Wizzie wrote:This doesn't count for anything major points-wise but this is something just for abit of fun to temporarily relieve boredom (And if you beat Mario you get infinite bragging rights
). Anyways the deadline for this is when Jamie and Enoch post their season review.
Well, for a while it looked quite probable that might happen because I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to post in this thread, but I've been able to find some time to do so.
Well, I think that I'll give this a go and see what happens - it should lead to some very interesting results.
2010 Season Review:
The Good:Top 10 Drivers:
1. Kubica (for some stunning drives, such as in Monaco and Spa, and being by far the most consistent driver in the top despite having inferior machinery to most of the top runners)
2. Rosberg (again, considering the quality of the car he had, he pulled out some very surprising results on merit)
3. Alonso (perhaps not a popular nomination, but to almost take the title having been 47 points behind at one point, with such a strong chain of victories and podium finishes at the end of the season, is impressive by anbody's standards)
4. Vettel (his speed is unquestionably strong, but I still have a few reservations about his judgement when trying to pass and his strategic ability)
5. Hamilton (typically for him, there were some really impressive drives - to control the race at Spa in such mixed conditions was impressive - mixed with some rash actions, like his move on Massa in Monza. OK, some of that came out of overdriving what was perhaps the third best car on the grid, but I suppose that it is part of his nature)
6. Button (to go to Mclaren and still be able to hold his head high after what was, at times, a difficult season, is respectable. He sometimes lacked outright pace, but was one of the bolder drivers on strategy (one area where he had a small advantage), and ended up with a lot more points then he should have based on where he qualified)
7. Webber (I'm sorry to put him further down the list, but at the end of the season, Webber seemed to shrink away from the title challenge instead of rising to it. He did take some very strong victories, but at the end his mental state seemed to collapse).
8. Kobayashi (He had a pretty difficult start to the season, and for a while it did set him back. He did have some stunning drives, like Valencia and Suzuka, mixed with a few shockers like Singapore, but next year will be a sterner test fom him as he has to now lead the team and fend off a promising rookie driver).
9. Barrichello (The old warhorse still has some fight left in him, and still capable of showing rookies elsewhere the way home. Again there were a few highlights, like Valencia, and his development prowess is starting to turn Williams around).
10. Kovalainen (others put him down in jest, but Kovalainen has genuinely donw well this year. He cemented Lotus Racing's 10th place in the standings with surprising finishes in adverse conditions, like Korea, and generally risen well to the challenge of guiding a rookie team. Next year, however, we will have to see if he can score a few points for Lotus Racing if they can fulfill their ambition of making it onto a level playing field with the lower midfield teams).
Rookie of the year: Kobayashi (both on points and in achievements, Kobayashi has shown good promise and pace)
Team of the year: Renault (given where they were over the winter, and in recent years, they have done well with the resources they have)
Most improved: Sutil (had a few rough races, especially towards the end of the year as Force India's pace waned, but now looks much more like a polished racing driver when compared to his earlier performances)
New team of the year: Lotus
Drive of the year: Kubica at Spa (to finish on the podium in a race which really should not have favoured his car, and fairly close to Webber, was great to watch, even if he did blow a chance at finishing second with a botched pit stop)
Infinite Improbability Driver of the Year: Kubica
The Bad:Reject Podium* :
1. X-Trac (for supplying inadequate components, such that two of their customers have fled to other suppliers and the third only uses them with caution)
2. Liuzzi (showed flashes of promise, but just couldn't sustain that sort of form regularly)
3. Mercedes GP (by their own admission, they fell short this year with a flawed design and repeated problems with upgrades taking too long to sort out. There are rumours that the Board of Directors are disappointed with their lack of success, so Mercedes GP have to improve over the winter, and fast).
Worst Team of the year: HRT (OK, Virgin Racing finished behind them, mainly thanks to Chandhok's 14th in Australia, but the fact that HRT are openly discussing pay drivers, coupled to a conspicuous lack of progress on a 2011 car and essentially no development on their 2010 car is worrying)
Deadbeat teammate of the year: Petrov
Epic Fail of the year: De La Rosa in Malaysia - as it summed up the problems that Sauber had with the Ferrari engines this season, and it is possible that Di Grassi crashed due to suspension failure.
