F1 Drivers Of 2010: Some Winners And Losers

Although the 2010 F1 season is not quite over, it is possible to see which drivers have had a good year, and which have not. My perspective here is to consider which drivers would be good choices for an F1 team in 2011, ignoring commercial issues and looking solely at their race performance in 2010.

Those who have enhanced their reputations I class as winners; those whose stock has fallen become losers. All in my opinion, of course, and you may not agree.

Nico Rosberg: The invisible man of the sport has been a big winner.

He started the season with a solid reputation, and has enhanced that by his totally professional drives for Mercedes. In 2010 he has done all that could be done with a car lacking competitiveness, unobtrusively, without fuss, drama, or foolish incidents.

I believe that any team would welcome Rosberg as a driver.

Michael Schumacher: A loser of epic, Wagnerian proportions.

Watching Schumacher in 2010 has been like seeing an elderly marathon runner approach the finishing tape, grey-faced, eyes bulging, and staggering. One knows that the boundary between heroism and folly has been crossed, and that dignity has been sacrificed in the vain pursuit of glory.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. That F1 time has gone for Michael Schumacher, and I cannot believe that any team would now want him in 2011 for his driving skills.

Jensen Button: A winner because he has not been crushed by Lewis Hamilton, as was widely predicted, but has put in a rock-steady performance as a reliable points-gatherer.

Nobody has ever accused Button of out-driving a car, or of being Mister Exciting on the track. But he never wastes whatever potential his car has, never makes a stupid decision on tyres or tactics, and has a seemingly infallible instinct for which overtakes are sensible and which are too risky.

Button would be a safe pair of hands on the wheel of any F1 car in 2011.

Fernando Alonso: A clear winner.

Being a double world champion, and having out-performed his Renault car in 2009, Alonso carried a lot of respect with him into the 2010 season. But in Ferrari fireproofs he has enhanced his reputation, despite his much-mocked complaining nature.

Alonso will always squeeze the best out of his machinery, which is why he would be a good choice for any 2011 F1 team. Except McLaren.

Felipe Massa: One of the year's big losers.

A couple of seasons ago Massa was widely regarded as one of the best all-round F1 drivers on the track. Nobody is saying that now. Was it the 2009 accident in Hungary that did for him? We'll never know.

Certainly, in 2010 Massa's poor performance has been damaging to Ferrari's team championship bid, and their declarations of loyalty to him only convince me that he is about to be shafted.

I cannot see a bidding war for Massa's driving services in 2011.

Vitaly Petrov: A loser, and I am very sorry to say that.

I had great hopes for Petrov, even though I knew his place in the Renault team was probably secured by a cash injection. But he has driven as if blindfolded, demonstrating all the spatial awareness of a carrot and costing Renault dearly in the Constructors' Championship.

If I were a team principle in 2011 I would pay Petrov handsomely to not come within 100 miles of my cars.

Kamui Kobayashi: A definite winner.

In his debut F1 drives Kobayashi had the rather exciting appearance of a missile with a defective guidance system. But his 2010 drives for Sauber have been very accomplished, and the precious points he has scored may have enabled the team to survive.

Having out-performed his teammate Pedra de la Rosa to the extent that the hapless Spaniard was shown the door, Kobayashi has been retained by Sauber for 2011, and I believe he would be an asset to any team.

The Rest Of The Pack

Many 2010 drivers have performed exactly as expected, and thus I consider their stock has neither risen nor fallen.

Lewis Hamilton has been Lewis Hamilton. Brilliant and exciting, but error-prone and dogged by ill luck. Robert Kubica has done his usual sterling job, but is never a magician on the track.

Neither Mark Webber nor Sebastian Vettel have been able to enhance their reputations, simply because they have been in what is clearly the quickest car. If either of that pair had not been at the front of the pack, he would have been a clear loser.

As stated at the start of this article, all opinions expressed are my personal ones, and I surely would like to read yours.