Editor’s note
A Formula 1 season of incredible highs and lows. We say that often, but in 2014, the extremes were extreme.
We went into it praying for Michael Schumacher to pull through. We ended it in the same way but now also with Jules Bianchi very much in our thoughts. From that perspective – one of F1’s veteran greats and one of its most promising rising stars in identically dreadful situations – things such as Top 10 driver of the year lists are trivial.
And yet, they also seem necessary to help us escape the bleak winter that must follow a season in which hundreds of jobs were lost as two teams collapsed, and in which every third F1 headline seemed to be about sustainability (or lack thereof), inter-team bitching (about engine-freezes in particular) and Bernie Ecclestone (of course, as ever). Sometimes Mr. E makes good points, but too often they are delivered in dramatically graceless verbiage that ostracizes even those of neutral opinion. You have to wonder how manufacturers and sponsors explain away some of the more outlandish and uncharitable comments from the man at the top when it comes time to tell their boards why this nine- or ten-figure sum is worth spending.
Yet set against this gloomy backdrop was a thrilling season. Sure, most of the cars were weird-looking and it’s debatable whether that or the muted noise emitted by their power units caused more outcry among fans, but there was a lot of action to watch. For the first time this century, F1 had a dominant team where the drivers were well matched and were allowed to race each other. (Of course it would be better if no team dominated, but when there’s a major rule change and one team and manufacturer is packed with personnel of foresight, experience and ability, night will indeed follow day.)
As well as the silver chasing gold up front, in 2014 we saw prodigies arrive and make an impact. We saw recent prodigies evolve into aces. We saw a once-great team making serious headway toward regaining that position. We saw one of the all-time great drivers struggle brilliantly with a recalcitrant car – always a treat for the eyes of the spectators, if not the soul of the guy involved. And we had TV directors who, when there was stalemate at the front, actually went looking for the best on-track action.
Paul Fearnley, who’s studied motorsport since he was the same height as a McLaren M19’s front upright, agreed to take on the task of picking apart the 2014 performances of 24 drivers over 19 races and forming RACER’s Top 10 F1 Drivers of the Year. Some of it may surprise you, maybe all of it will. Either way, we’d like to hear your opinions – maybe even your Top 10s – in the comments below.
While you may not agree with our Top 10, we know you’ll all join us in saying Keep fighting, Michael, and Forza Jules.
Happy Thanksgiving.
David Malsher, RACER editor
10. JEAN-ERIC VERGNE
When his F1 future officially flatlined, this “ageing” Frenchman sprang to life.
Lacking sufficient youth appeal – and a tenth or two of qualifying speed – for Toro Rosso’s liking, JEV began to string together the sort of composed race weekends that his maturity demanded. And he combined this with a superb touch and feel in mixed conditions, an area where he’d previously looked at least a match for former teammate Daniel Ricciardo…and everyone now knows how good the Aussie is.
This what-might-have-been may well return – Vergne still has youth on his side – but his has been the sort of near-miss career that requires absence if F1’s heart is to become fonder. For now, he’d be a prize catch for a World Endurance Championship team.
9. NICO HULKENBERG 
Some say he is too large to occupy – others that he is too modest to command – a top-line seat in F1.
The danger of this becoming permanently the case increased during a season in which he continued to (quietly) impress in a car that rarely broke from midfield obscurity. When it did so, in Bahrain, it was his teammate Sergio Perez who put the squeeze on and stole the show.
The latter also impressed when tire life was at its most marginal. But there can be no doubt that the German won their battle over a single lap and over the distance.
Force India will again willingly find room for this polished and tenacious performer in 2015. But “Hulk” is hardly shouting about it…and maybe that’s his problem. He might as well get angry now – before it’s too late.
8. SEBASTIAN VETTEL
So now he knows how Mark Webber felt. Unable to fully get to grips with an unfamiliar driving style while suffering the lion’s share of reliability snafus, the reigning and four-time champion could not stop the rot.
The single-lap speed remained intact but sufficient mental stamina (unless he was battling Fernando Alonso), and ability to keep his tires under him over a whole stint while going as quick as his teammatem were lacking in the races.
So, when did Vettel start concentrating on his future elsewhere? Perhaps when grudgingly – remember his “Tough luck!” radio transmission? – he moved aside to allow his teammate by in China.
Those four titles with Red Bull cannot be denied; they weren’t flukes. As such, he isn’t running scared but, after the travails of 2014, he wouldn’t be human if he wasn’t wondering. On current evidence it’s unlikely that he will create a Schumacheresque dynasty at Ferrari. But that might not be a bad thing for a young driver already only a couple of wins from rubber-stamping his greatness.
7. FELIPE MASSA 
His disobeying team orders in Malaysia sounded initially like a desperate driver clinging to his last chance. In fact it was the laying of democratic ground rules for a new and healthy relationship.
Freed from the strictures of Ferrari and thriving at an increasingly touchy-feely Williams, Felipe was bubbling once more. A pole position, some brilliant starts and eye-catching drives; he might have won in Canada but instead ended up in the barriers.
Not all his incidents were his fault – that Montreal shunt certainly wasn’t – but still there were too many for a driver of his experience, and they’re largely responsible for Massa finishing the season 50-plus points and three places behind his teammate Valtteri Bottas in the final standings.
FM was also harder on his rear tires than Bottas – until a late season adaptation saw him at his best once more and he again came close to victory in the season finale.
Not a great year then, but definitely strong enough to be considered the season’s feelgood story.
6. JENSON BUTTON
It would have been easy to fade into the backdrop after being upstaged by a feisty rookie teammate in Australia. The experienced Brit may indeed have to exit stage left in 2015, but if he does he will do so with his name in lights and applause ringing in his ears.
When the reality of a mediocre car kicked in, his setup experience, smooth style and ability to think on his feet and make the right decisions – a handy skill that only Alonso can match – saw Button resume the team leader’s role.
He edged the speedy Kevin Magnussen in the qualifying stakes and roundly beat him in terms of points. That this might not ultimately be enough says more about F1 than about its popular 2009 World Champion.
5. VALTTERI BOTTAS
Though providing more verbal light and shade than monotone Kimi, here is another Finn who likes to keep the F1 life as simple as possible. Whether charging with panache – as in Australia and Britain – or defending tigerishly – as in Germany – or laying out his mid-race store for a beautifully judged two-stopper, Bottas displayed a measured assurance that surely will take him to the top.
He outqualified and outraced a revitalized teammate and led by example a revitalised team. Sure, he grazed a wall in Australia, but the fortress he has built since boasts a solid foundation and watertight roof. From here he can launch yet more attacks in 2015.
4. NICO ROSBERG
The brilliant method – cool, calm and calculating – that he used to outqualify the fastest man in Formula 1 was insufficient to stave him off come the races. Five wins – none of them scored consecutively – to Hamilton’s 11 is the damning statistic of the entire season.
And a racer’s decision to stand his ground in the Belgian Grand Prix was the moment of the entire season (although his Monaco qualifying shuffle ran it close). Though understandable, that sparring at Spa backfired, turning the team against him (briefly) and causing his teammate, already behind in the points, to reboot.
The braking errors at Monza and in Russia were indicative of the pressure Nico was placed under. He applied some of his own, of course, but came up short. That he publicly admitted as much was the final act in ensuring that he will return better in 2015.
A bright man, Rosberg learned a lot this season past…and he was already pretty damn good. His management of a crippled car in Canada was masterful.
3. FERNANDO ALONSO
As a spent Ferrari plunged deeper into the red, its best asset refused to be dragged under. In fact, his ability to bob to the surface became an embarrassment to management – a reminder of their Titanic propensities and failings rather than a lifesaver to cling to.
That Alonso dealt with them in the same fashion he does most rivals on an opening lap – swiftly, ruthlessly, bordering on the dismissive – is his only failing. He lacked the tact – and also the lieutenants – to mold the team in his own image. Being so big a personality, he cannot be absolved entirely for the underachievement.
On the track, however, was an entirely different story. In his worst Ferrari yet – and forever more – he repeatedly outqualified a World Champion teammate by a couple of rows (at least) and exhibited that familiar bewitching blend of aggression and passion, smarts and art on race day.
And despite this life-on-the-limit mentality, he made very few errors…yet made very few visits to the podium. Just two, in fact.
2. DANIEL RICCIARDO 
The Hungarian Grand Prix was a complicated affair: a jumbled grid and compromised, conflicting strategies. Hamilton sensed an unlikely victory from the back (after a disastrous qualifying fire) and Alonso an increasingly rare one. Yet both these World Champions were outraced, outdueled and outpaced by a man with a single victory to his name. And two weeks later, he won again at Spa.
With an approximate deficit of 70hp, chances to win this year for anyone lacking a Mercedes-Benz power unit were going to be few and far between. But all three times the opportunities arose, it was Red Bull’s Ricciardo who grabbed it and ran with it.
With disarming freshness and a style easy on the eye and tires, Daniel dismantled the reputation of a four-time World Champion teammate. And yet that became almost a side issue (well, to all but a breathless Vettel) so sensational was the Aussie grinner and winner.
His unofficial accolade of Best Overtaker stemmed partly from his only obvious flaws: hesitant getaways and flustered first laps. All else was far beyond reasonable expectation.
And here’s something for his rivals to ponder. Daniel’s performance in the finale at Abu Dhabi was arguably his best of a stellar season, which suggests that his trajectory is steepening.
1. LEWIS HAMILTON
BAM! His public enemy for number one landed several telling blows, both physical and mental. POW! Fate waded in unkindly, too, on occasion. But Boy Wonder kept faith and came of age.
Hamilton was not free from error, but mistakes and misfortune were generally reserved for qualifying. Once upon a time, these instances would have upset his delicate equilibrium. But this was Hamilton v2.0 – more logical, user-friendly and faster in a complex working environment that might in the past have also caught him out. The race was simply another day.
He won when he shouldn’t – Bahrain and Spain were displays of a pure racer’s instinct – and also when he should. He both led and chased with a velvety grace, to the benefit of his mph and mpg, that belied the steel within. He countermanded team orders – though still perhaps not as often as he should – and spoke his piece during some admittedly genteel trash talk.
But most of all he made the most of a car he had always dreamed of and felt his talent deserved. Finally, having chased his tail since that ebullient, carefree rookie season of 2007, it came to him. And he let it, embracing it with love and understanding rather than squeezing the life from it.
Lower case, no screamer: kapow.
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