Grand Prix Driver of the Year

It’s been an exciting year for Formula 1 and I was asked to contribute to MoneySupermarket’s Grand Prix Driver of the Year. This was because of my entry into their Monaco Memories competition earlier in the year. All of the judges ranked our favourite drivers using the F1 usual scoring system and then our results were compiled.

Image source: MoneySupermarket Car Insurance

In case you were wondering, my top ten shaped up a little differently to the average. I’m not a Lewis Hamilton fan…

Vettel	A very consistent 2012, even despite a lack of wins at the start of the season. Some notable gains of position at Belgium and Abu Dhabi.
Raikkonen	A fabulous victory at Abu Dhabi, coming towards the end of a steady set of drives in 2012 that had begun with a great drive in Australia.
Alonso	Difficult decision for third and fourth here, two drivers with real grit and talent, but Alonso just with the touch more pinache across the season.
Webber	Good season, great win in Great Britain, but not the most exciting driver this year.
Button	Not Button’s strongest suit this year, but a good start to the season and some good drives matched with some disappointing mechanical failures.
Perez	A bunch of unexpected podium finishes and some great drives making up places, such as at Italy. One to watch, especially as he will be driving for McLaren next year.
Rosberg	A quiet riot. Easy to miss, but some lovely drives – I was happy to see Rosberg come to victory in China and will be interested to see how he does when partnered with Hamilton next season.
Maldonado	Very much in the middle ground, but his name has stuck in my brain after that great win in Spain. He’s made some schoolboy errors but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and another season or two to prove himself.
Kobayashi	The King of the Backmarkers, Kobayashi has had some good times, some bad times and of course, his career best third place at his home Grand Prix in Japan.
Grosjean	He has made some stupid errors and some had some terrible lapses in judgement, but I like him. Some strong stints have taken him to the podium, and at the European Grand Prix he was putting in a great performance until a mechanical failure. Looking forward to him maturing a little bit.