AUTOSPORT.com's F1 season poll

Jonathan Noble, group F1 editor (JN)

1. Vettel, 2. Alonso, 3. Hamilton, 4. Webber, 5. Kubica.

Yes Sebastian Vettel made some big mistakes in 2010, but then so did all his main title rivals at various points of the campaign. When it mattered, though, Vettel was brilliant - delivering vital wins at the end of the year to deny Alonso a crown that he thought was pretty much his.

1. Turkey, 2. Australia, 3. Canada.

The Turkish Grand Prix had it all: a mammoth fight at the front for a win, tough battles between team-mates, immense controversy and a huge political fall-out that cast a shadow over the remainder of the season. Australia was a great spectacle, and Canada was delightful chaos

Mark Hughes, grand prix editor (MH)

1. Hamilton, 2. Kubica, 3. Alonso, 4. Vettel, 5. Webber.

Hamilton's highs were higher than anyone else's and key errors - though bunched together - were actually fewer than Alonso's or Vettel's.

Renault privately reckon Kubica is an improvement on Alonso. Alonso a terrific galvanising force for Ferrari. Vettel's brilliance still evolving, Webber's psychological challenge left him mentally exhausted.

1. Turkey, 2. Britain, 3. Canada.

The raw essence and latent paranoia of the racing driver laid bare in Istanbul. The high-octane adrenaline of righteous revenge in Silverstone, the crazy curved ball unpredictability the tyres gave us in Canada.

Edd Straw, F1 editor (ES)

1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Kubica, 4. Alonso, 5. Webber.

Vettel had a superb season despite a few blunders along the way, while Hamilton seemed a likely champion until things started to unravel at Monza.

Kubica consistently got the best out of the Renault, but Alonso's brilliant late-season charge was undermined by mistakes early on. As for Webber, he was close to the title but couldn't deliver when it came to the crunch.

1. Turkey, 2. Canada, 3. Abu Dhabi.

As well as the moment of the season, when Vettel and Webber collided, Turkey brought us a tense scrap between Red Bull and McLaren, not to mention the Button versus Hamilton fight that flared late in the race.

Canada was an intriguing two-stop race with plenty of overtaking to the finish, and while Abu Dhabi was, in itself, a dull race, Ferrari's strategic implosion and Vettel going from long-shot to champion means that it is etched indelibly in the memory.

Tony Dodgins, columnist (TD)

1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Alonso, 4. Webber, 5. Kubica.

Vettel: for his end-of-season-pressure performances. Hamilton: exciting, there to the end with the third best car, would equally deserve #1 slot. Alonso: catastrophic Abu Dhabi - knowing Rosberg had stopped, should have over-ruled team. Webber: will rue Korea forever. Kubica: consistently excellent, pips Rosberg, the man who stopped the Schumacher talk.

1. Australia, 2. Turkey, 3. Abu Dhabi.

Australia: incident, accident and probably just a huge sense of relief after Bahrain... Turkey: drama, intrigue and inter-team shenanigans - twice! Abu Dhabi: the occasion, drama, errors and that great title-winning drive.

Dieter Rencken, columnist (DR)

1. Alonso, 2. Vettel, 3. Hamilton, 4. Webber, 5. Kubica.

Fernando takes it on account of his dogged approach, which never saw him drop his head regardless of the odds against him. However, Vettel undoubtedly deserved the crown after putting in superb performances, albeit in the best car.

Hamilton was as opportunistic as ever, but desperation forced too many slips, while Webber, having his strongest season, similarly falling prey to costly errors. Kubica is surely a champion of the future.

1. Monaco, 2. Japan, 3. Belgium.

The sight of Mark Webber in full flight on the streets of the principality was simply majestic, while Suzuka never disappoints, with Sunday morning qualifying adding just the right level of spice. Spa, as always, offered it all, allowing Lewis to make the rest look plain ordinary.

Andrew van de Burgt, AUTOSPORT editor (AVB)

1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Alonso, 4. Kubica. 5, Webber.

Sure he made mistakes, but he's only 23 and it's easy to forget that this was only his third full season. For me Sebastian Vettel showed he's the fastest guy in F1 this year. There are still some question marks over his racecraft, but if you start most of the races from pole position that doesn't really matter.

1. China, 2. Turkey, 3. Australia.

It was a cracking championship in terms of the way the balance of power fluctuated between teams and drivers, but there weren't many classic races, and the best ones came when it rained. F1 needs to sort out the aero rules pronto and someone needs to ask why we persist in lining the cars up at the start of races with the fastest ones at the front...

Simon Strang, AUTOSPORT.com editor (SS)

1. Vettel; 2. Hamilton; 3. Alonso; 4. Webber; 5. Button

Vettel was brilliant and could easily have doubled his victory tally - worth remembering that Ayrton Senna was still prone to errors at the same point in his career. Hamilton matured further while never once compromising his speed.

Alonso was great too, but there were moments when he wasn't, and he was the only contender who called on assistance from his team-mate. Webber was tremendous - heartbreaking to watch him fail. Button settled nicely at McLaren too.

1. Australia, 2.Turkey, 3.Silverstone

Australia was fascinating as Jenson Button wrong-footed his opponents. This win gave him the impetus to establish himself as his own man in a McLaren team previously 'owned' by Hamilton.

Turkey had everything. High drama, politics, great racing between team-mates and poor racing between them too - guess which grabbed the headlines. I chose Silverstone for the sheer ferocious intensity of Webber's victory - it took me back to the days when Nigel Mansell 'switched it on' for the fans.

Charles Bradley, AUTOSPORT deputy editor (CB)

1. Hamilton, 2. Vettel, 3. Alonso, 4. Kubica, 5. Rosberg.

Hamilton reminded us of his driving genius, and his three wins were all virtuoso masterpieces. Vettel's single-mindedness delivered a deserved title, albeit in by far the best car.

Alonso was back to his best in the second half of the year, despite some basic errors. Kubica worked wonders with Renault, Rosberg kicked Schumacher's ass.

1. Turkey, 2. Belgium, 3. Italy.

Istanbul was one of those races where you couldn't quite believe what you were seeing: team-mates colliding over the race lead, not once but twice!

Spa was all about Hamilton's on-the-limit-and-sometimes-over-it skills. Monza was a tense high-speed duel between Button and Alonso, where a crucial split-second in the pitstop cycle decided who won.

Steven English, AUTOSPORT.com features editor (SE)

1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Alonso, 4. Kubica, 5. Rosberg.

Vettel would have won easily were it not for four failures, Hamilton got the most out of his car with the fewest mistakes, Alonso almost won it in a car not good enough, Kubica and Rosberg were the other two drivers that punched above their cars' weight.

1. Canada, 2. Australia, 3. Belgium.

Montreal was a crystal clear demonstration of how to make Formula 1 more entertaining. Someone please pay attention to that. Australia was the best example of the other great variable - the weather - putting on a show. Spa is always one of the best and this season had some crucial title battle incidents.

Pablo Elizalde, AUTOSPORT.com managing editor (PE)

1. Alonso, 2. Webber, 3. Vettel, 4. Hamilton, 5. Kubica.

In his first year with Ferrari, Alonso took the championship fight down to the wire despite having a car that was never the quickest, so he gets the top spot. Webber takes second place because he was the most consistent driver during the whole year.

Vettel was a worthy champion but he also had the full support of a team with the best car of the grid and should have taken the title earlier if not for some costly errors. Hamilton and Kubica flattered their cars throughout the year with their performances.

1. Canada, 2. Australia, 3. Turkey.

The Canadian Grand Prix showed what the whole season should have been like, with the tyres becoming such a crucial factor because of their degradation. Australia offered a great start to the year as the weather one again spiced things up. Turkey, and its aftermath, was a perfect example of what the closest season ever was like.

Matt Beer, AUTOSPORT.com writer (MB)

1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3 Webber, 4 Alonso, 5. Button.

Vettel could've won over half the races, and bad luck hit him harder than errors. Hamilton was consistently strong in a car rarely the pace-setter, Webber was stoic and blindingly fast in tricky circumstances. Alonso was frequently outstanding but had too many early-season adventures, while Button achieved more than most thought possible alongside Hamilton.

1. Canada, 2. Australia, 3. Belgium.

The finest grands prix are always those that take a bit of unpicking afterwards to work out how the result unfolded. Normally those races rely on rain (like Australia and Belgium this year), but Canada achieved that level of unpredictable, multi-storyline action on a dry track. Fragile tyres are clearly the way forward.

Glenn Freeman, AUTOSPORT news editor (GF)

1. Alonso, 2. Vettel, 3. Hamilton, 4. Kubica, 5. Webber.

Hockenheim aside, the way Alonso dug in and hauled Ferrari back into contention was remarkable. Vettel gets the nod over the rest because factors outside of his control prevented him from dominating this championship, so he can hardly be disputed as a deserving champion.

Hamilton did well to stay in the hunt in a car that was never quite the pace-setter, while Kubica must be getting tired of doing super-human things in cars that just aren't up to it. Webber would have been a lot higher on this list had the last few races not happened, it was disappointing to see how his season faded away.

1. Canada, 2. Australia, 3. Belgium.

Seeing the teams and drivers outside of their dry weather computer prediction safety bubble in Canada made that by far the most exciting race of the year. If only there was a way for those freak circumstances to occur every weekend. The fact that it was a dry race yet totally unpredictable gives it the nod over Australia, which was the perfect tonic for the snoozefest that was the season opener in Bahrain.

Unlike the new, tame circuits, Spa rarely disappoints and that was the case again this year with an incident packed afternoon in Belgium.

Mark Glendenning, AUTOSPORT deputy F1 editor (MG)

1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Alonso, 4. Webber, 5. Kubica.

It's a close call among the top three, but credit to Vettel for delivering when it mattered most. Hamilton once again left nothing on the table and Alonso's push from the middle of the season was outstanding. Many will judge Webber by Abu Dhabi, which is unfair considering how difficult he made Vettel's life for most of the season, while Kubica again made you wonder what will happen when he finally gets a frontrunning car.

1. Turkey, 2. Australia, 3. Canada.

No matter how close a title fight is, it's rare that you get a proper head-to-head scrap between two front-running teams of the kind that we saw in Turkey. That Red Bull's part in it ended so dramatically was just a bonus. Australia was another reminder that F1 shines brightest in changing weather conditions, and quirky Bridgestones made for a memorable Canada.

Jamie O'Leary, Castrol Rankings editor (JOL)

1. Hamilton, 2. Vettel, 3. Alonso, 4. Kubica, 5. Webber.

Hamilton's maturity reached a new level this year, helping him to win races from behind - unlike anyone else - and extinguish the threat of Button. Vettel was sensational, but I wonder what he would have done in a slower car.

Kubica elevated the Renault to places it had no right to be while Webber raised his game against expectations, but failed to deliver when the pressure was really on.

1. Australia, 2. Canada, 3. Belgium.

The wet/dry conditions in Melbourne created a classic and - coming only a few weeks after a dismal season-opener, put the spark back into F1 by ensuring quick cars were out of position on-track and forced to battle through.

The tyre wear in Canada kept teams and fans guessing while Spa... Well, it was typical Spa, wasn't it?

Kevin Turner, AUTOSPORT national editor (KT)

1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Alonso, 4. Button, 5. Webber.

All the title protagonists made several mistakes, except for Button, but he occasionally lacked pace, especially in qualifying. Vettel edges it because he lost more points than the others through mechanical problems and really delivered when the pressure was on in the closing stages of the year.

1. Australia, 2. Canada, 3. China.

The overall title battle made even the dull races intriguing, but there were some great races too. As usual, wet weather created interesting races, with overtaking aplenty and the drivers showing their different strengths.

Montreal stands out as that rare thing we all wish for: an exciting, passing-filled F1 race in the dry. Honourable mentions to Turkey, Belgium, Italy and Brazil.

Ben Anderson, AUTOSPORT editorial assistant (BA)

1. Vettel, 2. Hamilton, 3. Alonso, 4. Button, 5. Webber.

The fastest driver in the best car won out in the end, while Hamilton dragged more from this year's McLaren than the car was willing to give him.

Alonso is still the most complete driver on the grid and Button did well considering few gave him a prayer when paired alongside McLaren's darling driver. This was Webber's finest season yet, but he choked in the Abu Dhabi finale.

1. Turkey, 2. Australia, 3. Canada.

Turkey was the only time we saw a genuine fight for victory between two teams this season. McLaren's F-duct versus Red Bull's downforce turned this into an epic four-way thriller.

Whenever the wet weather comes along, as it did in Oz, we are reminded how much better the racing in F1 could be if the cars didn't have so much grip, while Montreal's dodgy track surface and marginal tyre compounds created the sort of strategic intrigue the ban on refuelling was supposed to deliver regularly. Take note Pirelli.