318 replies to this topic

[santori]

As traditional, give your top 10 drivers of the season. Mine, for now:

1. Robert Kubica Ahead of Alonso because of his consistency
2. Fernando Alonso The best driver, probably, but for me some scrappiness in the first half of the year drops his season behind Robert's.
3. Lewis Hamilton Some extraordinary drives. A few mistakes drop him to third in my list but he can comfort himself with the championship and Nicole, I suppose.
4. Felipe Massa Had a very similar season to that of Lewis. The most improved driver since... Mansell? Lauda?
5. Sebastien Vettel A fantastic addition to F1. Please let the Red Bull be good enough for him.
6. Nick Heidfeld He had his qualifying problems but always raced well
7. Kimi Raikkonen He had his qualifying problems but also some excellent races. He seemed more erratic than Heidfeld, though.
8. Jarno Trulli A very good year. If Toyota's season had been reversed he'd probably get even better reviews.
9. Mark Webber Bad luck, good driving.
10. Timo Glock Overcame his early problems to finish the season on pretty equal terms with his team-mate.

To remind and embarrass: 2008 predictions

Edits in italics.

[conkeso]

1st half of the season Kubica-Hamilton-Kimi-Massa
2nd half of the season Alonso-Massa-Vettel-Hamilton

Top 10 is difficult to judge

[noikeee]

Originally posted by santori
As traditional, give your top 10 drivers of the season. Mine, for now:

1. Robert Kubica
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. Felipe Massa
5. Sebastien Vettel
6. Nick Heidfeld
7. Kimi Raikkonen
8. Jarno Trulli
9. Mark Webber
10. Timo Glock

To remind and embarrass: 2008 predictions

You've read my mind, that top 10 is very very similar to mine. I'll post it with some comments later.

[andy walker]

1 Alonso
2 Hammy
3 Massa
4 Vettel
5 Kubica
6 Truilli
7 Heidfeld


I did my top 7.

[bankoq]

Originally posted by conkeso
1st half of the season Kubica-Hamilton-Kimi-Massa
2nd half of the season Alonso-Massa-Vettel-Hamilton

Top 10 is difficult to judge

[molive]

Lets consider the SEASON and not the last race...

Hamilton
Massa (virtually tied with LH in 1st place)
Kubica
Alonso
Vettel
Kimi
Bourdais

[UPRC]

1. Vettel
2. Alonso
3. Massa
4. Hamilton
5. Kubica
6. Trulli
7. Raikkonen
8. Glock
9. Kovalainen
10. Bourdais

[GiancarloF1]

1st is a three way tie between Hamilton, Massa and Alonso.

Then Kubica, Vettel.

Then the rest.

[markf]

1. Alonso
2. Vettel
3. Kubica
4. Hamilton
5. Massa
6. Raikkonen

[Francesc]

1. Fernando Alonso
2. Robert Kubica
3. Sebastian Vettel
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Felipe Massa
6. Nick Heidfeld
7. Timo Glock
8. Jarno Trulli
9. Rubens Barrichello
10. Mark Webber

[Cenotaph]

This is always very subjective, perhaps tomorrow i will come up with a different list, but at this moment i feel it goes like this:

1st. Kubica
2nd. Massa
3rd. Hamilton
4th. Vettel
5th. Alonso
6th. Heidfeld
7th. Trulli
8th. Kimi
9th. Webber
10th. Glock

The first five are all very close though. I think it was a shame that Alonso didnt get a better car for all season, that BMW couldn't keep up with McLaren and Ferrari, and it will be a sin if Vettel doesnt get a great drive next season.

Kimi dissapointed me in his title defense, but you can tell he still has it, just needs to get his head and car together.

[Nukle]

Originally posted by markf
1. Alonso
2. Vettel
3. Kubica
4. Hamilton
5. Massa
6. Raikkonen

You´ve read my mind

[marcinito]

1. Kubica (as a driver for a consistent season, single mistake in Silverstone although I wouldn't call aquaplaning a driver mistake, pity it doesn't show in the standings in the end, but blame the car development)

2. Alonso (doing miracles in a shitty car)

3. Massa (unlucky for losing the title, also made several mistakes)

4. Hamilton (although a WDC, I consider him very lucky, also made a couple of silly errors)
5. Vettel (didn't really shine in the first half of the season, but impressed me later on)
6. Raikkonnen
7. Heidfeld
8. Trulli
9. Webber
10. Glock

[fnz]

1 FA
2 FM
3 RK
4 LH
5 SV
6 TG
7 NH
8 HK
9 RB
10 NR

[Nonesuch]

Drivers:
1. Robert Kubica - Solid drive, this season is one for the 'what if' category.
2. Felipe Massa - Terrible start to the season, but grew into a challenger together with the F2008.
3. Fernando Alonso - 2008 made me appreciate him more than earlier seasons have.
4. Lewis Hamilton - Impressed me more in 2007.
5. Sebastien Vettel - Really shined in some races. His win in Monza was well deserved!

Teams:
1. Renault - Impressive improvement during the season.
2. McLaren - Fast, reliable car and a team that seems to know what it's doing.
3. Toro Rosso - They really did some impressive things with that car.
4. Ferrari - Too many mistakes, too many excuses. Eventually you run out of "next race"s.
5. BMW - There weren't many races where they could really challenge, but a solid year nonetheless.

[Infinityl]

1st Alonso , He does an incredible job with the car he has.
2nd Kubica , He was 1st with a BMW, excelent job.
3rd Vettel , Near to Alonso and Kubica.

4 Massa , very good seasson, his best atm. He losed the WDC in pits.
5 Hamilton , I think he can do a lot better. If he repeat so many errors next years its going to be hard to see him win again if Kubica, Alonso, Vettel has a decent car.
6 Raikkonen , Bad year for the WDC deffense.
7 Heidfeld , He can do a lot better too.
8 Kovalainen , He can do better but we all know how hard is to be #2 in Mclaren.

[pjaxz]

Alonso - Kubica - Massa - Hamilton at the same level. Difficult to choose
5. Vettel
6. Trulli
7. Heidfeld
8. Kimi
9. Glock
10. Webber

[Guinnevvere]

1. Alonso
2. Vettel
3. Kubica

etc.

[andy walker]

Awww, No Buttons.

Poor bugger!

[pike]

Alonso
Kubica
Hamilton
Masa
Vettel
Reikkonen
Trulli
Glock
Weber
Kovalainen

[Leyser]

First Tier: Alonso, Hamilton, Massa

Second Tier: Kubica, Vettel



The Rest: Glock, Heidfeld, Kovalainen, Raikkonen, Webber

[BunnyK]

1. Kubica: what he did in the early races was amazing, a shame BMW didn't develop as expected or he could have been challenging Massa and Hamilton for the title. And by far the least error prone of ALL the drivers in the field

2. Massa: he did some awful races like Silverstone, Fuji or Malasia were he could have grabbed some vital points in the end of the season, BUT the team made too many mistakes to deserve the WCC: Monaco strategy, Hungary engine blow up, Singapore pit lights, Canada pitstop without refuelling (and having to pit behind kimi)...

3. Hamilton: did enough to win a championship nobody wanted, winning it in the last corner of the last lap says it all, but also was robbed of many points due to stewards decisions, although, not as many as some of his fans pretend to make us think. McLaren did an outstanding job, gave him a reliable car (not a single engine failure in 2 years ) I can only remember a pitstop longer than expected in Malasya due to a wheel which got stuck... but after what he did last year you would have expected more from him, anyway, he learned the most important lesson, to win the title you don't have to win the race.

4. Vettel & Alonso: I really have to say they have done a superb end of the season, the second half of the season has been brilliant, and THAT victory in a wet monza in front a McLaren had to break some record (youngest winner ), but both did a bad first half of the season, too many mistakes, and you have to excuse them as they had a pig of a car (red bull chasis came too late and renault engine was competing with honda)

And I can't judge the others as I haven't followed their season so closely.

s!

[HMV]

1. Tied Hamilton-Massa - Because they made it enjoyable as long as it could have been

2. Alonso-Vettel-Kubica - Respectively, for being an old fox, rookie of the year and consistency

(insert the rest here)

3. Kova - I like him, I really do. It's just that driving the fastest car on the grid makes for some expectations. None were satisfied and that's a big shame.

[Galko877]

1. Kubica
2. Vettel
3. Massa=Hamilton
5. Alonso
6. Trulli
7. Glock
8. Webber

[Jamelon]

1. Vettel
2. Alonso
3. Kubica
4. Massa
5. Hamilton

Top 3 are top class drivers, FM and LH aren't, but they had no opposition given the poor performance of their teammates and the rest of the cars.

Top disappointments: Raikkonen and Kovalainen

[raiseyourfistfor]

1st Hamilton
2nd Massa
3rd Vettel
4th Alonso
5th Kubica
6th Heidfeld
7th Trulli
8th Glock
9th Raikkonen
10th Rosberg

[Motormedia]

1. Alonso - only driver that could be called great in the field.
2. Hamilton - not quite at Alonsos level yet, but he has the potential.
Massa - performed at top of his potential. Great season with a very cruel ending.
4. Kubica - another driver with potential for greatness. Didn't quite last the whole season.
5. Vettel - same as for Kubica, except he became stronger as the season progressed.
6. Trulli - one of his best seasons but still, there is something lacking that prevents him from realising his potential.
7. Raikkonen - underachiever of the year. Never before has a reigning champion been so outclassed by his team mate.
8. Glock - performed way better than anyone thought.
9. Heidfeld - picked up a tremendous amount of point despite poor qualifying.
10. Webber - picked up the left overs in a steady fashion.

[Victor]

1. No one
2. No one
3. Alonso
4. Kubica
5. Massa
6. Hamilton
7. Vettel
8. Trulli

[Viceroy]

1. Alonso
2. Vettel
3. Kubica
4. Hamilton
5. Massa
6. Trulli, Webber, Glock
9. Rosberg
10.Barrichello

[aditya-now]

1. Alonso
2. Vettel
3. Massa
4. Hamilton
5. Kubica
6. Trulli
7. Raikkonen
8. Heidfeld
9. Glock
10. Kovalainen

It would be great to have a total standings of this poll after two weeks or so, Santori. Points-based, 10 to 1.

[Blue16]

Alonso
Kubica
Hamilton
Massa
Vettel
Raikkonen
Heidfeld
Trulli
Glock
Webber


No doubt Autocourse will be something like:

Nakajima
Sato
Coulthard
Kovalainen
Sutil
Fisichella
Button
Bourdais
Davidson
Rosberg

[gaston_foix]

Originally posted by markf
1. Alonso
2. Vettel
3. Kubica
4. Hamilton
5. Massa
6. Raikkonen

You´ve read my mind to....

[Dark Monkey]

1. Alonso
2. Kubica
3. Vettel
4. Heidfeld
5. Glock / Trulli
7. Massa / Hamilton
9. Raikkonen
10. Barrichello

[4MEN]

Originally posted by Infinityl
1st Alonso , He does an incredible job with the car he has.
2nd Kubica , He was 1st with a BMW, excelent job.
3rd Vettel , Near to Alonso and Kubica.

4 Massa , very good seasson, his best atm. He losed the WDC in pits.
5 Hamilton , I think he can do a lot better. If he repeat so many errors next years its going to be hard to see him win again if Kubica, Alonso, Vettel has a decent car.
6 Raikkonen , Bad year for the WDC deffense.
7 Heidfeld , He can do a lot better too.
8 Kovalainen , He can do better but we all know how hard is to be #2 in Mclaren.

I agree, but with Kova out of the top-8. I'm sure Toyota drivers or Webber deserve that place.

[Knowlesy]

1. Lewis Hamilton - world champion. Still developing as a topline driver, but put in some stunning drives. Silverstone, China, Monaco, as well as some unheralded drives at races like Spain and Belgium. Overcame slight car deficiency compared to Ferrari and a governing body hellbent on stopping McLaren winning anything. Should go on to be the greatest driver of his generation.

2. Fernando Alonso - a dodgy middle part of the season aside, the old Alonso magic has not gone away. Was never outqualified by his teammate all year long, a slightly lucky win in Singapore and a stunning drive at Fuji and a fantastic end of the year with podiums and points galore. Managed to finish ahead of a McLaren in the standings. Brilliant.

3. Sebastien Vettel - The season start was peppered with some horrid results as he got entangled with other cars, almost always not by his own fault. What followed was just sensational though topped with a win at Monza.

4. Robert Kubica - Very consistent performer and another debutant winner this year. Should go on to good things, but hard top say until he is operating under significant pressure.

5. Felipe Massa - A valiant season indeed. His start was awful and amateurish, but since then he has rarely done much wrong. He has much to be proud of, but ultimately failed to win the title in the best car and with no teammate to contend with. A fighter who deserves enormous credit for his improvement.

6. Jarno Trulli - a surprise and yet not a surprise. His first half was simply too much for his teammate Glock to keep up with. Did fade a bit in the second half though. Another guy who doesn't get enough credit.

7. Timo Glock - Slow start, but showed what he was made of lately after kickstarting his campaign in Hungary. Underrated.

8. Kimi Raikkonen - Shocking year. Some bad luck for sure, but he has come off the back of a winless run stretching back to May. This in probably the best car, although it undeniably suited Massa better in some situations. Must motivate himself for 2009 in order to regain his reputation.

9. Nick Heidfeld - Solid. Outperformed by Kubica by and large, but still pops up in a reasonable place on the points table.

10. Mark Webber - some good qualifying runs (Silverstone!) and the odd decent race run. Err, that's it.

[Risil]

Can't possibly order them. But like everyone else, I think the two title protagonists, Kubica, Alonso, and Vettel were absolutely astounding. And all of them under 30. Formula One is in good hands -- my only wish is that Maldonado can find some consistency, and that Rosberg finds a decent car.

[roxu]

1.- Alonso: Impressive job with this Renault.
2.- Massa: Great season.
3.- Hamilton: Mix of great races and mistakes. Could have won the title 3 races before with this McLaren. The man with more points -> Well deserved WDC. Congrats.
4.- Vettel: The new star. Deserve the wheel in a red or silver car.
5.- Kubica: Consistent. In the las races his car did not allow him fight for podiums.
6.- Trulli: Some good results
7.- Webber: Always get the best from his car. Lots of Q3 with his Red Bull. Deserves a better car.


I expected much much more from

8.- Raikkonen: Two races is a poor result for a WDC in a red car.
9.- Rosberg: Some good drives. Second in Hockenheim, great race in Japan. Deserve a better car.
10.a Kovalainen: Seventh in the championship, 1 victory. Very poor results in a McRocket.
10.b Heidfeld: I always liked this driver. Very grey season. Shadowed by his teammate.

Barrichello: Horrible car. Struggled the whole season. Got some finishes in points and one podium that his car did'nt deserve. Good season.
Coulthard: Podium in Montreal. Struggled with his Red Bull.
Piquet: Lots of DNF, 0/18 in Saturdays with his teammate. Being a rookie is not an excuse. Took his chance with that Safety Car in the last part of the race in Hockenheim.
Bourdais: I expected much much more from him. Even in a Toro rosso. In the last races his car allowed better results.


Nakajima: several point finishes. Did his job.
Button: 3 points in Barna. That's all. The car is at least better than force india.
Fisi, Sutil: I saw them in TV when got lapped. Did Sutil reach any Q2?

[thuGG]

1. Kubica
2. Alonso
3. Massa
4. Hamilton
5. Vettel
6. Raikkonen
7. Webber
8. Glock
9. Trulli
10. Barichello

Very close from 1 to 5.

[jk]

1. Vettel - His Monza weekend was probably the most impressive of the entire year. To really dominate a weekend in the 3-4th best car at his age, is very impressive. Also Interlagos was impressive, managed to beat Hamilton in tricky conditions.
2. Alonso - Singapore was lucky, but Fuji was a great win. In the second half of the season he was incredible strong. I much prefer Alonso when he is fighting the top cars in the 3rd best car than when he is holding a finger for every race win
3. Massa - A lot of good wins, and reliability/pit ****offs cost him the title. Easily stronger than the defending champion. But some weekends were he was nowhere.
4. Kubica - Had some very good drives, but when he is off he just disappears. Definately a guy who can win the WDC given the right car.
5. Hamilton - Probably the most talented driver of them all. Some great drivers like Beijing, but also some stupid mistakes like Canada. Cracked at the title decider, and got saved by the bell. But a very talented kid, and while he in my opinion was not the driver of the year, he is definately a worthy champion.

Apart from these, no drivers really stood out.

[prxty]

Originally posted by markf
1. Alonso
2. Vettel
3. Kubica
4. Hamilton
5. Massa
6. Raikkonen

+1

[prxty]

Originally posted by santori
As traditional, give your top 10 drivers of the season. Mine, for now:

1. Robert Kubica Ahead of Alonso because of his consistency
2. Fernando Alonso The best driver, probably, but for me some scrappiness in the first half of the year drops his season behind Robert's.
3. Lewis Hamilton Some extraordinary drives. A few mistakes drop him to third in my list but he can comfort himself with the championship and Nicole, I suppose.
4. Felipe Massa Had a very similar season to that of Lewis. The most improved driver since... Mansell? Lauda?
5. Sebastien Vettel A fantastic addition to F1. Please let the Red Bull be good enough for him.
6. Nick Heidfeld He had his qualifying problems but always raced well
7. Kimi Raikkonen He had his qualifying problems but also some excellent races. He seemed more erratic than Heidfeld, though.
8. Jarno Trulli A very good year. If Toyota's season had been reversed he'd probably get even better reviews.
9. Mark Webber Bad luck, good driving.
10. Timo Glock Overcame his early problems to finish the season on pretty equal terms with his team-mate.

To remind and embarrass: 2008 predictions

Edits in italics.

At the end you have to do the count. Give them points like in a race and do an average.
That is the risk if you start threads like this.

[FLB]

I think my list may evolve, but for now:


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

[airwise]

1. Hamilton
2. Massa
3. Vettel
4. Alonso
5. Kubica
6.Webber
7. Raikkonen
8.Trulli
9.Kovalainen
10.Glock.

[Exc - use]

2008 Season & Overall

1.- Kubica (Overall 2nd)
2.- Massa (Overall 6th)
3.- Alonso (Overall 1st)
4.- Hamilton (Overall 3rd)
5.- Vettel (Overall 5th)
6.- Trulli (Overall 9th)
7.- Glock (Overall 10th)
8.- Heidfield (Overall 7th)
9.- Raikkonen (Overall 4th)
10.- Webber (Overall 8th)

[Apex]

1. Hamilton - Driver of the year, 5 wins and WDC title in an inferior car.
2. Vettel - Several flawless drives where he put the car where it did not deserve to be, who can forget that Monza win.
3. Kubica - Many good, solid races, faded a little towards the end.
4. Alonso - Had the exact opposite of Kubica's season, great last five or so races. Before that, well... meh...
5. Massa - Had the best car overall but some crucial mistakes both by the team and himself cost him dearly, still should have taken the title, given the car and Kimi's performance.
6. Räikkönen - What the hell happened? Showed great race pace for much of the season but, with a few exceptions, terrible qualifying pace. Faded a bit when title hope was gone.
7. Heidfeld - Outperformed by team mate, good in races, bad in qualifying, didn't embarrass himself.
8. Trulli - Was his usual self, good but not great.
9. Barrichello - Terrible car, still got a few good results out of it earlier in the season.
10. Glock - Nice solid rookie season, especially the second half.


Would be interesting to see how different these lists would turn out if the season had been run in reverse, starting with Massa winning the Brazilian GP and ending with Hamilton winning the Australian GP. I get a distinct feeling that some lists are based more on the later part of the season

[Cenotaph]

dunno, some of hamilton's worst drives were done in the first couple of races. and china was a great race for him, i think it would not change that much. I took the whole season into consideration which is why Alonso might seem a bit too low on my list to some, he was the best in the end, no doubt, but he was unimpressive at the start and threw away a good result in Canada.

[alg7_munif]

1 Lewis Hamilton
2 Felipe Massa
3 Kimi Räikkönen
4 Robert Kubica
5 Fernando Alonso
6 Nick Heidfeld
7 Heikki Kovalainen
8 Sebastian Vettel
9 Jarno Trulli
10 Timo Glock

[MSf]

1st part of the season

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

2nd part of the season

1) Alonso
2) Massa
3) Hamilton
4) Vettel
5) Kubica
6) Glock
7) Heidfeld
8) Trulli
9) Raikkonen
10) Barrichello?

[Crazy Canuck]

1) Alonso
2) Kubica
3) Vettle
4) Massa
5) Hamilton
6) Raikkonen
7) Trulli
8) Glock
9) Kovaleinen
10) Heidfeld

[sschinning]

1. Vettel: Showed what's in store next seasons: A lot!
2. Alonso: Amazing final half of season, took ALL the points others left up for grabs! That's WDC style.
4. Kubica: Great Season. Put up great consistency in first half season.
3. Massa: Proved he's not there to play second fidle. Still i dont think real WDC material. Only quick from pole it seems.
4. Hamilton: Could have two out of two, could have none out of two: Has one! Great racer. Still needs to mature.
5. Timo Glock: Constantly improved. He could well beat truli next year.
6. Heidfeld: Poor sod. Got the points...but victory eluded this season again.
7. Raikonen: Fastest laps are done in Qualifying, not in the race.......
8. Truli: Still so quick on Saturdays!
9. Kovalainen: Better then last year, but needs to up his game.
10. Nakajima: Never thought he would score as many times points as Rosberg (5 times, although a bit futher down the field).