Formula 1 fans were promised faster, more exciting cars in 2017 and the sport duly delivered, producing mean machines that broke lap records. For the first time since 2012, there was a two-team title fight that lasted for two-thirds of the season, before Mercedes ultimately pulled clear to record a fourth straight championship, as the peerless Lewis Hamilton triumphed.
Here, we present our top 10 drivers of 2017, chosen by the Formula 1 writing teams of Motorsport Monday and MotorsportWeek.com. Each journalist’s choice for first was given 10 points down to one point for their tenth choice. The results were then combined to give you our 2017 list and while the top five were more or less predictable, there were some interesting names in the bottom five…
As expected, Räikkönen fulfilled the position of Sebastian Vettel’s dutiful back-up, sometimes sacrificing his own prospects, whether through choice or not. A stellar Monaco pole lap could have been rewarded with victory, but Ferrari handed the chance of an overcut to Vettel, and he seized it with both hands. Another win chance came in Hungary, when Vettel suffered a steering issue, but he obediently remained an unthreatening second. Räikkönen was unfortunate to be caught in in compromising lap-one incidents in Spain, Azerbaijan and Singapore, while strong Malaysia chances were thwarted by a turbo problem. Räikkönen finished 13 of the 20 races in third, fourth or fifth, cementing his status, and was typically held back by subdued qualifying displays, often speaking of failing to get in the right window in Q3. He stays on with Ferrari into 2018, his tenure aided by being very good, but not great, where more of the same can be expected.
Pérez almost equalled his 2016 points tally, with one fewer race in which to accomplish the feat, but failed to mount the podium for the first time since 2013. Pérez had the edge on Esteban Ocon for much of the campaign, but the Frenchman’s growing stature and inexperience at times did not reflect well on Pérez, who struggled to assert his authority. Tensions mounted in Canada, at Pérez’s refusal to allow Ocon through, and reached a peak in Azerbaijan and Belgium, as the pair clashed. Mid-late season qualifying struggles, due to the direction of the VJM10’s development, also hindered Pérez, before picking up form during the closing events. Pérez has undoubtedly rebuilt the reputation that was blunted during his McLaren year – of that there is no doubt – but faces a difficult juncture. Having finished seventh, and with a feisty young team-mate improving, is it ever going to get better than this?
Sainz Jr. was one of the midfield’s outstanding performers as he built on an eye-catching 2016 campaign by taking a riskier approach, as he sought to capture a better seat for 2018. The approach occasionally backfired, as demonstrated by clumsy exits in Bahrain, Canada and Japan, albeit events when achieving a points finish was going to be a challenge. Elsewhere, he was magnificent, as so-so Saturday performances (he was closely matched with the maligned Daniil Kvyat) were converted into stellar Sunday showings. Sainz Jr.’s slick-tyre gamble paid off in China, with his front-running pace stunning, was sublime in Monaco – marrying his speed on a weekend when the STR12 was strong – and took opportunistic results where he could, most prominently with fourth in Singapore. Move to Renault, facilitated by engine power play, came early, courtesy of Jolyon Palmer accepting a pay-off, and he immediately repaid the faith in Austin, via a sensational move on Pérez through Turn 17/18.
Ocon, after a half-season with back markers Manor in 2016, stepped up to Force India for 2017 and straight away looked as if he’d been competing in the Formula 1 midfield for years. From Spain onwards, he and Pérez scored exactly the same number of points (78), which was a testament to Ocon’s staggering consistency and speed. It took Ocon until the British Grand Prix to finish ahead of Pérez, after which he achieved the feat more often than not, via eye-catching performances in Italy and the United States. There were a few black marks, for example crashing during FP3 in Monaco, leaving him on the back-foot, and subdued displays in Singapore and Malaysia, while he also played his part in the mid-season clashes, when both he and Pérez received a dressing down. But for a first full-season, this was a thoroughly impressive one.
It is perhaps ironic that Ocon and Bottas were tied for sixth in our standings, for how they fare in 2018 will probably determine who gets the 2019 Mercedes drive. Bottas, following Nico Rosberg’s shock retirement, was drafted in to join Lewis Hamilton, and quickly got up to speed in a new environment with new procedures. Bottas bagged points early on, often out-performed Hamilton when the W08 struggled, and took fine wins under pressure in Russia and Austria. However, when the W08 was on song, it was regularly Hamilton who thrived, as Bottas spiralled into a negative cycle mid-season, often qualifying half a second behind his team-mate, and struggling in race trim. Poor displays in Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States completely derailed his flagging title bid, coinciding with Mercedes shifting towards Hamilton’s side of the garage. Nonetheless, he dragged himself out of the malaise to cap the year with victory, and will be stronger for 2017’s lessons – one of his most telling remarks was the realisation of how hard Hamilton works. Quite!
Honda switched to a revised power unit concept for 2017 in pursuit of longer-term potential, but early teething troubles signalled that this year would be a near write-off. As a result, Alonso displayed a range of emotions when meeting the press in March: anger, frustration, desperation, humiliation. What he did not do is give up. Alonso used his experience to remain in the hunt where he could, and seized the opportunities when they came, despite being hamstrung by Honda’s woeful top-end speed. Being caught up in the first-lap Singapore chaos, on one of the team’s strongest weekends, was desperately unlucky. Yet it is not Formula 1 that will spring to mind when ‘Fernando Alonso’s 2017 season’ is relived in the future, but his exploits at the Indianapolis 500. Alonso’s journey captivated the motorsport world; he ran competitively throughout… and was halted by a Honda engine failure. At least the Honda nightmare is now over.
For the first time our 2016 winner, Ricciardo, found himself in the unusual position of being the inferior Red Bull driver. He had vanquished Sebastian Vettel and Daniil Kvyat, but the growth of Max Verstappen – and the Dutchman’s contract through 2020 – casts doubt over Ricciardo’s position. He was uncharacteristically subdued in qualifying for the most part, and when the RB13 emerged as a race-winning package it was not he doing the winning. Nevertheless, Ricciardo’s season was still very good, as typified by his string of podiums mid-season, and unexpected triumph in the bonkers Baku round. Some of his overtaking manoeuvres, none more so than on a napping Räikkönen in Italy, were utterly exceptional. He must address 2017’s Saturday weaknesses in 2018 if he is to fight for the title, but his performances in race battles remains impeccable. If there is a chink in Verstappen’s armoury next year, Ricciardo will be sure to exploit it…
Vettel spearheaded Ferrari’s title charge as the Scuderia bounced back from a disappointing 2016 campaign to match Mercedes during the first half of the campaign. Ferrari’s SF70-H was more consistent than its Mercedes counterpart, enabling Vettel to finish either first or second in the opening rounds, as he opened a 25-point advantage over Lewis Hamilton. But just when Vettel and Ferrari’s hopes blossomed, they were dashed, through a mixture of the German’s lack of judgement in crucial moments, and the team’s shortcomings. Vettel’s Baku meltdown was a gross error – and he was fortunate not to receive a harsher sanction – and his swerve in Singapore cost him a huge points swing. Inferior race skills in Belgium and Ferrari’s lacklustre home display were also influential, before reliability setbacks in Malaysia and Japan added the nail into the coffin. Under pressure, both Vettel and Ferrari cracked, though can still head into 2018 boosted by its improved 2017 display and the way in which it developed its package, a previous weak point.
Confidence, a healthy dollop of arrogance, pace, and a contract through 2020. If Verstappen was still finding his feet among Formula 1’s top group in 2016, he well and truly arrived in 2017. Correlation issues early on cost Red Bull two months, leaving its chassis off the pace, with the situation accentuated by engine dramas, blunting Verstappen’s cause. But he still ran in strong positions in Canada and Baku before retiring, and his charge to a podium in China, after a Playstation-esque first lap, was superb. As Red Bull, and Renault, developed, so did he, and when the opportunity presented itself in Malaysia, he pounced, sweeping past Hamilton en route to a dominant drive. His Mexico win, too, was superb. If there is any criticism, it is that his aggressive style could backfire in a title battle when the margins will be finer; his Turn 1/2 attack on Vettel in Mexico, and subsequent brush, could easy have resulted in a puncture. However, with every passing year, he gets stronger. If Red Bull delivers from the outset, if Renault can balance reliability with performance, and if he can iron out a few chinks in his armour, Formula 1 could crown its youngest-ever champion in 2018.
Belgian Grand Prix, 11 laps to go; long-time race leader Hamilton is equipped with Soft tyres, with close pursuant Vettel on fresh UltraSoft rubber. The Safety Car comes in, and Vettel’s superior grip gives him better traction out of La Source, and draws close to Hamilton past the old pit lane. Hamilton eases off the throttle, sucks Vettel closer, before hammering the gas pedal, unsettling Vettel’s Ferrari enough to ensure the Ferrari driver has to back off, cannot get a strong enough run through Eau Rouge/Raidillon, in turn enabling Hamilton to remain narrowly in front at Les Combes; job done! It was a masterful piece of driving and epitomised a campaign in which Hamilton was head and shoulders above his rivals. Hamilton bounced back from the occasional low points – Russia, Monaco – and hit full gas mid-season with a devastating run of six victories in eight grands prix, as he and Mercedes kept cool under pressure when Vettel and Ferrari did not. Hamilton almost toyed with Vettel at various stages this year, none more so than in Austin, when he allowed his rival to destroy his tyres before cruising past. In 2017 Hamilton was at his finest; 11 poles, nine wins, and a fourth world crown. Chapeau!
Agree? Disagree? Let us know in the comments who your top ten of the 2017 Formula 1 season were!
