Poll 2021 CTA Driver of the year

F1Brits_90

F1Brits_90

World Champion
Thought now the season is over & . i thought i post the annual tradition of the CTA driver of the year. as we always say every year it the only time of the year where there really is no wrong answers because it can be top 10 in championship or the top 10 pound for pound. its your choice on who merits a place in your 10 then. thats your opinion. & its a great way to get everyone's opinion on how the 2021 grid fared this season & who you thought impressed or who you thought disappointed

Preferably a top 10, but if you dont have the time or dont think 10 drivers deserve it, any length is good . just post it below. like F1 the top driver gets 25pts, 10th gets 1pt. the driver with most points when everyone who wants to post has posted . Will be 2021 CTA Driver of the year & join the great drivers like these

Current roll of honour
2010 - Lewis Hamilton
2011 - Sebastian Vettel
2012 - Fernando Alonso
2013 - Sebastian Vettel
2014 - Daniel Riccardio
2015 - Lewis Hamilton
2016 - Daniel Riccardo
2017 - Lewis Hamilton
2018 - Lewis Hamilton
2019 - Lewis Hamilton
2020 - Lewis Hamilton
2021 - ????????????
 
Tough call. But ok......

1) Lewis Hamilton. Not the quickest car. Under massive pressure and no teammate back up. Probably the most composed and the best he's had to drive in years.

2) Lando Norris. So near to a race victory. Made less mistakes this season and is growing quicker and quicker. If McLaren get next year's car right he could be a major contender.

3) Max Verstappen. When he's not driving like a massive 🔔🔚 he really is one of the quickest drivers on the grid. Ironically, if he had dialled his aggression back half a notch he would have probably been the world champion in October.

4) Carlos Sainz. Was supposed to get eaten alive at Ferrari and be second fiddle to Charles, the new blue eyed boy. He finished almost 6 points ahead of him and finished 4 times on the podium.

5) Esteban Ocon. Did brilliantly well to win a race and apart from a couple of blips, was nip and tuck with Fernando.

6) Sergio Perez. Had the fastest car on the grid but didn't look like it at times. Having said that, he drove well and did everything that was required of him. Good win for the team.

6) Pierre Gasly. Strong drive all season and a good podium in Baku.

7) Daniel Riccardo. Out of sorts at times but scored a great win in Italy.

9) Fernando Alonso. Pains me to say it but his come back wasn't as poor as it could have been. Still has ability.

10) Sebastian Vettel. Denied a second podium by a cup of fuel but had already finished second a few races before. Some said he was heading for the dustbin but he actually drove well this season without the pressure of the prancing horse.
 
1) Hamilton & Verstappen
i cant split them, they were both outstanding, both wouldve been deserving champions, both in their league of their own, both at the top their game. some of qualifying laps ive seen from both were incredible. the fightback from lewis in silverstone was inspired & that saudi lap from max that shouldve been pole will live long in the memory

3) Norris
any other year he would favourite to be driver of the year, i knew he was good impressed in F2 & good 1st yr. but wow the pole he couldve had in imola, the 4 podiums, played great team game in monza & the brilliant drive in Russia where he was so heartbreakingly close to winning his maiden victory & Britain is in great health going forward, as when was the last we had 2 drivers coming through that are potential world champions

4) Sainz
feel for sainz because i think this the most underrated achievement all season, beating leclerc is hugely impressive, as nobody expected what he did this season. Riccardio has proven how hard it can be to change teams, add into leclerc 1 of most highly rated young drivers on the grid & then pressure of ferrari that broke world champions.

5) Gasly
the biggest enigma in F1, as i joked few weeks ago if Gasly hadnt driven for Red Bull everyone would say he should drive for red bull. as how can he demonstrate such talent in toro rosso but fail so badly in red bull. as the qualifying constantly on 2nd & 3rd row of the grid, front row in qatar. beating bigger teams like mclaren & ferrari on weekly basis

6) Leclerc
on surface a Great & you could say an unlucky season as well because 2 great poles in Monaco & Baku. easily couldve won monaco & british gp but for bad luck. was always there to pick up the pieces when red bull & mercedes had a bad day

7) Perez
not a great a season as 2020, but it was never going to be, but he had a good season played the team game, won in baku got 5 podiums finished in top 4 10 times & what is the biggest achievement is he defeated the red bull curse

8) Russell
impressed again, he outperformed that car again it was 9th best behind alfa, but the miracles he got out of that car again. make me very excited for 2022, qualifying is his best attribute, many times he would be a 1 tenth of a ferrari, or qualified 11th & how on earth he got that car in Q3 in Austria, Britain. then the laps of the season to be 2nd in Beligium outqualifying both mercedes & then 3rd in russia. only reason he's dropped is he tail off towards the end

9) Bottas
he is frustrating driver to watch because he blows hot & cold. i have to put him as he did finish 3rd in the championship. even if he was behind Norris for alot of it. because for italy which i thought was his best drive for 2 years, Turkey, Britain. you have Imola, Russia, Hungary, Beligium & Abu Dhabi. i dont like his attitude espically when mercedes were more generous than most to keep him for 2021

10) Schumacher
i thought i go for a wildcard. its very hard to impress in the haas but like Russell in the Williams & Alonso in the Minardi. he everything he could beat his teammate 20-0 in qualifying sometimes by nearly a second, 18-2 in the race. & Mazepin is by no means useless he has some pedigree. i wasnt sure on him thought he was more ralf than michael. but i think this season was good & i think he has potential
 
gethinceri said:
Mazepin is not good enough for F1 and would not have a drive if it were done on merit, so I couldn’t consider Schumacher as a top 10 based on his team mate.
Click to expand
i agree Mazepin is only in there because without his dads money we would have 18 cars on the gird but Mazepin is no way the worst we seen like some have claimed, but in feeder series he came 2nd in GP3, 5th in F2, he's in a different league to Ide, Haryanto, Badoer, Mehri, & is he any worse than kubica in 2019
 
This is a very hard rating to award. Verstappen and Hamilton have been head And shoulders above the rest of the competition all season, and almost deserve a joint 1st place in this ranking. Verstappen has outperformed his car, and has been the fastest driver, whilst Hamilton has been a much more complete driver (with a Better car for races, particularly in the second Half of the season).

1. Verstappen
2. Hamilton (+fastest lap point please)
3. Norris
Norris has been outstandingly quick during the season. I wonder if his confidence was pricked a little by what happened in Russia, but his qualifying pace has returned, and is probably amongst the top three drivers on the grid
4. Gasly - he has been hauling the Alpha Tauri to positions in qualifying that it has no place belonging. Overall, he has demonstrated how good he is (but also by extension, how good Verstappen was when they were teammates).
5. Sainz
Sainz has moved to Ferrari, and over the course of the season has marginally outperformed his teammate. The Ferrari is probably a better car at the moment than the McLaren, but he has taken full advantage
6. Leclerc
I had thought before the season that Norris/Ricciardo would be the best combo - but over the course of the season, Sainz and Leclerc have really stood out.
7. Russell
The only reason that Russell isn’t higher is that he is racing a Williams. Had he been in a McLaren, or a Ferrari this season, it is conceivable that he would have been best of the rest. Next season is really an opportunity for him to show how fast he really is. We have seen glimpses of his speed at Spa and Russia, which may be a preview of what’s to come next year. Hamilton may be looking over his shoulder.
8. Vettel
Vettel deserves a higher position, but whilst he has had some outstanding drives, in the first half of the season, he was completely anonymous. (I openly thought he should retire). However, as the season has gone on, he has improved, and has also shown how much nicer he is at Aston than he ever came across at Red Bull
9. Perez
We’re down at the bottom end of the top 10. Perez has had a solid season, but whilst he has Performed better than previous Verstappen teammates, has often appeared anonymous. The win in Baku was a bonus, and the selfless, defensive driving in Abu Dhabi was a masterclass
10. Ocon - as a race winner in an Alpine, he deserves to be here.

What about the other drivers?

Alonso and Bottas are, to me, seat-blocking, and would be better stepping our of F1
The Alfa Romeo car seems better than either Raikonnen or Giovannazi showed this season, and I’m not surprised they are moving on.
Latifi has not embarrassed himself at Williams, although his pace has not matched Russell until the end of the season. Often better in races than qualifying.
Schumacher and Mazepin are largely unknown quantities in an evil handling Haas, that had no development all season, and has lost all rear grip. The number of times that the cars just snapped out at the rear into unpredictable accidents was terrifying.
Stroll - solid, but unspectacular. He will need to keep plodding and improving for daddy to keep funding his racing
Tsunoda was terrible in the first half of the season, but improved during the season. Hopefully we will see the real Yuki next year.
Ricciardo. A win at Monza has pulled him up the WDC, but comprehensively outpaced by Norris. Needs a better 2022 to continue to deserve a drive.
 
F1Brits_90 said:
i agree Mazepin is only in there because without his dads money we would have 18 cars on the gird but Mazepin is no way the worst we seen like some have claimed, but in feeder series he came 2nd in GP3, 5th in F2, he's in a different league to Ide, Haryanto, Badoer, Mehri, & is he any worse than kubica in 2019
Click to expand
I think that Kubica gets a rough deal. He was qualifying against Russell, who as it emerges is one of the best qualifiers in the business. Yes, it was Russell’s first season, but had he been in a front running car (like Hamilton in 2007), I think we’d have been talking about him in the same superlatives.

yes, he wasn’t the 2008 Kubica, but I think the teammate matters (in the same way as Bottas is made to look very poor by Hamilton)
 
cider_and_toast said:
Tough call. But ok......

1) Lewis Hamilton. Not the quickest car. Under massive pressure and no teammate back up. Probably the most composed and the best he's had to drive in years.

2) Lando Norris. So near to a race victory. Made less mistakes this season and is growing quicker and quicker. If McLaren get next year's car right he could be a major contender.

3) Max Verstappen. When he's not driving like a massive 🔔🔚 he really is one of the quickest drivers on the grid. Ironically, if he had dialled his aggression back half a notch he would have probably been the world champion in October.

4) Carlos Sainz. Was supposed to get eaten alive at Ferrari and be second fiddle to Charles, the new blue eyed boy. He finished almost 6 points ahead of him and finished 4 times on the podium.

5) Esteban Ocon. Did brilliantly well to win a race and apart from a couple of blips, was nip and tuck with Fernando.

6) Sergio Perez. Had the fastest car on the grid but didn't look like it at times. Having said that, he drove well and did everything that was required of him. Good win for the team.

6) Pierre Gasly. Strong drive all season and a good podium in Baku.

7) Daniel Riccardo. Out of sorts at times but scored a great win in Italy.

9) Fernando Alonso. Pains me to say it but his come back wasn't as poor as it could have been. Still has ability.

10) Sebastian Vettel. Denied a second podium by a cup of fuel but had already finished second a few races before. Some said he was heading for the dustbin but he actually drove well this season without the pressure of the prancing horse.
Click to expand
I think I would match this but would probably slide Russell in 3rd.
 
Interesting stats on REDDIT blog
21F1DriversCarCrash.jpg
 
Last edited:
1. Hamilton
2. Verstappen- the two dirty wins and willing to resort to questionable driving at times
3. Norris - outperformed car and teammate
4. Sainz - gone quietly about things and not overrawed by his teammate the win will come
5. Le Clerc - how things might turn out if he started on pole at Monaco and his 2nd place at Silverstone. One of the fastest drivers on his day.
6. Gasly - single handedly kept Alpha Tauri in midfield battle against the other teams but really needs a move to s top team otherwise his career will stall
7. Perez- best of Verstappen 's teammates since Sainz showing more consistency and race pace
8. Russell- outperformed Latifi and got into Q2 and Q3 in positions which he had no right to.
9. Ocon - won a race showing great maturity leading and his drive in Saudi
10. Bottas - won a race and could have won Monaco but all too often poor on Sunday

The top 2 were head and shoulders above the rest - that is not a shampoo ad

Not making top 10
Ricciardo - yes he won at Monza but seriously struggled against Norris which was a surprise throughout the season

Vettel - showed his experience at Baku , Monaco and Hungary but his other races he was generally struggling to outpace Stroll and getting into scraps

Alonso - beat Ocon , opportunistic 3rd place at Qatar and showing great defence at Budapest but he is blocking Piastri and Zhou so needs to show he still has an X factor
 
F1Brits_90 said:
www.formula1.com

REVEALED: F1’s team bosses choose their Top 10 drivers of 2021 | Formula 1®

Max Verstappen pipped Lewis Hamilton to the 2021 World Championship to claim his first F1 crown – and he has now picked up another accolade, as F1’s team principals voted the Red Bull racer their number one driver of the year in our annual poll…
www.formula1.com www.formula1.com
Click to expand
Apparently Christian Horner's list has been leaked:

1. Max Verstappen
2. Max Verstappen
3. Max Verstappen
4. Max Verstappen
5. Max Verstappen
6. Max Verstappen
7. Max Verstappen
8. Max Verstappen
9. Christian Horner
10. Sergio Perez
 
cider_and_toast said:
Apparently Christian Horner's list has been leaked:

1. Max Verstappen
2. Max Verstappen
3. Max Verstappen
4. Max Verstappen
5. Max Verstappen
6. Max Verstappen
7. Max Verstappen
8. Max Verstappen
9. Christian Horner
10. Sergio Perez
Click to expand
you could tell toto wolff right away as he was the only person to have bottas in top 3 LOL
 

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