Originally Posted by
rjbetty
Driver Ratings:
1.Fernando Alonso - I see no reason why not. I don't see much wrong here, except his qualifying some times has been short of Jenson. Grade - A
2.Can't decide, but with Hamilton's stats against Rosberg this year, except for points (and how is that even possible, jut 21?) he is going to edge it. Even in Hungary he drove out of his skin, 2 mistakes are a black mark but I'm not sure they're enough to put him far down. I'm more concerned about what looks like lack of concentration sometimes. Even so, I couldn't quite put him below the guy who was whipped by Ricciardo last year - on [I]performance[/b] not just points. Grade - A
3.Sebastian Vettel - Nevertheless he is right there. I'd say he's definitely been steadier than Hamilton, and made more of what he has. It's something I admire, but I can't help feeling if that was the be-all end-all then Nick Heidfeld would be a 7 times world champion. Can you see my point? Can't fault Seb, but what I would really have liked to have seen, was just 1 or 2 seasons in a mess of a Ferrari before reaching where they are now - just to finally see what he's really made of. Parachuting straight into a suddenly sorted Ferrari is really lucky, and I think that's pretty fair to say. Grade - A
4.Daniel Riccccciardo
Still a top driver, if slightly forgotten, and remains the only man to beat Sebastian Vettel over an F1 season (Nick Heidfeld in 2007 doesn't count) - that's beat, not simply scored more points than. Hopefully he can replace Kimi at Ferrari soon. A shame he is locked into contract, especially as he was Ferrari's first choice when Alonso had enough and left. But he just needs to use this time of adversity to grow and be resilient, it will surely give him an advantage over other drivers who've never had that, in the future. He suffers from Kvyat not being well rated - it's actually probably a nightmare scenario, but truth will out (usually...) Grade - B+
5.Jenson Button In a very close group I have put Jenson 5th, since I guess he's still driving with that kick up the bum Ron gave him last year. Not doing badly against Alonso at all, not at all. Shouldn't be much surprise as this was the guy who scored more points than Hamilton one year, when Lewis had a meltdown. I think he should have one more year at McLaren with Magnussen going to Force India, if Hulk goes to Ferrari or Williams, and Vandoorne to cut his teeth at Manor (hint hint McLaren). Grade - B
6.Nico Rosberg Tough to know what to make really. Last season has reversed and now Hamilton qualifies well, and Rosberg goes quicker in races than qualifying. He is still behind though, despite being handed Monaco on a platter, and while at times he has looked fantastic, he has also looked pretty cr@p too. Can't fault his never say die attitude - most people would surely have given up now. If he keeps that attitude, one DNF for Lewis and he's in there! I always rated Rosberg very highly and he's proving that, making Lewis work for it all the time. I would like Rosberg to team up with Vettel one day and duke it out. Grade - B
More to follow...