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F1 driver rankings 2018: Your verdict on the best and worst drivers of the year

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  • #382501

    It’s the end of the season and that means the F1 Driver Rankings are coming soon!

    As always we want your verdicts on who were the best and worst drivers this season.

    Remarkably, all 20 drivers started all 21 races this year, which will hopefully make it a bit easier to compare them all, though inevitably the wide difference in car performance always has to be taken into account.

    Give your thoughts on all of the drivers below and a selection will feature in this year’s rankings.

    #382514
    hahostolze
    Participant

    1 – Hamilton. Can’t really debate this, car was probably the best, but so was the driver. Most consistent, definitely not as dominant as some seasons (despite the points tally, which is down to reliability of the car too), but had to get stuck in more, and did so with aplomb. A worthy five time champion.

    2 – Verstappen. If the season lasted from Canada to Abu Dhabi, he’d be one. But it doesn’t. His early season form was perplexing after a phenomenal 2017: he was fast, sure, but clumsy and overly hurried. Now that he’s (re)found the way to drive within himself, he’s doing better. Second half of the season was just nuts. Maximised it marvellously.

    3 – Vettel. If the season lasted from Australia to Germany, he’d be one. But it doesn’t. Buckled under pressure, again. Now, permit me, I don’t agree with all the vociferous criticism: I’m more inclined to follow Mark Hughes’ description of how Vettel is trying to take the Scuderia in his direction, he’s essentially taking on more than he should need to. Needs a Todt, a Brawn. If Ferrari had been more stable, more adaptive, I think he’s WDC. Instead, thinly spread, he makes mistakes. Still a sensational driver who deserved almost as much to be champion.

    4 – Alonso. Could be second, could be eighth. I just don’t know with him. Vandoorne’s car had issues all year long, so I can’t say whether or not he actually did a good job beating him. I don’t know if he outdrove the McLaren or not. It’s rare that a backmarker is the most exciting driver of the season. So yeah, this one comes with a caveat.

    5- Leclerc. Anyone looking forward to the ‘big three’ having a battle next year, well, be happy that someone who may well be as good as them turned up and has gotten a top race seat. What a talent. What a year. Can’t wait to see how he fares next to Vettel.

    6 – Ricciardo. Comprehensively beaten, but in an almost Germanic way managed to secure a good result whenever it was possible. Effective, a great overtaker, but there’s a reason he’s off to Renault. If F1 has a top three now that Alonso is gone, sadly he’s no longer in it.

    7 – Hulk. Perennial top seven. Just so good. So consistent. We’ll never know what he could do in a race winning car, which saddens me. But next year if he’s as close to Ricciardo as he is here, I think that will have said enough.

    8 – Bottas. Poor guy. His first third of the season was as good as Vettel’s and better than Hamilton. Once Lewis gets going there’s no stopping, however. A real shame he lost momentum and had some bad luck, but I reckon 2019 is his last chance and probably he won’t take it. Consistent, fast, nice guy, just not Rosberg.

    9 – Ocon. Just edges out Gasly, based on the entirely subjective feeling I have of their seasons, Ocon outpacing Perez being more impressive. He’s too combative, makes quite a few mistakes, and is belying his ‘Prost to Verstappen’s Senna’ image: but he’s still dangerously fast and very, very good. Put him in the 2020 Merc and I won’t bet against him being WDC.

    10 – Gasly. Impressive, fast, bit of a difficult guy. Red Bull next season will be fun (although apparently they’re mates). Beat Hartley nicely, drove that car to impossible positions early on, but didn’t have a Leclerc season. Very good, not great.

    11 – Kimi. The epitome of good not great. Love the guy to death, loved his win and his pole, love how he’s still going because he loves the driving. But even though he had a decent season, you feel like he now has a ceiling – whereas with Bottas, you feel that his second half of the season didn’t meet his ceiling.

    12 – Sainz. Here to stay, here to occassionally impress beyond the car, but also to have weekends of total gray anonomity. In that regard Sainz hasn’t changed from his junior career. For someone nicknamed Chilli he needs to be hot more often.

    13 – Grosjean. On pace he has Magnussen, who I think is very overrated due to his bad-boy image. Recovered well from an appalling first third. Deservingly ahead.

    14 – Perez. No longer the Mr. Consistent who everyone tips for a possible top seat. Well beaten on pace by Ocon. Just not impressive anymore.

    15 – Sirotkin. Good rookie season. Showed what a modicum of talent can do with that car. Shame he’s losing his seat.

    16 – Ericsson. Held his own better than I expected. Now that he’s going, I am actually going to miss him.

    17 – Magnussen. Showed flashes, but also showed that he’s only brash because he gets into needless fights. Got pace, at times, little else. Not a complete F1 driver.

    18 – Hartley. I understand they let him go. Solid, dependable, good feedback, nice guy, just not quick enough. Will be missed out of the car, not in it.

    19 – Vandoorne. Could be anywhere outside the top 13. Still think he’s better than most drivers in F1. Don’t know what went wrong, never will get it. Supremely talented. Maybe not confident? Maybe the car? I don’t know. Really, really sad.

    20 – Stroll. Sad in a different way.

    #382569
    Ben Needham
    Participant

    1: Hamilton – Hamilton has been absolutely peerless this year and I’d be surprised to see anyone list someone else as Driver of the Year. He absolutely destroyed his team-mate, as well as his title challenger Vettel and very rarely made mistakes. This season has arguably been Hamilton’s best ever and the bar has been raised yet higher.

    2: Verstappen – Second place on this list was difficult to assign. The midfield has been tight and some of the usual front runners have underperformed. Perhaps it’s shortsighted given his troubles in the early part of the season, but I gave it to Verstappen. To be within touching distance of the second Mercedes at the end of the season, especially with his messy first 4/5 races was stunning. When Ricciardo’s car was running, it could usually be found behind Verstappen’s; often by some distance.

    3: Alonso – That Alonso was still in contention for “best of the rest” going into the last race is testament to his skill in dragging an average/terrible car to the maximum of it’s capabilities. Vandoorne was nowhere to be found in comparison. His “now we can fight” statement in Australia proved premature, but he maximised his takings when the car was reasonable early in the year and was stunning in Singapore. He’ll surely be missed, but now is the time to go, with no available Formula One car to match his considerable talents.

    4: Leclerc – I didn’t know where to put Leclerc. At times I’ve thought he was spectacular and at times I’ve been disappointed with how close Ericsson has been. That said, as a “rookie” against a driver with four seasons under his belt, he’s compared admirably and Sauber have him to thank for their position in the Championship. Baku and Russia in particular were stunning and proved how deserving he is of the Ferrari seat in 2019.

    5: Vettel – If there were questions over Vettel throwing away the title in 2017, there was little doubt in 2018. His accident while leading at his home race was the first of a comedy of errors, which usually ended in his Ferrari facing the wrong way. That Raikkonen has outperformed him in the second half of the year, despite being the clear Number 2 is telling. As always, he had some very good races, but the tail end has been dismal.

    6: Hulkenberg – A very good year all things considered. He’s had patches of excellence, but also a number of mistakes scattered in amongst it.Finishing ‘best of the rest’ will be scant consolation for another “podiumless” year. The battle with Sainz was interesting, as they rarely had a totally clean weekend at the same time.

    7: Raikkonen – In true Raikkonen fashion, he saved his best form for when it mattered for little. He was very consistent all year and deservedly took third in the WDC. I’m sure most people were delighted to see him get what is likely to be his last win. Probably the correct time to bring in the youth, but he certainly hasn’t embarrassed himself against Vettel; their closest year as team-mates.

    8: Ricciardo – “If it was wasn’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have any luck at all.” Unfortunately, this saying has followed Ricciardo all year. who probably couldn’t get into it without crossing his fingers and toes. A change of scenery seems a good idea for him and Renault is as good a choice as any. He was generally shown the way by his younger team-mate, but had highs of his own and his points tally isn’t an accurate reflection of the gap.

    9: Perez – Perez has probably been the slower of the Force India drivers, but he’s also been the more consistent. He should feel hard done by that Ocon is linked with top drives, while he’s not likely to get a shot. A slightly fortuitous podium in Baku was complemented by a number of “best of the rest” finishes. A bet on him to be in the points is normally a safe one.

    10: Ocon – If you’re only as good as your last race, Ocon may come to regret his last few outings of 2018, where he scored only four points in the final seven races. He’s unquestionably talented and doesn’t deserve to be on the sidelines in 2019, but you can bet he’ll come back hungry in 2020 (if a seat is found for him).

    11: Gasly – Some remarkable drives, coupled with some very anonymous ones. He was the class of the field in Bahrain and Hungary, but increasingly slipped back into the grips of his less well-regarded team-mate. He’ll face a real challenge next year as he takes the battle to Max Verstappen. Fireworks expected!

    12: Sainz – Sainz did not embarrass himself against Hulkenberg, but was generally the slower of the two Renault drivers. He did have some very good drives and was consistently in the points when the car allowed it. Should be the team leader at McLaren, which will be interesting to watch.

    13: Magnussen – Magnussen started the season very well, but may have been flattered by his team-mate’s poor performance. He pushed the limits of what is acceptable several times, but would probably be praised for that if he was racing at the front. Spain and France in particular were standout races for him. Surely the more secure of the Haas drivers for 2020, but can’t see him moving higher up the grid.

    14: Bottas – Bottas has, by his own admission, had a fairly shocking year. His team-mate has dominated from the front, while he could only finish fifth in the WDC, over 150 points behind. Occassionally he meets the speed of Hamilton, far more often he’s nowhere to be found. Perhaps the car didn’t suit him and he was deserving of a win in Russia; but even that wouldn’t have salvaged an awful season.

    15: Ericsson – It can be argued that Ericsson is criminally underrated. Both Wehrlein and Leclerc came to the team highly rated; Ericsson has resisted destruction by both of them. There’s no question he came out second best, but it wasn’t the demolition most expected. He’s run his course in Formula One, but worse drivers than him remain on the grid for 2019.

    16: Grosjean – 20 races later, it’s easy to forget the errors by the Haas crew in Australia. Grosjean seems like a driver who needs confidence and form in order to thrive and this could easily have knocked him off his stride when on course for a good result. That’s no excuse for a frankly shocking first 8 races before his breakthrough in Austria. The car has been good, probably 5th best, but he’s not made the most of it. He’s never been slow, but 2019 is surely his last chance to come good consistently.

    17: Sirotkin – Sirotkin took a while to warm up but has generally been the better of the two Williams bringing up the tail of the grid. In a way, he’s been between a rock and a hard place all season; beating Stroll was an expectation and losing to him would ruin any reputation he had. Not worth another season after a year of toiling at the back.

    18: Vandoorne – The list of good drivers dropped from McLaren recently is long. The list of good drivers who couldn’t beat Fernando Alonso is longer. Vandoorne has raced with the cards stacked against him for two years, with a terrible car and exceptional team-mate. I don’t buy that he’s not good enough for Formula One, but perhaps a year out in Formula E will be a chance to re-assess his options.

    19: Hartley – I don’t think I’m alone in desperately wanting Hartley to do well for some reason, but he clearly hasn’t cut the mustard this year. He’s had his share of misfortune, but has too often been much slower than Gasly and will likely be dropped for 2019. Even his high points haven’t been much to shout about, scraping into the points only through retirements or disqualifications. I’m glad he got his chance, but won’t be too sad to see him go.

    20: Stroll – Following a disappointing 2017, I was prepared to give Stroll the benefit of the doubt and watch him with an open mind in 2018. He disappointed yet again; unable to convincingly beat a poorly rated debutant and clearly worse in qualifying. The car was unquestionably poor, but Stroll was just as bad.

    #382571
    Ben Needham
    Participant

    As an aside, I’m looking forward to seeing everyone’s rankings and debating them. To me, only Number 1 is clear cut. I could understand others making an argument for anyone from 2 to 14 on my list being in just about any order, as well as 15 to 20 being adjustable. It was a tightly packed midfield this year.

    #382618
    Christopher Rehn
    Participant

    Keith, in regards to the:

    “Remarkably, all 20 drivers started all 21 races this year, which will hopefully make it a bit easier to compare them all, though inevitably the wide difference in car performance always has to be taken into account.”

    That has never happened before in F1, so that’s a record of sorts!

    1. Hamilton
    2. Alonso
    3. Ricciardo
    4. Leclerc
    5. Vettel
    6. Hülkenberg
    7. Verstappen
    8. Raikkonen
    9. Sainz
    10. Ocon
    11. Ericsson
    12. Gasly
    13. Perez
    14. Bottas
    15. Magnussen
    16. Vandoorne
    17. Hartley
    18. Sirotkin
    19. Grosjean
    20. Stroll

    #382651
    hahostolze
    Participant

    I always love seeing the disparity in people’s perceptions. Although it is interesting when they get ‘confirmed’ by the opinions of those actually involved in the sport. Like last year for instance RaceFans was pretty much identical to the team bosses.

    #382653
    Alex
    Participant

    Its cool to realise that all 20 drivers that started the year finished it, and its also cool that its never happened before that they stayed the same throughout.

    Here’s my ranking:

    1. Hamilton – Who else could it be? Admittedly I’m not a fan of him, but his driving this year has made his last year look bad in comparison, and last year was a great year for him too. His highlight was probably his win in Germany (winning from 14th is no easy feat), whilst Canada was his low point.

    2. Verstappen – Despite his teammate suffering many DNFs, he was almost always ahead of him post-Monaco, best year from him yet and he can still improve.

    3. Alonso – It was shame when he announced his retirement, but I’m not surprised, that car he has driven has been a dog, but he stuck it in places where it didn’t belong, extra credit for never being outqualified by Stoffel.

    4. LeClerc – LeClerc or Leclerc? I dunno, anyway, this kid has been really good, and his promotion to Ferrari will be exciting, his points finish in Azerbaijan remain his highest hightlight though.

    5. Hulkenberg – Another solid season from similar to 2017, whilst he didn’t convincingly beat Sainz, he more or less kept him in check.

    6. Vettel – The four-time champion had a season of two halves, his 1st half was as good Hamiltons, if not a little better, but it all started to go wrong for him after Germany and he never really bounced back from that trip to gravel. 2019 will be his last chance or his career is largely done.

    7. Raikkonen – Ah, the Iceman, one of the sport’s most lovable characters had quite a good year, although beaten by his good friend and teammate, he was more consistent of the two and took a fully deserved in USA, a great pole lap in Italy shows that even at nearly 40 he still has it in him.

    8. Ricciardo – Easily the unluckiest driver out of the Top 3 teams, thanks to his countless DNFs. His win in China was one of his finest wins along with his deserved win in Monaco, after Monaco he couldn’t respond to Verstappen’s form.

    9. Perez – Better than Ocon but not by much.
    10. Ocon – Not as good as Perez.
    11. Sainz – He more or less held his own, but all in all he was worse than Hulkenberg.
    12. Ericcson – I want to rate him higher, as he had a good year in some ways, not as good as Leclerc, but had his moments.
    13. Gasly – Not absolutely amazing but terrible either.
    14. Magnussen – Had some great performances in the first half, but was disappointing in the 2nd.
    15. Bottas – He had a 2013 Webber season, had chances for a win in the first few races, but that DNF in Austria destroyed him mentally.
    16. Grosjean – Should’ve beaten Magnussen if it wasn’t for his mistake-full first half.
    17. Hartley – He was just kinda ‘there’.
    18. Stroll – Despite his poor machinery he did alright, slightly better than Sirotkin.
    19. Sirotkin – Good qualifier, (did he beat Stroll in the qualy battle? Can’t remember), but slightly underwhelming year although having the worst car doesn’t help.
    20. Vandoorne – I feel bad for him, but his F1 career is done unless he can do a miracle, his McLaren was at best 2nd worst, so it certainly doesn’t help that it is but Alonso just ran circles around him.

    #382704
    Joao
    Participant

    1 Hamilton – Still he rises. But really, what is he rising from? When was the last time he was down, and hadn’t the machinery no to be in the top? 1995? Still, impressive season, best of anyone imo

    2 Leclerc – Hard to be names after a supermarket, at least he had a super debut season, started slow and improved throughout the season, as did his car. There are questions about his pace in mixed conditions though, and Marcus isn’t a very good comparison

    3 Hulkenberg – retired 7 times to his teammate’s 2, yet he still managed to finish ahead in the standings and best of the rest. Still has to wake up in the morning knowing Stroll has a podium finish and he doesn’t

    4 Verstappen – Mistakes at the start of the season are easy to forget, but I didn’t so had to place him 4th. Good news is, the UFC is planning to ditch the 125 pound division and he might come back stronger and swinging at 135.

    5 Perez – Perez was the only one out of the big 3 to get a podium finish, and again ends the season ahead of a teammate that is “better” than him. Ricciardo, driving for RBR only had one more podium than him, let that one sink in (bonus points for both of his podium being for race wins though). No one likes the guy, but I don’t like any of them, so I decided to give the nod to Perez and put him in the top 5

    6 Ricciardo – RB14 unlucky for some right? Still two remarkable wins, especially the one at Monaco, and stealing the pole in Mexico was quite the moment

    7 Alonso – Ssaid adios to F1, but really has anyone seen him since Hungary? Still he just had to check in at the gate to be better than Vandoorne. Had a proper bad race in Brazil just for good all times sake.

    8 Vettel – Paid tribute to his season at the yas Marina, by making a number of donuts equal to the times he spun around throughout the year, yes I counted.

    9 Ocon – The heir of the Mercedes seat thinks he too good for Williams and much better than his teammate, still finished behind him on points in a season where Perez had a part-time job as an administrator

    10 Gasly – Isn’t that a pokemon name? Well I don’t know, he comfortably beat his teammate, what more can I say? Top 10 seems fair right?

    11 Kevin the balls Magnunsen – Will he be a champion one day? Sure, why not? Oh, in F1? Well at least he was the best of the two Haas’s isn’t that Haawoseme?

    12 Kimi – Even with Sebs mistakes he lingered behind him, still better than the other Fin

    13 Bottas – But not by much. Bottas with the best car on the grid, managed to finish behind the two ferraris and a redbull, while his teammate was winning he was struggling to reach the podium. Yes he was unlucky at the start, but where did he go midway into the season?

    14 Sainz – Still over-rated in my opinion, if he was blonde he would be named Marcus Ericsson. Feels like he is going to McLaren because he knew someone

    15 Ericsson – Had maybe a few too many chances in F1, had a Marcus Ericsson season, but this time someone gave him the boot, that was probably the biggest surprise of the season.

    16 Grosjean – Managed to be outscored by K-Mag by 19 points, and worst of all Pirelli doesn’t give stars for his cooking prowess.

    17 Stroll – Meh

    18 Sirotkin – worse meh?

    19 Hartley – STR would have needed a master thesis to justify keeping him on that seat, pretty sure Dr. Helmut Marko is pretty bored of those things

    20 Vandoorne – I was about to say that Vandoorne had Stroll levels of performance this year, but that would be unfair to Stroll, Vandoorne was worse. At least he makes it into the top 20. The first year we can give him the benefit of the doubt, especially going against a two time world champion, but he manages to get worse in the second year? Especially the start of the season should have been better, at that time the McLaren was a better car in comparison

    #382705
    Mahuu
    Participant

    I rated the drivers in every race from 1 (best) to 6 (worst):
    1. Lewis Hamilton 1,95
    2. Fernando Alonso 2,11
    3. Charles Leclerc 2,26
    4. Max Verstappen 2,38
    5. Daniel Ricciardo 2,42
    6. Pierre Gasly 2,53
    7. Esteban Ocon 2,68
    8. Carlos Sainz 2,71
    9. Nico Hülkenberg 2,75
    10. Sebastian Vettel 2,76
    11. Sergio Perez 2,81
    12. Kimi Räikkönen 2,84
    13. Valtteri Bottas 2,86
    14. Kevin Magnussen 3,00
    15. Romain Grosjean 3,24
    16. Sergey Sirotkin 3,30
    17. Lance Stroll 3,38
    18. Stoffel Vandoorne 3,43
    19. Brendon Hartley 3,53
    20. Marcus Ericsson 3,60

    #382731
    Todfod
    Participant

    1. Hamilton – Other than slightly mediocre performances in Bahrain, China and Canada, Hamilton had a flawless season. His performance in Germany was outstanding and that just put him on another level for the rest of the season. He capitalised on every opportunity consistently and put in superstar performances on nearly every race weekend.
    2. Verstappen – The only driver that was in the same league as Hamilton post Canada. Near flawless in every qualifying session and absolutely mega on racedays. If there was the slightest of chances of Red Bull taking a win, you know Max would most probably get the job done. His raw pace in 2018 was outstanding, and made a driver of Ricciardo’s ability seem mediocre on many a occasion.
    3. Alonso – Crazy to think that a driver with the 8th or 9th quickest car on the grid even had a shot at taking the best of the rest title. It was absolutely incredible that every race weekend Alonso was outperforming the car in qualifying and fighting tooth and nail with cars over half a second a lap quicker than them for points. It’s a shame we didn’t see him in a better car this season. His 21-0 record in qualifying over Vandoorne is a testament to just how consistently fast Alonso is on every race weekend.
    4. Leclerc – He made the Sauber look blindingly fast on occasion. The car was never best of the rest, but Leclerc managed to finish best of the rest on multiple occasions. A really strong qualifier and mature racer for his rookie season. Arguably the most impressive rookie season since Hamilton’s in 2007.
    5. Vettel – Had a strong start to the season but lost his footing midway through the season. Unfortunately, too many blunders and missed opportunities for him and the team. Overall, a season to forget for Vettel.
    6. Ricciardo – If the season had ended in Monaco, Ricciardo would probably have been the driver of the season. His drives in China and Monaco were supreme. He was really unlucky with his reliability this year, which probably disrupted his momentum and made him fall way back on Max in performance
    7. Ocon – Had a really strong year and showed some incredible pace in qualifying. He was consistently quicker than a highly rated Perez, and could have even taken a podium if it wasn’t for his silly error in Baku. Ocon still needs improvement of his race craft, but overall he was one of the most impressive midfield drivers the season,
    8. Raikonnen – Kimi was generally outpaced by Vettel in qualifying and he wasn’t particularly great on lap 1 of a race either, but he was consistent and fast on most racedays, and there were occasions where we really did shine as compared to his teammate. His performances in Monza and US were top notch.
    9. Bottas – Started the season really well and was battling Ferrari for the few races that Hamilton didn’t show up. His strong of bad luck probably affected his performances for the rest of the season, and when he was asked to play a supporting role, he wasn’t as impressive as early on in the season. His performance in Russia was great though… and his ability to play wingman is quite phenomenal.
    10. Hulkenberg – Best of the rest through sheer consistency. He really upped his game in qualifying this year and had a near perfect season if we take out his error in Baku and roll in Abu Dhabi. He made Sainz look ordinary this season, which we need to give him credit for.
    11. Perez – Outqualified by his teammate way too often this season. Although.. Perez’s race craft still looked very strong in 2018.
    12. Gasly – Gasly had some major highlights in the year.. especially in Bahrain and Hungary, where he finished best of the rest. He did have a lot of inconsistent performances though in the 2nd half of the season and was getting out qualified and sometimes outraced by Hartley, who many consider to be the poorest driver on the grid.
    13. Magnussen – Was pretty consistent in the first half of the season and looked better than his teammate who was struggling massively, however, once Grosjean got to grips with his season, he started to make Kevin look mediocre again.
    14. Sainz – I think everyone expected more of Sainz this year. I had tipped him and Hulk to have the closest teammate battle. I think he just wasn’t on it often enough… in qualifying and in the race. I’m sure he would look back and say that he could have done better as well.
    15. Grosjean – After his disastrous first half of the season, he bounced back rather well. Was probably the strongest midfield driver in the second half of the season when he was putting in performances of the 2012 and 2013 Grosjean.
    16. Ericsson – Probably Ericcson’s best season so far. Qualifying was never his strength, but he put in some gutsy drives for points finishes during the year. Unfortunately, he just didn’t have the pace to match his illustrious teammate way too often.
    17. Vandoorne – It’s almost like he didn’t show up this season. There were a few occasions where we saw him perform well and race his heart out, but he just didn’t show up in qualifying and couldn’t get to grips with a struggling McLaren for the entire season.
    18. Sirotkin – Wasn’t that bad a rookie season for Sirtkin. He was consistently quicker than his more experienced teammate in qualifying although he does need to work on his race starts and craft. He actually put in strong performances that were sometimes masked by pure bad luck. I though his qualifying performance in Monaco was outstanding.
    19. Hartley – Was a tough switch from LMP1 to F1. He looked out of his depth on many an occasion and overall just didn’t show the pace and race prowess that his teammate showed.
    20. Stroll – While Lance was satisfied with his progress and said it’s made him a better driver, I would thoroughly disagree. He was slow enough to get out qualified by a rookie pay driver, and he really didn’t improve on his racing flaws from last season either. He still took a while to get used to F1’s tyres and made several race craft blunders at the back of the grid. He did have some decent Sundays though and managed to get a couple of points finishes. But overall, still the slowest and most unimpressive performer on the grid.

    #382774
    HUHHII
    Participant

    01. Hamilton: Was completely in league of his own. Managed to win races even when Mercedes wasn’t the fastest car. Was as strong as always in qualis as well. His Singapore pole lap was one of the greatest I’ve ever seen
    02: Leclerc: Incredibly strong rookie campaign. Mistakes were made rarely, was consistently way faster than Ericsson and has a promising racecraft. Expecting big things from this kid.
    03: Räikkönen: Was very much on-par with Vettel. Ferrari’s insane race strategies, team orders and DNF’s due to mechanical problems dropped Kimi soon out of WDC fight. Should’ve finished the season in 2nd place. His victory in USA was the best thing that has happened in F1 for over a decade.
    04: Gasly: Left Hartley far behind. Often times had clean races. Grid penalties ruined his season but without them he would’ve fought for F1.5 title
    05: Verstappen: Terrible start to the season followed by world class 2nd part of the season. Really difficult to rate this guy.
    06: Alonso: Was way ahead of Vandoorne, but was it due the car suiting him much better or did Vandoorne lost his speed? You can’t do miracles in McLaren but Alonso used a chances to score points whenever they were available.
    07: Vettel: In some weekends, like Spa, a Vettel known to us all was there, but there were so many mistakes from his part that he cab’t be higher than 7th. How can he keep his head cool next year?
    08: Hülkenberg: Winner of F1.5 title and made Sainz look bad. A strong, consistent season from Hulk yet again. His driving in Spa was incredibly dangerous and a race ban wouldn’t been too harsh a penalty. Also made a mistake in Baku. Apart from that he had a solid season and will probably beat Ricciardo next year.
    09: Bottas: Was the best driver in front teams at the beginning of the season, but bad luck and team orders crushed him mentally. He just couldn’t cope with the situation, especially after Sochi. Next year he has to deliver.
    10: Ricciardo: Difficult to rate due to enormous amounts of DNF’s. However, when his Red Bull kept running Verstappen usually was faster. Was a bit lucky to win in China and in Monaco his only competitor crashed himself out. Mexico pole was great, though. Must improve if he wants to beat Hulk.
    11: Ocon: Has a lot of speed, but his racecraft still needs some work. Not much though. His qualifying at Spa being the highlight of his season.
    12: Perez: Solid season by Perez. Was there when an opportunity to score a podium was available. Couldn’t keep up with Ocon though.
    13: Magnussen: Was also very good at the beginning but seemed to struggle when season progressed.
    14: Grosjean: Same as above, but in reverse order! Made more mistakes than his teammate, hence Magnussen is ahead.
    15: Sirotkin: Williams was such a disaster it’s hard to rate Sirotkin, but he kept steadily improving, didn’t do many mistakes and was usually outqualifying his more experienced team mate. Should’ve been given another chance in F1.
    16: Sainz: Really disappointing season from him. Didn’t really shine in any GPs and was rather weak in wheel-to-wheel battles.
    17: Hartley: Never thought this guy was good enough for F1. Lacked the speed and rarely took any risks on track. However, he was quite consistent and possibly useful asset for Honda.
    18: Ericsson: Another weak season by the Swede. Crashed himself out from time to time and Leclerc was another team mate who turned out to be too fast competitor. Good luck in Indycar!
    19: Stroll: Really bad season. Sirotkin isn’t exactly a world class supertalent, yet he still couldn’t beat his team mate especially after Sirotkin gained some experience.
    20: Vandoorne: Alonso is difficult team mate to beat, but that was just pathetic. He was matching or outpacing even Alonso in the latter half of 2017. Where did that speed go? Hopefully he can revitalize his career in Formula E

    #382778
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    FYI This is the average percentage each driver got during the DOTW polls:
    (thus which % of respondents voted them to be ‘the best’ in each of the 21 races)
    I’ve also included @KeithCollantines Star/Struggler count for each driver

    Lewis Hamilton  21,3% (Star: 10x, Struggling: 0x)
    Max Verstappen 14,6% (Star: 10x, Struggling: 5x)
    Daniel Ricciardo 11,3% (Star: 2x, Struggling: 1x)
    Sebastian Vettel 9,8% (Star: 2x, Struggling: 4x)
    Charles Leclerc 8,0% (Star: 7x, Struggling: 0x)
    Kimi Raikkonen 6,2% (Star: 1x, Struggling: 2x)
    Fernando Alonso  5,8% (Star: 3x, Struggling: 0x)
    Pierre Gasly 4,8% (Star: 5x, Struggling: 0x)
    Valtteri Bottas 4,2% (Star: 4x, Struggling: 5x)
    Kevin Magnussen  3,3% (Star: 3x, Struggling: 4x)
    Nico Hulkenberg 2,8% (Star: 2x, Struggling: 1x)
    Sergio Perez 2,2% (Star: 3x, Struggling: 1x)
    Romain Grosjean 1,5% (Star: 2x, Struggling: 6x)
    Esteban Ocon 1,2% (Star: 2x, Struggling: 2x)
    Carlos Sainz Jnr 0,9% (Star: 3x, Struggling: 0x)
    Marcus Ericsson 0,9% (Star: 1x, Struggling: 3x)
    Sergey Sirotkin 0,5% (Star: 0x, Struggling: 0x)
    Stoffel Vandoorne 0,3% (Star: 1x, Struggling: 4x)
    Brendon Hartley 0,2% (Star: 1x, Struggling: 4x)
    Lance Stroll 0,1% (Star: 1x, Struggling: 3x)

    #382959
    James Brickles
    Participant

    Hastily put together driving rankings and judgements from myself.

    1. Lewis Hamilton – Best driver of the season by a mile. Don’t recall any mistakes made during any races.
    2. Charles LeClerc – Once he found his feet in Baku, he completely destroyed his more experienced teammate. Fantastic debut season!
    3. Fernando Alonso – Poor guy constantly drives his heart out in a car better suited in a skip. I’m sure he must regret his moves to other teams at exactly the wrong moments.
    4. Max Verstappen – Very messy start to the season but improved his racecraft massively and consistently outperformed his teammate.
    5. Pierre Gasly – Like LeClerc, but in a Toro Rosso. Bahrain was just astonishing.
    6. Daniel Ricciardo – Seems strange that his two brilliant wins were the only times he finished on the podium during the whole season, but there’s something missing compared to Verstappen.
    7. Kimi Raikkonen – Although not as quick as his teammate, he did actually score as many podiums as Vettel come the end of the season, so he must have been doing something right. Monza and Austin were terrific.
    8. Sebastian Vettel – Vintage in the first half, but never really regained his form since his race-ending retirement in front of his home crowd.
    9. Carlos Sainz – Has become a very consistent and dependable driver. Completely disagree that he is overrated.
    10. Nico Hulkenberg – Mostly consistent performer like his teammate, but had a few more careless moments like Baku and Spa.
    11. Valtteri Bottas – An unlucky first half got to him in the second half. Generally overshadowed by his teammate.
    12. Sergio Perez – Not as quick as his teammate but got the job done when it mattered. However, Singapore was just pathetic.
    13. Esteban Ocon – Although he had the measure of his teammate in terms of speed, his racecraft and on-track humility left a lot to be desired.
    14. Kevin Magnussen – Quick in places, utterly stupid in others. Didn’t make the most of a competitive car.
    15. Romain Grosjean – Not quite as bloody-thirsty as his teammate, but just as reckless.
    16. Sergey Sirotkin – Actually not bad in his debut season and made fewer mistakes than his slightly more experienced teammate.
    17. Marcus Ericsson – Fared well against LeClerc sometimes, but had far too many crashes and spins.
    18. Brendon Hartley – Generally very disappointing compared to his teammate.
    19. Stoffel Vandoorne – Having Alonso as a teammate really didn’t help, but still underperformed throughout the season.
    20. Lance Stroll – Second year in F1 showed almost no improvement even accounting for a disgraceful car. All money and no talent, has about as much charisma as a piece of wood, doesn’t deserve his place in next year’s FI/RP compared to some drivers that do.

    #382960
    Joao
    Participant

    Have decided to revise mine, as I did it from memory and some situations weren’t as clear as I had thought. A guy gets into his 30s and can’t handle wine as I used to.

    so I will have to change Perez to a more realistic ranking

    1 Hamilton – Still he rises. But really, what is he rising from? When was the last time he was down, and hadn’t the machinery no to be in the top? 1995? Still, impressive season, best of anyone imo

    2 Leclerc – Hard to be names after a supermarket, at least he had a super debut season, started slow and improved throughout the season, as did his car. There are questions about his pace in mixed conditions though, and Marcus isn’t a very good comparison

    3 Hulkenberg – retired 7 times to his teammate’s 2, yet he still managed to finish ahead in the standings and best of the rest. Still has to wake up in the morning knowing Stroll has a podium finish and he doesn’t

    4 Verstappen – Mistakes at the start of the season are easy to forget, but I didn’t so had to place him 4th. Good news is, the UFC is planning to ditch the 125 pound division and he might come back stronger and swinging at 135.

    5 Ricciardo – RB14 unlucky for some right? Still two remarkable wins, especially the one at Monaco, and stealing the pole in Mexico was quite the moment

    6 Alonso – Ssaid adios to F1, but really has anyone seen him since Hungary? Still he just had to check in at the gate to be better than Vandoorne. Had a proper bad race in Brazil just for good all times sake.

    7 Vettel – Paid tribute to his season at the yas Marina, by making a number of donuts equal to the times he spun around throughout the year, yes I counted.

    8 Perez – Perez was the only one out of the big 3 to get a podium finish, and again ends the season ahead of a teammate that is “better” than him. Ricciardo, driving for RBR only had one more podium than him, let that one sink in (bonus points for both of his podium being for race wins though). No one likes the guy, but I don’t like any of them, so I decided to give the nod and still place him above his teammate on racecraft and points.

    9 Ocon – The heir of the Mercedes seat thinks he is too good for Williams and much better than his teammate, still finished behind him on points in a season where Perez had a part-time job as an administrator

    10 Gasly – Isn’t that a pokemon name? Well I don’t know, he comfortably beat his teammate, what more can I say? Top 10 seems fair right?

    11 Kevin the balls Magnunsen – Will he be a champion one day? Sure, why not? Oh, in F1? Well at least he was the best of the two Haas’s isn’t that Haawoseme?

    12 Kimi – Even with Sebs mistakes he lingered behind him, still better than the other Fin

    13 Bottas – But not by much. Bottas with the best car on the grid, managed to finish behind the two ferraris and a redbull, while his teammate was winning he was struggling to reach the podium. Yes he was unlucky at the start, but where did he go midway into the season?

    14 Sainz – Still over-rated in my opinion, if he was blonde he would be named Marcus Ericsson. Feels like he is going to McLaren because he knew someone

    15 Ericsson – Had maybe a few too many chances in F1, had a Marcus Ericsson season, but this time someone gave him the boot, that was probably the biggest surprise of the season.

    16 Grosjean – Managed to be outscored by K-Mag by 19 points, and worst of all Pirelli doesn’t give stars for his cooking prowess.

    17 Stroll – Meh

    18 Sirotkin – worse meh?

    19 Hartley – STR would have needed a master thesis to justify keeping him on that seat, pretty sure Dr. Helmut Marko is pretty bored of those things

    20 Vandoorne – I was about to say that Vandoorne had Stroll levels of performance this year, but that would be unfair to Stroll, Vandoorne was worse. At least he makes it into the top 20. The first year we can give him the benefit of the doubt, especially going against a two time world champion, but he manages to get worse in the second year? Especially the start of the season should have been better, at that time the McLaren was a better car in comparison

    #382996
    pwaa
    Participant

    In reverse order:
    20: Stroll – just didn’t show the progress expected of a driver in their second season, the reaction to him getting the (insert name here) drive for 2019 sums it up really…
    19: Vandoorne – Yes, his teammate was one of the best drivers of this era, but he never really shone at all, making the decision to replace him at the end of the season all too easy for Mclaren. Another driver with worldbeating potential in gp2/f2 to fail to adapt to F1. He’ll fit right in with Di Grassi/Da Costa at al in Formula E.
    18: Hartley – his end of season was decent, but it just took far too long for him to get going and feel comfortable. In his own words, he didn’t fight hard enough for his own corner, and ended up losing out. Probably too late for him to get another proper go at it as well, barring another Kvyat implosion!
    17: Sirotkin – solid job for a rookie, but the closest he came to leaving a lasting memory was his Jarno Trulli impression in Singapore fending off a train of cars. Likely to be a pointless answer for the category of “Williams Drivers” in future.
    16: Sainz – Honestly, Hulkenberg had the beating of him pretty much all season. Showed flashes of what got him the Renault drive in the first place, but not often enough. Will need a step up if he’s hoping to lead Mclaren anywhere next year.
    15: Grosjean – after an excellent couple of years, has slid back into “first lap nutcase” territory again recently. Far too many silly accidents show why he has never earned a top drive. Spain was a particular low point.
    14: Gasly – Solid job, a few good results, will need to make that step up at Red Bull next year though, will be hoping that his experience with Honda will give him an edge over Max to start, but expectations are not high for him.
    13: Perez – after years of being level with Hulkenberg, has now been seemingly shaded by Ocon. Only his money earned him the 2019 drive ahead of his former teammate. At this point in his career he is a solid stable hand, but his reputation rests on him outperforming Stroll next year.
    12: Alonso – Always entertaining, you can be usually be pretty safe in the assumption that Fernando got the most out of the Mclaren. Despite being imperious in qualifying over his teammate,you could tell that his mind was elsewhere by the end of the season.
    11: Magnussen – relatively evenly matched on pace with Romain, If not slightly ahead, but with fewer incidents (although some do still come to mind), despite his aggressive style, somehow faded into mid-grid obscurity.
    10: Vettel – Started the season on great form, but it seems that one mistake in Germany led to the entire season unravelling. Was overdriving the car from there on in, leading to mistake after mistake. Poor strategy from Ferrari only worsened the situation. In the end, a distant second best in both championships.
    9: Verstappen – almost the reverse in fortunes to Sebastian, started erraticly, but as the season progressed, grew into it and ended up the second best driver in terms of points in the second half of the season. Red Bull will be hoping he can carry that into 2019 as de facto team leader
    8: Bottas – was immensely unlucky during the first half of the season, often being the only driver to take the fight to Vettel, the cruellest moment being the puncture in Baku that handed victory to his teammate. In the end had to play the role of wingman, which he did competently, although his end of season pace showed that gruelling season had taken it’s toll on Valterri mentally. An end of season reset is exactly that the Finn desperately needs to hopefully return to winning ways in 2019
    7: Raikkonen
    His last year at Ferrari, and in many ways, his best. Despite being beaten by his teammate, he was often able to take the fight to Vettel, and even managed to finally grab that long-overdue victory in an impressive defensive display against a faster Hamilton. Did so well by the end of the year that it has led to people being quite excited as to what he can bring to Sauber over the next few years.
    6: Ocon – The real barometer of his season has been the reaction from the fans to him failing to land a seat for 2019. Despite a couple of incidents, he has edged Sergio over the course of the season, and has been an exciting prospect, that many have put as a potential future championship contender. Hopefully a year out won’t dampen the enthusiasm.
    5: Ericsson – typical that what has turned out to be his final year has been his best by far! In a year where everyone had been excited by the antics of Leclerc, Marcus was able to, if not match, then at least stay within striking distance of pretty much all season. Personally, I never rated Ericsson before, but this season was excellent for the Swede, to the point I’m sad to see him go! Makes up part of a very exciting influx for IndyCar though, will be watching with interest!
    4: Ricciardo – in what was his last season for Red Bull, he made a real attempt to claim the title of Red Bull’s unluckiest Australian. Car failure after car failure put paid to promising start after promising start, and the few races he did manage to finish were highly entertaining jaunts from the lower reaches of the grid. If the Renault gives him any reliable performance next year, this guy can shine.
    3: Hulkenberg – In an era where the top 3 teams are far up the road by lap 5, 7th in the championship is a hard fought battle, and on that was supremely won by Nico. Despite the most retirements of anyone this season, he still managed to outscored 13 drivers, and was more than a match for Carlos Sainz, after years of being basically level pegging with his teammates. Next year will be a big year for Nico, if he can live with Daniel, he might just be square in the sights of a number of top teams for 2020.
    2: Hamilton – As divisive as he is a character, there was no doubting Lewis’ talent this season. He was flawless, never out of the running for any pole or victory, and just too much for anyone else. The truly dominant moment came with his pole at Singapore, a circuit nobody expected Mercedes to perform at. If this form continues into next year, even a Vettel without the mistakes of this season will struggle to live with him.
    1: Leclerc – You’ve got to have a special something to get bought into Ferrari, especially at the expense of their last world champion, but this season Charles showed exactly that. Even coming off the back of a dominant F2 championship, nobody was expecting much from Leclerc in a Sauber, but with a car able to match the midfield pace, Leclerc was able to push the Sauber team to performances they could only dream of. My stand out memory of him was early on at Abu Dhabi, when he not only ran with, but was Passing Red Bulls and Ferraris, only for a misguided strategy call from Sauber ended his charge, getting caught up in the usual midfield traffic. This season has been so impressive for him that the public are debating whether he can take the fight to his 4 time world championship winning teammate, and I for one, cannot wait to find out!

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