Autosport’s top 10 drivers

10 Sebastian Vettel Down 6

How can a driver who consistently ran at or near the front, finished fifth in the world championship and won a race be ranked so low? The answer is simple. In 2019, Vettel made too many mistakes – five significant raceruining ones – and was outperformed by new team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Time after time, he cracked under pressure. In Bahrain, he spun his Ferrari dicing with Lewis Hamilton and cost himself a potential win. In Canada, while being chased by Hamilton, he went off and earned a penalty for rejoining dangerously – and however you view that penalty, the mistake was clearly his. At Silverstone, he crashed into Max Verstappen. At Monza, he spun early on then rejoined rashly. And at Interlagos he took out Leclerc – the nadir of his season as he tried to assert himself over his young team-mate. The red mist has always been a problem for Vettel, doubly so in his Ferrari years.

While he was, on average, 0.129 seconds slower than Leclerc on Saturdays, he rediscovered his speed late in the season, with his Suzuka pole lap among the qualifying performances of the year. After a mid-season run of being consistently outpaced, he at least hit back in the closing stages once the Ferrari improved and he had a stronger front end at his disposal.

He’s a hugely frustrating driver. Likeable, seriously fast and – at his best – every bit the champion that he is. But he didn’t offer anything like his best over too much of the season and the danger is that his 2019 campaign proves Ferrari isn’t the right place for his ability to be delivered consistently.

9 Lando Norris New entry

There was a back-to-front quality about Lando Norris’s season, which started impressively but didn’t deliver the hoped-for progress in the closing stages. But he proved beyond doubt his speed, shading Carlos Sainz Jr in the qualifying head-to-head and delivering good race performances. That he only scored just over half of his Mclaren team-mate’s points was a reflection of being the most unfortunate driver on the grid on race days – although as you’d expect from a rookie, he still has some way to go to deliver consistently at his team-mate’s Sunday level.

His sixth place in Bahrain set to rest his own private question marks about whether he could perform at this level, and over the first half of the season he was the top rookie. That was the first of a trio of ‘Class B’ wins in Bahrain, Austria and Singapore, although he lost out on midfield victories at Spa, to an engine failure that cost him fifth, and Abu Dhabi, to a last-lap pass by Sergio Perez that left Norris kicking himself for being “too polite”.

He struggled in qualifying compared to Sainz in the final stretch of the season on unfamiliar circuits, which is to be expected, although his teammate’s improving form also contributed to this. There were a few times when he was in the wrong place at the wrong time on the first lap, such as in China and Japan, but that’s also to be expected. But overall, Norris showed he is seriously quick and capable of excellent race performances. Once he adds consistency to that, he’ll be even more formidable.

8 George Russell New entry

Forget the fact that he didn’t score a single point, that he was usually only noticeable while being lapped, and that Robert Kubica didn’t prove to be the most challenging benchmark. You can make a compelling case that Russell was – just – the standout rookie in a great crop of newcomers.

That he had a crushing advantage over Kubica both on qualifying and race pace has to count for something, Russell only finishing behind him twice on Sundays. But what really impressed was Russell’s determination to learn everything he could to better himself and improve a no-hoper of a Williams. Even at a time when well-trained, intelligent and polished rookies are the norm, the 21-year-old was a standout. He also grasped that the key to success was mastery of the Pirelli tyres. When things clicked, such as at the Hungaroring, he proved he could deliver pace the car didn’t seem to have.

The biggest negative of his season was something he had no control over, that he rarely had anyone to race so wasn’t tested on those key pressure points – the moments when a few tenths around a pitstop can make all the difference or a vital pass had to be nailed. But from what he did have control over, his first laps were often a little over-cautious and he finished the opening tour behind Kubica 11 times. That’s a weakness he admits he needs to work on. There were also mistakes in France, hitting a marker bollard, and Abu Dhabi, giving his team-mate a glancing blow while going off on the opening lap. But overall, this was a Fernando Alonso-at-minardi-style rookie season.

7 Sergio Perez Re-entry

Perez delivered a typically effective season, but too often flew under the radar given the Racing Point was only sporadically a midfield force. That he took, on average, the sixth-fastest car in the midfield to second in the ‘Class B’ championship says a lot about his unobtrusive effectiveness.

He crushed Lance Stroll in qualifying, with an average advantage of 0.133s and only three defeats. But Sundays have always been Perez’s metier and he started the season superbly, the highlights an outstanding run to eighth in China in a car that needed to be hauled kicking and screaming through Q1, and a midfield-leading sixth at Baku. The eightrace points drought that followed perhaps reflected the fact that he didn’t have the car under him. During this run, he also crashed out of the rain-hit German Grand Prix early, preventing him from being in the mix for a potential podium.

Once the car picked up the pace in the second half of the season, Perez was a potent force with just one blank after the mid-season break, topped by superb drives in Mexico and, after a tyre-management masterclass then last-lap pass on Norris, to seventh in Abu Dhabi. The one non-score was due to an oil leak in Singapore, although he’d recovered from a needless practice crash that forced a gearbox change and grid penalty to run 10th when it struck. That said, he was lucky to get away with eighth thanks to a timing error at Suzuka after crashing on the final lap.

6 Daniel Ricciardo Up 1

It took a little time for Ricciardo to reacclimatise to life in F1’s midfield with Renault, but after the early-season reality check he knuckled down to the task and ended the season performing at the top of his formidable game.

There were flashes of brilliance in the first half of the season, notably a stunning qualifying lap at Monaco and strong performances in China, Canada and at Silverstone, where a badly timed safety car robbed him of ‘Class B’ victory. But there were also mistakes and some less impressive weekends. As the season progressed, he became more at home at Renault and the performances flowed. With the exception of a subdued Sochi weekend he was strong throughout the second half of the season, with outstanding race drives at Austin and, in a badly hobbled car, a run to 14th at Spa that he rates as one of his best in F1.

Were he to have performed in the first half of the year as he did in the second, he’d likely be ranked higher. But we also have to add the caveat that, while he was the superior Renault driver on race day in particular – he took all four of the team’s ‘Class B’ wins – his qualifying form wasn’t so decisively strong. Even though he beat team-mate Nico Hulkenberg more often than not, the average advantage was only half a tenth.

This wasn’t Ricciardo’s most rounded season – it was never likely to be. But when the car was good he extracted the most from it in a way that eluded Hulkenberg.

5 Valtteri Bottas Re-entry

This could have been the season that finished Bottas’s career at the front of the grid for good, especially given that he ended 2018 a broken man who, by his own admission, had fallen out of love with F1. But his victory in the season opener in Australia proved restorative and, determined to do things his own way, he emerged as a stronger, more reliable performer this year. While he’s still not at Lewis Hamilton’s level consistently, he was exactly the team-mate Mercedes needed him to be this year and was admirably close to one of the toughest benchmarks in the history of grand prix racing.

His start to the season was formidable. He bagged a second win at

Baku that required him to repass Hamilton in the first corner and, but for wheelspin from pole at the start at Shanghai, he might have won three of the first four races as he was genuinely giving Hamilton something to think about. The middle stretch of the season was tougher but he didn’t go missing as he did at times in 2018. There was the odd race where his tyre-management weakness showed up, but again far less than last year. He also made a few errors, notably crashing out at Hockenheim and then the mess that was the first lap at the Hungaroring. Those two races allowed Hamilton to break away decisively in the title fight.

But he ended strongly with wins at Suzuka and Austin, and finished the year with the same number of poles as Hamilton – five, even if his qualifying average was 0.116s down on the best qualifier in F1 history.

4 Carlos Sainz Jr Re-entry

Sainz proved himself to be exactly the ‘mini-alonso’ Mclaren needed after the loss of its star driver ahead of the season. He shares his hero and advisor’s relentlessness in race conditions and was utterly dependable for Mclaren, often rising above the chaos of the midfield and proving to be the standout performer in the mid-pack over the season. His drives in Austria – eighth from the back that could have been more but for a late-race frontwing problem – and Brazil, where he took third after holding off the pack on shot rubber at the final restart, were particular highlights.

He won the midfield battle six times and was the runaway champion in the unofficial ‘Class B’, recovering from a difficult start to the year when bad luck and the demands of adapting to a new team held him back a little. Finishing sixth in the drivers’ championship – thanks to a last-lap pass on Hulkenberg in Abu Dhabi – was testament to the quality of his season.

Sainz is at his best when he has a stable and consistent rear end, something the Mclaren couldn’t always deliver in the early stages of the season. But from the German GP in July onwards he was much happier with the car. He wasn’t completely flawless and there were a couple of on-track scrapes, clashing with Verstappen (in Bahrain) and Albon, after the rear stepped out in Lesmo 1 at Monza while the Red Bull driver was trying to go around the outside of him. But by and large he hit his marks and was quick and consistent, even if Norris did give him a hard time in qualifying.

3 Charles Leclerc Up 2

Ferrari was all over the map during the 2019 season, but Leclerc’s performances amid the chaos shone like a beacon. Nobody had more pole positions than he did and, by rights, he would have emerged as a winner second time out in Bahrain but for his SF90’S engine dropping a cylinder.

Having proved he was up to it, that Leclerc had to wait until the 13th race of the season at Spa to take his first win was a surprise, although primarily down to Ferrari’s erratic form combined with his own tendency to make blunders at key moments, such as when he crashed in Q2 at Baku. But such errors were excusable given this was only his second season and after the break, Suzuka start aside, he largely cut them out. He also showed his willingness to bear teeth at Silverstone, a race after being barged off the track for the lead in the closing stages in Austria.

Most importantly, he got the better of team-mate Vettel judged by all performance metrics. In qualifying, he was, on average, 0129s quicker and outscored the German. What happened at Interlagos – where he ambushed Vettel at the first corner, then got driven into by his team-mate – was a sign of just how much he has got under Seb’s skin.

Leclerc is not yet a fully polished performer, but the waves he created in 2019 show that he’s become a force to be reckoned with. At his peak, exemplified by Bahrain and Spa, he’s up there with Hamilton and Verstappen, and those highs will soon be the norm.

2 Max Verstappen No change

Verstappen’s supreme speed is a given and he was beaten only once by a team-mate in qualifying – Pierre Gasly in Canada – thanks to an untimely red flag. But since the mishaps of early 2018, he’s emerged as a more polished performer and ran Hamilton close for driver of the season.

Before the Red Bull was a victory threat, Verstappen was exemplary and grabbed a couple of early podiums. When it emerged as a contender, he nailed victories in Austria and Germany and also came close at the Hungaroring. His drive in Austria, after slipping to eighth at the start, was a virtuoso performance– although his less eye-catching run to third at Barcelona ahead of the Ferraris was arguably just as good.

A few errors did rear their head in the second half of the year. Misjudgements at the start at Spa and Monza were costly, while failing to clock the yellow flag for Bottas’s Q3 shunt in Mexico cost pole position and, most likely, a victory. He was also a little disappointing in qualifying at Suzuka, where a messy lap cost him.

But he bounced back from that with a strong end to the year, passing Hamilton for the lead twice to win at Interlagos.

The mistakes were on nothing like the scale of last year, and for the majority of the season he extracted what he could from the Red Bull package. Few drivers would have won in Red Bull machinery this season, and it was usually Verstappen’s brilliance that elevated it from only sporadically better than the third-best car to a serious podium threat

– as the performances of his team-mates proved.

1 Lewis Hamilton No change

Hamilton’s path to a sixth world title wasn’t as flashy as his 2018 campaign, but in some ways it was more impressive given that he was often battling to overcome a track-position setback and won without the advantage of pole position a record eight times.

In many ways, Mercedes had to work harder than ever to maintain its dominance in 2019, but this was shrouded by Hamilton’s ability to deliver consistently, his six wins in the first eight races creating the illusion that it was easy. Yes, even Hamilton sometimes admits he’d like a closer battle, but his class is often what puts him in so strong a position that he doesn’t have to get into a scrap.

While there were no Monza 2018-style drives, where Hamilton turned the race on its head with force-of-nature determination, he still delivered a catalogue of high-quality triumphs. Holding off Verstappen while on the wrong tyre compound at Monaco, reeling in the Red Bull driver after a tyre change in Hungary, and controlling the Mexican GP to perfection were the highlights, while his fastest laps on aged hard Pirellis in Britain and Abu Dhabi were a reminder of just how in control he usually was. One-stopping to victory at Silverstone, overcoming polesitter Bottas – who didn’t think the strategy was possible – was also an exhibition of his all-round qualities.

His season was not without mistakes. Crashing at Hockenheim under the safety car, then spinning, represented one of his worst grands prix in recent years while, off the leash after clinching the title, his impatience at Interlagos to get past Albon led to a collision and subsequent penalty. But beyond that, he was usually impeccable.

His only serious rival for the title was team-mate Bottas, and he never really looked a serious threat – save perhaps in the opening phase of the season during which Hamilton is traditionally finding his feet. There were times when he had to cross swords with the Ferrari drivers and Verstappen, but he was never lacking in these circumstances – save perhaps in being ambushed by the Red Bull driver after taking the lead in the first stops at Interlagos, albeit with the caveat that he was out of battery and therefore vulnerable. His harrying of Leclerc at Monza was a glorious example of not letting a rival rest, forcing mistakes, and Bottas’s inability to threaten Leclerc once he had a tyre advantage showed just how well Hamilton drove that day. As for Vettel, that the Ferrari driver cracked in battle with him both in Bahrain and Canada says a lot.

What impresses about Hamilton is that he is a driver both completely in control of himself and at one with the team – but who avoids complacency. Time and again he talked about chipping away at his weaknesses, which ensures he is still on an upward curve in terms of his performance level even at the age of 34. The desire to keep winning burns brightly and his drive to match or even eclipse Michael Schumacher’s once-seeminglyunassailable victory and title records is obvious.

And he needs that drive to hold off the challenge of F1’s next great driver – Verstappen.