The top 10 F1 drivers of 2015

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a dominant run to a third Formula 1 world championship title, as his Mercedes team again set the technical standard during the second year of F1's V6 hybrid turbo era.

But he didn't have it all his own way across the balance of the 19 grands prix that made up the season, and there were many outstanding performances in his wake.

Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, BEN ANDERSON, picks the 10 F1 stars that shone brightest for him in 2015.

1. LEWIS HAMILTON
MERCEDES
Wins: 10
Championship: 1st, 381 points

Hamilton's run to a third world title was more emphatic and more convincing than his 2014 success, thanks to stronger reliability in his Mercedes car and fewer errors from Hamilton himself.

He drove with greater verve and consistency this year, unburdened by finally winning that long-awaited second championship, and boosted by a less volatile team environment (for the most part) at Mercedes.

He has finally come of age, looking like a driver who understands himself and the sport much better, and is more comfortable with his place in the world. Such mental stability is crucial to success in topline sport, and Hamilton's driving reflected that greater resolve.

Overturning last year's qualifying deficit to team-mate Nico Rosberg proved crucial in the final reckoning, and taking pole for 11 of the first 12 races was Hamilton's most devastating accomplishment, allowing him to dictate terms from the front.

Last season Hamilton had to rely heavily on his racer's instincts to get out of trouble; this season he made life a lot easier for himself.

Rosberg often looked shell-shocked on Saturdays as he watched Hamilton repeatedly pound him into dust, usually by large margins. Hamilton was two or more tenths clear of the sister Mercedes in nine of the first 12 qualifying sessions of the year.

On the rare occasions he needed to race hard, such as in Hungary (where he uncharacteristically went off on lap one), Japan (where he bossed Rosberg at Turn 1), and the US (where he clinched the title in tricky conditions), Hamilton showed he remains one of the toughest competitors out there in wheel-to-wheel combat.

Hamilton was second best to Rosberg over the final three races, but the championship was already over by then, so that should not detract from the magnitude of his achievement, or the majesty of his earlier performances.

2. SEBASTIAN VETTEL
FERRARI
Wins: 3
Championship: 3rd, 278 points

If there was ever any real doubt that Sebastian Vettel is one of the top drivers on the current Formula 1 grid, this season should go a long way to obliterating that uncertainty.

After an underwhelming 2014 campaign, a switch from Red Bull to Ferrari seemed to galvanise the four-time champion, allowing him to rediscover the determination, commitment and confidence that made him such an unstoppable force in the latter part of Formula 1's V8-engined era.

That Vettel felt more at home in Ferrari's V6 hybrid-engined SF15-T compared with last year's Red Bull-Renault RB10 was apparent in the manner of his early season qualifying performances (where he twice split the two Mercedes drivers) and in the fact that he filled his former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo's 2014 role as the opportunistic underdog, pouncing on Mercedes' mistakes to win three times in an inferior car.

Mistakes were also few and far between; Bahrain (where he went off chasing Rosberg), Mexico (where he clashed with Ricciardo then crashed out), and Abu Dhabi (where he messed up in qualifying) are arguably the only races where his form dipped.

Otherwise Vettel was superb, putting his world champion team-mate Kimi Raikkonen firmly in the shade with consistently excellent performances.

3. NICO ROSBERG
MERCEDES
Wins: 6
Championship: 2nd, 322 points

Rosberg came into 2015 ready to win the world championship after a near miss last year, but got "blown off" (Niki Lauda's words) by Mercedes team-mate Hamilton for much of the season.

Except that's not strictly the case. Beaten too regularly, yes, but it was closer than Lauda suggests. Rosberg was stronger in race trim than he was last year, genuinely outpacing Hamilton to win in Spain and Austria, and pushing him hard everywhere else bar Monaco (where he was 19 seconds behind before Mercedes' strategic blunder enabled him to snatch victory from Hamilton) across the first part of the season.

The trouble was that Rosberg had lost what was actually a very small advantage over Hamilton in qualifying last season, starting on the crucial pole position just once across the first 12 races of this year.

Then Mercedes endured a tyre warm-up disaster in Singapore. Thereafter Rosberg rediscovered his missing edge, scoring pole for all six of the remaining grands prix, and winning three of them.

In the US he finally showed his teeth in wheel-to-wheel battle, and was simply better than Hamilton over the final three grands prix of the year. If the season had started in October, Rosberg could make a serious case to be top of this list. Unfortunately for him, it started in March...

4. DANIEL RICCIARDO
RED BULL
Wins: 0
Championship: 8th, 92 points

This was a frustrating season for Ricciardo, who came into the campaign expecting to challenge for the world championship after winning three races in 2014.

Renault's lack of progress in the power game, coupled with Red Bull's early difficulties in unlocking the full potential of the RB11, derailed that ambition. Frustration boiled over as Ricciardo struggled to accept his new place in the world.

But when he got his head right the Australian still produced some exceptional drives, most notably in Hungary, where Red Bull made a breakthrough with the car and he fought for victory, and Singapore, where he chased winner Vettel all the way.

But there were also some less heralded performances, such as his charge from the back of the grid to eighth in Italy, and he also squeezed consistent results out of a difficult car in the early part of the year.

The final points table doesn't reflect how well Ricciardo drove this year. Of all the drivers on the grid yet to fight for the world championship, he looks the most ready. He just needs a fast enough car to prove to the world that he's made of the right stuff.

5. VALTTERI BOTTAS
WILLIAMS
Wins: 0
Championship: 5th, 136 points

Bottas was to Ferrari what Vettel was to Mercedes this season - a constant thorn in the side that simply refused to go away, however carefully it was tweezered.

He didn't always win the battles ultimately, but showed in races such as Bahrain, Spain, Canada, Japan, Russia and Mexico that he could carry the fight to the Scuderia, and if mistakes came it was usually the Bottas Williams that was ready and waiting to pounce.

His Saturday form across the first half of the season was unconvincing, though he refused to blame the back injury he suffered in qualifying in Australia that sidelined him from the first race.

This arguably cost him his chance of driving for Ferrari next year. But it was always close with team-mate Felipe Massa, and from Hungary onwards Bottas raised his game and dominated the intra-team battle.

He almost beat the second Ferrari of fellow Finn Raikkonen (with whom he collided twice in races this year) to fourth in the points too, which would have been a better result than his car merited.

Raikkonen may be the most popular Finnish driver in Formula 1 right now, but for the second season running Bottas looked the more convincing of the two.

6. MAX VERSTAPPEN
TORO ROSSO
Wins: 0
Championship: 12th, 49 points

Verstappen is not the first rookie to make a big impression in Formula 1, but what the young Dutchman accomplished this year was seriously impressive by any standard.

As you might expect there were some errors and a few immature moments along the way, but Verstappen learned quickly, and by the end of the campaign looked more like a veteran than a teenager who spent most of the year not legally old enough to drive on Europe's roads.

Verstappen's feisty racecraft was always evident, and made him tremendously exciting to watch, but as the season wore on he became formidable in qualifying too. Good rookies often show real flashes of potential, but it takes time to add the consistency and nous necessary to deliver every weekend.

He had only completed one full season of single-seater racing before this one. You wouldn't have known it on this evidence.

7. FERNANDO ALONSO
McLAREN
Wins: 0
Championship: 17th, 11 points

In spite of his own protestations to the contrary, Alonso has driven well this season - it's just been difficult to notice at times, given how uncompetitive McLaren-Honda has been.

Even in "economy mode" Alonso almost stole into Q3 in Bahrain (in a slow car that also had a down-on-power engine), while at Silverstone he drove exceptionally well in the wet to pilfer a point from the faster Sauber of Marcus Ericsson.

His qualifying laps in Singapore and Japan were also mighty (they just didn't count for much), and his performances in Hungary and for much of the US GP showed the relentless consistency that make him such a formidable racer.

Honda paid a lot of good money to lure Alonso from Ferrari, and the double world champion remains one of the very best out there. Currently that ability is going to waste, which is a shame for Alonso, and shame for Formula 1 as well.

8. ROMAIN GROSJEAN
LOTUS
Wins: 0
Championship: 11th, 51 points

The past two seasons have been difficult for Grosjean, who has not possessed a car good enough to underline the sublime form he showed in the latter half of 2013.

Last year's Lotus frustrated him, but he still drove well within its limitations. This year's E23 was better, so Grosjean scored more points, but the most impressive aspect of his campaign was they way he regularly qualified among the top 10, despite the team's lack of cash, and consequently the car's lack of development.

Grosjean made Q3 12 times in 18 races this season (team-mate Pastor Maldonado only made it four times), despite skipping first practice for 13 of the 19 grands prix to make way for reserve driver Jolyon Palmer.

His surprise podium in August's Belgian Grand Prix was a stark reminder of what Grosjean is capable of when the car is right. Lotus will feel his loss keenly next year.

9. SERGIO PEREZ
FORCE INDIA
Wins: 0
Championship: 9th, 78 points

Perez came to Force India somewhat damaged by his 2013 season at McLaren. It's taken the Mexican a while to get over that disappointment, but this year he again started regularly producing the sort of performances that made him hot property in the first place.

There were flashes of brilliance early on, particularly in Monaco, as Force India made do with an updated version of last year's car, but Perez's season sprang to life in Belgium, where he made a set-up breakthrough with the 'B-spec' VJM08 introduced mid-season.

He qualified fourth at Spa and briefly challenged for the lead, eventually finishing fifth, before going on to be the highest scoring driver outside the top five in the standings until the end of the season.

His unlikely podium in Russia showed maturity and discipline, but his improved qualifying form post-Hungary (6-3 versus highly-rated team-mate Nico Hulkenberg) was also noticeable. Easily his best campaign since 2012.

10. FELIPE MASSA
WILLIAMS
Wins: 0
Championship: 6th, 121 points

Massa's career revival continues apace at Williams. The car was not as relatively competitive as last year's, but Massa still scored two podiums and came close to matching his 2014 points tally, despite the abolition of a double-score finale.

He made few mistakes and found greater consistency, particularly in qualifying, where he was better than prodigious team-mate Bottas across the first eight races.

He also led Bottas and Ferrari's Raikkonen in a tight battle for fourth in the championship after finishing third in September's Italian Grand Prix.

Thereafter his season went off the boil a little. He scored no points in three of the next five races (through no fault of his own), but also suffered for the FW37 becoming less relatively competitive amid a development freeze.

Nevertheless, this was still a good year for Massa, who has laid the ghosts of his latter Ferrari days firmly to rest.

THE REST
Jenson Button spent most of his time near the back of the grid, but this can go down as another season where he's gone up against a world champion team-mate with a fierce record and come out with his own reputation intact.

McLaren reserve Kevin Magnussen stood in for Alonso in Australia and shaded Button until suffering an engine problem in qualifying. His F1 career now looks over far too soon.

Daniil Kvyat made a shaky start to his Red Bull 'senior' career, crashing on his first out-lap in testing at Jerez, but grew in stature as the season progressed, fully justifying the decision to promote him from Toro Rosso, though Ricciardo generally had his measure.

Carlos Sainz Jr also justified Red Bull's faith in a rookie campaign that was far better than results suggest. He was generally excellent in qualifying, and should arguably have scored at least 20 points more than he actually did, but his Toro Rosso-Renault let him down far too often.

This was a decent season from Nico Hulkenberg, but not as consistently good as we've come to expect. He was still excellent on occasion, and victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours clearly boosted his confidence, but he can do better.

Felipe Nasr showed flashes of real potential this year, in a car that was struggling to cling on to the midfield for much of the season. When the Sauber worked well he impressed, but he needs to get on top of the persistent brake problems that plagued his car but not that of team-mate Marcus Ericsson, who scored far fewer points but gave Nasr a run for his money on occasion.

Kimi Raikkonen continued to underwhelm aboard the second Ferrari, though he did enough to convince Maranello bosses to extend his contract for another season. Was unfortunate to suffer the brunt of the Scuderia's unreliability, but also made far too many mistakes.

Pastor Maldonado impressed occasionally, and also failed to finish many races through no fault of his own, but the silly errors were still too frequent, and Grosjean obliterated him in qualifying, despite usually having less practice.

Manor Marussia was cut adrift from the rest on pace, but Caterham refugee Will Stevens impressively got the better of highly rated team-mate Roberto Merhi (who carried a weight and height disadvantage) across the balance of the 13 races they did together.

Stevens was particularly strong in qualifying, though GP2 interloper Alexander Rossi ran him closer during a promising five-race cameo late in the year.