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Hamilton heads F1 drivers' top ten of 2018 list

Published on 22 Dec 2018 12:56
12
By: Fergal Walsh

Lewis Hamilton has been named as the best driver of the year by his fellow Formula 1 colleagues. In a recent poll, the 20 F1 drivers were asked to rank their top ten competitors of the season and were allowed to add themselves onto the list.

The individual polls remain anonymous, however Hamilton was the racer that came out on top. The Briton bagged his fifth world championship after winning eleven races and finishing on the podium at all but four races.

Max Verstappen followed in second after an impressive second half of the year. The Dutchman's opening handful of races were turbulent, however, in the final nine races, he stepped up onto the podium seven times, taking a victory in the process.

Fernando Alonso was third in his expected final year in F1, while Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fourth. Vettel missed out on the 2018 title to Hamilton after a series of on-track spins and failed upgrades for Ferrari.

With poor reliability plaguing his season, Daniel Ricciardo was fifth, ahead of Charles Leclerc, who had a successful rookie season that awarded him with a 2019 seat at Ferrari. Pierre Gasly was seventh, and he too also received a 2019 promotion to his respected senior outfit, Red Bull.

Nico Hulkenberg, who topped the 'best of the rest' championship by finishing seventh in the constructor's championship, was eighth. Kimi Raikkonen was ninth, while Sergio Perez rounded out the top ten.

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Max Verstappen

3. Fernando Alonso

4.   Sebastian Vettel

5.   Daniel Ricciardo

6. Charles Leclerc

7.   Pierre Gasly

8. Nico Hulkenberg

9.   Kimi Raikkonen

10.  Sergio Perez

F1 News Max Verstappen Fernando Alonso Daniel Ricciardo Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Kimi Räikkönen Sergio Perez Pierre Gasly Charles Leclerc Paddy Driver Jackie Lewis Ferrari

Replies (12)

ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
I expect some heads to explode among fans with this. I love that it's the drivers, who have a pretty good idea of performance. Gotta say that it all makes a lot of sense to me except for Gasly. But I own my bias against him :)
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- Dec 22 2018 - 13:35
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  A pretty accurate list for this season. I find Max hard to place because when he was good he was great, when he was bad he was horrifying. Just look at the season start. I dont really think Gasly seem like a very nice person, but he does seem like a skilled driver, albeit not at Leclerc's level. So I think he has earned his place. I would probably say Kimi's placing is kinda accurate, though I'd mayhaps have placed him P10 myself, and I would probably have switched Perez and Hulk. So my head is pretty unexploded as of present, though maybe I havent said the magic word to prime the detonation yet. ;)
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  Dec 22 2018 - 17:41
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  Which was your pick for 2018's worst driver, AJPP?
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  Dec 22 2018 - 17:42
- Fergal Walsh
  
  Posts: 46
  I'll admit I'm a little surprised to see Vettel so high up. I expected him in the top ten, but I thought Leclerc would get ahead.
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  Dec 22 2018 - 18:04
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  I kinda thought he'd be therearound or higher up. I still think Vettel is better than Hammy when he is in prime, but there is no doubt Hammy bested him this year, and arguably Max too aside from the dismal season start. Alonso is probably the only reason McLaren didnt finish alongside Williams in the bottom, along with some luck in races like China.
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  Dec 22 2018 - 20:42
- dr002
  
  Posts: 141
  Yep, my head exploded, how did Gasly get into the top 10????
  
  And I agree with @FERGAL, how in God's name did Vettell rank so high, OMG?
  
  How could one possibly rank him ahead of Ricciardo who performed well in every race his car finished and in which he was not handicapped from the start?? OMG!!
  
  Come on! The number of blunders and STUPID on track decisions that Vettel made surely should have had him much further down the list, certainly lower than Leclerc!
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  Dec 23 2018 - 00:07
- ajpennypacker
  
  Posts: 2,475
  @dr002 I take it seriously because it's drivers who made the ranking. But I still think that Ricciardo should have been higher. But I can readily admit that when Vettel was not making awful mistakes he was a top 3 driver. Also Ricciardo was lackluster, worst season at RBR. Regarding Gasly, it's hard for me to place him ahead of Hulkenberg and Perez. Pierre made lots of mistakes too and regularly worked his way back during the race.
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  Dec 23 2018 - 02:12
ajpennypacker

Posts: 2,475
@calle that would be Marcus Ericsson. I place Stroll and Sirotkin slightly ahead of Marcus. Mostly because with a car that could run in the top 10 he was regularly fighting in the back. Also there is nothing memorable he did this year. I can think of a few highlights for the Williams driver. Finally Marcus is an experienced driver. The Williams drivers had a combined 1 year of experience.

What do you think?
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- Dec 22 2018 - 20:16
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  I would say Romain Grosjean. Ericsson has at the very least been pretty consistent, and lets not forget that while he at best is good, he did have a few decent shots at good placings this year, but his races were sacrificed to benefit Leclerc. Meanwhile, Grosjean is a very experienced driver, and he aint even a pay driver. There is just no excuse for the kinda performance he had this year.
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  Dec 22 2018 - 20:40
mcbhargav

Posts: 1,332
I cant rate Gasly better than Hulk and Kimi, but agree in general about the top 10. Beauty of this season is, 10,11,12 are not very far from 8,9,10, may little less inconsistent.
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- Dec 23 2018 - 05:58
boudy

Posts: 1,168
Its interesting to see and some places don't make sense but I would respect this drivers top 10. The surprise is that Williams hasn't got a driver that is in this top 10. Where is Bottas?
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- Dec 23 2018 - 07:45
blade

Posts: 341
I kinda like this poll because it's from those who know most about what's happening, no surprise to see ALO up there, he dragged a terrible car towards some sort of respectability all by himself. Max's second half was impressive and fingers crossed he has ironed out the errors, a nr error free 2019 is needed to allow a better comparison to the top drivers.
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- Dec 23 2018 - 22:06