The top 10 F1 drivers, 2000-2009

10. Mark Webber

Minardi, Jaguar, Williams, Red Bull

GPs: 138
Poles: 1
Wins: 2
Fastest laps: 3
Titles: 0

Hard not to include Rubens or DC, with 24 wins between them, but a bigger mistake to exclude Webber. A committed competitor who has seen off every team-mate bar the exceptional Vettel, he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time until he finally found himself with an Adrian Newey chassis in a year of significant rule change. True to his luck, he was crocked. Still managed to win twice and look far from shabby alongside 'the new Schuey'. A rounded fellow unafraid to speak his mind, he often appears a man among boys. Has a title in him in the right circumstances.

9. Robert Kubica

BMW

GPs: 57
Poles: 1
Wins: 1
Fastest laps: 0
Titles: 0

Odd to include a one-time winner in the decade's top 10? Not if talent is the measure. When Fernando Alonso says he thinks Robert Kubica is the best driver in F1 you realise he's probably taking an oblique swipe at Lewis, but he's not the only one to have said it.

Like Alonso, the Pole is one of those drivers you just wouldn't want to see in your mirrors. He did a great job for BMW in 2008 but has not yet had a car to match his ability. In the current climate you wonder about the Renault move, but Kubica's time should come.

8. Kimi Raikkonen

Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari

GPs: 155
Poles: 16
Wins: 18
Fastest laps: 35
Titles: 1

Brundle to Kimi: "Any reason you missed Michael's presentation?" Kimi to live TV: "I was having a shit." Aldar (proud builders of Yas Marina) sponsor host to Kimi: "What do you think of it?" Kimi: "The first four corners are okay and the rest is shit." You can behave like that if you're God, but Kimi wasn't - even if his retainers suggested he was.

A driver first and foremost, he had no time for the rest of F1. Nip and tuck with Heidfeld at Sauber and adjudged to have more potential, he proved he could win races at McLaren but despite his 11th hour 2007 title he never truly gelled at Ferrari, where Massa pricked his bubble.

7. Felipe Massa

Sauber, Ferrari

GPs: 114
Poles: 15
Wins: 11
Fastest laps: 12
Titles: 0

Early days at Sauber, where sometimes he was accused of impetuousness and lack of thought and application, did little to hint at the driver he would become.

The opportunity to work alongside Schumacher in test and race roles at Ferrari was the making of him. Michael doesn't tolerate fools and his acceptance and support of Felipe, as well as the genuine fondness, told you a lot. No match for Schuey, but who was? Now genuinely quick and, 99 per cent of the time, controlled. Heartbreakingly close to the 2008 title and made Ferrari wonder why it was paying Raikkonen so much.

6. Mika Hakkinen

McLaren

GPs: 33
Poles: 8
Wins: 6
Fastest laps: 12
Titles: 0

A man of the 90s really but drove for two years in the 00s and for that pass of Schumacher at Spa in 2000 alone, warrants inclusion here. First crossed swords with Michael in an F3 car in Macau and from that moment the pair had deep mutual respect.

He didn't articulate deep thoughts too often but when he did he was fascinating, particularly on starting his McLaren career alongside Senna and the mental reserves necessary to return after his Adelaide shunt and then sustain back-to-back championship challenges against Schumacher. Still capable of breath-taking drives and wins in 2000 and 2001. A class act.

5. Jenson Button

Jenson Button © LAT

Williams, Benetton, Renault, BAR, Honda, Brawn

GPs: 170
Poles: 7
Wins: 7
Fastest laps: 2
Titles: 1

The talent was obvious from the time he astonished Prost GP and a watching Gerhard Berger on his first outing in an F1 car. From the outset there were few mistakes, Prost-like smoothness and Ralf Schumacher-beating pace at places like Spa and Suzuka in year one.

He fell off his perch with a difficult Benetton the following season but third place in 2004 with BAR was a better barometer, although the 2005 fuel tank episode cast a shadow. First true opportunity came with Brawn this year and he demonstrated he is much more than merely good. But Hamilton will test him to the limit.

4. Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel © LAT

BMW, Toro Rosso, Red Bull

GPs: 43
Poles: 5
Wins: 5
Fastest laps: 3
Titles: 0

BMW letting him go made you wonder. At the time the word in the paddock was that he was four tenths slower than Robert Kubica. Did someone get their fuel weights mixed up?

Even at Toro Rosso, whenever that great equaliser rain showed its face, Vettel was a front-runner. The composure to put the car on pole and win at Monza was proof of his quality. The ever-ready smile and the giggly persona mask a determination and competitiveness that matches the talent. He doesn't like losing. A certain future champion, machinery permitting.

3. Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso © LAT

Minardi, Renault, McLaren

GPs: 138
Poles: 18
Wins: 21
Fastest laps: 13
Titles: 2

The man who ended the Schumacher era. From the moment Alonso first drove a Minardi it was obvious he had something special. It was enough for Flavio Briatore to dispense with Button, but the fact that Flav also had Ferdy's management contract wouldn't have harmed.

Feisty and super-competitive, Alonso's cars always have a certain body language, always alive. A relentless race driver who makes few errors. Remember that pass of Schumacher around the outside of 130R? Looks the part too, a natural Ferrari driver if ever there was one. Many more where the first 21 wins came from.

2. Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton © LAT

McLaren

GPs: 52
Poles: 17
Wins: 11
Fastest laps: 3
Titles: 1

Made a mockery of the notion that you can't challenge for a championship in your first year. The flair, the self-assurance, that pass of Raikkonen at Monza - all fantastic. Without the spygate shenanigans there's little doubt Lewis would have been a first-year champion. That Alonso was the yardstick made it all the more stunning.

Well positioned to be the dominant force of the next decade. No reason he can't live up to his billing as 'the Tiger of F1' - mistress count notwithstanding... Has seen most things in his three short years in F1.

1. Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher © LAT

Ferrari

GPs: 122
Poles: 45
Wins: 56
Fastest laps: 37
Titles: 5

No need to say anything. Five successive world titles for Ferrari and 56 of his 91 total wins during this decade. Senna is the only realistic threat to his claim of being best of all time. Michael knew that, hence the breakdown at Monza when he drew level with Ayrton's 41 wins and his thoughts drifted back to May 1, 1994.

Normally you'd scoff at the very notion of an over 40s club member taking on the likes of Hamilton/Vettel, but not with Michael. That's the true measure of him.

* All stats include only the 2000-2009 seasons.

A decade of living dangerously

The top 10 F1 cars, 2000-2009