Having counted down numbers 10 through six of the best drivers in Formula One for 2013, today I reveal my top five (although no prizes for guessing who’s coming in at number one).
5. Nico Rosberg
Could it be Nico is a whole lot better than most people give him credit for? Almost certainly.
His obeying of team-orders in Malaysia while Mercedes’s closest rival couldn’t sort their own drivers out showed he’s at least as mature as the sport’s top talents, too.
Monaco and Silverstone were the only two wins Nico was able to secure in 2013 and he’ll be looking to improve that number next year.
He’s shown he can put up a consistent battle against Lewis Hamilton and 2014 is the time to show everybody he can put his foot ahead long enough to get himself number one status at the team.
He dismissed Michael Schumacher in the two years preceding Hamilton’s arrival but that achievement was written off because Michael was just ‘an old man’.
2013 has shown that Schumacher was no slouch and neither is Rosberg.
4. Kimi Raikkonen
The season started so positively for Lotus; a commanding victory and fastest lap in Australia seemed to be the precursor of what was to come for the season.
The Lotus seemed the cleanest on its tyres in a championship that was very much going to be decided by who could maintain the Pirelli compounds the best.
Lotus entered Malaysia as favourites for victory – and then it all sort of fell away.
Seven more podiums would be the best Raikkonen could deliver in his 17-race championship, well short of what he needed to put his foot in the door for the title challenge.
In the Lotus camp the first half of the season belonged to Kimi, who continued his dominance over the imperfect Romain Grosjean all the way to Hungary.
From there Kimi’s season began to get away from him a bit and while he was still able to perform to a standard that would net him podiums, the car wouldn’t come close to victory in his hands again.
The late-season announcement he’d return to Ferrari for 2014 all but killed Kimi’s motivation to perform for Lotus and he trailed off in his final few races.
A season cut short with a supposed back injury still couldn’t deny him a position in the top five drivers at the end of the year, but 2013 showed more than ever that a motivation-less Kimi isn’t one to deliver you world-class results.
3. Fernando Alonso
Alonso started 2013 looking one of the most likely to steal the championship away from Red Bull this time around.
Ferrari definitely had the pace to challenge early in the season, but the changes following Silverstone hurt the team’s chances at least as much as any other team’s.
From there it was a case of fighting for second best.
Two victories and seven podiums were about the best Fernando could have hoped for in a year dictated by tyre performance.
It wasn’t the Spaniard’s most convincing championship and his motivation did seem to be damaged a little after a fourth successive championship defeat to Sebastian Vettel.
In a less-than-perfect Ferrari, Fernando’s consistency again brought him silver and while Felipe Massa struggled in the mid points, his teammate was often battling it out for podiums.
He finished the season with 67% of the team’s total, a stat only beaten by Nico Hulkenberg claiming 89% of Sauber’s points.
A last-race squabble with Mark Webber for second place in Brazil is hopefully a sign of things to come for Alonso and a team that has many times failed to get that close to the front in the last four years.
Maybe 2014 will be a better season for Ferrari and Alonso, but with rumours the Italian team has gone wrong with its power plant for next year, Alonso may be looking elsewhere for title glory in the future.
2. Nico Hulkenberg
He scraped into the top ten drivers in the points raking, but Nico Hulkenberg could’ve achieved a whole lot more given the right machinery.
The mid-season changes to the tyres benefitted Sauber enormously and Nico took full advantage of the car’s new found pace.
Fifth in Italy and Brazil and fourth in Monza were the highlights of 2013 in a team that would usually be excited about coming tenth.
Scoring 89% of the team’s total points explains in itself how dominant he was over Esteban Gutierrez in 2013.
Give him a car worthy of his talent and he’ll bring home the results – but who is going to take on a driver who doesn’t bring money with them these days?
Hulkenberg has shown for years he’s got the potential to deliver in the right car and it’s a continued shame he’s pushed back time and again into less-than-perfect machinery.
With Pastor Maldonado having signed for Lotus next year, one of the last doors closed for Nico and it looks very likely he will be at Sauber again in 2014.
It’s unlikely Sauber will develop a car that is able to consistently compete for podiums but the future could, and should, bring him the opportunity to impress further.
He’ll turn 27 next year and is no longer one of the grid’s young drivers; Nico needs a quick car soon, otherwise his best years in the sport may pass him by.
1. Sebastian Vettel
The World Champion for a fourth successive time, Sebastian Vettel was unmatchable in 2013.
Mark Webber was unable to beat his teammate in any race this season and finished the season 198 points down and without a single win to Sebastian’s 13.
The multi-21 saga was a big blotch on Vettel’s reputation but this isn’t about how liked he is by the public, it’s about how quick he is.
I struggle to believe any driver would have been able to match Vettel in the RB9 and a record nine straight wins is testament to his outright speed and adaptability.
In India he overtook half the pack in a matter of laps to recover from an early pit stop and was rewarded with victory.
Silverstone should have been Seb’s, too, if not for one of the number-one car’s rare mechanical mishaps.
If Jenson Button had come to harm early in the Hungarian Grand Prix and Seb’s gearbox not failed in Britain, we could very possibly have been given a 13-race winning streak.
Great for Seb, not so great for the viewers.
Vettel enters 2014 as the fourth most successful Formula One driver of all time, with 39 wins – only two less than Ayrton Senna.
Another season like 2013 would put him well ahead of Alain Prost and into second position – an impressive achievement for a driver who will have completed only seven-and-a-half seasons in the sport at the end of 2014.
New teammate Daniel Ricciardo is an unknown quantity when it comes to high-end performance and Seb will need to put the hammer down early on to deny his newest rival any chance of usurping him from the Champion’s crown.
But Seb is more than just a champion, he’s a superstar. He’ll adapt to the situation and continue to grow over the next decade into a very, very punishing driver.
Something makes you think this is only the beginning of Vettel’s rule in F1, so don’t complain too much about his consistent winning – it could get a whole lot worse.
Looking for great odds on racing and sport? Get into the action with PlayUp today. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Team Penske is under the same umbrella of ownership as the IndyCar Series itself, so it was imperative for to drop the hammer and protect their integrity—which, thankfully, they did.
Red Bull can’t rest on its laurels and if Perez can’t provide them with cover on the rare days that Verstappen is having trouble, it's time to look elsewhere.
The absolute vitriol against the Canadian that has come from the incident is beyond reprehensible.
The Long Beach Grand Prix is the Monaco of American motorsport, and this past weekend, the IndyCar Series reminded everyone exactly why. We witnessed…
New Zealand made a triumphant return to the Supercars championship calendar since the demise of the much-loved Pukekohe Park Raceway – as Taupō delivered…
It’s time that serious questions are asked of his Lance Stroll and his future in the team.
