[Julien]

Here’s my list:

21. Pastor Maldonado
Absolutely destroyed by Grosjean over the entire year. Was as always involved in a lot of incidents but sometimes kept his car out of trouble to score some points. Needs to raise his game next year if he doesn’t want to get beaten by Gutierrez, who I don’t rate high as well.

20. Roberto Merhi
Had a terrible beginning of the year. But after a few races found his place. Still not the best driver around in my opinion.

19. Will Stevens
Had the edge over Merhi in the beginning of the season but while the season progressed was behind Merhi and Rossi more often than in front. Doesn’t deserve another season in F1.

18. Marcus Ericsson
Had a unspectacular debut season in the Caterham and his season at Sauber wasn’t much better. Could keep up with Nasr in qualy. But in the races he was a bit behind on pace. Had a decent middle part of the season but since then his season ended pretty bad.

17. Kimi Raikkonen
His season was again one to forget quickly. He was destroyed by Vettel. And while he had some good races, he had just as many bad ones. Bad luck always seems to affect him. Next year will almost certainly be his last. Let’s see if he can end his career on a high.

16. Alexander Rossi
Only drove 5 races but impressed a lot compared to Will Stevens. Deserves to drive more races in F1.

15. Felipe Nasr
Had a fantastic debut, but after then the Sauber, as expected, was overtaken by teams like Toro Rosso, Lotus and Force India. Still he took most of the opportunities to get points. Seemed to have a dip in form in the middle of the year, but came back strongly at the end of the year.

14. Felipe Massa
Just like Bottas had a unspectacular year. Seemed to be on par with Bottas in beginning of the season but in the second half of the season lost a bit out to him.

13. Nico Hulkenberg
The first half of the season was great for him. Winning Le Mans and scoring decent points in his Force India. But in the second half of the year he had a difficult time beating Perez. He also had a bit too much collisions in the races, although not all of them were entirely his fault. Next year will be make of brake if he ever wants to be in a top team.

12. Nico Rosberg
His last few races saved his season, but the rest of the year he always seemed to be a few tenths of Lewis’ pace. Really needs to be on the pace from the start of the season if he wants to beat Hamilton.

11. Carlos Sainz
Sainz had a lot of bad luck during the season. So the points difference between him and Max is not really fair. He also had a great rookie season but seems to just miss that little bit extra that Max had. Sainz performed really solid but didn’t deliver the mind blowing races that Verstappen did.

10. Jenson Button
The car was a disaster but still Button made the most of it. He didn’t show his frustrations as clearly as Alonso did. Alonso was a little bit faster over the year, but he kept up with him really well.

9. Fernando Alonso
His season was a disaster, but that was down to the car. He showed his frustrations more than often but kept driving his heart out. His performances in Hungary and Austin were heroic.

8. Valtteri Bottas
Had a pretty unspectacular year. He seems like a very reliable force, but not the world champion in the making, yet. Had a difficult time beating Massa in the beginning of the season but came back strong in the second half of the year.

7. Romain Grosjean
Destroyed Maldonado this year. Was involved in a little bit too much on track clashes but his season at least had a great high with 3rd place at Spa. Furthermore got the most out of his Lotus.

6. Daniil Kvyat
Had a tough start of the year, but since Monaco he really seemed to have found his place. Had some great drives and could keep up with Ricciardo.

5. Daniel Ricciardo
Couldn’t impress as much as last year in his underpowered Red Bull. But he was absolutely brilliant in Hungary, Singapore and Austin when his car could fight at the front.

4. Sergio Perez
Normally a bit of an inconsistant driver with some flashes of brilliance and some mistakes. But this year he’s been on fire. In the A-version of the car he did a pretty solid job. But once the B-version was introduced he delivered some really great perfomances. 3rd at Sochi and 5th places at Austin and Abu Dhabi are the highlights of his season.

3. Max Verstappen
The surprise of the season. This guy is exactly what F1 needed. Quick, young and fearless. In 2 years from karting to F1 and with only 17 years of age he did a phenomenal job. The first half of the season was a steep learning curve for him but in the second half he did just about everything right and got the most out of his car, and some more. His spectacular but fair overtakes draw the attention of the whole paddock and the fans. I think he’s our next super star.

2. Lewis Hamilton
Yes, it’s a lot easier to win if you have the best car. But at the first 2/3rd of the season he made Rosberg almost look like an amateur. He picked up his qualy pace from last year and his race pace was just fantastic. A bit of a shame the last part of the season Rosberg seemed the quicker guy.

1. Sebastian Vettel
Got the absolute maximum out of the car. And grabbed all the opportunities for a victory perfectly. Had some bad races like Bahrain and Mexico but in every other race he maximized the potential of the car.

[Julien]

22: Chilton: still was too slow, and made some mistakes. Just hasn’t got what it takes
21: Gutierrez: just like the colour of his car, gray. Had some decent qualy’s and races, but still hasn’t made any impression. Won’t miss him next year
20: Sutil: did his job, but expected far more from a experienced F1 driver.
19: Ericsson: Was horrible at the beginning of the year, but after Spa they adjusted something on his brakes amd he got a new front wing which made him look fast. We’ll see next year at Sauber if he is a decent F1 driver
18: Maldonado: Had really bad luck, but also some stupid moves. Was slow at the beginning of the year, but had some decent races after Spa.
17: Raikkonen: Dissapointed in him. He had some good races like Spa, Hungary and Brazil but most of the time struggeled with his Ferrari. Hopefully he’ll be back on form next year.
16: Kobayashi: Got the maximum out of the car. You couldn’t expect more from him
15: Grosjean: Was mega at the beginning of the year, with a fantastic Spanish GP, but at the end of the year he was a too demotivated to get good results, with a good car next year he’ll be back.
14: Perez: Had some great races but also made some mistakes. Was off the pace from Hulkenberg in the beginning of the year, but was equal with him in the 2nd half.
13: Bianchi: Until Monaco his season wasn’t great, but his drive in Monaco was the drive of the year. Fully deserved for him and the team. We all hope he’ll get back from his injuries.
12: Magnussen: Exceptional performance in Australia, and great qualifier. Lost a bit of ground to Button in the rest of the season, but was a great fighter. He deserves to stay another year at the team.
11: Vergne: Drove his heart out at the end of the year, but it wasn’t enough. His qualifying still was a weak point.
10: Kvyat: Great debut season. Has to work on his racecraft but the speed is definitely there.
9: Vettel: Had some bad luck, and was always a little bit behind Ricciardo, but still had a decent season.
8: Massa: Was involved in too much incidents, and was a bit back on the pace of Bottas at the beginning of the year, but ended the year fantastic with great drivers in Monza, Brazil and Abu Dhabi
7: Hulkenberg: Was Mr. Solid at the beginning of the year, almost copying a Alonso style season, but since Hungary faded away a little bit. Luckily he was back on form in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
6: Rosberg: Was great in qualy, and had some fantastic races, but he also had a lot of races where he was off Hamilton’s pace.
5: Button: Had a brilliant end of the year, and deserves to be in F1 for a couple more years, but not at the expense of Magnussen in my opninion. End on a high is also a good end.
4: Alonso: Got the maximum out of his car, brilliant, nothing more to add.
3: Hamilton: Made some mistakes and had some bad luck, but kept fighting the entire year, his racecraft is brilliant.
2: Bottas: This guy is serious World Champion material. Had a fantastic and consistent season.
1: Ricciardo: Exceeded everyones expectations. Always got the maximum out of the car at any race. In battles he was stunning and fully deserved those 3 wins.

[Julien]

Here’s my list, just at random because they all look incredibly good:

Benetton B194 (1994): not only was it a good looking car but, also it was the first scale model I got (now I have more than 30). I got this from my grandpa when I wasn’t following F1, and Jos Verstappen was the driver of the car, so as a Dutchman this car has some value.
http://www.petervanegmond.nl/f1-seizoen-1994/formule1coureurjosverstappen1994.php?pid=936

Toro Rosso STR1 (2006): Toro Rosso’s first car was a real beauty for me. It had an awsome paintjob which was not spoiled by sponsors. In terms of looks they never got close to that beautiful first car again.
http://statistichef1.altervista.org/STAGIONI%20html/2006/VETTURE%20MODELLI/ToroRosso.jpg

Brabham BT55 (1986): ‘the skateboard’, although it wasn’t a succesfull car and lead to the tragic death of Elio de Anelis, it was a beautifully designed car, far ahead of it’s time compared to the other cars. The classic White/blue Olivetti livery makes it complete.
http://f1-history.deviantart.com/art/Elio-de-Angelis-Monaco-1986-419798771

Lotus 72 (70-75): The most typical 70’s F1 car for me. Great shapes with the iconic John Player’s Special paintjob makes this car one of the most beautifull ever for me.
http://www.creativecrash.com/3d-model/lotus-72d-1970-1975-john-player-special-grand-prix-3d-model

Jordan EJ11 (2001): Maybe a surprise in my list, but this car just breaths agression. The beautifull ‘sharknose’ and the Benson and Hedges livery makes this a real classic
http://www.f1journal.com/photos/red-shark_002.jpg

[Julien]

@Hotbottoms

Yeah indeed. That must have something to do with the V from Vettel

[Julien]

Well I also noticed something interesting.
Chilton will be driving for Marussia next year!
On the entry list you can see Chilton, but he hasn’t picked a number yet

[Julien]

The missing numbers are now solved:
Vettel 1
Hamilton 44
Maldonado 13
Hulkenberg 27
Sutil 99
Guttierez 21
Bianchi 17

[Julien]

Here’s my list:
1. Sebastian Vettel: Good in the first half of the season, just breathtaking in the second half. Has been faultless and is a true legend in the making
2. Nico Hulkenberg: Has maximized the potential of the car, and he definitely deserves a drive in a top team. Can be world champion material if he gets a good car.
3. Fernando Alonso: Strong and consistent but not as good as last year. His qualifying weren’t great, but at least he still has shown he is a good racer. Next year will be crucial for him, if the Ferrari is bad or Kimi beats him, frustration will get the upper hand.
4. Romain Grosjean: Definitely matured. In the beginning of the season he was still overshadowed by Kimi, but at least he was troublefree (apart from Monaco), but when the tires changed he just shined. Had some bad luck but drove amazing. It says enough that by the end of the season he was the only one that could take up the fight to Red Bull.
5. Nico Rosberg: Had a great year and proved to be just a strong as Hamilton. If his car is stronger next year he could be a title contender.
6. Kimi Raikkonen: Again proved to be a good and consistent racer, but he couldn’t always make up for his bad qualifyings.
7. Lewis Hamilton: Good season for Hamilton, although he had some swings in performance. The switch to Mercedes was perfect for him.
8. Daniel Ricciardo: Will be a tough nut to crack for Vettel in qualifying, has definitely been better than his team mate, but his race speed was sometimes disappointing.
9. Mark Webber: Was overshadowed by his team mate and he suffered bad luck, but still had some good performances. He stopped on the right time.
10. Jenson Button: Didn’t have an easy season in his McLaren, but made the most out of it, although he sometimes had to be more agressive. If McLaren doesn’t have a good car next year it coud be his last season.
11. Jules Bianchi: Had maximized his cars potential. Beat his team mate by a country mile and proved to be a good driver with a good future perspective.
12. Valtteri Bottas: Had a decent rookie season, strong in qualifying, in the beginning a little bit rusty in races but at the and of the season had the upper hand on Maldonado.
13. Felipe Massa: Has proven to be a good qualifier, but has been too inconsistent in races, like other years.
14. Paul di Resta: Drove very well in the first half of the season when his car was competitive, but after the tire change he made a frustated impression and made some stupid rookie mistakes. I think this was the last season for the ‘charismatic’ Scot.
15. Sergio Perez: Had some good races, but has been too inconsistent and some times too reckless
16. Giedo van der Garde: a colourfull person, with some stand out qualifying performances, and some decent races. Inproved a lot over the year and deserves some more seasons in f1.
17. Adrian Sutil: In the first half of the season when his car was good and he pretty drove well he had some bad luck, but thereafter he just couldn’t impress enough
18. Jean-Eric Vergne: Had a decent first half of the season with good performances in Monaco and Canada, but has been out of the spotlights the rest of the season. Last year is his last chance and I think it will be the same story as Speed, Bourdais, Alguersuari and Buemi…
19. Pastor Maldonado: Beaten by his team mate in qualifing, wich is his strongest point, and although he was pretty decent in the races, he lost all his reputation by accusing his team of sabotage
20. Esteban Guttierez: Had a though rookie season, with a few highs and too much lows.
21. Charles Pic: Had some decent races, but that said everything. He is nothing special and he was regularly beaten by his rookie team mate. His time in F1 is up in my opnion
22. Max Chilton: although he has finished every race, he is just too slow. Doesn’t deserve to be in F1 anymore

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