Your top ten drivers from the 2006 Formula 1 season.

[Knowlesy]

That's it. Another Formula 1 season is all over and done with.

It has been a decent old season (though had its dull moments mid-season) with controversy, brilliance, a superb champion and a farewell tour from the sports most successful competitor. Not to mention a fair old battle for the titles!

But, in true Autocourse style, who makes your personal top ten of the drivers this season, taking into account the machinery at their disposal and any other elements?

Here’s mine:

1 - Fernando Alonso. The best for me. World champion for a second time and an almost flawless year. Did amazingly well to overcome ridiculous politics, penalties and a charging Michael Schumacher and Ferrari. May have got flustered from time to time, but never in the races. For me, this man is now the benchmark and a great ambassador for F1.

2 - Michael Schumacher. It's farewell Michael now and he bows out with a season to be proud of mainly. A difficult first half of the year included a shunt at Melbourne and the infamous Monaco parking incident, but other than that he was on the podium and nabbing a win or two. Then came that second half season charge and he almost got that retirement title. Wasn't to be and he has finally met someone who is his match in Alonso. Farewell Michael, will be strange without you.

3 - Kimi Raikkonen. The searing speed was certainly in evidence again this year but the car was nowhere near as good as the previous years title challenger. Not a single win to show for his considerable efforts, including astonishing drives at Barcelona and Monaco and some neat pole laps. Deserved far more. Ferrari beckons next season.

4 - Jenson Button. It may have been a crazy race, but it didn't matter: Jenson Button took the chequered flag at Hungary to end the most irritating victory drought in F1 history. Nobody could begrudge him it. But there was much more to his season. His driving was absolutely beautiful and clean all year long, leaving his team mate absolutely out in the cold, and it is clear that all he now needs is a good car. One hopes Honda will answer the call in 2007.

5 - Felipe Massa. The season started in familiar style. Fast yes, but immensely scruffy and crashy. Whilst his performance in Malaysia, to beat Michael was superb, this was punctuated by a silly spin at Bahrain, multiple crashes at Melbourne and again in Monaco qualifying. One wondered why he was driving for the Prancing Horse. Then, he reminded us. The second half of the year, much like Ferrari's as a whole, took a major upturn with several podiums and two brilliant wins in Turkey and his home race. Is capable of pushing Kimi next season.

6 - Mark Webber. The Australian scored just seven points this season, so on paper was rubbish. This just does not tell the story though. The Williams package was terribly unreliable and broke down at crucial times, most notably at Melbourne losing a potential podium. Worse still was Monaco, where he ran in the lead bunch all race until backmarkers intervened and the car gave up the ghost anyways. It was a year of herculean efforts, with zero reward. Red Bull should be so much better but then he had a decent car in 2005 in spells and was rubbish in the races.

7 - Giancarlo Fisichella. Another difficult year for the Italian in many respects, constantly in the shadow of his illustrious Spanish team mate. There were the usual inexplicable days, like the phantom blocking in Nurburgring qualifying and the mysterious days when he appeared to be asleep and needing to be awoken by his race engineer. At the end of the day though, his points were good enough for another constructors title for Renault.

8 - Ralf Schumacher. An efficient year for Ralf on the whole. Whereas in 2005 he was largely second best to Jarno Trulli, only gaining the upper hand late on, 2006 saw him well and truly pummel the Italian. Nabbed a podium in Melbourne and did not much wrong really, except for Spain where he decided he'd like to hit his team mate's car...

9 - Takuma Sato. No arguments please. I thought this little fella's performances in what was basically a four wheeled house were often sensational. yes he is erratic and crazy but boy is he quick! Held off some much faster cars all day in Australia and the Brazilian GP was the awesome highlight. Why did he not do this last season?

10 - Nico Rosberg. Now look. I know that three quarters of the season were a total disaster for the Finn/German. But let's face it, he is a Williams driver, the worst thing possible in 2006. Look beyond this and there are still flashes of excellence. Fastest lap and a points finish on his debut in Bahrain were pretty sensational and he then qualified third in Malaysia a week later. An engine failure in the race set the tone for the rest of the season though...

If there are some notable absentees, lease note I have left certain drivers out because I believe that a certain amount of races must be done before inclusion. So no Montoya, Villeneuve, de la Rosa, Kubica etc... although they probably wouldn't have made it anyways in some cases.

Who makes your top ten?

[ralf fan]

1. Fernando Alonso - a Worthy champion, flawless season.

2. Michael Schumacher - Wow retiring as the 2nd best driver with his powers still in tact...even though hed like to have been champion I think MS will be happy at retiring so close to the peak of his powers.

3. Kimi Raikkonen - Has been quick...has had a few 'numpty' moments but largely driven what was given to him to the maximum

4. Jenson Button - What a 2nd half to the year. Lets hope he gets a decent car next year... because he is right up there with Alonso and Raikkonen

5. Felipe Massa - Unbelieveable season. He was suppose to be the guy who was to keep the seat warm for Kimi.... and it certainly looked that way after Bahrain. But he has matured amazingly and he will be a geniuine threat to Kimi. If youd have told me in 2002 that he would be the first man to win the Brazilian GP since Ayrton Senna.... id have exploded with laughter!

6. Ralf Schumacher - Maybe a biased view but he dominated Trulli for much of the season and more often than not was hampered by a bad car. A poor end to the season though

7. Mark Webber - He's done a great job without much reward. Maybe better luck at RBR?

8. Giancarlo Fisichella - Well he has done enough to secure a 2nd constructors trophy. A victory to his name too. But serious questions have risen about his frame of mind. I thought he did well to pick up his performances in China and Suzuka to secure a 2nd constructors trophy for Renault and sneaks in the top 10

9. David Coulthard - A very slow and steady 2nd half to the year but a decently good season for DC securing RBR's first podium.

10 Nick Heidfeld - The criticism aimed at him this year is rather unfair IMO. His stock has fallen from last year but he has usually used th long BMW strategies to good effect and secured some good haul of points. BMW as a team have really come strongly in their first year

Hon mentions to Kubica and JV who both drove beautifully for BMW.

[BootsOntheSide]

1 Alonso: knowlesey sums it up well - he was occasionally rattled, saying and doing the odd illogical thing, but in race conditions he kept calm and shone throughout. Japan, Hungary and Malaysia were especially impressive. I just hope McLaren can give him a decent car next year.

2 Michael: on occasions he looked a shadow of his former self, and at Monaco the ugly side of his career showed up again, but the second half of the year was amazing. He nearly grabbed an unlikley 8th title from a losing position. 2007 F1 will be missing one of its best drivers.

3 Button: the highest scoring driver in the latter part of the season. He beat Rubens by a similar margin to what Michael had with more of the team's support, barely made an error all year, and finsihed with an especially strong drive.

4 Raikkonen: My 2007 championship prediction, generally impressive in the 3rd best car, especially at Monaco where he deserved to win.

5 Massa: A few ragged showings early in the year should not detract from the way he often beat Michael on pace by the end of the year. Two excellent wins highlight his massive improvement.

6 Webber: The car was fast but unreliable, and he did a lot with it, losing several potential results. Might be a wild card podium candidate next year.

7 Heidfeld: Excellent since Kubica joined, and always had the better of JV as well. His steady driving is ideal to rack up points in a 5th/6th best team.

8 Sato: China was a black mark, but he usually outshone the worst car on the grid, even making the fastest lap top 10 in Brazil. I hope he can build on this for 2006.

9 Fisichella: Look up 'enigma' in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of Giancarlo. Wimpish defence in China, but often fast. It'll be interesting to see what he can do against Heikki next year.

10 Ralf: His huge salary sums up Toyota's badly-directed extravagence, but a few races were truly imnpressive. He beat a driver who once beat the double world champion for half a season, which has to be worth something.

This list correlates with the final championship standings more closely than usual; it seems like the best drivers generally had the best cars.

Given a full season, JPM and Kubica may have been there too.

[Smokey 6 litre]

1- Alonso, WDC #2 what more is there to say?
2- TGF, brilliant fightback in the 2nd half of the season.
3- Button, many strong consistant drives, maiden victory.
4- Massa -impressive, seams to have taimed most of his irractness.
5- Raikonnen, some good drives considering poorish car.
6- Kubica -VERY impressive debut 1/2 season.
7- Hiedfeld - Some good drives.
8- Fisichella - Helped Alonso when he needed it, convincingly burried by Alonso tho.
9- Sato - Excelent last GP, some other decent drives, crashed into others less than expected.
10-Coulthard - Red Bull first podium, pretty shocking end to the season tho.

[Alwaysfirst]

1-Alonso. Getting the title says it all really. Well deserved.
2-M. Schumacher. Great fightback & some really good overtaking moves. See that mave on Kimi today. Incredible! May have been no.1 had it now been for Monaco.
3-Button. At last got that long deserved victory. Performed well nearly all season.
4-Massa. Has come on a lot during the season & that was shown in Turkey & Brazil. Good overall.
5-Kubica. What an arrival. A podium in his 3rd (?) race was a great reward.
6-Raikkonen. Generally good but let down by the car's pace. Deserved better.
7-Fisichella. Did what he had to but well beaten by Alonso.
8-Coulthard. Generally good throughout the year & Monaco showed that he still has it.
9-Webber. Understandably upset by this season but he was often running resonably well when the car broke on him.
10-Rosberg. Many rookies would have just given up after some of the retirements. Hopefully Bahrain showed what we'll be seeing next year as it was mighty impressive.

[Trev Campbell]

1) Alonso - Got rattled a little toward the end of the season but apart from that was excellent all year

2) M. Schumacher - Slow start until the Ferrari was fully sorted, once that happened was almost unstoppable

3) Massa - Awsome job, started the year in normal eratic style, but as the car improved he improved 2 fold and became a consisten winner and podium getter

4) Raikonen - Drove his hart out but just didn't have the equipment

5) Button - Drove well all year, got a bit of a lucky win, but well deserved none the less, put teammate in the shade

6) Webber - Some awsome performances in qual and races bu just let down by woeful Williams reliability, should have scored 3 or 4 podiums on merit

7) Heidfeld - Another very consistent year picking up points without any truly stand out performances

8) R . Schumacher - Did waht he could with the car occational good performances, but was better than his team mate most races

9) Fisi - Another year in a winning WDC capable car where he didn't do enough. Fast journeyman

10) Kubica - Extremely fast a star of the future

[deejay]

I fall into line with what appears a consistent top-5.

1. Alonso - Like last year he soaked up all the pressure and delivered when it mattered. Seems a cut above the rest in the way he can mentally approach a race. The new "most complete" driver in Formula One.
2. M. Schumacher - Some great drives but some mistakes as well. A fitting season to end on with all the drama and unfathomable driving we expect of him.
3. Button - Early in his career he was criticised for being soft in wheel-to-wheel racing but he has done a brilliant job of turning himself into one of the hard chargers in the field (so many examples, last lap China anyone?). Can win a championship if Honda deliver a car. Great points tally considering how bad Honda were up until Germany.
4. Raikkonen - Similar effort to Button really - always charging hard in a car that wasn't quite there on pace. Totally put his teammates in the shade - although sometimes seemed unmotivated. Will be different when he gets back in the title chase.
5. Massa - Went a long way to fullfulling his potentional. Has been relishing his new frontrunning position and being in the No. 2 role this year I don't think we've quite seen all he can do yet.

To be honest I struggle to make up a ten after that. I thought BMW as a team did well. Kubica strong debut, but we haven't seen enough yet. Barrichello made a solid effort but lacked pace. Ralf on the other hand was often fast but too eratic. Albers made a solid effort of things - but hard to judge someone you see so little of. Fisi and Trulli both typically lacklustre, apart from the occasional Jarno qually special - which even seemed fewer this year than previously. Can't really fault Webber but it was a "coulda been" season from him.

[Bleu]

I have now enough time to make this ranking:

1. Alonso. No serious mistakes, and consistently on top. Deserved his championship.
2. M Schumacher. At 37 he's still very good driver. He could stay on same level for couple of seasons, but it is great to see him retire while he is still on top.
3. Räikkönen. Outshone Montoya early-season. Had bad luck, mostly with the first-lap crashes. No wins but some good drives.
4. Button. Finally taking victory, and other good drives too, especially in the late-season. Nine top-five finishes including seven straight.
5. Massa. Most improved driver of the year. Of course car is better as well but not too many mistakes. Had some catastrophic races (Australia, Monaco, Hungary) but otherwise very good performances. Way better than 2nd driver of championship team.
6. Heidfeld. Consistent driving all the way, if you compare it to Toyota drivers for example. 10 point-scoring positions is not a bad result.
7. Barrichello. Not too far behind form Button, lost mostly with the race performances.
8. Fisichella. Not very good season in championship-winning car. Interesting to see what he can do next year.
9. Webber. Some fantastic performances, like in Monaco, but some very bad ones too, especially in qualifying where he was three times out in the first part.
10. R Schumacher. Surprised to see him beating Trulli, especially in qualifying where Jarno has usually been better.

I didn't put Kubica there because he completed less than half of the season. He could have been 9th or 10th.

[steve_r]

1) ALONSO - Didn't have the fastest car all year, but always seemed to get the most out of what he had. It's only when you look at the list of drivers who have won back to back titles that you realise how well he has done.

2) M SCHUMACHER - Left the sport whilst still at (or very near) the top. Unusually, the luck was against him, otherwise he could have made it championship no.8.

3) BUTTON - Consistantly outperformed his solid bench-mark teammate on race day, got his first win. If Honda can up their game next season, he can win regularly.

4) MASSA - Seemed to improve as the season went on, so much so Raikonnen may have his work cut out to become next seasons Ferrari #1. Great to see his enthuasism after winning his home race.

5) RAIKONNEN - Flashes of brilliance, in a Ferrari surely he will win plenty of races next season.

6) KUBICA - Impressed greatly with the few races he had.

7) COULTHARD - Again outperformed his team-mate. Will bring the car home and pick up points in any midfield team.

8) HEIDFELD - Another solid season.

9) FISICHELLA - Out-performed by his teammate, but still occasionally quick. Slightly worrying for Renault, as he surely hasn't got it in him to win the WDC next year.

10) BARICHELLO - Solid if unspectacular.

[Pro Racer]

1.F.Alonso
2.M.Shumacher
3.M.Webber
4.F.Massa
5.J.Button
6.K.Raikkonen
7.G.Fisichella
8.D.Coulthard
9.N.Heidfeld
10.R.Kubica

[ensign14]

1. Alonso; did everything expected of him and massacred his highly-regarded team-mate.

2. Button; did everything expected of him (arguably more) and massacred his highly-regarded team-mate.

3. TGF: did nearly everything expected of him (including the cheating) and massacred his irregarded team-mate.

4. Kimi: came close to doing everything expected of him and drove his highly-regarded team-mate into tintops.

5. Kubica: wildly exceeded expectations and made his vaguely regarded team-mate wake up.

6. Webber: tried as hard as he could and made his high potential team-mate look like a 12 year old.

7. Coulthard: did everything expected of him and drove his highly-touted team-mate (by ace talent spotter Dieter 'Bernoldi is better than Kimi' Mateschitz) into oblivion.

8. Heidfeld: did most of what was expected of him and drove his previously-regarded team-mate into a solo album. (Hopefully not featuring Dannii on guest vox.)

9. Sato: just cos he's fun to watch.

10. Speed: cos I thought he'd be massively out of his depth and was not.

Not a vintage year for drivers...many were hugely disappointing...Fisi, the Toyotwins, Rubinho, Pedro de la Cruiser...doing nothing of any distinction whatsoever.

[FPV GTHO]

1. Schumacher - Gave him 1st for the comeback and subsequent notso-runnaway victory for Fernando.
2. Alonso - Youngest double WDC now, a bit of a question over some of the comments coming from him regarding Fisi and the team.
3. Button - had a bit of a slump mid year, but showed his determination towards the end.
=4. Kimi - bit of a doubt over his commitment throughout the year.
=4. Massa - Erratic to Brazilian superstar, although probably could still do better
=4. Webber - Race of his life in Monaco and couldve had several podiums had the car been reliable.
7. Kubica - Rookie of the year even though he spent less than half of the season as race driver
8. Heidfeld - Couldve been higher. It shouldnt take Kubica's presence to make him 0.5s quicker. Solid nevertheless, getting the points for BMW
9. Coulthard - Still proving the mid 30's guys are fast, but Klien had him matched this year IMO.
10. Rosberg - Shown hes fast when the car is, but when the car is slow the gap between him and Webber seems to widen. Needs to improve on that next year, hopefully something experience will solve.

[Dixie Flatline]

1. Jacques Villeneuve
2. Juan Pablo Montoya

I'm feeling contrary tonight.

[Mr V]

1. Alfonso
2. M.Schumacher
3. Button
4. Massa
5. Kubica
6. Klien

Thats about it for me.

[kivipallur92]

1.Alonso
2.M.Schumacher
3.Raikkonen
4.Sato (my favorite!)
5.Kubica
6.Montoya
7.Massa
8.Button

[f1manoz]

1. Alonso - He is the World Champion. Whoa, whoa, whoa, two in a row! Few if any errors, blistering speed, great driver.

2. M. Schumacher - I suppose his luck finally ran out in the final two races but still showed fighting spirit all the way.

3. Button - First win but he also showed tremendous speed all season. He will challenge even more in 2007.

4. Massa - Erratic to begin with but once he gained confidence and the team in him, he was terrific. Two wins, three poles, third overall. He will be challenging as well.

5. Raikkonen - Disappointing in terms of results (no wins, bleak!) but there is no doubting his speed.

6. Heidfeld - Incredibly consistent performer and bloody quick yet doesn't get much, if any, attention. If BMW continue their upward trend, they'll be near the front next year.

7. Webber - It's hard to fault the guy when he's continually taken out by other people or the car breaks down. He showed plenty of speed for no reward.

8. Rosberg - Simply because he is so honest. Oh, and he is pretty quick as well.

9. Fisichella - Alonso wiped the floor with him. Inconsistent, but he still showed flashes of speed.

10. Kubica - What a debut! Certainly one to watch for the future, this kid is fast.

[Daisy]

#01 Michael Schumacher - They way he and Ferrari fought back, very impressive.
#02 Fernando Alonso - A strong start did it a again, some excellent drivers, very consisent, good champion, although he will never be my favourite driver.
#03 Jenson Button - Driver who scored the most points in the last 7 races, well deserved first win in Hungary. Rubens who?
#04 Kimi Raikkonen - Got the maximum out of the car, McLaren was just not capabable of winning. Hope Kimi doesn't bring bad luck with him to Ferrari.
#05 Felipe Massa - Very strong 2nd half of the season with 2 great wins.
#06 Nick Heidfeld - Most underrated driver on the current grid. Kubica did great, but so did Heidfeld. Some bad luck at the end of the season, but a solid driver who knows when to attack, somebody BMW needs.
#07 Robert Kubica - Impressive start for a guy who hadn't impresse me in the F1 feeder series. Look forward to next year, when he has a full time drive.
#08 Giancarlo Fisichella - Good 2nd driver, but needs to be faster to be a WC contenter next year, now Alonso is gone at Renault.
#09 Takuma Sato - Great job with such a car, I'm pretty sure we will score points next year with Super Aguri.
#10 Christijan Albers - Tiago who? Christijan did a good job, helped developing the car. I have my doubts about Spyker next year, but I hope the car will be good, so Christijan can score some points.

[SALEEN S7R]

1: M. Schumacher - Yes he didnt win the Championship and he had a bad start to the season but they way he hauled Alonso's lead right back and took the fight to him until the end. He never gave up and towards the end of the season he was in clearly the faster car.

2:Alonso - Another great season, consistant throughout the season and had a bit of luck in the reliabilty stakes. A deserved champion but it is a bit of a shame about his attitude.

3:Massa - A fantastic debut season at Ferrari and some strong results both in qualifying and the races themselves, often faster than Schumacher in qualifying and sometimes the race he changed my opinion of him this year. He didnt bin the car often and he was fast at most of the races.

4:Button - Had a bit of luck in getting his first win of his career but lets not take anything away from him. He was fast and consistant throughout the year and got some very good results, he was also faster than his team mate Barrichello which is no mean feat.

5:Raikonen - Had lots of troubles with the McLaren, he was fast enough but for one reason or another the car simply wasnt reliable enough, particularly in the first part of the year. Next year will be differnt I think.

6:Barrichello - Once again another solid season from Barrichello, sure he didnt set the world alight but he was normally inside the top 6 and didnt have many DNF's. Fingers crossed that next year he can get to grips with the new car more easily though and take the fight to Button a bit more.

7:Fisichella - The invisable man, he did a decent job throughout the course of the season and scored some good points, but then he should have when you consider the car he was in. Completely over shadowed by Alonso.

8:Heidfield - Very consistant and did a good job for BMW. Who knows what could happen if BMW produce another good car for 2007, a few more podiums perhaps? Will be interesting to see how he copes with the pressure from Kubica.

9:Kubica - Had a fantasitc debut season and was fast right from his first race. A star for the future.

10:Sato - Did a great job to haul the Super Aguri up into a postition it never really should have been in at certain times throughout the season and he didnt bin the car too often either.

[alonso11]

Originally Posted by Daisy

#01 Michael Schumacher - They way he and Ferrari fought back, very impressive.
#02 Fernando Alonso - A strong start did it a again, some excellent drivers, very consisent, good champion, although he will never be my favourite driver.
#03 Jenson Button - Driver who scored the most points in the last 7 races, well deserved first win in Hungary. Rubens who?
#04 Kimi Raikkonen - Got the maximum out of the car, McLaren was just not capabable of winning. Hope Kimi doesn't bring bad luck with him to Ferrari.
#05 Felipe Massa - Very strong 2nd half of the season with 2 great wins.
#06 Nick Heidfeld - Most underrated driver on the current grid. Kubica did great, but so did Heidfeld. Some bad luck at the end of the season, but a solid driver who knows when to attack, somebody BMW needs.
#07 Robert Kubica - Impressive start for a guy who hadn't impresse me in the F1 feeder series. Look forward to next year, when he has a full time drive.
#08 Giancarlo Fisichella - Good 2nd driver, but needs to be faster to be a WC contenter next year, now Alonso is gone at Renault.
#09 Takuma Sato - Great job with such a car, I'm pretty sure we will score points next year with Super Aguri.
#10 Christijan Albers - Tiago who? Christijan did a good job, helped developing the car. I have my doubts about Spyker next year, but I hope the car will be good, so Christijan can score some points.

i couldnt agree more with the first 7 pick, not sure about the rest tho, as it's more like Webber, Ralf Schumacher, and Fisi for me. As for Albers outpacing Moneteiro... gimme a brake.. first of all it wasnt like he washed the floor with him, most of the times they were matchin Albers was a bit faster alright, but Moneteiro is just an utterly mediocre driver for crying out loud, its a practical joke that he is set to race his 3rd season in F1. In an ideal word, a few pay-as-you-go F1 tests woulda been the maximum a guy like him could get. Albers is better than him, but he still fells in the mediocre category without a doubt, he shouldnt be around for such a long time either. It's about time Midland/Spyker/Whatever introduced some REAL talent to the world of F1, like their predecessor Jordan did, or Minardi for that matter.

I'll go with:

01.Alonso
02.MSchumacher
03.Button
04.Raikkonen
05.Heidfeld
06.Massa
07.Webber
08.Kubica
09.RSchumacher
10.Fisichella

[Matski]

01 Michael
02 Fernando
-- Yes alonso won, but if you take out both drivers bad luck from the last 3 races I think michael would have done Alonso. Andt that would have been a great comeback.

03 Felipe
04 Robert
05 Quick Nick
-- All did much better than I expected/hoped. I've always liked felipe - but was never sure of he was cool enough to pull it off, which I think he has shown he is. Kubica has had a blinding start and will be one to watch next year. Nick consistent as ever, always capable - if BMW manage to improve the car next year inline with what they've acheived already - Nick whould finally start getting the podiums he deserves, and maybe even a race win

06 JPM
07 Kimi
-- for the entertainment they have provided.

08, 09, 10.. (in no particular order) Button, Webbo and liuzzi (or speed - I remember STR's impressing me at one stage, but I can't remember which) Best of the rest really. I still think Jenson's over rated but he does a solid enough job.

[chunterer]

Good post Matski!

My tuppence worth is thus:

1/ Alonso just shades Schumacher because he handled the massive pressure quite well. But both guys were head and shoulders above the rest

3/ Massa - Because he was the only driver this years who looked remotely like competing with the first 2 on pure pace, car or not. Season's most improved driver by long way.

4/ Raikkonen - Because he's fast and kept on plugging away with a car that was possibly more rubbish than we think...

5/ Button - (I suppose) Ok he won his first race but I just think he's become a journeyman racing driver and hasn't got the cutting edge to become a consistent pace setter or front runner. So he scored points a lot, wooppee doo, anyone can do that when they've got a reliable car and are not pushing all the time.

Other than that there was Montoya (some good overtakes and some crazy man antics) and Rosberg (my cars got speed because it's set up well whilst everyone elses isn't just yet ) earlier in the season and then Webber at times (see Button note but in reverse, how many decent finishes did this guy lose?) and Kubica late on with some clear signs of potential; greatness.

However no one else really did anything massively of note for me.

Next year I expect to be filling out a full top 10 on merit with the lies of Heikki, Lewis coming in.

[Knowlesy]

That was something I found difficult....I got the top five or six and then.....who do I put in now? Very sad in a way, but next year will be a riot I'm sure.

[freud]

Its hard to say whom, among FA and MS, was better this year. If Ferny was superb at Hungary, Michael was on another planet at Imola. Ferny, for the most part of the season, didnt require help from his teammate. On the other hand Michael must be commended for doing what he did at 37. So I would say both are pretty much tied.

Massa is the most improved driver. A certain second.

Button did some incredible drives this year. So third for him.

Rest, I am not so sure of. Trulli is always spectacular in qualifying and I enjoy watvhing him.

I know there is a hype surrounding Kubica but I am not so sure. I think Kubica might turn out to be a flash in the pan.

[rocketracer]

Originally Posted by freud

Its hard to say whom, among FA and MS, was better this year.

I know there is a hype surrounding Kubica but I am not so sure. I think Kubica might turn out to be a flash in the pan.

i agree with most all of that.

I do think that Kubica will be a strong driver, but i'm not sure he will be prodigious. After all, we are comparing him against Nick Heidfeld, of whom the words "resting" and "laurels" quickly spring to my mind...

[deejay]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Button - So he scored points a lot, wooppee doo, anyone can do that when they've got a reliable car and are not pushing all the time.

Have to call you up on this.

Reliable car?

He had 4 retirements in the first 2/3rds of the season - 5 if you count what happened in Australia where he lost a good points finish on the line. Even more importantly the cars performance was all over the place, making terrible use of its tyres in the early part of the season. Either it was terrible in qualifying or fell off in the race.

It was only from Germany when Honda finally started getting it right for the whole race weekend - and from that point on (or the race after was it?) Jenson was the biggest points scorer with what was essentially the fourth best car.

Not pushing?

Was he not pushing when he was cutting through the field at Silverstone before his engine expired? Was he not pushing when he passed both Renaults in Germany? Was he not pushing when cutting through the pack (yet again) and hunting down Alonso at Hungary? Was he not pushing when he passed several cars on the last lap in China? Was he not pushing when he passed Raikkonen and pulled away in Brazil? etc. etc. etc.

If Button wasn't pushing then what was Barrichello doing? Driving backwards?