89 replies to this topic

[Grayson]

Most of you will know that it's an annual tradition for Autosport to publish a list of the year's Top 50 Drivers in the world at this time of year - it appears in the Christmas double issue of Autosport (in shops on Thursday) and on the website.

 

The list brings together the opinions and expertise of our journalists who cover a wide variety of series and always provokes plenty of argument and debate...

 

EDIT - The full list has now been published:

 

50 to 41

40 to 31

30 to 21

20 to 11

10 to 2

Number 1

 

 

50-31 includes drivers competing in F1, F2, F3, Indycar, Nascar and a wide variety of sportscar and touring car series.

 

We'll reveal another ten drivers each day, culminating with the Top 10 on Thursday.

[paulb]

This is great reading, thank-you!

[theflyingwheel]

Overinfltion of Ocon expected.

[MKSixer]

One of my favorite elements in Autosport.  Well done, all!

[Afterburner]

The accuracy of the entire list for me is going to depend on whether or not they’ve placed Scott Dixon correctly.

[BRG]

Opened 50-41 and found Gabriele Tarquini at 50th.    At which point, I cease to have any interest in this list.

[DerFlugplatz]

The rankings feel a bit random to say the least. I mean ranking Grosjean only 2 places behind Button considering Grosjean had a season which is mostly remembered for his spins and crashes.

While Button won the Super GT championship in his first season in a type of car he had little experience with + unfamiliar circuits and racing against drivers who already had years of experience of racing in Japan.

It feels hard to fathom why that should barely be valued higher than what Grosjean did.

[OvDrone]

I hope the Top 5 won't be just F1 drivers, but something more like my current Top 5 of '18:

 

#5 - Sebastien Ogier

#4 - George Russell

#3 - Jean-Eric Vergne

#2 - Scott Dixon

#1 - Lewis Hamilton

[f1paul]

I hope the Top 5 won't be just F1 drivers, but something more like my current Top 5 of '18:

 

#5 - Sebastien Ogier

#4 - George Russell

#3 - Jean-Eric Vergne

#2 - Scott Dixon

#1 - Lewis Hamilton

Hope so to.

 

The gap between Hamilton and the rest of the F1 drivers this year was bigger than normal so there should be plenty of room to fit non-F1 drivers in.

 

I wouldn't put any of this year's F1 drivers in the top 5, other than Hamilton of course.

[OvDrone]

The rankings feel a bit random to say the least. I mean ranking Grosjean only 2 places behind Button considering Grosjean had a season which is mostly remembered for his spins and crashes.

While Button won the Super GT championship in his first season in a type of car he had little experience with + unfamiliar circuits and racing against drivers who already had years of experience of racing in Japan.

It feels hard to fathom why that should barely be valued higher than what Grosjean did.

 

I felt the same. Button was great in SuperGT and really achieved something, rather than random current F1 midfielders. I stopped taking it serious there and when Truex was just #41st but not...

 

Opened 50-41 and found Gabriele Tarquini at 50th.    At which point, I cease to have any interest in this list.

 

... here. Tarquini drove bloody brilliant most of the WTCR season. The only driver from that huge and talented field that drove better than Gabriele was Yvan Muller, I think. But factory Hyundai beat privateer Hyundai. Full credits to the Italian Legend.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  or other Mesopotamian ancient racing diety.

 

Hope so to.

 

The gap between Hamilton and the rest of the F1 drivers this year was bigger than normal so there should be plenty of room to fit non-F1 drivers in.

 

I wouldn't put any of this year's F1 drivers in the top 5, other than Hamilton of course.

 

Definitely. I would only put LeClerc and Alonso there in the top 10. The others? I feel they all were very lackluster for the most part. Way too inconsistent for F1 drivers really.

[jonpollak]

I see Katherine Legge is omitted. ......so far.
She ran 6 series this year and deserves higher acknowledgement than some of the mentions here.

Jp

[OvDrone]

I see Katherine Legge is omitted. ......so far.
She ran 6 series this year and deserves higher acknowledgement than some of the mentions here.

Jp

 

I suspect that a damn lot of GT drivers will get overlooked. It shouldn't; the various exceptional GT series around the world at the moment have a big chunk of the best racing with grids deluged with great talent and diversity. Real racing enthusiasts knoweth, Legge had a stellar year.

[PlayboyRacer]

Only Leclerc and Verstappen should be in the top 10. Alonso on the fringe.

Plenty of space for non F1 drivers. Lets see if common sense prevails.

[Silberpfeil]

So… Kristoffersson only in 23rd, which I find somewhat ludicrous. He had outstanding seasons in RX & touring cars, and was pretty much on the pace in Sweden with the R5 Fabia.

Also, still no Esteban Ocon, which, even as a fan, I find exceedingly weird. Either Autosport grossly underrated or overrated him. I would‘ve put him in close vicinity of Perez (who was rated a bit too low in my opinion as well), either two to four places ahead or one or two behind depending on how one rates quali vs race performance and the other assorted incidents (Singapore, Brazil).

[messy]

Ocon will be in the top twenty I reckon. Wrongly IMO. They always overrate the mid-grid F1 brigade against say the top NASCAR, Indycar, WEC drivers. 

 

I mean for me this year Martin Truex jr answered all of the lingering doubts about whether it was him or the car that was doing so well in 2017.....all for that lowly position. Hmm

Edited by messy, 18 December 2018 - 13:13.

[Laster]

Considering both Grosjean and Magnussen made this list, you can guarantee the likes of Ocon, Perez and Hulk will make it too, probably in the teens somewherez

[noikeee]

Ocon will be in the top twenty I reckon. Wrongly IMO. They always overrate the mid-grid F1 brigade against say the top NASCAR, Indycar, WEC drivers.

I don't agree, I think the F1 midfield is full of drivers at the absolute peak of talent, as routinely proven by lower end midfielders of the likes of Buemi, or even F1 hopefuls that drop out due to not being good enough in their junior career, being amazing in these other series...

[jonpollak]

So.. are the rest behind the paywall ?
Jp

[RacingGreen]

So… Kristoffersson only in 23rd, which I find somewhat ludicrous. 

 

Not as ludicrous as him not being able to defend his World RX title. Hope he finds a competitive seat somewhere as you'd be hard pressed to find an argument that he hasn't earned one.

 

https://www.autospor...-2019-rx-season

[paulb]

So.. are the rest behind the paywall ?
Jp

It appears so.

[Myrvold]

So.. are the rest behind the paywall ?
Jp

Yup, not the content I expected to have to pay for...

[pitlanepalpatine]

It's interesting that they put Schumacher behind both Vips and Ticktum and then read the comparative evaluations. Gasly is also fairly high up 22 ahead of Bottas (28), Raikkonen(25) and Sebastien Buemi(24). I wonder how the other Red Bull drivers, except for Hartley, will do. The entire thing is dripping bias though.

[NorwegianRudo]

It's interesting that they put Schumacher behind both Vips and Ticktum and then read the comparative evaluations. Gasly is also fairly high up 22 ahead of Bottas (28), Raikkonen(25) and Sebastien Buemi(24). I wonder how the other Red Bull drivers, except for Hartley, will do. The entire thing is dripping bias though.

The Ticktum writeup is ludicrous. It's so over the top for what was a mediocre season (Macau excepted) that if we're supposed to take any of it seriously there's no way he shouldn't be top ten on this list.

[Tsarwash]

Isn't Ticktum the kid who was banned for a season or two for overtaking a whole bunch of cars and ramming a teammate during a safety car period ? 

[NorwegianRudo]

Isn't Ticktum the kid who was banned for a season or two for overtaking a whole bunch of cars and ramming a teammate during a safety car period ? 

 

Yep. Also went on a social media tirade complaining he wasn't being treated fairly because his last name wasn't Schumacher, and claiming Prema were cheating. He didn't explain how Prema cheating led to him losing out to his teammates in the second half of the season...

[pitlanepalpatine]

btw for those without premium

 

30-21

 

30. Alex Albon (f2)

29. Kevin Harvick (Nascar)

28. Bottas (F1)

27. Joey Logano (Nascar)

26. Naoki Yamamoto (Super Formula)

25. Raikkonen (F1)

24. Sebastien Buemi (FE, WEC, Lemans)

23. Johann Kristofferson (World Rallycross)

22. Gasly (f1)

21. Will Power (Indy Car)

[Silberpfeil]

The Ticktum writeup is ludicrous. It's so over the top for what was a mediocre season (Macau excepted) that if we're supposed to take any of it seriously there's no way he shouldn't be top ten on this list.

I‘m glad I‘m not the only one who thought that…

[AlexPrime]

how is Bottas ahead of Harvick? Gasly ahead of Logano?
Absurd.

[RacingGreen]

What annoys me about this list is the implied rating of the different series. Nascar and Australian Supercars drivers in particular seem low compared to DTM ones giving the whole thing a very European bias.

[f1paul]

What annoys me about this list is the implied rating of the different series. Nascar and Australian Supercars drivers in particular seem low compared to DTM ones giving the whole thing a very European bias.

Yep. Not enough respect given to some series like V8s, World RX, NASCAR and all GT series (especially Blacnpain).

[jonpollak]

how is Bottas ahead of Harvick? Gasly ahead of Logano?
Absurd.

It’s a British website with journalists that are €urocentric.
Myopia is a damning disease.
Jp

[Marklar]

I hope the Top 5 won't be just F1 drivers, but something more like my current Top 5 of '18:

#5 - Sebastien Ogier
#4 - George Russell
#3 - Jean-Eric Vergne
#2 - Scott Dixon
#1 - Lewis Hamilton

Ah well, they managed to get Alonso (2.) and Verstappen (5.) in there.

[messy]

Yep. Not enough respect given to some series like V8s, World RX, NASCAR and all GT series (especially Blacnpain).

 

They NEVER rate nascar highly enough imo. 

 

I mean, I get that the winner of the Blancpain GT Series maybe isn't going to be vying with Hamilton and Verstappen at the top but NASCAR and I guess Supercars too to an extent, those guys are absolute experts in their field. It's just different.

[charly0418]

Most of you will know that it's an annual tradition for Autosport to publish a list of the year's Top 50 Drivers in the world at this time of year - it appears in the Christmas double issue of Autosport (in shops on Thursday) and on the website.

The list brings together the opinions and expertise of our journalists who cover a wide variety of series and always provokes plenty of argument and debate...

The first 20 drivers on the list have been revealed:

50 to 41
40 to 31

50-31 includes drivers competing in F1, F2, F3, Indycar, Nascar and a wide variety of sportscar and touring car series.

We'll reveal another ten drivers each day, culminating with the Top 10 on Thursday.

Perez beat Hulkenberg 2 years in a row and Ocon 2 years in a row and yet he still rated behind both... lol. You guys are racist I’m 100% sure

[messy]

Perez beat Hulkenberg 2 years in a row and Ocon 2 years in a row and yet he still rated behind both... lol. You guys are racist I’m 100% sure

 

In their end of season top ten and top fifty, every year Perez beats his team-mate whether it's Hulkenberg or Ocon, they make a point of rating the team-mate narrowly in front of him and saying "despite the stats [insert name here] was narrowly the more impressive". I'm certainly not suspecting any bias due to nationality, but it's becoming quite noticeable. 

[Branislav]

Can someone c/p complete list please

[pitlanepalpatine]

Can someone c/p complete list please

 I'll update it once I get home if no one else has done it.

[monolulu]

Russell 10
Leclerc 9
Vettel 8
Oglier 7
Dixon 6
Max 5
Tanak 4
Vergne 3
Alonso 2
Lewis 1

[pitlanepalpatine]

20. Conway

19. Ocon

18. Sam Bird

17. Gary Paffett

16. Lucas di Grassi

15. Rene Rast

14. Thierry Neuville

13. Daniel Ricciardo

12. Alexander Rossi

11. Nico Hulkenberg

[Thatfastguy]

Im a big fan but Alonso on 2 (compared to Max on 5 for example) is ridiculous..

[John B]

how is Bottas ahead of Harvick? Gasly ahead of Logano?
Absurd.

 

Did Kyle Busch turn up somewhere on a list I didn't see? I'd list him highest among NASCAR drivers based on overall season performance (wins/points), followed by Harvick who had 2 rules violations for wins. I don't begrudge Logano getting a title under the system as he deserved one or two in other years, but the playoff format makes evaluating a full season based on a one-race championship result iffy at best.

Edited by John B, 20 December 2018 - 15:53.

[messy]

Harvick, Truex and Kyle Busch were easily the three best NASCAR Cup drivers of the year IMO. 

[kosmos]

Im a big fan but Alonso on 2 (compared to Max on 5 for example) is ridiculous..

 

Is it?, are you evaluating the driver or the car?, did you forget Max's first half of the season?.

[Marklar]

Alonso being the 2nd best F1 driver is correct imo. Whether he was the 2nd best driver in general is a different question, but 1.) This ranking is always biased to F1 drivers, 2.) He competed well in two different series, this justifies it more than enough no matter what you think about him.

[Ivanhoe]

Is it?, are you evaluating the driver or the car?, did you forget Max's first half of the season?.

First half? 5 races out of 21 of which 2 were really terrible.
Alonso 2nd and Max 5th is fine for me btw

Edited by Ivanhoe, 20 December 2018 - 17:11.

[Vielleicht]

Nice to see Jean-Eric Vergne up so high on the list.

[metz]

I see Autosport believes it's own hype.

Their love for Hamilton is well known and can not seriously be argued, but Alonso, Leclerc, etc.?

And a guy like Hulkenberg that performs miracles with a piece of sh!t doesn't make the top 10.

[thegamer23]

My boy JEV in top three.
Well deserved after an amazing season between WEC, FE & ELMS

One hell of a talent

Edited by thegamer23, 20 December 2018 - 18:47.

[Afterburner]

Well, I’ll be damned, never thought I’d see them rate Dixon and Rossi as high as they did. Good on you, Autosport–Dixon’s season this year in Indycar was on level with some of the finest efforts I’ve seen in any form of racing and I’m glad it’s getting recognized.

[Laster]

In their podcast they did point out how there are a lot of quality drivers in the Indycar firld now, and how much the whole series has come along since the Cart/IRL days. It’s a series on the up and making very good progress at that. Both Dixon and Rossi are definitely deserving of their high places, I personally just love watching Rossi drive and fight his way through a field.