Anthony Davidson, 2011

Anthony Davidson reckons the Drag Reduction System introduced this year could make cars up to 15kph quicker.

The former F1 driver turned BBC commentator described the adjustable rear wing as a “far more powerful tool” than the moveable front wings used in 2009 and 2010.

Speaking to F1 Fanatic he said: “The cars are going to be travelling anything up to 15kph faster down the straight.”

He expects the wings to make the biggest difference as “circuits where you run the highest downforce.

“Circuits like Spa, Suzuka and Silverstone where you run quite a draggy car, in terms of downforce, for the speed of the circuit. Where you’re running a relatively high amount of downforce for the track that you’re on.

“It will probably allow teams to run slightly higher downforce than they normally would have.”

According to Davidson, whether the wings increased the amount of overtaking will be influenced by where the FIA allow them to be used during races:

“It’s all down to where the FIA decide to put the timing beams. That’s really going to dictate and govern the amount of overtaking.

“If they’re at the beginning of a straight you will see a hell of a lot more overtaking than we had last year.

“But if they put them, say, 300 metres the 100-metre board into a braking zone at a tight hairpin then that’s going to be pretty late. The effect will come a bit too late, only just put you alongside the car, and then you’re talking about proper, wheel-to-wheel racing.”

Although drivers will have free use of the wing during practice and qualifying, in the race its use will be limited to specific places on the track.

This could make for challenges of its own at circuits such as Monaco, if the drivers are able to deploy their wing going through the tunnel, as Davidson explains:

“I should think the start of the tunnel would be good – but then you’ll be going through the tunnel with a lot less downforce on the car through the right-hander.

“And it’s touch-and-go sometimes whether that’s flat-out or not. It’ll have to be well thought-out and I’m sure they’ll do a good job.”

Asked if he thought the DRS rules were complicated, he agreed: “That’s F1, isn’t it? It’s always going to be horrendously complicated.

“I fear for the drivers slightly because, from my experience, it’s very hard work. I’ve got quite a lot of capacity as a driver, I’m still young enough to understand the PlayStation generation.”

Having experienced the new 2011 systems on the Mercedes simulator, Davidson said he thinks drivers will be able to handle the extra demands being made of them:

“Sometimes, for different drivers up and down the grid, that’s all they can think of, driving 100 percent for the lap time.

“[Michael] Schumacher is a driver that has a lot of capacity, he’s got a lot of space to think about other commitments inside the car than just driving flat-out.

“In the era of traction control, over-run control on the engine braking, electronic differentials, all those things, Schumacher was the master of all that in his day. And he still plays around with the brake bias a hell of a lot, more compared to other drivers out there.

“So I think he’s going to adapt to it quite well, it’s not just a question of how old you are meaning you’re going to struggle with new technology, I think it’s just driver-specific.”

Davidson is commenting for BBC Radio 5 Live again this year and he said the new system will make his job more challenging as well:

“I think for us, in the [commentary] box we’ll have to keep an eagle eye on the split difference between all the cars out there.

“Because if a car is within a second of the car in front we’re going to have to be sure we’ve spotted that and mention that before they get to the timing beacon where they can apply the rear wing adjustment.”

He added: “A second is actually quite a difficult achievement to get to of the car in front. To get to nine-tenths behind the car in front of you is a very difficult task.

“So we might not see the trains of cars overtaking each other like has been mentioned. It might be a lot more difficult than that.”

And he’s not going to give much sympathy to drivers complaining about the new Pirelli tyres:

“The thing is as long as it’s the same for everybody, why complain? You’re all in the same boat. It’s not like one person has a slightly better tyre than you, you’ve all got the same situation.

“It’s a big part of road driving, it’s a big part of driving at Le Mans and it should be a big part of F1 as well.”

Some drivers such as Jarno Trulli have already voiced concerns about the durability of the tyres. Davidson said:

“I would say so if there’s another driver out there that’s been able to look after the tyres and not be a hooligan and destroy them on lap two. Every driver knows how to look after tyres and every engineer out there knows how to look after tyres.

“So it’s up to them and as soon as a driver starts complaining about the tyre, I’m not going to give them much sympathy at all.”

2011 F1 season

• How well do you remember the 2011 F1 season? Take the F1 Fanatic quiz
• The 2011 F1 season: The complete F1 Fanatic review
• Your 2011 F1 predictions revisited
• Barrichello tipped to stay at Williams
• 2011 F1 statistics part 3: Stats and facts highlights
• 2011 F1 statistics part two: Vettel's domination
• 2011 F1 statistics part one: car performance
• New 2011 rules produced best racing of last four years
• What F1 Fanatics really thought of the 2011 season
• F1 Fanatic's top guest articles of 2011

Image © F1 Fanatic. If you wish to use this image please contact F1 Fanatic to request permission

Former F1 driver Anthony Davidson says the sport is a “closed book” for him now and he’s focussed on winning the Le Mans 24 Hours.

I spoke to the ex-Super Aguri driver today who said he was keen to see the proposed world sports car championship go ahead – and feels it’s just as good as F1 in many ways.

I also had a rare opportunity to race karts with him and examine the driving style of a world-class racer at close quarters.

A different world championship

Since contesting his final F1 race at the Circuit de Catalunya two years ago, Anthony Davidson has branched out into sports car racing. He feels it has a lot in common with Formula 1:

For some reason it doesn’t have the same following that Formula 1 does. Now I’m involved in it and I’ve seen how competitive it is I don’t see why because we have manufacturers involved and we have professional drivers that have been in Formula 1. And, arguably, who still deserve a place in Formula 1.

It’s strange. It’s something that I think about a lot that in so many ways it’s just as good as Formula 1 and the show is just as good as well. It’s a really great category to be involved in.
Anthony Davidson

Wind back the clock 20 years or more and sports car racing had its own world championship and several top drivers competed in both.

Now plans are afoot to revive the world championship for sports car racing and Davidson is firmly in favour of the move:

I really hope it happens. For me, anything that has the title “world championship” is appealing. Everyone wants to be world champion in their chosen category. It’s something I’m all for and would love the chance to compete in a world championship.
Anthony Davidson

“Formula 1 is a closed book”

When I ask the inevitable question about whether he might make a return to F1 he exhales and says:

You can never say no – and you can never say never – to that opportunity. But I think it’s quite slim these days.

And, like I say, I am fully focussed on sports cars now and I’ve got a great drive with Peugeot. Particularly after the defeat at Le Mans this year, when it was looking so good, it makes me even more eager to come back and get that victory under my belt. It would be without doubt the biggest thing I’d ever won and I’d consider it my biggest achievement ever, even more so than being in Formula 1.

In my mind, Formula 1 is a closed book. But, if the opportunity ever came up again I would definitely consider it. For now, I’ve always been 100% focussed on the task in hand, and the task in hand now is winning Le Mans.
Anthony Davidson

It’s clear his new found enthusiasm for sports car racing is sincere. He explains how since leaving Super Aguri he’s set himself the goal of winning the Le Mans 24 Hours:

Since Formula 1 ended [for me] I was in contact with Peugeot. I’d already done a few GT races with Prodrive and I knew there was more to life than Formula 1.

After F1 came to an end Serge Saulnier invited me to a test at Paul Ricard. I had no idea what an LMP1 car would feel like to drive, especially a diesel.

I went along and it was a very professional outfit, very impressive, the speed of the car was very good and I really enjoyed myself around a circuit I knew. I was pleasantly surprised with how close an LMP1 car felt – not just in speed, but all the controls, all the technological advancements that go along with a car like that – it felt very much like home to me.

So it was something I stored in my mind which I definitely wanted to do in the future. At the time it didn’t come to anything because of the circumstances, and I was still chasing Formula 1 at the time.

I ended up doing Le Mans with Prodrive again but this time in the Aston and it was a great experience. From that moment I knew I had to get into the best car to give me a chance of winning the race outright.

I set myself the goal for at least the next ten years of trying to win Le Mans. And I’ve now turned all my attention to that and happily stepped away from Formula 1 to achieve that.

I’m not missing it at all. I’m enjoying doing the radio work [for BBC Radio 5] and talking about Formula 1. It’s fascinating to see the rate of progress and the technology involved with F1.

But the LMP cars are on a par with what we had in Formula 1 just a couple of years ago with traction control and all the other electronic advancements that we have to play with. It’s a fascinating world and something I can really fall back on my previous experience of years as a test driver and the races that I did in 2007 and 2008.

So it’s very familiar and something I’m absolutely enjoying. They’re proper cars with proper teams. If Peugeot wanted to do Formula 1 they could easily do that. It’s just that they choose to do Le Mans.
Anthony Davidson

Turbodiesels and closed cockpits

Davidson races Peugeot’s turbodiesel-powered 908 while several other LMP1 cars use petrol engines.

This is just one example of technical diversity in sports car racing, which seems to offer more opportunities for teams to do something different than the ever more tightly-regulated world of F1:

I think you do see [technical diversity] in Formula 1 still, it’s just in a very clever way and a secretive way. It’s not as apparent as in sports cars – F1 cars all look similar and sound similar, because they’re all governed by the rules very heavily.

And it’s the same rules for everyone. Whereas the thing that makes sports cars great is that there’s diversity in the regulations for different types of engine and chassis and aero configurations. For example, open car or closed car – those things really open up diversity and the fans can actually see differences between the cars.

Driving a diesel is a great experience in its own right and I’m really glad that I’ve done that in my career. It’s very hard to explain to the general public – and other drivers, even – that there’s a definite skill in driving a turbo engine and it’s a bit of an animal you have to fight with. Which makes it even harder in tricky conditions like a street circuit or rain. It gives a good test of your ability.
Anthony Davidson

I meet him at a media event to promote the upcoming Silverstone 1,000km LMS race. He’s positive about the new-look track which F1 raced on for the first time this year:

I’ve driven the new Silverstone on a simulator and in a road car a couple of times. But it’s going to be a completely different experience with the LMP car.

I’ve been talking to the guys at Populous and I think they’ve done a really good job with the circuit. I think there could be more to come in the future as well, which is exciting.

Circuit design is something I’ve always been fascinated by. Even as a kid I would draw circuits in my school book – and racing cars, of course!
Anthony Davidson

See (here and here for F1 Fanatic’s earlier interviews with Populous.)

Wheel-to-wheel

Shortly before the interview I went up against Davidson on the Daytona Sandown Park kart track. Drivers and journalists were paired together for a one-hour race – me sharing a kart with Nigel Mansell’s son Leo.

I took the start from the middle of the pack while Davidson streaked away from pole position. Towards the end of my half-hour stint he lapped me with little difficulty. But that gave me the chance to watch his driving style closely.

He was fabulously smooth around Sandown’s many hairpins, carrying speeds I couldn’t dream of into the corners without allowing the kart to slide.

He chalked up the fastest lap of the day on his 14th tour. And he was incredibly consistent too – look at this sequence of laps beginning with his best of the day:

14. 49.979s
15. 49.999s
16. 50.018s
17. 50.081s
18. 50.090s

How does he do it? Here’s a tip from the mouth of the 1994 British Junior 100B and ICA kart champion:

It’s all about keeping momentum. It’s the same as driving any racing car, but even more so with karts because they’re very snappy.

As soon as you make a mistake they’ll snap on you and you lose all momentum. At least in a racing car you’ve got a lot more power to get you out of a situation.

But I’ve always loved karts. It feels like coming back home when I get into a kart.
Anthony Davidson

His real home race this year takes place on the same weekend as the Italian Grand Prix (11-12th September). Davidson will be joined by several other ex-F1 drivers including Nigel Mansell, Giancarlo Fisichella and Jean Alesi.

Images (C) F1Fanatic.co.uk

Peugeot's lead car has an all-F1 driver squad

The Le Mans 24 Hours has been won by 64 different F1 drivers since it was first held in 1923. Last year the winning car was piloted by three former F1 racers – Alexander Wurz, Marc Gene and David Brabham.

This year 1992 world champion Nigel Mansell is among the 24 F1 drivers taking part in the great race. He’s joined by, among others, recent F1 racers Giancarlo Fisichella and Romain Grosjean.

Find out which cars each of the F1 drivers are in for this year’s race below.

LMP1 class

Peugeot 908

Anthony Davidson
Team Peugeot, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #1

Last F1 start: 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, Super Aguri-Honda, DNF (radiator)

Davidson, who drove for Aston Martin last year, has joined two of last year’s outright winners, Alexander Wurz and Marc Gene. Car number one is the only all-F1 driver team in this year’s race.

His F1 career was limited to two appearances for Minardi in 2002, a stand-in drive for Takuma Sato at BAR in 2005 (which lasted a handful of laps) and a season-and-a-bit for Super Aguri as Sato’s team mate from 2007-2008.

Alexander Wurz
Team Peugeot, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #1

Last F1 result: 2007 Chinese Grand Prix, Williams-Toyota, 12th

Shared the winning Peugeot last year for his second Le Mans win. His first was in 1996, the year before he made his F1 debut for Benetton.

Spent three years with Benetton before being dropped by Flavio Briatore. After a long stint as a McLaren test driver – including a one-off start and third place at Imola in 2005 – he returned to race for Williams in 2007. But Wurz retired from the sport before the season finale at Interlagos.

Marc Gene
Team Peugeot, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #1

Last F1 result: 2004 British Grand Prix, Williams-BMW, 12th

Became the first Spanish driver to win the race last year.

Ferrari test driver Gene raced for Minardi and also made three starts for Williams as a substitute in 2003 and 2004. But he was replaced by Antonio Pizzonia following his last F1 start at Silverstone.

Stephane Sarrazin
Team Peugeot, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #2

Last F1 result: 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix, Minardi-Ford, DNF (accident)

His F1 career lasted 31 laps when he substituted for Luca Badoer at Minardi in the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix.

Franck Montagny
Team Peugeot, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #2

Last F1 result: 2006 French Grand Prix, Super Aguri-Honda, 16th

Another driver who only raced in F1 as a substitute. Former Renault development driver Montagny drove for Super Aguri in 2006 after the team were forced to drop Yuji Ide, and stayed only until the team replaced him with Sakon Yamamoto.

Sebastien Bourdais
Peugeot Sport, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #3

Last F1 result: 2009 German Grand Prix, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, DNF (hydraulics)

Dropped by Toro Rosso halfway through last year after lagging behind rookie team mate Sebastien Buemi rather too often.

Bourdais is one of few drivers in recent years to have driven at Le Mans while being an active F1 driver, as he did last year.

Pedro Lamy
Peugeot Sport, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #3

Last F1 start: 1996 Japanese Grand Prix, Minardi-Ford, 12th

Best remembered for a shocking testing crash at Silverstone in 1994 where his Lotus cleared the barriers at the old Abbey curve, following which the corner was changed into a chicane for that year’s British Grand Prix.

Lamy returned for Minardi in the middle of 1995 and stayed until the end of the following season. He claimed just one point during his F1 career, finishing sixth at Adelaide in 1995.

Olivier Panis
Team ORECA, Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #4

Last F1 result: 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, Toyota, 14th

The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix winner is driving for ORECA for the third year in a row at Le Mans, but this time he has the benefit of driving the same make car which won the race last year.

Panis spent the first seven years of his F1 team driving for Ligier, which in 1997 became Prost. Following a year as a McLaren test driver he returned to racing with BAR in 2001 before moving to Toyota. Even after retiring from F1 racing at the end of 2005 he remained a Toyota test driver for two more years.

Nigel Mansell
Beechdean Mansell Motorsport, Ginetta-Zytek GZ09S #5

Last F1 start: 1995 Spanish Grand Prix, McLaren-Mercedes, DNF (handling)

The 1992 world champion finally makes his first start at Le Mans having tried to do so while racing for Lotus in the 1980s, and being denied the opportunity by Colin Chapman.

Mansell and sons Leo and Greg are driving a Ginetta run by themselves and British GT team Beechdean. Appropriately enough, it’s car number five. They aren’t likely to trouble the frontrunners in the LMP1 class – but can they keep running to the end of the 24 hours?

Audi R15-plus

Allan McNish
Audi Sport Team Joest, Audi R15-plus TDi #7

Last F1 start: 2002 United States Grand Prix, Toyota, 15th

While Peugeot have seven ex-F1 drivers in their factory squad, McNich is the only former Formula 1 pilot in the Audi camp. He drove for Toyota in 2002 but missed the last race of the season after a savage crash in qualifying at Suzuka.

A two-time Le Mans winner in 1998 and 2008, McNish is part of Audi’s crack squad including Rinaldo Capello and eight-time winner Tom Kristensen seeking to reclaim the supermacy at the event they lost to Peugeot last year.

Emanuele Pirro
Drayson Racing, Lola-Judd B09/60 #11

Last F1 start: 1991 Australian Grand Prix, Scuderia Italia Dallara-Judd, 7th

Five-times Le Mans 24 Hours winner returns to the race having missed it last year. He joins the team run by Lord Drayson (who also drives for them), who have moved up to LMP1 having raced an Aston Martin in the GT2 class last year.

Pirro drove for Benetton and Scuderia Italia during his F1 career which lasted from 1989 to 1991.

Jean-Christophe Boullion
Rebellion Racing, Lola-Judd B08/60 #13

Last F1 result: 1995 Pacific Grand Prix, Sauber-Ford, DNF

Drove the Pescarolo-run 908 last year, this year Boullion is with Rebellion Racing.

During his F1 career he also had the opportunity to sample the dominant Williams-Renaults of the early 1990s, though only as a test driver. He raced in 1995 for Sauber, standing in for Karl Wendlinger for much of the season.

Christijan Albers
Kolles, Audi R10 TDi #14

Last F1 result: 2007 British Grand Prix, Spyker-Ferrari, 15th

Albers was dropped by Spyker in 2007 one race after he dragged his fuel hose out of the pit lane in Magny-Cours during the French Grand Prix.

He is reunited with former team boss Colin Kolles who has entered a pair of last-generation diesel Audis – the R10s. This is his first appearance at Le Mans.

LMP2 class

ARX-01c

David Brabham
Highcroft Racing, HPD ARX-01c #26

Last F1 result: 1994 Australian Grand Prix, Simtek-Ford, DNF (engine)

David Brabham drove for father Jack’s team in 1990 and Simtek in 1994 – neither of which were especially competitive prospects.

He’s had better machinery at his disposal at Le Mans. Last year he was an outright winner in a Peugeot 908. This year he’s driving the first of the ARX-01 cars to compete at Le Mans. These were created by Virgin designer Nick Wirth and, like his VR-01, were produced entirely using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).

Hideki Noda
KSM Lola-Judd B07/40 #39

Last F1 result: 1994 Australian Grand Prix, Larrousse-Ford, DNF

This will be Noda’s third time at Le Mans, giving him as many starts in the 24 Hours as he had in F1. He drove for Larrousse in 1994.

He suffered a massive crash during qualifying in his first appearance at La Sarthe in 2008, flipping his Lola-Mazda several times.

GT1 class

Tomas Enge
Young Driver AMR, Aston Martin DBR9 #52

Last F1 start: 2001 Japanese Grand Prix, Prost-Acer, DNF (gearbox)

Enge drove one of the gorgeous works Aston Martins last year. This year he’s in an Aston again but this time it’s a GT1 DBR9.

His single seater career is best remembered for the failed drugs test which cost him the 2002 F3000 championship. He made three F1 starts for Prost in 2001 after Jean Alesi left to join Jordan.

Romain Grosjean
Match Competition, Ford GT #60

Last F1 start: 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Renault, 18th

Having failed to land an LMP1 seat for his first Le Mans 24 Hours, Grosjean is driving a Ford GT for Matech, as he does in the GT1 World Championship.

He made seven starts for Renault last year after taking Nelson Piquet Jnr’s place at the team. But he was not retained for 2010, the team preferring to promote his former GP2 team mate Vitaly Petrov instead.

GT2 class

Jan Magnussen
Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R #63

Last F1 result: 1998 Canadian Grand Prix, Stewart-Ford, 6th

Magnussen stays with Corvette for this year’s race. But having won the GT1 class with them last year, this year they are competing in GT2.

He made a single start for McLaren in the Pacific Grand Prix in 1995 and showed some promise. But he rarely delivered on that when he spend a year-and-a-half with Stewart Grand Prix from 1997 to 1998, eventually being dropped for Jos Verstappen.

Olivier Beretta
Corvette Racing, Chevrolet Corvette C6.R #64

Last F1 result: 1994 Hungarian Grand Prix, Larrousse-Ford, 9th

Also sticking with Corvette this year, Monegasque driver Beretta made ten starts for Larrousse in 1994.

Gianmaria Bruni
AF Corse Ferrari 430 GT #78

Last F1 result: 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, 17th

Bruni has had a successful career in sports cars since his sole F1 season for Minardi in 2004.

Eric van de Poele
Risi Competizione Ferrari 430 GT #83

Last F1 result: 1992 Italian Grand Prix, Fondmetal-Ford, DNF

Van de Poele is in the same car as last year, which is probably not that much slower than the Modena and Brabham cars he drove during his F1 stint in 1991 and 1992.

His last three appearances for Fondmental were a step forward in that he at least had a car that was capable of qualifying – having started just two of the previous 26 races he’d entered.

Giancarlo Fisichella
AF Corse, Ferrari 430 GT #95

Last F1 result: 2009 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Ferrari, 16th

Fisichella’s F1 career came to an end last year after 231 starts for teams including Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and finally Ferrari. He won three times and nearly gave Force India their maiden victory at Spa last year.

Now a Ferrari F1 test driver he competes for them in GT racing and this will be the 37-year-old’s first Le Mans 24 Hours.

Jean Alesi
AF Corse, Ferrari 430 GT #95

Last F1 result: 2001 Japanese Grand Prix, Jordan-Honda, DNF (accident)

Fisichella is sharing his car with another veteran of over 200 F1 races, Jean Alesi. This is the only car which isn’t a Peugeot to feature more than one F1 driver.

Alesi scored on his debut for Tyrrell in 1989 and famously jousted with Ayton Senna at Phoenix the following year. He switched to Ferrari as the team were heading into one of their periodic slumps but finally won for the team at Montreal in 1995.

After drives for Benetton, Sauber and Prost he ended his career at Jordan – suffering a heavy crash with Kimi Räikkönen during the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix.

Mika Salo
AF Corse, Ferrari 430 GT #96

Last F1 result: 2002 Japanese Grand Prix, Toyota, 8th

Forever remembered as the driver who gave up what would have been his only F1 win at the Hockenheimring to support Ferrari team mate Eddie Irvine’s failed bid for the world championship.

After being unceremoniously dumped out of F1 by Toyota in 2002, Salo eventually moved to GT racing, winning the American GT2 championship in 2007. This is his fourth appearance at Le Mans, he won the GT2 category last year driving for Risi Competizione.

Other famous names

Lola-Aston Martin B09/60

As well as the Mansell brothers, Alain Prost’s son Nicolas is driving one of the Rebellion Racing Lolas.

Prost shares his car with Marco Andretti, grandson of 1978 F1 champion Mario, who competed in the Le Mans 24 Hours several times but never managed to win it.

And Vanina Ickx, daughter of six times Le Mans winner and 1970 F1 championship runner-up Jacky Ickx, drives the LMP1 Lola-Aston entered by Signature Plus.

Five former F1 drivers who competed in last year’s Le Mans 24 Hours are not present this year. They are Jos Verstappen, Christian Klien, Tiago Monteiro, Narain Karthikeyan and Marco Apicella.

Are you watching this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours? How do you think the F1 drivers will fare in this year’s race? Have your say in the comments.

Le Mans 24 Hours

• F1 drivers who won at Le Mans
• How quick would F1 lap at Le Mans?
• Wurz, Brabham and Gene win 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours for Peugeot

Peuget and Aston Martin both have F1 drivers in their Le Mans squads

Senna, Mansell, Prost… the 2009 Le Mans entry list has some famous F1 names on it.

Those three are, of course, ‘sons of…’ plus one ‘nephew of…’. But there are 23 other drivers racing at Le Mans this weekend who all have F1 starts to their name.

Here’s a list of all of them, including former Super Aguri driver turned BBC commentator Anthony Davidson.

LMP1

Tomas Enge
AMR Eastern Europe Lola Aston Martin #007

Last F1 start: 2001 Japanese Grand Prix, Prost-Acer, DNF (gearbox)

Infamously lost the 2002 F3000 championship after failing a drugs test (for cannabis). Started three of Prost’s final races in 2001 after Jean Alesi abandoned the struggling team.

Anthony Davidson
Aston Martin Racing Lola Aston Martin #008

Last F1 start: 2008 Spanish Grand Prix, Super Aguri-Honda, DNF (radiator)

Lost his F1 drive when Super Aguri collapsed last year. Now doing a superb job as a commentator for BBC Radio, but far too good to be confined to be standing around holding a microphone.

Jos Verstappen
Aston Martin Racing Lola Aston Martin #008

Last F1 start: 2003 Japanese Grand Prix, Minardi-Cosworth, 15th

Davidson’s team mate Verstappen occasionally partnered Michael Schumacher at Benetton in Schumacher’s first championship year. In the news earlier this year when he was given a suspended jail sentence for threatening his wife.

Allan McNish
Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R15 TDI #1

Last F1 start: 2002 United States Grand Prix, Toyota, 15th

Tipped as an F1 star of the future in his early days before his career stalled. Did (almost) a full season for Toyota in F1 in 2002 before being dropped. Since then has been very successful in sports cars, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours twice, including playing a starring role in Audi’s excellent win last year.

Pedro Lamy
Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #7

Last F1 start: 1996 Japanese Grand prix, Minardi-Ford, 12th

Portugese driver who suffered a terrible crash during testing at Silverstone in 1994. His Lotus cleared the barriers and landed in a spectator tunnel which, mercifully, was empty.

Christian Klien
Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #7

Last F1 result: 2006 Italian Grand Prix, Red Bull-Ferrari, 11th

Placed by Red Bull at Jaguar in 2004 for an astronomical sum. Red Bull took over the team in 2005 and a poorly thought-out attempt at rotating Klien’s seat with Vitantonio Liuzzi that year did little for his development. Dropped before the end of 2006, but subbed for Jenson Button in practice for the British Grand Prix in 2007. Now a BMW F1 test driver.

Franck Montagny
Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #8

Last F1 result: 2006 French Grand Prix, Super Aguri-Honda, 16th

The French driver made seven starts for Super Aguri in 2007 until the team dropped him for Sakon Yamamoto who, being Japanese, was considered a more compelling proposition for the team’s sponsors.

Stephane Sarrazin
Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #8

Last F1 result: 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix, Minardi-Ford, DNF

Substitued for Luca Badoer at Minardi in the 1999 Brazilian Grand Prix, and crashed heavily after 31 laps.

Sebastien Bourdais
Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #8

Last F1 result: 2009 Monaco Grand Prix, Toro Rosso-Ferrari, 8th

The days when F1 drivers turned up in droves to participate in the Le Mans 24 Hours are, sadly, long behind us. Bourdais is the first driver to do so since Montagny in 2006, so three cheers for him. The pair together with Sarrazin form the first of Peugeot’s two cars manned by current or past F1 drivers (and, in this case, drivers who are all French).

Marc Gene
Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #9

Last F1 result: 2004 British Grand Prix, Williams-BMW, 12th

Made 33 starts for Minardi and later appeared as a substitute for Ralf Schumacher at Williams in 2003 and 2004.

Alexander Wurz
Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #9

Last F1 result: 2007 Chinese Grand Prix, Williams-Toyota, 12th

Had an F1 career in two parts. First came four seasons with Benetton lasting until 2000. Then, after a long period as a test driver for McLaren, he returned as a one-off at San Marino in 2005, finishing on the podium after 71 races out of the cockpit. But a return season with Williams in 2007 yielded little success and he retired one race before the end of the season.

David Brabham
Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #9

Last F1 result: 1994 Australian Grand Prix, Simtek-Ford, DNF (engine)

Brabham, son of three times champion Sir Jack Brabham, completes Peugeot’s second all-F1 car (Gene/Wurz/Brabham). Drove for his father’s eponymous team in 1990, then returned with Simtek in 1994.

Tiago Monteiro
Team ORECA Matmut AIM Oreca 01 AIM #10

Last F1 result: 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, Midland-Toyota, 15th

Impressively finished his first 16 Grands Prix in a row for Jordan – including third in the infamous 2005 United States Grand Prix. Dropped at the end of 2006, now races in the World Touring Car Championship for Seat as well as running the GP2 Ocean Racing Technology.

Olivier Panis
Team ORECA Matmut AIM Oreca 01 AIM #11

Last F1 result: 2004 Japanese Grand Prix, Toyota, 14th

One-time Grand Prix winner for Ligier in 1996 before breaking his leg at Montreal the following season. Stints at BAR and Toyota followed and despite stepping diwn from the latter’s race team in 2004 he remained as a test driver for three more years.

Narain Karthikeyan
Kolles Audi R10 TDI #14

Last F1 result: 2005 Chinese Grand Prix, Jordan-Ford, DNF

Team mate of Monteiro at Jordan in 2005 who only distinguished himself with a hefty shunt in his final race at Shanghai. Has since raced in A1 Grand Prix, giving the Indian team its first win.

Jean-Christophe Boullion
Pescarolo Sport Peugeot 908 HDi FAP #17

Last F1 result: 1995 Pacific Grand Prix, Sauber-Ford, DNF

Former Williams test driver who took over from Karl Wendlinger at Sauber for 11 races in 1995.

LMP2

Hideki Noda
KSM Lola B07/46 – Mazda #39

Last F1 result: 1994 Australian Grand Prix, Larrousse-Ford, DNF

Started three races for Larrousse in 1994 as the team was on its last legs. He suffered two car failures and spun out in the rain-soaked Japanese Grand Prix. The sole F1 driver in the LMGT2 class, Noda is making his second Le Mans start in a Lola-Mazda.

LMGT1

Jan Magnussen
Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R #63

Last F1 result: 1998 Canadian Grand Prix, Stewart-Ford, 6th

Hotly-tipped talent who drove for Jackie Stewart’s team for a season and a half before being dropped.

Olivier Beretta
Corvette Racing Corvette C6.R #64

Last F1 result: 1994 Hungarian Grand Prix, Larrousse-Ford, 9th

Drove the same car as Noda earlier in 1994, before being replaced by a series of different drivers.

Marco Apicella
JLOC Isao Noritake Lamborghini Murcielago R-GT #68

Last F1 result: 1993 Italian Grand Prix, Jordan-Hart, DNF

One of only eight drivers to have started a single Grand Prix yet failed to complete the first lap. Read more about him and the other seven here: One lap wonders

LMGT2

Gianmaria Bruni
AF Corse Ferrari F430 GT #78

Last F1 result: 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, 17th

After racing for Minardi in 2004 he spent two seasons in Gp2 in the hope of winning promotion back into F1. Since then he has raced sports cars, winning the FIA GT championship last year alongside Tony Vilander in an AF Corse Ferrari.

Mika Salo
Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT #82

Last F1 result: 2002 Japanese Grand Prix, Toyota, 8th

Several impressive results for Tyrrell failed to land him a competitive drive until he was drafted in as Michael Schumacher’s substitute in 1999. Salo produced mixed performances for Ferrari – he should have won at Hockenheim, but qualified 18th at the Hungaroring. Later drove for Toyota alongside McNish before the pair were dropped at the end of 2002.

Eric van de Poele
Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT #83

Last F1 result: 1992 Italian Grand Prix, Fondmetal-Ford, DNF

Sampled a selection of terrible F1 machinery in 1991 and 1992, achieving five starts from 29 attempts. Should have finished in the points on the sole occasion he qualified in 1991, but his car ran out of fuel in the dying stages of the San Marino round.

Famous names

Three famous F1 surnames are contesting the Le Mans 24 Hours this year.

Bruno Senna, nephew of Ayrton, partners Monteiro and Stephane Ortelli in the Oreca squad. Nicolas Prost, son of Alain, is in a Speedy Racing Lola-Aston. Both are in LMP1.

Leo Mansell, son of Nigel, is racing in the LMGT2 category in a Team Modena-run Ferrari F430.

Last year, 28 F1 drivers past and present entered the Le Mans 24 Hours. This year that number has fallen to 23. Among those who have dropped out since last year are Jacques Villeneuve, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Karl Wendlinger, Christian Fittipaldi, Ricardo Zonta, Jan Lammers, Andrea Chiesa, Massimiliano Papis and Toshio Suzuki.

Which of the F1 drivers are in with a chance of winning their classes this year? Have your say in the comments.

Read more about Le Mans

• 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours entry list (Planet Le Mans)
• F1 drivers in the 2008 Le Mans 24 Hours
• Le Mans: which British drivers are taking part? (Brits on Pole)
• F1 drivers who won at Le Mans
• How quick would F1 lap at Le Mans?
• Which Formula 1 drivers would you put in a Le Mans 24 Hours team?

Allan McNish is aiming for a third Le Mans victory this year

The 2008 F1 drivers

I’ve updated each of the F1 Fanatic driver biographies with details of their performances in 2008. Links to the new biographies below:

F1 driver biographies

Lewis Hamilton
Heikki Kovalainen
Felipe Massa
Kimi Raikkonen
Robert Kubica
Nick Heidfeld
Fernando Alonso
Nelson Piquet Jnr.
Jarno Trulli
Timo Glock
Sebastien Bourdais
Mark Webber
Sebastian Vettel
Nico Rosberg
Kazuki Nakajima
Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello
Adrian Sutil
Giancarlo Fisichella
David Coulthard
Anthony Davidson
Takuma Sato

Read more: 2009 F1 drivers and teams

Lewis Hamilton used a few magic words to get his F1 break

Andy and LJH present the final for of their ten ways to get a drive in Formula 1.

We’ve covered six different ways to get into F1 and today we present the final four: if you’ve not got a famous dad and chatting up the engine builders has got you nowhere, this is what you need to be doing.

7. Score notable success in an alternative open-wheel series

This might seem a sure-fire route into F1 – surely a skilled driver is a skilled driver is a skilled driver? But remarkably few examples of a successful crossover between Ecclestone’s Empire and, for example, North American racing exist.

Nevertheless, drivers still try it. This was Sebastien Bourdais’ route to Toro Rosso after an initial failed attempt to race in F1 sent him off to the States in search of pastures new.

He started out on a conventional route through French and European junior series, where he scored spectacular successes in French Formula 3 and F3000. His false start in F1 came with Arrows and Jordan in 2003-03, when he failed to convert teams’ interest into a secure race drive. The rumour is that he missed out after refusing to sign a management deal with Flavio Briatore.

So he crossed the Atlantic and imposed himself on the American open-wheel Champ Car series, winning four championships with the top-drawer Newman-Haas outfit (co-owned by the late Paul Newman). Here he really found his niche, producing the same kind of dominant performance in a red car that F1 saw from Michael Schumacher.

By the end of what turned out to be Champ Car’s final season prior to unification with the rival Indy Racing League, Bourdais had nothing left to prove in America. With his championships won on road courses rather than ovals, on paper he looked like a red-hot prospect for F1 and it’s been a shock to many fans that he’s failed to perform better.

Maybe next year will be his year – but rumours are already connecting him with a return to Newman/Haas/Lanigan, at the expense of ex-Minardi and Jaguar driver Justin Wilson. And with last week’s news of IRL superstar Helio Castroneves’ indictment for tax fraud, there could shortly be a vacancy with front-runners Team Penske too.

Read more about Sebastien Bourdais: Sebastien Bourdais biography

8. Be fast-tracked by the Big Boys

Robert Kubica tested for Renault... and was nabbed by BMW

Consider the career of Robert Kubica. Before him, few lists of leading motorsport nations would have included Poland. Without the benefit of a national infrastructure to provide race experience beyond karting, and without a heritage in the sport to fire the imagination of potential sponsors, few ambitious youngsters could have been worse-placed to make it to the top.

Nevertheless, after cleaning up in Polish karting, he headed abroad to try his luck. Once he began to succeed in Formula Renault he was taken into that constructor’s development programme. By 2005 he had won the World Series by Renault and tested for the F1 team – which promptly let him slip through their fingers. It was left to BMW Sauber to offer him a test seat, and then a race drive, following the departure of Jacques Villeneuve.

Another constructor with a development programme is Honda – but you will find few of its mostly English graduates driving in F1. Anthony Davidson is cooling his heels following the collapse of Super Aguri, while Mike Conway and James Rossiter seem as far away from making the jump as ever.

Red Bull famously bought out Minardi and rebranded it as Toro Rosso to give its development drivers something to aim at – but only Vettel has risen to the challenge while Scott Speed, Christian Klein and Vitantonio Liuzzi all fell by the wayside.

In fact, it is tempting to conclude that if you want to be a Formula One driver you should avoid joining a development programme at all costs. For every Lewis Hamilton who makes it work, there’s a dozen Adam Carrolls whose talent isn’t enough on its own. In terms of strike rate, it’s marginally worse than the next tempting-sounding route in our list.

Read more about these drivers

• Robert Kubica
• Christian Klien
• Vitantonio Liuzzi
• Scott Speed

9. Be an exceptional test driver

Felipe Massa was a Ferrari test driver in 2003 and joined the race team in 2006

This is, more than anything, the story of Anthony Davidson who, although he has managed a few short spells in a race car, is primarily known as a really sound pair of hands in testing.

Proficiency at test-driving is a double-edged sword, at best – as evidenced by the way Davidson’s route into F1 was so clearly trumped by Sato’s method of cultivating a relationship with an engine supplier.

Experience would suggest that, while it might actually get you into a car and in front of the right people, it won’t earn you a race drive out of gratitude if someone better comes along or if you falter when you do get a chance. Casualties littering the wayside of this particular route include Alexander Wurz, Pedro de la Rosa and Klien.

And it contains another trap for the unwary: be too good at testing and they’ll never let you stop. This could be Davidson’s curse – he’s even been invited over the Pond to test Indycars, with what in hindsight now looks like no realistic chance of ever having been offered a drive.

Fellow Honda testers Rossiter and Conway are showing early signs of going the same route, Franck Montagny is permanently in demand as a tester but never quite seems able to land a lasting race drive, and de la Rosa and Gary Paffett both seem to have disappeared into the black hole of McLaren testing, never to be seen again.

On the other side of the same coin, Alonso sat out a year as a Renault tester following his successful Minardi debut, waiting for Briatore to sort him out a race seat at Button’s expense. And Felipe Massa emerged a different driver from his spell testing at Ferrari.

So it can work, and that must account for why drivers keep on trying. But there are better ways – such as…

10. Walk up to Ron Dennis at a do and say: “I want to race for you one day.”

Nah. Don’t be ridiculous. That could never work.

Ten ways to get a drive in F1 (part 1/3)
Ten ways to get a drive in F1 (part 2/3)

This article was suggested by Dwinn using Skribit. To suggest an idea for an F1 Fanatic article, use the Skribit box in the middle column on this page. You can also vote for other people’s article ideas.

This is a guest article by the team at Brits on Pole. If you want to write a guest article for F1 Fanatic you can find all the information you need here. If you fancy reading more of the same, why not pay us a visit? Or you can keep up with what the Brits on Pole team are doing via our RSS feed.

Here’s an exclusive competition for F1 Fanatic readers to win one of five “Life behind Lewis” DVDs in an exclusive competition.

Simply email your answer to the question below to be in with a chance of winning. You can read a review of “Life behind Lewis” here.

To win one of five “Life behind Lewis” DVDs send your answer to this ultra-tough question along with your name to competition@f1fanatic.co.uk before 6pm British time on Tuesday 29th July 2008.

This competition is closed and the winners will be announced shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered.

Terms and conditions: One entry per person. Prizes will be awarded to the first five names drawn at random. In the event of a dispute the editor’s decision is final. Please note the competition prizes are region 2 DVDs. No alternative will be offered and no correspondence will be entered into.

The tidal wave of books and DVDs on Lewis Hamilton that burst forth last year has eased to a trickle. Now one of the better efforts at a documentary about Britain’s most unavoidable F1 star has made it onto DVD.

But although Hamilton’s name and face are plastered across the front of the package, the video is actually more about Anthony Davidson, who made his full-time debut as an F1 driver last year as Hamilton arrived on the scene.

A cynical dodge to sell DVDs off the back of Hamilton’s name? Perhaps, but don’t jump to the conclusion that there’s nothing to commend this – it’s a decent documentary as long as you approach it wanting to learn more about Davidson instead of Hamilton.

“Life Behind Lewis” broadcast on ITV4 earlier this year and got a favourable reaction from many fans.

The DVD adds a little more content in the form of full length interviews with Murray Walker and Eddie Jordan.

As with many of the Hamilton books that came out last year a dedicated F1 fan is going to find this all very basic. It’s more for the new arrivals to F1, although I enjoyed some of the behind-the-scenes stuff from the Super Aguri garage.

There’s some interesting historical footage from Davidson’s early karting days with the likes of Jenson Button and Dan Wheldon (Indianapolis 500 winner and Indy Car champion in 2005).

But it’s hard to overlook the conspicuous lack of race footage. Bernie Ecclestone doesn’t give that stuff away for free, of course, but I doubt the economics of purchasing some and being then able to sell enough DVDs to make a profit add up. At this point I could give you chapter and verse on how FOM’s hopeless approach to marketing does it more harm than good but you’ve heard that from me plenty of times before.

But they’ve done the best with what they’ve got. The video is produced very well and benefits from some useful observations from several seasoned F1 followers.

If you’re the kind of F1 fan who doesn’t need telling what Anthony Davidson’s father’s first name is, then steer clear. But iIf you’re a fan of Anthony Davidson, or if you’re a new follower of F1, give “Life behind Lewis” a try, but do be aware it’s much more about Davidson than Hamilton.

F1 Fanatic rating

You can buy “Life behind Lewis” from Amazon via the link above – from which F1 Fanatic earns a commission at no cost to you. Or you can come back tomorrow and enter our exclusive competition to win one of five copies. To make sure you don’t miss the competition you can subscribe to F1 Fanatic by RSS or email.

More F1 DVD and video reviews

Continuing the driver rankings for the first part of 2008 here is the first part of the top ten.

Don’t miss the top three tomorrow – and share your thoughts on the drivers’ performances below.

10 Nick Hedifeld

2007 ranking: 4

Last year Heidfeld surprised many by leading his team mate Robert Kubica home home more often than not. But over the winter the banning of traction control and associated loss of engine braking, plus the transition from the F1.07 to F1.08, all seems to have played into Kubica’s hands.

Heidfeld has mainly struggled with getting his tyres up to temperature on qualifying runs. After taking time at a test to address this he believes he has now conquered the problem, and his Q2 time at Silverstone within hundredths of Kubica supports his claim, but the damage to his season has already been done.

Ben in the forum said:

Most disappointing driver so far this year. He is in his eighth year in F1, I think he may be a steady Eddie – in F1 for ages with little big success. Sad about this though because he seems like a cool guy and he blew everyone away in F3000.

9 Sebastian Vettel

2007 ranking: 14

Vettel struggled to get to the end of races in the first part of the season, but that was largely down to problems not of his own making.

But he has flourished since the STR3 arrived and took it to fifth on its first appearance in Monaco, from 19th in the grid. Vettel clearly revelled in the wet conditions and it was a pit not to see what he might hae achieved from eighth on the grid in the rain at Silverstone before David Coulthard took him out. Vettel is likely to take Coulthard’s place at Red Bull next year.

8 Mark Webber

2007 ranking: 9

At last Webber has a car that is both quick and consistent. And he is making excellent use of it, finishing in the points with greater regularity than at any other time in his career to date.

He is one of the best qualifiers in Formula 1 – as his fine second place on the grid last weekend showed. His disastrous performance on the Sunday has been the only blip in his otherwise very solid form.

M Smith on the forum said:

Webber has really impressed me this season. Having the same amount of points as Kovalinen show how good a season he is having. 4th was on the cards at Canada if Red Bull had moved him to a one-stopper. Madness there.

7 Jarno Trulli

2007 ranking: 12

Suddenly Toyota is fourth in the constructors’ championship. How did that happen? Most of it is down to Trulli, who has regularly beaten his junior team mate into the top ten.

He even seems to have consigned the ‘Trulli train’ to history – after qualifying fourth at Magny-Cours he raced to the podium against the expectations of many. I’m going to have to stop making jokes about it in the Live Blog.

6 Heikki Kovalainen

2007 ranking: 7

Nine races in and Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren career has yielded a single podium. But he has been plagued by misfortune in a way his illustrious team mate has not: an ill-timed safety car appearance at Melbourne, electrical failure on the grid at Monaco, and of course that disastrous wheel failure at Barcelona.

He has shown enough pace to worry Lewis Hamilton on occasions – out-qualifying him with more fuel on board at Istanbul for example. There have been fewer mistakes from Kovalainen too although he just couldn’t live with his team mate’s speed in the wet at Silverstone.

5 Fernando Alonso

2007 ranking: 3

He may be back at Renault but, as last year, there are some tensions between driver team, albeit far less destructive ones. Alonso seems to be preoccupied with getting the best results at individual races rather than consistently gathering points in the lower half of the top eight. He is a twice champion after all. But a more conservative approach might have him and Renault higher in their respective championships.

The gambles haven’t always worked and have brought him into conflict with the team. He criticised the strategy used at Montreal and repeatedly asked for extreme wet weather tyres at Monaco before the car got away from him while he was on full wets. Spinning on the formation lap at his home race was another lowlight. But the season opener at Melbourne showed Alonso in his best light – combative and opportunistic, stealing a fourth place that shouldn’t have been there by piling pressure on Kovalainen.

4 Felipe Massa

2007 ranking: 6

Massa has had a down-up-down kind of season. His first two races were terrible, all the fears about him struggling to cope with a traction control-free F1 car apparently realised. He binned his F2008 at the first corner at Melbourne, and threw away second place at Sepang with a spin.

After that it was if some clicked and suddenly Massa could win as he pleased. Was this just because of tracks like Istanbul and Bahrain where he seems to shine? The jury’s still out on that one. Confusing the situation further, after a composed drive to third at a wet Monaco he looked all sea in the rain at Silverstone and finished a disastrous 13th after five spins. Nonetheless, he is still a joint leader of the championship.

Francis in the forum said:

I’m also impressed by Felipe Massa , since the first two races he’s much more consistent with his pace across the calendar – not just winning in his traditional haunts.

Join us tomorrow for the top three. To make sure you don’t miss it subscribe to F1 Fanatic by RSS or email.

The half-way point in the season has passed and it’s time to pass judgement on the performances of each of the drivers so far.

Who have been the best and worst drivers so far this year?

Here’s my verdict – as ever do share yours as we go along.

22 Nelson Piquet Jnr

2007 ranking: n/a

Apart from his points score at Magny-Cours it’s been painful watching Nelson Piquet Jnr’s Grand Prix debut. He’s been repeatedly off the road and a long way off Fernando Alonso’s pace – even taking into account the fact his team-mate is a twice champion.

21 Takuma Sato

2007 ranking: 19

The decline and death of Super Aguri was a sad sight. The drivers were usually under instructions to simply bring the cars home undamaged as the team couldn’t afford to repair them. But Sato couldn’t manage even that, somehow managing to hit a barrier on a Hermann Tilke circuit, of all places.

20 Adrian Sutil

2007 ranking: 18

It was a terrible shame to see his gutsy drive at Monte-Carlo cut short by Kimi Raikkonen’s error. But for most of the race of the season Sutil has been down on Fisichella’s pace. Given Heikki Kovalainen comfortably beat Fisichella over most of last year, Sutil needs to be doing the same to justify his place in F1. Very handy in the wet though.

19 Giancarlo Fisichella

2007 ranking: 13

Consistent but unspectacular now he’s back at Force India (formerly Jordan), Fisichella made a howler of a mistake at the start of the Turkish Grand prix and otherwise little has been seen of him. His technical input has won praise from the team, however.

18 Anthony Davidson

2007 ranking: 16

Quicker and more consistent than Sato over four races, but that limited frame of reference isn’t enough to reasonably place him any higher than this. Definitely deserves a proper F1 shot with a bona fide outfit.

17 Sebastien Bourdais

2007 ranking: n/a

Yet to show much speed and, ominously, is already talking about how much better he might do next year with slick tyres. Highly rated team mate Sebastian Vettel has largely led the way this year but Bourdais is making discernible improvements and is doing a better job of bringing the car home.

16 Timo Glock

2007 ranking: n/a

The 2007 GP2 champion has had little opportunity to show off his wheel-to-wheel racing skills and has largely been in his team mate’s wheel tracks. His run to fourth at Canada was mature and opportunistic, however, and he’s finished every race since Malaysia.

15 Jenson Button

2007 ranking: 10

Team mate Rubens Barrichello has thoroughly usurped Button in his role as the safe pair of hands guiding Honda’s latest shed into those useful points-paying positions. Button could have had an excellent result in the wet at Monaco but he hit Nick Heidfeld. With Honda apparently on the hunt for a big-name star to join the team, Button needs the kind of results Barrichello is getting – and fast.

14 Kazuki Nakajima

2007 ranking: 24

One of the pleasant surprises of the year. The omens for Nakajima did not look good early in the year. Seen as a political appointment for Williams atToyota’s behest, he parked on top of his pit crew at Interlagos last year and then rammed Robert Kubica out of the Melbourne race during a safety car period.

Happily things have imprved quickly. He’s been in the points four times – once more than team mate Nico Rosberg – and has begun to get on terms with his team mate’s qualifying pace.

13 Nico Rosberg

2007 ranking: 5

Since that excellent podium at Melbourne Rosberg has suffered from the see-sawing performance of Williams’ FW30. The team admit they have been neglecting the current car at the expense of developing the FW31. But Rosberg has made quite a few mistakes as well, notably at Monte-Carlo and Montreal.

12 David Coulthard

2007 ranking: 11

It will be a shame to see David Coulthard go at the end of the season but when you compare his results with his team mates it’s hard to make a case for Red Bull keeping him. Webber’s been in the points six times, Coulthard once, though if his Montreal podium was fortunate it also spoke volumes about his maturity and composure as a driver. Otherwise it’s the same Coulthard story – not quite quick enough in qualifying, and too many avoidable incidents.

11 Rubens Barrichello

2007 ranking: 20

Barrichello had a poor 2007, and 2008 started badly as well with disqualification in Melbourne for leaving the pit lane while the red light was on. But his new status as F1′s most experienced driver ever and reunion with ex-Ferrari mastermind Ross Brawn seems to have brought out the best in Barrichello. He took advantage of streaming wet weather at Silverstone to score points for the third time this year and get back on the podium. Wasn’t that supposed to be Button’s job?

Join us tomorrow for part two. To make sure you don’t miss it subscribe to F1 Fanatic by RSS or email.

(I originally wanted to do this post using some of the excellent contributions made to the discussion of top drivers on the forum. However due to a technical glitch with the forum I have been unable to, for which I apologise.)