Top 10 Drivers of 2007

[BootsOntheSide]

Here's my list:

1 Hamilton - Not faultless (tended to use tyres a bit too much, took advantage of strong reliability, struggled once the pressure built) but perhaps the most impressive rookie season ever. A great boost for F1, an amazing performance against a reigning double champion, and a thoroughly charismatic and likeable bloke as well.

2 Raikkonen - Struggled a bit early on, with a lot to adjust to, but since France has really knuckled down and worked hard. Some great drives under pressure, and a much-deserved title.

3 Rosberg - Maybe deserves to be even higher. Deserved far more points than he got - had a particular run of unlucky races between Monaco and Indy. Trounced Wurz, challenged cars he had no right to be alongside, completely chopped the errors out of his driving, and by all accounts really good on the setup side as well.

4 Kovalainen - That lucky result in Canada really boosted him - after that he was imperious, beating Fisichella by nearly as much as Alonso had over the previous 2 years. If you swapped his circumstances with Lewis', it's not a foregone conclusion that he'd miss the title.

5 Massa - Took advantage of being the incumbant driver at the start of the season, used Michael's advice when it benefitted him. Was a surprise title challenger for a while, only really dropping from the chase due to bad luck in Hungary (although admittedly he didn't redeem that one in the race) and Monza.

6 Alonso - Hasn't boosted his off-track reputation, but he still matched Lewis despite inferior luck (Canada especially) and problems within the team.

7 Heidfeld - Had little pressure all season, as the team was so solidly 3rd best and he was so far ahead of Kubica, but drove precisely and intelligently. Probably had a lot to do with the team's quick progress.

8 Webber - Unlucky several times, generally ahead of Coulthard, perhaps his strongest season yet.

9 Kubica - Lost points due to early-season unreliability (not to mention China), but still doesn't look like the complete article. In a way, the least impressive of the five inspiring rookies this year, despite having a half-season already under his belt.

10 Sutil - A lot of crashes, but I'll attribute those to over-driving a car which isn't worthy of his talent. Flashes of speed suggest that he could be a good #2 in a top team in future.

Honourary mention to Button, who kept trying and snatched a couple of neat results.

[nycuk]

1. Hamilton
2. Raikonnen
3. Alonso
4. Rosberg
5. Button
6. Massa
7. Kubica
8. Heidfeld
9. Kovalainen
10. Davidson

[duke_toaster]

I won't put them in any exact order, but the following five drivers have had standout seasons IMO this year.

Hamilton - on the whole an excellent season, let down by one or two schoolboy errors that I doubt will happen again.
Rosberg - drove the wheels of a not excellent car. I think we will see him in a better team. Showing more maturity than last year.
Sutil - Great driver in crap machinery, he was overdriving the Spyker. If he doesn't push that hard when in a better car, I feel sure he will be a very good driver.
Vettel - Some flashes of brilliance but let down by poor machinery when in the Toro Rosso. Deserves a RBR seat when DC or Webber retires - which I think will be soon or possibly more.
Jenson Button - Polishing a turd and making it look slightly more respectable.

Honourable mention to Bernd Maylander for his excellent drive at Fuji.

[jab]

1) Webber
2) Webber
3) Webber
4) Webber
5) Webber
6) Webber
7) Webber
8) Webber
9) Webber
10) Raikkonen

[Adam43]

jab, that reads more like a list of retirements.

[Bleu]

1. Hamilton
2. Räikkönen
3. Massa
4. Heidfeld
5. Alonso
6. Kovalainen
7. Rosberg
8. Kubica
9. Webber
10. Button

[Ralf's Girl]

1. Hamilton - plenty has been said about him already, suffice to say he's the standout driver of the season for fairly obvious reasons!
2. Raikkonen - recovered from a fairly awful start to the season (compared to what was expected) to win the title.
3. Rosberg - getting better and better, could well be another champion in the making.
4. Massa - matched and often beat Raikkonen earlier in the season, got himself in the title hunt, although it was no surprise to me that he faded later on.
5. Button - far better results than his car really should have achieved. You only have to look at Barrichello to see how bad that Honda really was.
6. Alonso - couldn't beat Hamilton much of the time, seemed to become obsessed by him and IMO really damaged his reputation very badly.
7. Heidfeld - probably to some extent reflected improvements in BMW's overall performance, but nevertheless best of the rest by some distance.
8. Kovalainen - had the measure of Fisichella from mid-season onwards, definitely more to come from him.
9. Webber - would probably have ended the season ahead of DC were it not for some rotten luck.
10. Kubica - 6th in the championship isn't half bad for his first full season. More importantly, I love watching him race because he isn't afraid to have a go at the guy in front, whoever he is (yesterday James Allen said "I don't think anybody wants to get involved in the championship fight." Cue Kubica diving down the inside of Alonso at the first corner ).

[jab]

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

jab, that reads more like a list of retirements.

Too true

I don't understand the reasoning behind putting Lewis at 1. Yes, he was great this season, but he cracked when it mattered the most, which is ironic after all the talk this season about Lewis driving like an experienced driver soaking up all the pressure and never making any mistakes

The one who didn't crack and did the business when he needed to should be number 1...

[Ralf's Girl]

Hamilton by far exceeded expectations, though. Raikkonen started the season as favourite and won, whereas Hamilton came in with no F1 experience and beat his double world champion team-mate. However you look at it, that's pretty impressive. How many rookies can make hardly any mistakes in a season and make it to the penultimate race before they have their first retirement?

[Bononi]

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

jab, that reads more like a list of retirements.

Adam, actually that should be more than just 9 then...

[jonm2]

standout for me


kimi - sheer class and cool when needed most towards then end
hamilton - an immense new talent. will win many a wdc
massa - if luck had been on his side he could won the championship imo
rosberg - driving a car in positions in which it really shouldnt be. future wdc.
kubica - middling start to season, huge shunt, comes back a better driver?
button - made the turd of a car look slightly drivable

[chillibowl]

1. Raikkonen - despite only falling asleep once at the wheel, he had an phenomenal 2nd half and never gave up. well deserved championship.
2. Hamilton - amazing for a rookie, amazing string of podiums but ultimately came up short. i have no doubt he has what it takes to be 1st next year.
3. Massa - the ultimate teammate, he secured wins and points without overtly taking anything away from his teammate, and is probably the first of Kimi's teammates who have shown that he can hold his own.
4. Kovalainen -one of the best stories of the year for me. smashed his teammate and responded to the pressure to live up to Flav's faith/comments. kept his wits about him to hold of Kimi in Japan.
5. Heidfeld - consistently beat his teammate or just adapted better, but certainly made the most of his exceptional ride.
6. Sato - his move on Alonso in Montreal was maybe the pass of the year. both he and Davidson (who also deserves mention) clearly struggled but Sato got the points so i have to go with him.
7. Webber - how DC does so well in the points always impresses me, but i felt that Webber had the better of DC its just hs bad luck got in the way.
8.Kubica - despite trouble adapting and getting beaten by his teammate, he is such a fighter and you just have to love watching him on track. if you say F1 is boring, just watch RK do a few laps!
9. Rosberg - the best thing about Williams F1 is this kid. once he gets a reliable car under him watch out.
10. Alonso - pure sympathy vote

honourable mention: Vettel.
And of course Button and Barrichello – this is were they both wanted to be so they don’t have a right to complain, and to their credit they didn’t really make too much fuss about driving the ugliest slowest car ever.

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by jab

I don't understand the reasoning behind putting Lewis at 1. Yes, he was great this season, but he cracked when it mattered the most, which is ironic after all the talk this season about Lewis driving like an experienced driver soaking up all the pressure and never making any mistakes

The one who didn't crack and did the business when he needed to should be number 1...

I'm not sure I agree with it, but I can understand it. Different people have different criteria. He finished one point away from the world championship despite having to learn F1 at the same time. That is impressive; in some ways he had to achieve more than the others just to be at the same level.

[ralf fan]

One man was the class of the field in 2007 for me, the man who featured as a contender for 10-10ths' driver of the day for every race. Yup, Mark Webber.

[Bononi]

Shhh... ralf fan... you're gonna wake them all.

[Sev]

I would add something significant to this post, except my feelings are exactly what's been written in the OP. So BootsOnTheSide++

[ralf fan]

1. Hamilton - What can you say, the most consistent performer out there, despite his rookie status.

2. Raikkonen - 9 podiums in the last 10 races, including 5 wins. The star of the 2nd half of the year. Now that he is settled at Ferrari he is going to be a force.

3. Massa - Genuine front runner now, needs to iron out a few things if he is going to be WDC.

4. Alonso - Apart from his drive at Monaco and Nurburgring, failed to really 'wow' me this season. Forget the off track crap but on track he wasn't the Alonso of 05 and 06.

5. Rosberg - Star!!

6. Kovalainen - Has effectively ended Fisi's career.

7. Heidfeld - Solid. Beat Kubica which is all you can expect.

8. Kubica - Next season is important. Can he recover from being beaten by Nick. But i enjoyed his racing this year. He is fearless when it comes to overtaking

[Racer_kyle]

1.Hamilton - just brilliant, you wondered when the mistakes would come, and sadly the biggest came at China

2.Raikkonen - After a mega start in Aus, dipped a bit but came storming back to take a deserved title.

3.Massa - on his day the class of the field. Pity it wasn't his day more often.

4.Rosberg- Made the most of an awful car. Future WDC

5. Kovaleinen - After a miserable start he really made amends with some good performances.

6. Heidfeld - Took the fight to Alonso at Bahrain and looked solid all year

7. Kubica - A very good season in my opinion, and a definate star of the future!

8.Sato - I will never forget that move on Alonso in Montreal - just amazing! The little guy has still got somethig to offer a midfield-rear end team.

9. Button - Honda's "My Earth Dream" was more of a nightmare, but he ahd some good drives and made the most of a bad car.

10. Alonso - baby.

[Red Bulldog]

Originally Posted by Bleu

1. Hamilton
2. Räikkönen
3. Massa
4. Heidfeld
5. Alonso
6. Kovalainen
7. Rosberg
8. Kubica
9. Webber
10. Button

My list is the same

Räikkönen looked shaky for a while but came through in the end
Kovalainen was disappointing at first but showed his potential later

The biggest disappointment to me was Davidson, finally got a chance to be noticed and did nothing with it.

[Trev Campbell]

1. Hamilton
2. Raikkonen
3. Massa
4. Alonso
5. Heidfeld
6. Rosberg
7. Kubica
8. Kovalainen
9. Webber
10. Button

[Inigo Montoya]

1) Raikkonen - took a few races to adjust to the new team, then one mistake in Monaco. Otherwise flawless.

2) Alonso - despite not having the support of his own team, he was in the title race until the last day. Enough said.

3) Hamilton - Unbelievable rookie season, and a future WDC, but his folding up like a pup tent under the pressure in Brasil show that he is not quite to the iceman's level yet. And lets face it, this has to be considered one of the greatest choke jobs ever.

4) Massa - Has it all under control now, and on any given day can be as fast as anyone.

5)Heidfeld - best of the rest... In a top car, as good as any.
6)Kubica
7) Rosberg
8)Kovalainen
9)Webber
10) Button

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Bononi

Shhh... ralf fan... you're gonna wake them all.

We're safe,I think they've all retired.

[rocketracer]

we're awake!


1. kimi - his chances were seemingly squandered midway through the season, but in a way that just simplified the job he had to do. But he did it, he was relentless, and for me it was the races when things were going wrong that he stood up and minimised a potential pointless weekend - such as japan. Something TGF was so good at doing.

2. lewis - of course it was a miracle season. He fluffed it in the end, but damn he did so much more than anyone could have reasonably fathomed. media hype inflating his head was the difference between the start and the end of his season.

3. heidfeld - really classy start to the year. he seemed to be in the "no man's land" between the front 4 and the rest of the field for almost all year. Got little tv coverage such was the loneliness of his season. But possibly his best year to date in my books. beat kubica pretty effortlessly it has to be said.

4. rosberg - he was just really really good this year. Gutted for him on numerous occasions. I hope for his sake that he doesnt turn into a perenially "putting it where it doesnt belong" driver who doesnt finish. frontline drive for him soon should avert that happening.

5. alonso - not his best, but still showed his class numerous times.

6. massa - everyone wrote him off before the start of the season, but he was consistently on the money. I still dont think he has that extra bit to become a WDC, but still pretty good all year.

7. Webber - If it werent for bad luck, he wouldnt have any luck at all... Anyone who drives a tricky race tobe running second in a RBR with a helmet full of semi-digested tempura gets some respect in my books! excuses aside, he shadowed DC in all but one race this year. Hopefully something falls his way next year.

8. Heikki - shocking start, but to his credit he came back from it. Fisi flattered his performances, but looking forward to his next few years.

9. vettel - showed some flashes of brilliance late in the year. Probably the most talented driver on the current grid for mine </big statement>

10. button - rarely had a chance to show anything, but seized his opportunities when they arose. A real talent going to waste unfortunately.

[mac]

1) Raikkonen - Won the title in the most evenly fought championship in years. Thoroughly deserving champion who demolished his opposition in the second half of 2007

2) Hamilton - By far the revelation of 2007. Beaten into second for a few mistakes under the pump at the end - and a couple of ordinary runs in the middle of the season. His time will undoubtedly come...

3) Webber - I'll probably cop some heat for this, but I cannot think of a single reason why anyone below Webber on this list deserves to be in front of him. Should have had more podiums and many more points - drove magnificently in the vast majority of races, only for incidents outside his control to destroy his season. Easily best of the rest for mine...

4) Rosberg - Clearly impressive this season, however I can't help feel that Wurz's struggle to return to racing lifted his status a touch. Was frequently mega in a tidy little Williams-Toyota package, often fighting with drivers with better machinery.

5) Alonso - Two points away from taking the title, some stunning drives (like Nurburgring) and possible champion if not for the Hungarian disaster, should see him higher up the list - but he made more mistakes this year than in the last three combined and looked distinctly ragged on occasion.

6) Massa - Impressed in the first half of the year, and should have been fighting for the championship further into the season if not for reliability woes. Kimi clearly got the better of him in the second half of the season. Will need to re-establish his standing within the team early in 2008.

7) Kubica - Slightly partisan choice as I am a massive fan for Kubica, and he was maybe only slightly better than Heidfeld. But he is just so entertaining to watch race - let's hope the bosses at BMW don't smooth out all of his ragged edges.

8) Sutil - An absolute star. Repeatedly drove well above anyone's expectations of the Spyker. As a rookie striving to get the absolute most out of a very poor car, a few mistakes can be forgiven. Not afraid to mix it with the big boys either.

9) Kovalainen - Once he got to grips with it all, Heikki was quite impressive - almost Hakkinen-esque at times. Hopefully he isn't forced to accept number two status at Renault next year...

10) Heidfeld - As solid as ever for Quick Nick - if a little unspectacular. Rarely grabbed any headlines, but was always there or thereabouts. Robert and Nick were perhaps the most even team combination (along with the McLaren duo) in 2007 .

[OZ_HCR32]

Originally Posted by mac

1) Raikkonen

2) Hamilton

3) Webber

4) Rosberg

5) Massa

6) Alonso

7) Kubica

8) Vettel Not Sutil

9) Kovalainen

10) Heidfeld .

Almost my top 10.