mds wrote:
Code:
1 Lewis Hamilton 233 -
2 Max Verstappen 143 -
3 Sebastian Vettel 141 +2
4 Daniel Ricciardo 112 -
5 Esteban Ocon 73 New entry
6 Fernando Alonso 65 -
7 = Kimi Raikkonen 49 -
7 = Carlos Sainz Jr 49 +2
9 Nico Hulkenberg 47 New entry
10 Valtteri Bottas 39 -1
My thoughts:
1) Lewis #1 is no surprise, and unlike some past years I believe he probably earned it this time. He wasn't 100% on it early in the year, but I believe he was likely the best driver over the course of the year.
2) Verstappen #2... I can see it. Seb had some pretty poor moments, but Max also did in my opinion (Hungary comes to mind). I could see agreeing with this one, though.
3) Seb #3, see above. I can see it.
4) Ricciardo in #4 is probably too high over the course of the season - there was a patch in the middle where he was poorer than at least one of the drivers below him.
5) Ocon is badly overrated, IMO. He had got close to Perez by the end of the season, but still wasn't consistently quicker than him. He doesn't deserve to be above Perez under any circumstances, and #5 is too high.
6) Alonso is too low. Unless you believe Vandoorne is a chump and the Macca is actually a decent car, he was driving extremely well, and deserves to be just below the top clump. I would put him in #4, personally, and I think his real performance might be higher.
7) Raikkonen doesn't belong in the top ten. Sorry, Kimi.
7) Sainz does belong, but I'd put him above Ocon. He was dominant in the Toro Rosso, scoring all their good results, and he was nearly on Hulk's pace right away after joining Renault, something that we've seen is very difficult in the past.
9) Hulk totally dominated Palmer, but Palmer is a scrub. Still, I think he does deserve a place in the top ten, and ninth is probably fair - I wouldn't have Kimi above him, but I would have one other driver who isn't on this list there (Perez).
10) Bottas in #10... Not sure. He certainly didn't do a worse job than Kimi for most of the season, and unlike Kimi he legitimately beat his teammate in at least a few races. However, no matter how good your teammate is, beating him in 'a few' races isn't amazing. He would probably stay where he is for me, with Kimi leaving and Perez coming in above him.
Perez is the real slight of the lot, clearly. He's certainly among the ten best drivers, and he didn't even make the list. That would be worrying if you're Perez.