that wasn’t all that bad. I had high hopes for Williams this year, and he let the team down big time.
Maybe saying he was the worst driver of the season is a bit harsh, but he certainly was the biggest disappointment of 2009.
Toby Bushby
25th November 2009, 21:16
Well said, GeeMac.
If Nakajima had been capable of scoring close to the same as his team-mate, Williams would have had a very different season. Instead of falling behind BMW at the last gasp to 7th, they would have been fighting with McLaren and Ferrari for 3rd. And that’s where the car deserved to be, in my opinion.
David
25th November 2009, 13:08
Kobayashi to me is to be better ranked.
Two races is really a little, but I think he’s been more impressive than Liuzzi and Sutil.
Luigismen
25th November 2009, 15:27
I don’t think so… If that is the case, then I could pick just 2 races from Sutil and compare.
Never the less, I want to see Kobayashi racing next year and rate him better
Becken
25th November 2009, 19:04
I would place Koba much better too. I think some are forgetting the main point about his performances: he was a rookie that jumped in the car with almost ZERO experience, but was confident enough to deliver a good result plus — and most important — an exciting and brave driving.
This is what captured the fans imagination on this two races and why I´d put him more higher…
Stubie
25th November 2009, 22:35
I have to agree on a higher ranking for Kobash. After two races he seems to have outshone his partner (Trulli) and performed exceptionally well in my humble estimation in some key moments…
1. passing Button in Abba Doobie, even if we discount the fact that he was lighter by about 1 1/2 seconds a lap was still pretty impressive given how green he is. Faster cars, driven by drivers with experience, have not always gone as well and has shown us that passing is a much underrated skill. (Vettel/Kubica in Australia, Buemi/Kubica in Abba Doobie etc)
2. holding Button behind for several laps at Interlagos (despite all the whinging about “moving around in the braking zone”) still showed nerves of steel, and he did this fairly cleanly, maintaining his laptimes, while under pressure from faster cars.
I would like to see him higher.
xenon
25th November 2009, 13:11
ned flanders and steph are absolutely 100percent right
Ned Flanders
25th November 2009, 13:25
Thanks Xenon. I’m not always that generous!
Kav
25th November 2009, 14:12
I think it’s slightly unfair for Bourdais to be rated below Nakajima. I was a big fan of Nakajima last year, but he failed miserably this year. At least Bourdais scored 2 points. Apart from that I think the list is reasonable, Liuzzi did a better job than Sutil, he was on course to beating him in Monza I think, despite the testing ban. Sutil was one of the worst drivers this year, I think Force India could have been pretty close to Renault in the constructors table or even could have beaten them. Sutil was knocked out in Q2 at Spa when Fisichella scored a pole and a 2nd place and had the pace to win, Sutil didn’t even score one single point that race. He also missed out on a podium in Monza because of his pitstop, collided with Raikkonen in the Nurburgring, crashed out of a 6th place in China etc. He should have atleast scored more points than Fisichella when he was struggling in the Ferrari :\
Pride
25th November 2009, 14:37
UNDERATED BOURDAIS AND KOBAYASHI
A BIT OVERATED LIUZZI
AT LEAST HE GAINED TWO POINTS
NAKAJIMA IS THE WORST
TommyB
25th November 2009, 14:51
Spot on. Fair assessment of the STR guys too. I think Jaime did well for the situation he was in. Everyone expected him to be dangerous and miles off the pace and in his first race he didn’t make a single mistake and beat Buemi. Buemi has also shone in the last 2 races of this year. Hope they’ll both come back strong in 2010 :)
steph
25th November 2009, 16:40
Me too. I feel good about the situation STR are in and I like their line up. It is lacking in experience but I think the talent is there and that is what matters
sumedh
25th November 2009, 17:47
I agree. Very fair assessment of the drivers.
Keith, I like your explanation for keeping Kobayashi at a lower rank since he did only 2 races. And Also agree that Liuzzi is ranked higher than Sutil inspite of the lesser number of racers.
However, 15-1 should be a tougher assessment.
Mahir C
25th November 2009, 15:02
while everyone is blaming no testing rules for the failures of some rookies, how come Kobayashi and Liuzzi were on the pace immediately?
This no testing thing seems to be a convenient driver excuse.
Luigismen
25th November 2009, 15:29
They both had previous tests with this year cars, they were their reserve drivers
Adrian
25th November 2009, 15:32
Both of them had already tested in the car pre-season though.
TommyB
25th November 2009, 15:34
Jaime jumped straight into an F1 car without testing one. Koby and Liuzzi had pre season testing as they were the reserve drivers.
Mahir C
25th November 2009, 23:24
How many days did they test? Roman Grosjean have been racing since the second half, certainly he had more time in the car than Kobayashi had upto Brazil. Yet Kobayashi was right on the pace, Grosjean still sucked all the way.
Bigbadderboom
25th November 2009, 15:08
Really difficult for Rookies to hit the ground at any pace this year, the lack of testing combined with the teams own struggles in optimising car set-up(even for those experienced)under the new aero regs really gave them a handicap.
I agree with Keith on the rankings so far, the experienced Bourdais and Nakajima definatley the most disapointing, it’s difficult to grade the rookies, Kobayashi shows some speed and Alguerusari showed glimmers of talent. But it seems to take F1 drivers longer to acclimatise to the top formula these days, but I still hold hope for Sutil to make an impact.
sw6569
25th November 2009, 15:13
i love the quotation by icthyes :)
Personally i’d put Bourdais above Nakajima but otherwise I think the lineup so far is looking good! I was perhaps harsh with my statement about Alg (as posted by keith w00t!) but I think he came to F1 too early and was fairly insignificant in the races he competed in
Icthyes
25th November 2009, 21:23
Haha, cheers!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th November 2009, 23:37
Yeah I had to laugh at that one :-)
Wesley
26th November 2009, 0:01
Absolutely….Icthyes,very clever qoute!I laughed as hard as I did the first time I read it on the original post.
I agree with Keith….you can’t even rate Piquet Jr.I believe Satan sent him here to destroy all that is sacred in auto racing.Badoer has to be the worst though.It had to be one of Ferrari’s most embarassing moments.
Kevin
25th November 2009, 15:13
Just in relation NPJ, i have been thinking recently about the outrage over him crashing deliberately and the scandal it has brought on the sport. I then thought about other drivers who have crashed on purpose in order to gain advantage, Schumacher Adeleide 1994, Jerez 1997. Prost/Senna. All of the greats have done it. Don’t get me wrong i am not condoning any of thier actions especially not NPJ’s. I think he is one of the biggest cry babies there has been but i do think that people should think about the term deliberately causing an accident. What do you think makes NPJ’s so much worse than any other?? Opinions???
Luigismen
25th November 2009, 15:32
You compared him with race winners… He hasn’t or didn’t prove anything, he’s not a great one, or doesn’t look like one
David
25th November 2009, 16:30
Kevin,
no one else has ever crashed a wall himself, just to stop the race and let the team mate win a race.
Schumi, Senna and Prost caused a crash while they were fighting for the title. It looks to make a lot of difference…
ILoveVettel
25th November 2009, 15:36
I quite agree with the ranking. Only change Iwould like to make is swapping the positions of Sutil and Liuzzi. Sutil’s driving may be error prone but he has a 4th place finish to show for himself.
theRoswellite
25th November 2009, 15:52
The list seems very reasonable. Just a comment about the judging of “new” drivers to lower grid teams…
Some of these teams seem to have a very difficult time adjusting their cars to the changing circuits (Practice…testing?), and with a second “untested” driver the whole process may be too challenging given the limited time and resources. Thus, any kind of “baseline” for judgment seems problematic. (Just a comment, not a criticism.)
Also, when you see a reversal-of-fortunes, such as Fisi experienced, when going from a back-marker to a front runner…and yet being unable to perform….at all! One must wonder about the standard accepted judgments we all make.
How would Sutil perform in a McLaren…how would Lewis do in the second Torro Rosso (well I’d guess)?
It makes me want to cut these guys all a little slack…accepting one NPJr of course.
Robert McKay
25th November 2009, 16:30
I don’t think Liuzzi should be ahead of Sutil. But other than that I think everything else is justified.
Piquet we’ll just mentally exclude from the record books, and Badoer, Grosjean, Alguersuari and Liuzzi were all short term replacements so there are mitigating circumstances even in their own performances. Really Nakajima is the seasons big disappointment for me.
When you consider the sheer consistency of Rosberg’s scoring over the year, for Williams to be beaten by BMW is criminal, really, even allowing for their late season drive to respectability. A big fat “nul points”, as they say on Eurovision, is a waste of a decent car.
S Hughes
25th November 2009, 16:44
Totally disagree with you about Piquet Jr. He wasn’t the power in that situation. Flavio was much more to blame and Symonds. I hope he gets another drive.
Badoer was no worse than Fisichella.
I think your rankings are just based on what points the drivers have got not what they did with the cars and what circumstances they were driving under i.e. no testing, being complete rookies with no testing. At this rate, you will have, predictably, Button as no. 1, Vettel as no. 2, etcetera etcetera. How can you have all the rookies at the bottom – I think this is a bad ranking example.
steph
25th November 2009, 17:00
Remind me again who had the steering wheel?
:PS Hughes
25th November 2009, 17:42
You know what I mean :)
Patrickl
25th November 2009, 20:34
Two of the people involved say Piquet suggested the idea himself. It’s their word against Piquet’s.
Apart from theh fact that Piquet is outnumbered, it just makes tons more sense that Piquet was desperate to keep his seat.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th November 2009, 23:36
He was driving the car, he had a choice. I’m certainly not saying Briatore and Symonds were blameless, but nor was Piquet.
Tod Fod
25th November 2009, 16:54
I really dont think this is a good ranking system. For example, I cannot believe that Kovalainen isnt in the bottom few performers, and instead, you have Buemi and Sutil, who have been really impressive whenever their car was competitive. It is hard to rank drivers without taking their cars into context, so I honestly think your ranking is highly flawed
S Hughes
25th November 2009, 16:59
Totally agree. 100% a-mondo!
Robert McKay
25th November 2009, 17:08
Welcome to the world of subjective opinions!
S Hughes
25th November 2009, 17:41
I don’t even think you could call it subjective actually.
Becken
25th November 2009, 19:06
Keith is always conservative on his ranks…
Sush Meerkat
25th November 2009, 20:11
I think its called an opinion.
Becken
25th November 2009, 20:59
And…?
John H
26th November 2009, 1:04
Tod Fod is a good name.
Simon Hull
25th November 2009, 17:05
For Sutil to be ranked behind Liuzzi is slightly unfair. Sutil seems to be very underrated. People say he crashes too much, but that shows signs of aggression. Also, most of the crashes he was in weren’t his fault. Even Hamilton was struggling in Shanghai, Raikkonen rammed him at the Nurburgring and Trulli speared into him in Interlagos. Get off his back people and recognise what a great job he has done this year in getting a Force India into the points. More of the same next year please.
Patrickl
25th November 2009, 20:38
Sutil by his own accoutn said that he was pushing in Shanghai. That’s just plain dumb and asking exactly for the accident that he ultimately had (pushing on worn wet weather tyres = crash).
Sutil rammed Raikkonen at the Nurburgring. On purpose. Again, he admitted this himself. Well, he admitted that he “blocked” Raikkonen, but he tried to “block” him right off the track.
I guess Brazil was a driver error, but still. Sutil wasn’t paying attention, he messed up an overtake on Raikkonen, then missed a gear shift and lost even more time. Of course a car is going to show up right beside you after all that.
slr
25th November 2009, 18:00
Keith, Sutil and Heidfeld collided at Singapore not Shanghai, unless I have a bad memory.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th November 2009, 23:38
Indeed so – have fixed it.
IDR
25th November 2009, 18:29
Bravo!!!! Thanks Keith, I could say that loudly but not clearly.
Leaf
25th November 2009, 18:34
NP jr. was the worst cause he’s a cheat. Luca Badoer was probably the worst driver. He’s getting older and been away from it too long. The best? Over the course of the entire season it had to be Lewis Hamilton. He made the best of a bad car in the beginning of the season. (Judge him against his team mate in equal equipment. Kovi wasn’t in the same zip code.) In the later part of the year, when the car got really developed Hamilton really put the hammer down. If the car would have ben good from the outset, he would have won a 2nd WC. Lets wait till tomorrow to see what Keith thinks!
John H
26th November 2009, 1:05
Hamilton’s drive at Bahrain was one of the best of the year IMHO.
Sush Meerkat
25th November 2009, 20:09
A bit more exposure for Bernt Maylander would be nice, no one ever rights about him, the guy is a brilliant driver.
Remember him getting out of Speeds out of control STR at the Nurbumring.
Sush Meerkat
25th November 2009, 20:10
“write”, not rights, man I’m an idiot.
John H
25th November 2009, 20:13
Nakajima was worse than Bourdais. Otherwise, spot on I think.
Terry Fabulous
25th November 2009, 21:12
I’m amazed that Heikki Kovaleinen (Love isn’t always on time!) isn’t ranked down here.
He had a seat in one the main teams on the gird and was just terrible. I would rank Sutil, Liuzzi, Buemi and Kobayashi all above him.
The Ram
25th November 2009, 21:54
Sutil should be rated much higher! He was one of the best to watch and he had a very noticeable presence.
Pedel to the Vettel
25th November 2009, 22:52
Good list keith i would have it slightly different but its you choice not mine. cant wait for your next picks tommorow.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th November 2009, 23:02
Hmm quite a bit of positive feedback here but I suspect it’s all going to go pear-shaped once we get to the business end of the list!
wasiF1
26th November 2009, 1:32
So far so good.I expected Kobayashi a bit further forward than where he is.& Nelson don’t even deserve to be on that list,why you put him there?
damon smedley
26th November 2009, 6:36
chuck norris could kick kobayashis ass and so could I
Damon
26th November 2009, 8:53
Why did you put Nakajima before Bourdais?!
Nakajima didn’t score a point during the whole year, whilst Bourdais scored points twice in only half of the season – in argubly the worst car in the field, whereas Nakajima drove the Williams, on which Rosberg was able to score 34.5pts this year.
SAM HINSON
10th December 2009, 23:13
WELL SAID I AGREE
Pink Peril
26th November 2009, 9:15
It’s hard to rank the drivers, when as you say some only had the benefit of a couple of races, others had a whole season. Just for the fact that he raced every race in a reasonable car and scored a big fat zero points, I’d have to say Kazoo is ranked last on my list. Except for Jnr of course, he bears the dubious honour of the driver so lowly ranked he is in the negatives !
Journeyer
27th November 2009, 0:28
What’s Liuzzi doing ahead of Sutil? I don’t remember Liuzzi scoring a single point all season. Buemi is a bit too high for me too. I’d rank it as such:
16. Sutil
17. Kobayashi
18. Buemi
19. Liuzzi
wasiF1
27th November 2009, 1:53
My top 5
1.Button.
2.Vettel.
3.Webber
4.Barrichello.
5.Hamilton.
Rob Wilson
28th November 2009, 0:08
whats Kobayashi duin there! My top 5 would be
Hamilton
Kobayashi
Rosberg
Vettel
Barrichello
LOL! :)
SAM HINSON
10th December 2009, 23:09
IS THIS THE ROBERT WILSON I KNOW FROM STOCKPORT IF SO I KNOW WHY JENSON BUTTON ISNT ON THE LIST DESPITE BEING THE WORLDS GREATEST RACING DRIVER OF 2009 I CAN ONLY AGREE THAT KOBAYASHI IS A GREAT DRIVER AND BEATS NAKAJIMA HANDS DOWN