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It’s an intriguing idea. The main issue I can see are how would teams that are struggling to compete currently going to afford to produce another car? Maybe they could make the money back with a pay driver for the race but it’s unlikely. I think there’s also the issue of what happens if for instance Mercedes fielded an extra drive next race and they were involved in a crash with Vettel. Any punishment to the driver is meaningless as it’s a one off race but could potential decide the championship.
Perhaps this idea could be merged with the idea of a non-championship race though? Allow any teams that want to or can afford to to run a third car for that race with a guest driver in?

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1. Daniel Ricciardo – I feel he’s the most consistent of the top performers in F1 – Hamilton, Rosberg, Verstappen and even Alonso all have the odd dud race but Ricciardo seems more immune to this than most.

2. Fernando Alonso – I think Button is a good barometer of the max a car can do, the gap between Alonso and Button this season was outrageous given this. Last season ALonso didn’t seem to have the motivation to scrap for positions but this season when even minor points were on offer he performed time and again. He won’t get it but if he lands in that Mercedes seat I would fully expect him to claim his third title.

3. Lewis Hamilton – he drove exceptionally at times this year but it wasn’t enough. I expect him to add to his titles next season

4. Max Verstappen – he’s moved from a young talent to somebody that the top drivers are worried about. Since I have watched F1 (1999 season) I haven’t seen a young driver but so much immediate pressure on the top of the sport with the exception of Hamilton. He’s still raw but what a talent.

5. Sergio Perez – first season I feel he’s moved back into that category of driver that you feel should have a top F1 seat after his disaster at McLaren. Can’t see it appearing though any time soon – this feels like his pinnacle unfortunately.

6. Nico Rosberg – this is maybe a harsh ranking for Nico – he’s possibly the hardest driver to rank though. Hamilton is an immense talent and he beat him but Hamilton’s year was hardly ideal and given the advantage Mercedes have the title was almost handed out by default. Equally though he could have been getting more out of his car than drivers I’ve placed ahead of him – I could happily place him anywhere from 1-10 really.

7. Carlos Sainz – deserves a Red Bull seat next year after this years performance but so do Verstappen and Ricciardo so he’s in a difficult decision. He needs to concentrate on comprehensively beating Kvyat next season and I think he should take any seat he’s offered away from Torro Rosso as he’s in danger of following the likes of Buemi, Vergne..etc

8. Nico Hulkenburg – could do with a bit more luck couldn’t he? Performed well all season but his lack of results put him behind his teammate this year.

9. Sebastian Vettel – he’s really struggled to get that Ferrari in the positions it’s expected to be – but then so has Raikkonen. He’s still a top drawer driver but this wasn’t a good season for him or Ferrari.

10. Kimi Raikkonen – I’m kind of unsure why he’s sticking around. This was a more solid season from him but even if next seasons Ferrari was all conquering does anyone think he’d beat Vettel to the title? I’m not dismissing his talent but his drive has seemed elsewhere ever since he rejoined Ferrari. Who exactly are Ferrari waiting for?

11. Valtteri Bottas – he must be praying Mercedes do a deal with Williams for him. I think this is his last chance to end up in a car capable of winning races. This season was not his best but he yet again scored the important points for Williams and beat Massa. Given a car that was unable to fight for wins not much more could of been expected.

12. Romain Grosjean – got the points at the beginning when the HAAS was competitive and then fought valiantly at times through the season to grab the odd point here and there.

13. Pascal Wehrlein – He consistently outperformed the car although he didn’t do it with the kind of swagger that Bianchi did previously which made you think he was destined for greatness. I’m intrigued if he gets the Mercedes drive what he’ll be like.

14. Jenson Button – I think he probably should have left last season – he held his own against Alonso in the dismal first Mclaren-Honda, this year though it’s hard to make a case that Button did better than Vandoorne would have.

15. Kevin Magnusson – I actually feel he’s a solid driver, he’s just never really landed in a great seat. He landed up in a poor Mclaren with big expectations when he wasn’t ready, and now he’s had a season in a positively dismal Renault.

16. Esteban Gutierrez – if he’d have had a little more look and nicked the odd point his season would look dramatically better. He’s quite a solid performer – his consistency in coming 11th is testament to that, perhaps in a better he’d be consistently in the points.

17. Estaban Ocon – decent and hopefully we’ll get to see more of his potential next season

18. Felipe Massa – sad to see him going out. A whisker away from a world champion although his decline has been obvious for multiple years now

19. Marcus Ericsson – struggled to impress in a terrible car although probably edged Nasr – can’t see him staying in F1 beyond next year

20. Jolyon Palmer – one of the surprises of the season was that he got a drive for next year. Next year will definitely be his last unless he improves dramatically

21. Felipe Nasr – a name which will make a good trivia question in a few years for Sauber’s sole point scorer – painfully dull season for both Sauber drivers. I hope Sauber get their car somewhere next year or we could be losing one of our longer running teams soon.

22. Daniil Kvyat – surely a year for him to shine in but instead he got demoted a few races in and just didn’t recover. I’m very surprised he kept his seat for next year but actually think he could recover although quite where his career is going is a bit of a mystery – I can’t see Red Bull promoting him any time soon.

23. Rio Haryanto – probably exceeded expectations but I doubt many non-Indonesian fans were bothered when he was replaced.

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22. Max Chilton – just doesn’t seem good enough to even deserve a Marussia seat in F1.
21. Esteban Gutiérrez – the fact I had to look up how to spell his name says it all I think.
20. Charles Pic – just seems to disappear in races at times
19. Valtteri Bottas – where has he been? – most races I don’t even notice him
18. Pastor Maldonado – inconsistent at best – though has rescued Williams season with his point
17. Giedo van der Garde – have actually been mildly impressed at times though has been difficult to show his quality in the car
16. Sergio Perez – I really thought he’d shine this season but even considering the poor car he’s been poor – the first few races he might as well have not turned up and then after a kick up the bum by his team he’s seemingly become one of the most reckless drivers on the grid.
15. Jenson Button – personally don’t rate him, he gets whatever the car has to offer and never any more, so this season has been poor
14. Felipe Massa – when are Ferrari going to replace him?
13. Daniel Riccardo – Cannot see what Red Bull see in him – usually qualifies well but then just goes backwards quickly
12. Romain Grosjean – just needs more points on the board. He impresses at times but can’t seem to combine an uneventful drive with a decent one
11. Nico Hulkenburg – would like to see a bigger team gamble on him next year as he’s been consistently outperforming his car over the last few seasons and even in the poor Sauber he has been impressive
10. Mark Webber – seems to have lost heart with the internal battle at Red Bull and I think its shown on track
9. Jules Bianchi – has very much impressed me and that is hugely impressive in a Marussia! Ferrari seat for next year possibly/hopefully?
8. Jean Eric Vergne – I think he’s having another solid season and personally would be placing him in the Red Bull for next year.
7. Adrian Sutil – Unlucky – just massively unlucky this year – from breakdowns to rogue wheel nuts he’s had the lot – although when nothing has gone against him he has performed exceptionally well
6. Paul Di Resta – decent as always and picks up points though rarely shines I find, still a good first half to the season and is keeping Mclaren behind Force India which is commendable
5. Nico Rosberg – was keeping Hamilton in check at first although that seems to have changed quite dramatically now, still a good season so far though
4. Lewis Hamilton – what a time to switch team – everyone thought it’d be a hard season for him switching from front running Mclaren – more like jumping from a sinking ship in reality – has performed well for Mercedes even with their tire issues
3. Kimi Raikkonen – Consistent, absolute consistency is his best asset. Can’t see it helping him to a second championship but his performance throughout the season has been immense.
2. Sebastian Vettel – its harsh putting him in 2nd in some ways as he’s cruising to his next championship – he has really outperformed Webber this year though against his other rivals it doesn’t feel like its a fair fight as the Mercedes tires cause them some sort of dilemma most races, the lotus’ pace varies dramatically race to race and quite frankly the Ferraris are just slow.
1. Fernando Alonso – has kept in the title race when he just clearly doesn’t have the car – trying to win the championship when the car is not really capable of coming higher than 5th in qualifying is proving challenging but his performance has been unparalleled.

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I would say Trulli and Alonso got on really well.

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I think women will eventually break into F1 but it will take time. It would take quite a gamble by an F1 team as well. Not that a women couldn’t be good but it would be a lot easier to pick a guy. However I could see a poor team like HRT or another poor team being the team to take the gamble because of the marketing opportunities. No big team will offer them an opportunity until they’ve proved themselves in F1. I do think it would be good though to see some female drivers in F1 though.

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Good find PJTierney, its really funny.

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Hi, I’m very keen to join an F1 2011 championship, I’ve already pre-ordered the game. I’ve signed up to your ‘really rubbish racing’ forum. I think I definitely fit that description.

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Somewhere in Africa, perhaps South Africa or Egypt. Then all the continents would be catered for.

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Best Driver: Vettel

Worst Driver: Chandhok

Lewis Hamilton Award for Best Rookie: Perez

Yuji Ide Award for Worst Rookie: D’ambrosio

Best Team: Red Bull

Worst Team: Williams

Best Overtake so far:

Best Funny-moment so far: Alonso getting a lift from Webber

Takuma Sato Award for Erratic Driving: Hamilton

Most Surprising Result: Willams being woeful

Least Surprising Result: Red Bull being dominant

Best Grand Prix so far: Canada

Worst Grand Prix so far: VAlencia

Season Rating: 8/10

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Great list Daykind, I’ve found another video of the Adrian Sutil/Vitaly Petrov/Jamie Alguersari crash at monaco, which I think is better – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRRbDWBvDfw.

By the way does anyone else think it is absolutely ridiculous that all of these incidents are being punished, the FIA need to realise that when fast cars try and overtake occasionally there will be contact. After all it is part of what makes F! interesting to watch.

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I’ve got to say Kubica’s crash at Montreal in 2007 has to be the most amazing crash I’ve seen – where he was basically unhurt. I thought he was going to be badly injured after that crash but he was seemingly fine. See below for more info.

https://www.racefans.net/2007/06/11/kubica-escapes-injury-in-violent-crash/

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Best Driver: Hamilton (Unfortunately)

Worst Driver: Chandhok

Best Team: Ferrari

Worst Team: Lotus (For putting Chandhok in Trulli’s place)

Best Overtake: Schumacher on Petrov

Best Funny- moment : Webber giving Alonso a lift

Most Surprising Result: Vettel 4th

Least Surprising Result: Chandhok being useless

Special Mention to : Adrian Sutil

Race Rating: 8/10

Best BBC commentator/presenter : Coulthard

Worst BBC commentator/ presenter: Brundle

BBC Coverage rating: 6/10

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I agree Tommy, I’m sick of seeing Hamilton’s girlfriend jumping up and down every time the camera looks at her. If we wanted to see her we’d be watching a music channel. The director seems to think we want to watch peoples reactions to what’s happening on track more than what’s happening on track. He is wrong.

Also good ideas Electrolite and Brawn GP.

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Yeah I agree.

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Yeah I agree, sometimes we end up watching the wrong battle which is really annoying. Also they concentrate too much on the leader, I know we’re obviously most interested in the leader but if there is a good battle for 15th it would be more interesting than watching the leader cruise round half a lap ahead of anyone.

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