Top Drivers from 2000 Onwards

[rjbetty]

I was going to post in the top drivers of all time thread, but I feel totally unqualified!

It would be much easier, and much less controversial(?) to post the top drivers since lets say 2000 (seems as good a time as any).

Having watched F1 since just before that year and being able to remember it all clearly (Jenson's debut year and those STUNNING Orange Arrows), I feel more confident at posting the best drivers from 2000-2012.

(I wonder if there should be a stipulation that a driver needs to have completed a certain amount of Grands Prix to qualify in this... Ok, driver must have competed in 3 seaons - fair?)

Ok here goes

1.Fernando Alonso - Ferrari say he's better than Schumi. I say he's better than Schumi too. Is, incredibly, more consistent in races, and throughout a season.
2.Michael Schumacher - 2006 showed to me he isn't up with Fernando. Makes too many mistakes, but he helped build Ferrari from a joke to major world power.
3.Sebastian Vettel - Has achieved an amazing amount in his 25 years, but needs to grow some more first before being ranked higher.
4.Lewis Hamilton - Could be top of this list if that celebrity rubbish didn't take his focus away. Thinks he's Mr Cool which annoys me. The fastest of all, probably.
5.Mika Hakkinen - Overrated methinks. NOT as fast as Schumacher over a season. Amazed that people don't realise McLaren had a 0.2sec faster car in 2000!!
6.Kimi Raikkonen - Completely overrated. He's superbly fast though, buuut so are others above him. Actually very consistent with excellent racecraft.
7.Jenson Button - When he's good he's great, and can top anyone above him here on his day. His failure in poor cars shows he's no Alonso though.
8.Robert Kubica - Often amazing. Feared by Alonso and Hamilton. But outqualified by Heidfeld x6 in 08 and Petrov x2 in 10. Would that have happened to Schumacher?
9.Mark Webber - Has always been underrated. Very fast. Has grown and learned to race and be more consistent. Can beat the guys above on his day too.
10.Juan-Pablo Montoya - The most overrated driver going - I'm talking about you Nigel Roebuck!! Could be brilliant in qual though. NOT in the class of the top 5 for me.
11.Rubens Barrichello - Was held back at Ferrari. Always suffered after unrepresentative 1995. Bit rubbish in 2006 & early '09 though...
12.Jarno Trulli - Up here for his sheer ability over one lap. On that alone, would be in the top 6. On the rest of it, he's down here.
13.Nico Rosberg -I'd say quicker than Barrichello. His races in recent times lack punch though.
14.Felipe Massa - Has always worked at it, and kept improving. Beat Villeneuve and a struggling Kimi.
15.Ralf Schumacher - Could be very good. Showed Montoya up plenty of times. Underrated cos he's a horrible spoilt person.
16.Heikki Kovalainen - Beat Fisichella and Trulli. Underrated.
17.Giancarlo Fisichella - People wonder why he's this high? Spa 01+09? Mid 2002. In 2004 trounced Massa, EDGED by him on pure pace in Malaysia and Brazil ONLY.
18.David Coulthard - Claimed he could do as well as Hamilton in a McLaren in 07. You had NINE years in a McLaren DC, and never showed anything like that!
19.Nick Heidfeld - Amazing ability to get exactly what the car is capable of. But no more.
20.Jacques Villeneuve - Even in his impressive 2006 season only matched Heidfeld for pace, and was floored by him on points. Not all luck Jacques, Heidfeld knows racing.

I'll keep it at 20 for now. I'm sure I've left someone out...

[D-Type]

I'm a little uncomfortable with 'rating' drivers who are still competing. At any time someone might do a "Singapore 2008", "Suzuka 1990" or similar and totally change how they deserve to be viewed. A driver's whole career should be considered, not just his most recent couple of seasons, which is very difficult when he is still racing. In the fullness of time, the true reason for an apparently poor performance tends to emerge. For example it was almost 50 years before the extent of Mike Hawthorn's kidney problems became common knowledge and some of his "off-form" days were explained. A more recent example is Mark Webber's broken shoulder.

[FAL]

I don't count 2000 (or quite a few years before that) as "History"!

[driveace]

Your talking Racing Drivers here only ?As the king of rallying must be Loeb,as he is the master of rally,s these last few years

[rjbetty]

Your talking Racing Drivers here only ?As the king of rallying must be Loeb,as he is the master of rally,s these last few years

Hey yeah lets have drivers from other series too! But 2000 IS history.

[Don Capps]

But 2000 IS history.

Only to those who know little of history....

[BDunnell]

Only to those who know little of history....

Would you, or anyone else, care then to suggest a cut-off date for what constitutes 'history'?

[Mark]

It's not current racing therefore it's history for the purposes of this forum.

[F1boat]

Good thread. I will make the list based on the performance of the drivers from year 2000.

1 M Schumacher
The undisputed (for me) master of the sport. When he was in his peak, he was untouchable and dominating. One of the people who made Ferrari almost invincible.
2 F Alonso
Excellent and very consistent driver.
3 S Vettel
Great, extremely talented and quick. I believe that he might be better than Alonso, but drove fewer years than him, so I give him 3rd.
4. K Raikkonen
Extremely fast and talented. His 2005 season was spectacular and I love the way he won that elusive championship in 2007.
5. L Hamilton
I think that he was lucky to start his career with McLaren, but can't deny his talent and speed.
6. J Button
Very smart and talented driver. Maybe his championship title is my favorite since 2000.
7. J Montoya
Very, very talented, although very, very wild. Some of his victories were spectacular.
8 R Barrichello
He LOVED to whine, but wasn't a bad driver at al.
9 F Massa
Between 2006 and 2008 he was one of the fastest F1 drivers. I'm still sad about that lost 2008 championship.
10 M Webber
Very good driver, i think better than sometimes people realize.

[wedge]

JPM - no contest.

Won in Indycar, F1, NASCAR, Grand Am