Fernando Alonso was my pick of the best drivers of 2012.
But now it’s time for find out who F1 Fanatic readers’ driver of the year was. Review the rankings in full, cast your vote for the best driver of 2012 below, and tell us who you picked in the comments.
F1 Fanatic 2012 Driver Rankings
23. Pedro de la Rosa
22. Bruno Senna
21. Jean-Eric Vergne
20. Daniel Ricciardo
19. Vitaly Petrov
18. Charles Pic
17. Timo Glock
16. Pastor Maldonado
15. Heikki Kovalainen
14. Felipe Massa
13. Romain Grosjean
11. Kamui Kobayashi
10. Paul di Resta
9. Sergio Perez
8. Nico Rosberg
7. Jenson Button
6. Mark Webber
5. Nico Hulkenberg
4. Kimi Raikkonen
3. Sebastian Vettel
2. Lewis Hamilton
1. Fernando Alonso
Read the rankings in full here:
- 2012 F1 Driver Rankings part one: 24-15
- 2012 F1 Driver Rankings part two: 14-6
- 2012 F1 driver rankings #5: Nico Hulkenberg
- 2012 F1 driver rankings #4: Kimi Raikkonen
- 2012 F1 driver rankings #3: Sebastian Vettel
- 2012 F1 driver rankings #2: Lewis Hamilton
- 2012 F1 driver rankings #1: Fernando Alonso
Cast your vote for Driver of the Year below. The results will be announced later on in the 2012 season review.
Who was the best driver of 2012?
- Jerome d'Ambrosio (0%)
- Charles Pic (0%)
- Timo Glock (0%)
- Pedro de la Rosa (0%)
- Narain Karthikeyan (0%)
- Vitaly Petrov (1%)
- Heikki Kovalainen (0%)
- Bruno Senna (0%)
- Pastor Maldonado (0%)
- Jean-Eric Vergne (0%)
- Daniel Ricciardo (0%)
- Sergio Perez (0%)
- Kamui Kobayashi (0%)
- Nico Hulkenberg (0%)
- Paul di Resta (0%)
- Romain Grosjean (0%)
- Kimi Raikkonen (11%)
- Nico Rosberg (0%)
- Michael Schumacher (1%)
- Felipe Massa (0%)
- Fernando Alonso (50%)
- Jenson Button (0%)
- Lewis Hamilton (21%)
- Mark Webber (0%)
- Sebastian Vettel (13%)
Total Voters: 709
An F1 Fanatic account is required in order to vote. If you do not have one, register an account here or read more about registering here.
Pass of the Year and Overtaker of the Year
The polls for Pass of the Year and Overtaker of the Year are still open so be sure to vote here as well:
2012 F1 season review
- The complete F1 Fanatic 2012 season review
- What F1 Fanatics thought of 2012: The year in polls
- The drivers and cars of 2012
- F1 Fanatic’s 50 article highlights of 2012
- 11 different Driver of the Weekend winners in 2012
Browse all 2012 F1 season review articles
TommyB (@tommyb89)
14th December 2012, 12:28
No doubt Kimi Raikkonen will win because it’s a fan vote, but if you didn’t vote for Alonso you must have been watching the season with a binbag on your head.
Hotbottoms (@hotbottoms)
14th December 2012, 14:28
Kimi Raikkonen (15%)
No doubt indeed.
Stagger (@stagger)
14th December 2012, 15:19
Im a Kimi fan many years, still voted for Alonso because he was simply the best this year.
Fixy (@)
14th December 2012, 15:27
I actually voted for Hamilton, @tommyb89, for the reasons I wrote in the forum and which @KeithCollantine included in Hamilton’s article and those he himself gave in it. Alonso would have won had he always performed as in the first 4 races with that car, but the F2012 was the fastest car at times and Alonso was certainly not faultless. Hamilton, on the other hand, was closer to perfection in my opinion, and the fact he would’ve won the title were it not for the mechanical failures indicates that, although he often had the fastest car, he was very often the best driver.
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
14th December 2012, 17:25
I second that. Lewis was the best driver on the grid in 2012. Unfortunately, the car didn’t had the reliability of a Ferrari. If it had, Lewis would have wrapped up the title even before Brazil.
bananarama (@bananarama)
14th December 2012, 18:43
And had the Ferrari been as fast as the McLaren at all times, he would have picked up more points as well. Maybe. Maybe not. As in all things, we cannot be sure. Maybe Hamilton was a bit better, maybe Alonso was, but clearly both had outstanding seasons. I’ll go with Alonso though (unsurprisingly).
Frost_Byte_94 (@frost_byte_94)
14th December 2012, 19:20
The F2012 was never the fastest car under regular conditions at any point in the season. Alonso held off attackers for each of his wins and benefitted from Vettel’s retirement in Valencia. The only time the F2012 was fastest was in the wet qualifying sessions, both of which Alonso scored pole. One could maybe argue that it was also fastest during qualifying at Monza, but then, of course, he was affected by a mechanical error.
infy (@infy)
16th December 2012, 22:54
Well apparently setting one fast lap in an entire race means it was fast…
@HoHum (@hohum)
14th December 2012, 17:51
I tend to agree with the Alonso choice, however I made no vote because I think it is too difficult to rate the performance of those drivers in the lesser teams, to illustrate; is Maldonado potentially the fastest driver stuck in a midfield car or is the Williams potentially the fastest car stuck with a pair of midfield drivers? How would the STR drivers have done driving RBRs or McLs?
Jason (@jason12)
14th December 2012, 20:26
@tommyb89
Massa consistently beat Alonso at the end of the season…
Lewis once again outperformed Alonso with his racing.
HoolyF1 (@hoolyf1)
15th December 2012, 23:29
@jason12 but one driver beating his team mate at some stage throughout the season is a common occurrence throughout the field. Vet is a better driver than Web, but Web beat him clearly at Monaco. It just so happened that it was Massa’s turn to do so at the final couple of races
infy (@infy)
16th December 2012, 22:56
@tommyb89 You seem to struggle to look at the bigger picture (all 20 races, not just the last 3).
matt90 (@matt90)
15th December 2012, 13:31
I actually voted for Alonso, but disagree with your opinion- I could have just as easily have voted for Vettel, and particularly Hamilton.
Cyclops_PL (@cyclops_pl)
15th December 2012, 14:34
I love Kimi as a character yet you can’t look beyond Alonso in this one.
firstLapNutcaseGrosjean (@)
15th December 2012, 16:49
@tommyb89 I didn’t vote for Alonso, because he lost the championship by his fault, when he “kamikazed” into Raikkonen in Japan. He couldn’t resist, could he?
Shreyas Mohanty (@)
3rd March 2013, 5:22
That is true.
Nirupam (@nirupam)
14th December 2012, 12:29
Has to be Alonso, should not be any prize for guessing that. Ferrari being off the pace by such a margin for the first four races, being outdeveloped by Redbull, Maclaren and in few cases Lotus, it had to be some luck along with pure driving prowess for someone to remain in touch with WDC chance. Alonso just showed that this year.
The team principals who voted him the driver of the year as well, must be having the same logic I guess :)
Carlitox (@carlitox)
15th December 2012, 18:48
I’m no Alonso fan, ever since the Spygate he lost most of my respect, but this year he regained it. Battling with that disastrous Ferrari was heroic, and his win in Valencia was very emotional. To be fair, he deserves much more. If he starts 2013 with all his power, Seb can say farewell.
Deb Luhi (@debeluhi)
18th December 2012, 2:07
Has to be Alonso. He’s a Ferrari driver and Ferrari is the oldest and most successful team and as such has the most fans to vote for their drivers. Combined with the Alonso constant complaints about how bad his car was, which made everyone believe it was true, there can’t be any other result possible.
victor (@genevene)
14th December 2012, 12:40
out of two year, in new team, new cars that wasnt build around him unlike the others, new tyres, imperfect steering setup, slow pit stops, bad strategies, car fallen off development since summer break, in the end, finished 3rd in wdc.
Agree Alonso should be P1, wouldn;t mind put Kimi on P2 !!
GeeMac (@geemac)
14th December 2012, 12:42
Has to be Alonso. He was miles better than everyone out there. The classiest act in a classy field.
melkurion (@melkurion)
14th December 2012, 19:02
the best driver in 2012? absolutely
i’m not sure alonso and class belong in the same sentence though…ever
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
14th December 2012, 23:38
Yes @melkurion he sure knows how to lift his teams’ spirit! At least he has become more gracious in defeat…
melkurion (@melkurion)
14th December 2012, 23:59
@vettel1 Indeed, I think his grace in losing is fast approaching his already legendary level of graciousness and not to forget modesty when winning :P
GeeMac (@geemac)
16th December 2012, 6:11
Well he still gets a bit tiresome with his rants about “achieving the maximum” and his samurai quotes, but there is no denying his class in the cockpit…which is all that matters at the end of the day.
Many great champions have been, to say sore losers isn’t quite right, bad losers. It is part of what drives them on I think.
safeeuropeanhome (@debaser91)
14th December 2012, 12:58
Well I voted Hamilton. As I’ve said elsewhere Alonso was incredible for the first 12 or 13 races, yet when the heat was really on Massa was the quicker Ferrari driver.
Kim Philby (@philby)
14th December 2012, 13:44
@debaser91
It wasn’t 7-8 races, merely 2 qualifying sessions and 3 races and as I said elsewhere Massa always excels in CCW circuits and he outperformed Alonso exactly there. Do you think it is coincidence?
Aditya Banerjee (@chicanef1)
14th December 2012, 16:45
@philby What is the full form of CCW?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
14th December 2012, 16:45
@philby CCW?
safeeuropeanhome (@debaser91)
14th December 2012, 17:09
@keithcollantine Counter clockwise circuit I imagine, what we English would call anticlockwise. I didn’t say Alonso was outpaced by Massa in the last 7-8 races if you see what I wrote, just that when it really mattered in the last few races when Vettel was ahead and Alonso needed to really step up Massa got more out of the car. I do think Alonso’s performances did dip toward the end of the year, there was his error in Japan where he squeezed Raikkonen and some scrappy performances particularly in qualifying. I don’t blame him for that though, it must be incredibly difficult to sustain such an intensity for an entire season particularly when you don’t have the best car and I am not denying he had a fantastic season, I just think Hamilton performed even better.
Kim Philby (@philby)
14th December 2012, 19:26
@keithcollantine, Yes it stands for counter clockwise, I am not british my cover is blown!
About Alonso’s downfall in the last 2 races I don’t understand when people say that he ought to have done more, in US the only thing he could do was to come 3rd there was not a single chance of beating the others, a great start was needed to justify Ferrari’s move and he delivered. In Brazil he played it safe but what else he could do? I agree it was much less spectacular than his Malaysia or Valencia heroics but I defy anyone to come up with a viable alternative course of action for Alonso in those last 2 races.
infy (@infy)
16th December 2012, 23:00
All races offer the same amount of points @debaser91 .
The final races counted for as much as any other races in the year. The order in which you rack up the points really counts for nothing.
Joey-Poey (@joey-poey)
14th December 2012, 13:52
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not an Alonso fan. But as much as I dislike him, I have a lot of respect for his ability. Even I can’t deny he drove far and above everyone else both in quality and consistency this year.
Switchbacker (@switchbacker)
14th December 2012, 14:31
When was Hamilton lacking quality and consistency?
Switchbacker (@switchbacker)
14th December 2012, 14:32
When he stuck with and passed the reigning triple world champion in a slower car?
Mads (@mads)
15th December 2012, 11:39
@switchbacker
Assuming you mean Austin, how do you know that the McLaren was the slower car that weekend? It could just as well have been that Vettel got more out of his car, as it could be the other way around. The margins between the two were so tiny that weekend. I think its impossible to safely assume that one car had the edge over the other.
Switchbacker (@switchbacker)
15th December 2012, 12:35
Just running in turbulent air for so long, makes a lot of difference.
In any case the cars were similar, yet Vettel failed to defend his position.
Todfod (@todfod)
15th December 2012, 14:04
@switchbacker at the beginning of the season.. when he could put the car on pole but couldnt convert them to victories.
Could also mention that when Alonso’s car wasn’t at its best he still put in some legendary performances… but Lewis didn’t do it with the same conviction in Monaco, Valencia and Bahrain
Switchbacker (@switchbacker)
15th December 2012, 14:36
Alonso lost points through driver error, Hamilton lost those victories to operational errors.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
14th December 2012, 23:40
@joey-poey – you mirror my standpoint exactly! Are you sure we aren’t the same person?
Jorge Lardone (@jorgelardone)
14th December 2012, 14:19
Vettel of course. With a car that was not the best managed to win his third championship in a row. His recovery in Brazil with a damaged car after being last in the first lap is a sign of his extraordinary ability.
Frankly I can not understand why there are Formula 1 fans who vote to a driver (Alonso) who conspired with his team principal to dangerously make crashing against the wall to his teammate (Piquet) to win a race. (Singapore 2008).
DaveF1 (@davef1)
14th December 2012, 14:23
Maybe because we are voting on who was the best driver in 2012 and not 2008.
Mike (@mike)
16th December 2012, 0:04
So controversy discounts people?
What about Vettel taking the front wing from Webber’s car?
That’s pretty dodgy…
Ok, so not even going to think about Hamilton, Raikkonen’s had his controversies, so he can’t be it,
I suppose then you’d say Hulk or Perez would be the best guys this year? Because we can’t think of voting for anyone who’s done things wrong.
infy (@infy)
16th December 2012, 23:04
@jorgelardone he never conspired lol. You are crazy and delusional. An entire investigation into the matter discovered Alonso was innocent.
Hows the tinfoil hat treating you?
davidnotcoulthard
22nd December 2012, 8:39
@jorgelardone
I’m not sure that you were right about Singapore ’08
@mikeI also doubt that there were any conspiracies at the first Silverstone race on it’s “new” Track.
davidnotcoulthard
22nd December 2012, 8:41
@jorgelardone
I’m not sure that you were right about Singapore ’08
@mike I also doubt that there were any conspiracies at the first Silverstone race on it’s “new” Track.
If only F!F’s got an “edit” button.
davidnotcoulthard
22nd December 2012, 8:41
*F1F.
M Dickens (@sgt-pepper)
19th February 2013, 19:47
(@jorgelardone)
Vettel of course. With a car that was not the best managed to win his third championship in a row. His recovery in Brazil with a damaged car after being last in the first lap is a sign of his extraordinary ability.
Hotbottoms (@hotbottoms)
14th December 2012, 14:20
I voted Alonso, but I disagree with some of the comments above that say “Alonso was miles ahead everyone else” or that “if someone didn’t vote Alonso he was watching the season with a binbag on their head”. Apparently Alonso’s I-always-take-the-maximum-out-of-my-car-even-though-it’s-a-lawnmower-and-I-never-make-mistakes-don’t-you-dare-to-claim-Suzuka-was-my-fault PR strategy is working.
I think the top four was very, very close this year and any of them could be regarded as the driver of the year. In my books Alonso was a little better than Hamilton, Räikkönen and Vettel, but I can fully understand if someone feels differently.
@HoHum (@hohum)
14th December 2012, 17:54
+1
Sri Harsha (@harsha)
15th December 2012, 3:46
To Be simple Alonso ahead on Lewis and Vettel by Experience and on Kimi by Better Strategies. (Lotus failed in making right strategies for most of the Season)
kimrogue (@kimrogue)
15th December 2012, 6:56
+1
Joey Zyla (@)
15th December 2012, 7:02
-1
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
15th December 2012, 12:42
@hotbottoms I love the PR name you give there and if it fools some people it bores others and I fall in the second category. I’m quite amazed to see how well this has worked for him when reading people comments, hope Alonso doesn’t go the same way next year …
From the top 3 driver, he is probably the only one which hasn’t progress in his attitude. I don’t particulary likes Vettel, but he is somehow less arrogant than in previous year and more “in his place”. Lewis has also been more mature this year … but Alonso has fallen back in childhood.
Totally agree on the fact he drove superbly this year but not by miles, and would have been even more appreciated without all the praising he putt around this year.
infy (@infy)
16th December 2012, 23:07
Truth is that no one knows how close (or over) the limit Alonso really was. To claim it is a PR stunt means that you think it is a lie. That is your opinion I guess, but dont fault people who chose to take the paddocks word on it.
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
20th December 2012, 16:58
@hotbottoms This guy speaks the truth.
Nirupam (@nirupam)
14th December 2012, 14:21
I did not know Romain Grosjean follows F1F!! :P
Switchbacker (@switchbacker)
14th December 2012, 14:35
He’d get Mr Ecclestone’s vote, this is show business remember ;)
Brace (@brace)
14th December 2012, 17:32
I bet that was Horner giving something back for Spa. :)
Joey Zyla (@)
15th December 2012, 7:04
He’s a good driver. Not the best, in my opinion, but I can definitely understand why some would think that. He’s very, very talented, and when he hits his prime, he could be near the top every race.
Switchbacker (@switchbacker)
14th December 2012, 14:29
Wow, Hamilton is not a popular chap, 15% !?!
If he was surly on camera and didn’t wear ear rings he’d probably do much better.
Alonso has some great PR people, out raced by Massa (few months ago debate was whether Massa should be retained, even talking about the end of his career) during teh season finale and still proclaimed as best driver.
Sviatoslav Andrushko (@)
14th December 2012, 20:19
Ham was outpaced by his teammate several times in 2012 too. So what? And I believe we shouldn’t talk only about row race pace. As a racer Alonso is more complete when Ham usually makes mistakes in strategy and adjusting his car.
Switchbacker (@switchbacker)
15th December 2012, 12:44
I think the concensus is that Hamilton totally out performed Button this season, who was clearly a far tougher prospect than Massa in 1st half.
Hamilton is an outstanding qualifier.
You realise the McLaren strategists make strategy calls right?
What racing errors did Hamilton make? Alonso made at least a couple.
What are the set up errors Ham made, I’m genuinely curious?
Mike (@mike)
16th December 2012, 0:32
@switchbacker
Not always, Button often makes the calls regarding say, the weather, and he tends to get it right. Look at Brazil for example.
Slow start off the line in Melbourne probably cost him the win.
In Belgium his side of the Garage went with the wrong set up, Button’s set up was by far the way to go.
I think Hamilton did an amazing job, but don’t pretend he is perfect and criticize others for not being so, no driver will ever be perfect.
infy (@infy)
16th December 2012, 23:08
@switchbacker the other drivers were beaten by their team mates more than Alonso was…
davidnotcoulthard
22nd December 2012, 8:48
Colossal Squid (@colossal-squid)
14th December 2012, 14:51
Alonso is as clearly the best driver this year as Vettel was last year.
slicecom (@slicecom)
14th December 2012, 15:01
Hamilton and Alonso are tied in my opinion, but I voted for Hamilton because it’s obvious the vast majority will vote for Alonso even though Hamilton drove just as well this season.
Hallard (@hallard)
15th December 2012, 0:09
Gotta agree! Alonso and Hamilton were pretty equal in my eyes, but I voted Hamilton out of pity for his extensive misfortunes rather than a means of evening out the scoring here :-)
xivizmath (@xivizmath)
14th December 2012, 15:48
Gotta be Charles Pic – he has shown some immense speed throughout the whole season, I mean, I surely cannot run faster than he was going, even during practice sessions!
George (@george)
14th December 2012, 16:13
I have to take the boring choice I’m afraid.
AlonsoMcLaren (@alonsomclaren)
14th December 2012, 17:07
i voted for jerome dambrosio who is 5th in the vote
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
14th December 2012, 17:14
Top three are definitely Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton. Which order though is up for debate: I voted Alonso top and personally I put Vettel ahead but it is very close between those three.
Dimitris 1395 (@dimitris-1395)
14th December 2012, 17:52
Alonso drived beautifully but given what Hamilton could have achieved without the mishaps he suffered the whole year, I can’t not vote him as the best driver.
Becca (@)
14th December 2012, 18:02
I think most people will agree (setting myself up for an argument there…) that the top four in no particular order this year were Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen. I’d argue the first three are slightly ahead of Raikkonen, but even then I put most of that down to first-season-back rustiness. After that, the differences become so paper-thin that personal bias is the only deciding factor, in my opinion.
JerseyF1 (@jerseyf1)
15th December 2012, 12:37
Sorry @beshoreblue, no real argument from me. I would say Raikkonen is so close to that group that he might almost make it a group of four, he tends to be forgotten about because there was much less fuss and hype around him. If he had made the pass in Bahrain and had two wins to his name I would have been tempted to rank him number 1.
In the end I voted Vettel not because I thought he was better than Alonso and Hamilton but because he was ‘as good as’ them and tends to be portrayed as a poor driver just because he has a good car. I’ll admit that I prefer Hamilton and Vettel to Alonso because of my own personal bias so I guess in such a tight three way decision that ends up counting against him.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
15th December 2012, 12:50
@beshoreblue can’t argue with that. And the rustiness and great quali from Grosjean is probably pushing Raikonnen towards the 4th spot, still great drive from him this year.
For the top 3 guys, they have each something for them and depending on how everyone of us define “the best driver” and indeed our à priori on each driver, we will pop out with different picks … that shows how closely match they have been (even if not totally reflected on the points for Hamilton case anyway).
We can just hope to have 4 guys in top form again next year, and in 4 different teams which could content for victories (that remains to be seen)
Colm (@colm)
14th December 2012, 18:40
I dont understand all this hype surrounding Alonso in 2012, in my opinion he only had a few fantastic races but his performances dropped towards the end of the season and was even beaten by Massa and he gained massively from luck. His starts were flawless but that is all I can remember of alonsos racing in 2012. In his three wins he only truly deserved one of them, Germany, in Valencia he benefited from Vettels DNF and the safety car and in Malaysia the weather played into his hands and he was almost beaten by an inexperienced Perez in a Sauber
Brace (@brace)
14th December 2012, 20:59
By that logic Vettel doesn’t deserve the title because he only got lucky that Ferrari built a slower car. That’s luck right? I mean, it can’t be that Vettel was the best of the remaining 22 or 23 drivers? As soon as Alonso’s Ferrari was slower then the Red Bull, Vettel didn’t have to move a finger, he sat in the back of the garage and became a champion.
And same could be said about Alonso. He did nothing in Valencia, and simply won because Vettel’s car gave up the ghost. I could swear I saw Alonso enjoying in one of those roof-top pools with the girls until he saw Vettel’s car slowing down. He immediately ran down to the garage, jumped in his Ferrari and joined the race. He joined on the leading lap of course, not some 40 laps down, and he joined in front of everybody else. Of course, there’s no rule to forbid this, so Alonso was pretty much chilling in the shade, talking to Nicole how Hammy is better then Vettel and occasionally jumped into his car when he saw Vettel retiring from the lead.
I mean, I really don’t get all this hype. Alonso was invisible for the whole year and was comfortably beaten by Massa in half of the races. By the way, did you know that 20/2 = 2? I lived my whole life thinking that 20/2 = 10!
What was I thinking…
And by the way, did you know that Ferrari doesn’t really want to win. No, they intentionally don’t want to win anything and they are supporting Alonso because Luca adores his eyebrows. They could stand a better chance of winning if they throw all their support behind Massa, because nothing says domination like being the last driver of all the established teams (not counting last 3 teams) to score a point this season. Yup, that’s right, last! He only scored in Bahrain and then followed that up with a brilliant last (in front of just caterham, marussia and hrt), one lap down, while his worthless teammate fought for the victory.
I’m telling you, it’s obvious Ferrari shot themselves in the foot by backing Alonso instead of Massa.
If it wasn’t for Massa working his miracles, I bet the whole top management in Ferrari would lose their jobs.
thorpedo (@thorpedo)
15th December 2012, 9:44
You were probably watching only starts?! Are you saying that Vettel never benefited from Alonso’s retirements? I suggest you to watch Belgian and Japanese GP.
Colm (@colm)
15th December 2012, 11:41
@thorpedo no but alonso benefited from vettel more tham vettel did from alonso
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
15th December 2012, 17:25
@thorpedo – Vettel didn’t directly benefit form Alonso’s crash in Suzuka as he was ahead anyway but regardless of that I think it was equally (if not more so) Alonso’s fault as Räikkönen’s.
thorpedo (@thorpedo)
15th December 2012, 9:45
BTW, my post was reply to @Colm
DK (@dk)
14th December 2012, 19:44
Voted for Alonso.
Why not give everyone 3 votes? I think it would close up the field a bit.
And Raikkonen would win :)
Jason (@jason12)
14th December 2012, 20:40
After 2012, I’m now even more confident that (in the same car) Lewis would beat Alonso again..
Both in qualifying and the race.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
14th December 2012, 22:39
Perhaps I should’ve voted Vettel to contribute to him beating Räikkönen! Seriously though, Räikkönen the best? He was good, but the best? That title belongs to either Hamilton, Alonso or Vettel (and just for reference I voted for Alonso).
M Dickens (@sgt-pepper)
19th February 2013, 19:49
(@vettel1)
1. Alonso
2. Hamilton
3. Raikkonnen
…
Then maybe Vettel.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
19th February 2013, 21:06
@sgt-pepper – you are rather late in replying, but nonetheless I shall take up the argument. Vettel is the world champion, which immediately gives him one over the rest. Then we go into the details: Räikkönen won one race, despite the fact his car was clearly capable of winning in many more (Bahrain for a start). He often qualified below expectations, frequently behind Grosjean. Sure, he made up for this with superb racecraft and in that respect he was the best driver of the season in my opinion but he wasn’t 3rd best.
I’d say Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton. Those three were much more consistently good and made very few mistakes: each had their strengths (Hamilton’s outright pace, Alonso’s relentless podiums and Vettel’s domination of the latter part of the season), so you would be refectory justified to place any of them at the top in my mind. But again I will stress that Vettel won the title and fought through adversity in Abu Dhabi & Brazil to put on drives which justified his championship.
Hallard (@hallard)
14th December 2012, 23:58
The top 3 this year (VET, ALO & HAM) were so agonizingly close in their performances this year (twitter and team radio idiocy notwithstanding), that I can only come to a ranking by comparing their mistakes.
Vettel made a mistake not leaving Karthikeyan enough room in the tricky conditions in Malaysia, even if the steward’s dont agree with me. He earned a penalty for overtaking Button off-track in Germany. He had a bizzarre mistake in Abu Dhabi where he picked up that braking marking marker and damaged his car during the safety car period, and he took out Senna (and nearly himself too) in Brazil on the first lap.
Hamilton made a poor start in Australia, as well as a poor set-up decision choosing a different front wing than Button. He made another poor set-up decision in Belgium, for which he paid heavily with a DNF. He also made the wrong call on tires in Brazil, even though he might still have gotten away with it thanks to the subsequent safety car.
Alonso made a big mistake squeezing Raikkonen off the track at the start in Japan, and the consequence was a DNF. He was also overly ambitious with Maldonado in China, perhaps. Strangely enough, he actually needed some help from his team mate in a couple of the final Grands Prix of the season as well.
On the whole I would say Vettel made the most errors, so I’d rank him third, with Alonso and Hamilton more or less equal. I can see a reasonable case being made for either as #1, but I voted for Hamilton here, largely out of sympathy for his unfathomably horrid luck. One thing is certain though: all 3 drivers put in a championship-worthy effort this year.
Gigantor (@kbdavies)
15th December 2012, 22:26
If Hamilton made the wrong tyre call in Brazil, how come you dont attribute the same mistake to Alonso and Vettel? As they made the same call.
Also, why aren’t the set-up issues Ferrari and RBR face attributed to their drivers, but Hamilton’s is? Even Buttons set-up issues are attibuted to McLaren’s inability to “get on top” of their tyre issues.
Hallard (@hallard)
21st December 2012, 0:04
Fair question… really I’ve only counted these examples against Hamilton because they are instances in which Button did differently, and as a result outperformed Hamilton in some respect.
Hamilton made the wrong tire call in Brazil because Button stayed out on slicks and made it work with the same car, whereas both Ferrari teammates and both Red Bull teammates made the same call as one another.
Also, in the instances I’ve referenced where Hamilton ran different parts on his car than Button, these were widely reported to be Hamilton’s decision, which I am calling a mistake on his part accordingly. My $0.02.
Joey Zyla (@)
15th December 2012, 10:50
I voted for Alonso, with Kimi, Hamilton, and Glock all very close.
AlokIn (@)
15th December 2012, 12:06
Lewis was his best this year lost championship because of reliability and team issues.
Alonso was more lucky this year and all his credibility lost because of team orders and most of the points earned at the sacrifice of Massa’s points.
Francuis (@francuis)
15th December 2012, 12:08
Alonso. I am a fan. I am not alone.
Most sites over the world (apart for Germany) choose Alonso.
At autosport.com all the team bosses choose Alonso. Check http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/104812.
Most of the current F1 driver choose Alonso.
Nearly all the journalist choose Alonso.
Twitter fans follow Alonso.
“Money” choose Alonso as he is the highest paid driver.
Ferrari choose Alonso even on the track with team orders.
Massa chose Alonso before himself.
Marshals on track choose Alonso as they won’t give him any penalties.
Hell, even Keith choose Alonso.
Now I am just waiting for Bernie.
Deb Luhi (@debeluhi)
18th December 2012, 2:42
His PR machine must be working much better than his car. Oh, it looks like I fell victim of his PR too, his car wasn’t that bad after all, but saying something over and over again makes it true.
davidnotcoulthard
22nd December 2012, 9:04
I disagree on the Twitter and Massa (He chose
AlonsoFerrari ove himself – Irvine/Rubens-esque).Chris (@tophercheese21)
15th December 2012, 13:00
Very close for me between Ham and Alo. But I gave the edge to Alonso because of how he performed with a relatively underperforming car. His starts at every race were just manic.
IMO Lewis should definitely have won the C’ship by a mile, but Mclaren really shot themselves in the foot.
PJA (@pja)
15th December 2012, 14:07
It has to be Alonso, to be so close to the title despite the Ferrari only being about the third best car.
I normally have trouble selecting an order for the best drivers of the year, but this year the top driver position was one of the easiest it has been.
In the end my final top five matched Keith’s, I was debating about the order of Hamilton, Vettel and Raikkonen initially but settled on that order. I wasn’t sure about fifth but choose Hulkenberg as some of the other drivers I considered did not perform consistently throughout the season, such as Perez.
I have no idea how I would rank the rest of the grid though.
Gabriel (@naylamp)
15th December 2012, 16:05
My vote goes to ALO. But you should be able to choice P1, P2 and P3. With only one choice the poll is more subjective, I think.
Bosley (@)
15th December 2012, 17:47
As i’m writing this, the current scores are:
1. Fernando Alonso (50%)
2. Lewis Hamilton (21%)
=3. Sebastian Vettel (12%)
=3. Kimi Raikkonen (12%)
5. Jerome d’Ambrosio (3%)
=6. Vitaly Petrov (1%)
=6. Michael Schumacher (1%)
7+. No one else has a percentage
Obviously from all of that, Alonso has got the win unless a mass haul of Hamilton fans show up who haven’t voted yet. Too be honest I wouldn’t mind if either of the 2 won it or Vettel.
But well done D’Ambrosio for somehow holding 5th right now.
Robert Geofrey Bautista (@crowbert)
15th December 2012, 18:59
Sebastian Vettel is the best driver for 2012 and that’s why he’s the Champion.
Thomas (@)
15th December 2012, 19:38
Voted for Vettel – with Hamilton as close #2 and #3 Alonso. Totally biased, it would have been Alonso if he would stop trashing his own teams for his personal gain.
verstappen (@verstappen)
15th December 2012, 19:57
The differences are little between the top 4. You can point out strenghts and weaknesses from all of them, so in the end I voted for Kimi’s consistency after 2 years off.
HUHHII (@huhhii)
15th December 2012, 21:03
This poll shows well how overrated driver Alonso is. Made various mistakes, underperfomed in qualifyings and was slower than his team mate in last few races. How he gets rated as the best driver in the grid is beyond me.
I voted Hamilton – with even a slightly better luck he would’ve won the title this year.
Nickpkr
15th December 2012, 22:44
If Alonso was English not more doubts in this site, but Vettel despite of making most mistakes of them, pull it off and IS the winner, Redbull car was as good for as long as Mc laren thru the season, Vettel capitalize more.
Joey Zyla (@)
16th December 2012, 0:11
1. Fernando Alonso (49%)
2. Lewis Hamilton (22%)
3. Sebastian Vettel (12%)
4. Kimi Raikkonen (11%)
5. Jerome d’Ambrosio (3%)
6. Schumacher, Hulkenburg, Petrov (1%)
Congratulations to those who voted for Petrov/Hulkenburg/Schumacher for remembering to take car performance in to account.
Matty No 2 (@mattynotwo)
16th December 2012, 3:20
I voted foe Vettel. I think the entertaining way he won the title this year made him deserving of my vote. Brazil comes to mind.
bull mello (@bullmello)
16th December 2012, 7:55
Alonso, but it was close. Alonso did more with less and was very consistent through a long season with many twists and turns. Hamilton had the most mature season of driving in his career. With more consistency from his team he would have won WDC. He often had the fastest car and got a lot out of it. Vettel does not always get the respect he deserves. Good job of coming from behind and he survived through some reliability problems as well as a few less than mature moves of his own. He is still developing as a driver and he will get even better than he is now. Kimi is my favorite driver and personality too. His comeback did not disappoint and his level of driving was very close to the top three drivers. Great season!
JaegerGolf (@jaegergolf)
16th December 2012, 9:55
Alonso, without any doubt.
Did no mistake which costs him points!
Kimi4WDC
17th December 2012, 0:09
Vettel had an exceptional season, he will only be stronger next year. He pushed and conquered.
Typical season for Alonso, made the best of not doing many mistakes and grabbed most advantage from front running cars misfortunes, but then again, this seems to be Alonso’s strongest points.
chemakal
21st December 2012, 20:04
Magic Alonso no doubt.