Feature

2016 driver ratings: 12-1

Motor Racing - Formula One World Championship - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Qualifying Day - Abu Dhabi, UAE

1. Lewis Hamilton - 8.20

Hamilton may have missed out on the drivers’ championship, but he at least wins this accolade. Reliability issues weren’t his fault but often provided him with the chance to excel as he had to fight through the field to earn his results. When things were running smoothly he was untouchable, highlighted by six wins out of seven from Monaco to the summer break. The run was only punctuated by a poor result in Baku, where he crashed in qualifying when clearly quicker than Rosberg, and then struggled with engine settings in the race. Failed to perform to his best in Singapore and starts were a weakness on too many occasions, but his form when trying to keep the title race alive was stunning. The only driver on Verstappen’s level in Brazil, the manner in which Hamilton then toyed with the whole field in Abu Dhabi - on his way to a fourth straight win - was a display of a driver in a league of his own.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.