Driver of the Season

[steveaki13]

Give us your top 3 or 5 or whatever you like of the season.

:)

[henners88]

Hamilton, Verstappen and Vettel for me. All provided entertaining drives regularly.

[steveaki13]

1. Sebastian Vettel - I think Seb proved many wrong and out drove his Ferrari so often. He kept the dominant Mercedes honest as best he could. Will probably be an underrated season.

2. Lewis Hamilton - Won the title but really not as big an achievement given it was one of two. He also was beaten a lot late on and so it wasn't a perfect season.

3. Max Verstappen - I felt the youngster was not only a star for his results but just some of his driving. In an age where people moan about aero and with DRS making stuff easy, he stood out as brave and skilful.

4. Nico Rsoberg - Would have been lower but for his stunning late season form, however he needs to do this earlier and battle for the title.

5. Dani Kyvat - Just as Ricciardo was great to beat Seb last season, Kyvat has been good to do likewise and beat Ricciardo. He has made some mistakes but has been fast on occasions racing up the front.

6. Sergio Perez - The Mexican has had a good season. Beating Hulkenberg by 20 points aint half bad.

7. Romain Grosjean - I think he done a good job. Beating Maldonado easily and leading Lotus well. Not crashing as he used too.

8. Felipe Nasr - I think a solid job from the young Brazilian in a Sauber which was battling Mclarens most of the season. He outshone Ericcson.

9. Felipe Massa- Slightly disappointing season for Williams, but Massa matched Bottas more than I expected. I thought the finn you step up, but old boy Massa did OK.


10. Kimi Raikkonen- I had hoped Kimi would race hard and use this great Ferrari. He had some good races, but made too many errors and had some bad luck. Sad season for Kimi. Lets hope its better in 2016.

11. Carlos Sainz - Another youngster to do OK, however was a fair way behind Verstappen in the final reckoning.

12. Jenson Button - I think he actually showed again why he is a great driver. He has never been the fastest, but again outscored a better rated driver and in a tough season, did not resort to the chatter that Alonso did. Professional and chipper.

13. Valtteri Bottas - I expected him to move up a gear, but actually did not impress me as much as last season. I guess h was unlucky but average in my opinion.

14. Daniel Ricciardo - Average season, after 3 wins last year and beating Seb he should have shown his leadership, however did not do so and lost out to Kyvat.

15. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India have a decent car but for a driver many rated as top level. He lost out massively to Perez and looked lost much of the season. Nice Le Mans win but maybe his F1 days are numbered.

16. Roberto Merhi - I thought of the three Manor drivers he surprised me most. Looked fast for the car at times and beat Stevens often.

17. Marcus Ericcson - Hard time in a not very good Sauber. However Nasr did far more. Days in F1 must be limited barring sponsorship.

18. Alex Rossi - Done a decent job in his few races. Hard to judge as usual.

19. Pastor Maldonado - Crashed way to often as usual and was a slow donkey most of the season.

20. Fernando Alonso - Considering his reputation I thought he was poor. Lost to Jenson and constantly bad mouthing the team was a poor show. Would a top team take him again these days? Not sure they would.

21. Will Stevens - I was expecting him to dominate his team mates but was average in a poor car.

22. Kevin Magnussen - You could easily forget he competed this season, but he did. Not rating him really as he had only one race. Just including him for a mention

[N4D13]

Hamilton takes the cake, as he has been supreme for most of the year. He's had his blips here and there, but there's no denying that when he's at it, he's as good as unbeatable.

Then Vettel, who's managed to put in great races for most of the year as well and pounded the hell out of Kimi.

As for the third pick, I have no clue, to be honest. I'll go with Pérez, who's had a few stellar races lately and had the better of his highly-regarded teammate.

Since henners88 mentioned Verstappen and I guess some others will drop his name too, I'll leave this here. Max is an exciting driver to watch but probably not as great as people think of him - his teammate and him have been pretty evenly matched for the whole season and hardly anyone talks about Sainz. There's a high points difference between them, but Max has had 2 DNFs due to reliability issues against Carlos' 7 and the Spaniard has also had lots of bad pitstops during the season, not through his own fault. If this season has shown anything about the STR drivers, it's probably that that they're too close to call.

[andyone]

Hamilton , vestapen and Sainz junior
i think hamilton has done a good season and he won it before the end
the two rookies made every race they were in intresting.

[Storm]

Hamilton and Vettel were good...The rookies did surprise me and a lot of folks I guess...Verstappen, even Sainz.

[Rollo]

1. Jensen Button - Probably had the worst car apart from the Marussias but unlike Alonso, didn't whinge; kept relatively happy and more importantly, kept fighting on.
2. Daniil Kyvat - He out ran Ricciardo and showed courage and ticker.
3. Sebastian Vettel - Vettel in a kind oh meh year behind the silver arrows, was still happy and looked like he liked being out there.
4. Mark Webber - For being out of F1 and staying out.
5. Valtteri Bottas - He was fun to watch. Finns are often unpredictable and ridiculously quick on occasion.

[The Black Knight]

Sebastien can't be counted as the best driver of the season. He had two races where he made some really basic errors on multiple occassions - Bahrain and Mexico.

There's only one person that can be counted as driver of the season and that's the man that trashed Nico Rosberg to the title - Lewis Hamilton. He simply raised his game and the bar this year, finished in the top two every time he finished barring that colossal fuck up that was Monaco, where he really dominated, and Hungary which was an off race. Other than that he has been mega. Took his eye off the ball the last couple of races. Whether that is due to his celebrating of winning a 3rd WDC, issue with car set up, health or a little bit of each, I don't know, but I think it has been his best season to date from a driving point of view.

I think Perez was very impressive throughout the entire season. I think he had a thoroughly good year and was one of the best drivers on the grid, in my opinion.

Verstappen and Sainz - both equally impressive, in my opinion, even though Verstappen, unfairly, grabbed the headlines all the time. I am looking forward to seeing them next year.

Bottas, Massa, Rosberg, Hulkenberg all had mediocre seasons.

Alonso was beaten in points for the first time in his career by a teammate. Resorted to GP2 engine comments. I was not impressed.

I think Jenson Button is one of my drivers of the season. Not alone did he beat in points Alonso, but he has stayed professional and proud throughout the torrid year McLaren are having. He always picks the team up and is a pleasure to watch in an interview. He's a gent and true racer by any stretch of the imagination and has come out of season without telling the world he is driving a GP2 engine. Good on him!

Kvyat and Ricciardo were very equally matched and either could have beaten the other on points.

Kimi - rubbish all season and should be replaced.

Grosjean - stayed professional and grown as a racing driver in my eyes. Looking forward to seeing him in Haas.

Ericsson impressive at times and deserved more imo.

Nasr - never even noticed him after Oz - he just went missing.

Maldonado - the worst of everyone. A stupid fool that has no place on the F1 grid. He's not alone a danger to himself but he is to others. All talk about safety is a joke, imo, while this knobjockey is allowed behind the wheel of an F1 car.

[zako85]

I normally tend to side with those who choose the winner as the driver of the race/season. Hamilton had a classy, mistake-free season, and he clearly dominated over his fairly formidable teammate.

PS: I am still on the fence with regards to whether Perez is a "future great", but he did have an amazingly good finish to the season. He beat Hulkenberg in fair and square battle, and that was an interesting one. I can imagine that Perez could be a candidate to move up to a better funded team eventually. Having said that, Force India is not a bad place to be right now. Very solid and consistent team. I couldn't be surprised if Force India could beat teams like Williams next year.

[N. Jones]

Vettel. I didn't think he was going to win any races.

[Zico]

Some of you might by horrified by this but for me... really hard to seperate Verstappen and Sainz, they were both excellent and fully deserving of the Driver of the Season title imo..

Best of the rest..

Vettel? Outstanding season and would have easily have been my Driver of the season if he hadn't spoiled it by having a couple of very poor races.

Hamilton and Rosberg should probably also have been up there but unlike the rest of the grid, they really only had each other to race... meh!

[The Black Knight]

Vettel. I didn't think he was going to win any races.

Vettel had two very poor races this season. He was top notch for most of the time and, were it not for Mexico, I'd have counted him as driver of the season. I think a driver can be forgiven one off race in a season but two off races in a season is not someone worthy of driver of the season. However, he impressed far more than he did last year anyway.

[The Black Knight]

Some of you might by horrified by this but for me... really hard to seperate Verstappen and Sainz, they were both excellent and fully deserving of the Driver of the Season title imo..

Best of the rest..

Vettel? Outstanding season and would have easily have been my Driver of the season if he hadn't spoiled it by having a couple of very poor races.

Hamilton and Rosberg should probably also have been up there but unlike the rest of the grid, they really only had each other to race... meh!

That's hardly their fault though, is it?

[jens]

Give us your top 3 or 5 or whatever you like of the season.

:)

Obviously Hamilton and Vettel stood out as the best performers.

Ricciardo would be my P3 I think. It may have gone unnoticed, but he lost a chunk of points due to unreliability. Still performed well, even if not quite to the standard of 2014. Kvyat is simply good, and that's why he was close, not that Ricciardo is not-so-good. Red Bull has done a stunning youth work!

The bright sides/positive surprises of the season were Pérez, Verstappen and Kvyat.

Kvyat gave Ricciardo a run for his money.

Verstappen was thrown into deep end. I think most people had a hunch the kid must be talented, but he proved convincingly he is "not too young" either and can easily mix it with the establised elite.

Pérez had an impressive season by his standards - he has been fast in the past too, but also beat Hülkenberg with consistency this time around!

Sadly Button and Alonso had to deal with a crap car, so can't say much about them.

Bottas did okay I think, as did Rosberg. Not great, not bad.

Massa had a string of good performances, but still faded later on.

Hülkenberg - not slow, but surprisingly inconsistent this year.

Grosjean - decent enough. Shame he will get a crap car next year.

Sainz - okayish, but left in the shadow of Max. Probably Sainz will face the fate of Vergne, et al - a couple of seasons in F1 and then out.

Nasr & Ericsson. A few decent performances, but overall not a standout. Kudos for two top 6 finishes for Nasr.

Räikkönen - had some unluck, but overall past it.

Maldonado - interesting that he has almost thoroughly been outqualified by Grosjean. In the past left an impression that he could at least be fast, but he really isn't. While consistency was never there...

[Javi013]

1 Hamilton
2 Vettel
3 Verstappen

[Nitrodaze]

Hamilton
Vettel
Verstapenn
Rosberg
Kyvat
Bottas
Grojean
Perez
Ricciado
Kimi
Massa
Alonso
Sainz

In that order.

[Zico]

That's hardly their fault though, is it?



No, you're right, its not their fault but isn't the point of a thread like this, that we can also show recognition to drivers who performed really well in less competitive cars?

Max just really stood out for me. He made only one mistake (that I can remember) in this, his debut season. Not only quick but unfazed and raced wheel to wheel with the best of them. He also made the most overtakes out of everyone on the grid. Kinda reminiscent of Lewis's first season in F1... and despite being in a lesser performing car compared to the Mac of that time his debut performance was at least right up there with it IMO.

[driveace]

Hamilton head and shoulders above the others,only lost at end of season to appease Mercedes.
Vettel Has developed into a better racer and person now at Ferrari.
Vestapen a true racer more passes than any other
Perez drove his bollocks off ,well most of the time

[CNR]

young max

[dj_bytedisaster]

Sebastien can't be counted as the best driver of the season. He had two races where he made some really basic errors on multiple occassions - Bahrain and Mexico.

There's only one person that can be counted as driver of the season and that's the man that trashed Nico Rosberg to the title - Lewis Hamilton.

You're kidding, right? Hamilton has done exactly nothing. He beat ONE man, that's it. Otherwise he had no competition whatsoever. That Vettel was sometimes in the mix is more testament to Seb's talent than anything else. Hamilton let Rosberg slap him from left to right at the end of the season. The Sennas, Schumachers and Mansells of this world would never have let something like that happen. Naming Hamilton driver of the year is ridiculous at best. He's the Kanye West of the year, maybe, but that's it.

The driver of the year has to be Max Verstappen. What sort of horror scenarios were people painting last year at the idea of a 17-year-old in F1, but he proved them all wrong. He was the overtaking master of the whole grid.

[dj_bytedisaster]

Vettel had two very poor races this season. He was top notch for most of the time and, were it not for Mexico, I'd have counted him as driver of the season. I think a driver can be forgiven one off race in a season but two off races in a season is not someone worthy of driver of the season. However, he impressed far more than he did last year anyway.

Hamilton had FOUR very poor races - Hungary, Mexico, Brazl and Abu Dhabi. Yet you named him your driver of the year. Double standard much?

[The Black Knight]

Hamilton had FOUR very poor races - Hungary, Mexico, Brazl and Abu Dhabi. Yet you named him your driver of the year. Double standard much?

Hungary was a poor race. Mexico, Brazil and Abu Dhabi he just got beaten on Saturday. The races he drove weren't really that bad. In Mexico and Brazil he was quicker than Rosberg but just couldn't pass him. Hardly a bad race since Mercedes got a 1-2 at the last 3 rounds of the season. Abu Dhabi he was quicker for some parts of the race and both he and Rosberg were reasonably matched for pace throughout.

[CNR]

this is not only best driver is it ?
http://hasmaldonadocrashedtoday.com/

[Tazio]

:champion: I'm really down with The Boss, now that we both ride MV Agusta. Shouldn't be a big surprise since Mercedes bought 25% Of the Co. :cool:

Lewis said of the project; "I have a huge passion for bikes so the opportunity to work with MV Agusta on my own Dragster RR LH Limited Edition has been a great experience. I have really enjoyed the creative design process with the MV Agusta team, it looks amazing; really aggressive with fantastic attention to detail, I am truly proud of the result. I love riding this bike, it is so much fun, I hope its new owners love it as much as I do.”
http://www.fullnoise.com.au/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_full&News_id=21472

[Big Ben]

I almost pulled a muscle from rolling my eyes so hard when I read how some compare Button and Alonso's seasons based on points. Also Button is quite appreciated for his lack an ambition.

[Tazio]

Grosjean - stayed professional and grown as a racing driver in my eyes. Looking forward to seeing him in Haas. Aside from the fact that he keeps talking about "The American Dream" How you like him now baby!