The top 10 British F3 drivers of 2010

10. Carlos Huertas

This was a very disappointing second season for the Colombian, who showed an impressive rate of improvement throughout his first year of F3 in 2009.

Double R lost its way with a complicated mass damper system early on, but Huertas made too many mistakes when the car was quick enough to win.

9. Daniel McKenzie

2010 proved to be a tough second season in F3 for the 2009 National Class champion. He was capable of matching Webb's pace on a good day, but didn't have enough of them.

A mixture of mistakes and bad luck in qualifying cost him dearly, but when he did hook it up he managed to qualify inside the top three and finish on the podium.

8. Will Buller

A wild and erratic rookie in the dry, but one of the quickest out there when conditions took a turn for the worse - as proved by his brilliant chase of Calado during the wet season finale at Brands Hatch.

Craved the guiding hand of veteran engineer Bruce Jenkins to smooth out his rough edges, but he quit Hitech to emigrate to Australia.

7. Rupert Svendsen-Cook

Made a solid start to his F3 career. Took the mature decision to learn from the quicker guys in his team and it paid off.

A podium and reverse-grid win on his category debut at Oulton Park made the rest of the series sit up and take note, but he needs to add a touch more speed to his obvious consistency.

6. Gabriel Dias

Felt that Hitech should have been "known as a new team" after all the off-season upheaval in the engineering department.

Started the year strongly and scored several podiums, as well as two reverse-grid wins, but faded as the season wore on.

5. Felipe Nasr

Showed flashes of real potential in his rookie year and kept a cool head through the chaos around him to record a fine maiden win at Rockingham.

There were errors too though, like crashing on his qualifying out-lap at Oulton Park, and shunting during the first practice session at Thruxton. Greater consistency in qualifying would make him a title favourite if he returned for a second season.

4. Adriano Buzaid

The Brazilian is a very quick driver, but his own worst enemy. Lost his way trying to engineer his own car and only came on strong once the team pegged him back on set-up.

Reverting to team-mate Calado's settings at the Silverstone Bridge round sparked a run of seven consecutive podium finishes, but by then it was too little too late for someone who should have been challenging for the title.

3. Oli Webb

His and Fortec's emergence as Carlin's surprise nearest challenger was the revelation of the season. Three wins were a great reward for their hard work, but mistakes crept in as the pressure increased.

Made a great start to the year and led the points after twice beating Vergne in his backyard at Magny-Cours, but two absolute shockers at Hockenheim and Spa, either side of a bit of bad luck at Rockingham, totally derailed his title challenge.

2. James Calado

It's probably no coincidence that driver development programmes tend to produce the best drivers. Supremely fast on his day, particularly in the wet, the Racing Steps Foundation man lacked Vergne's consistency and knack for finding time as the track rubbered in.

Bad reliability set him back at the first round and he found it hard to keep his head in the game in the face of Vergne's relentless mid-season speed. Found his stride in the latter part of the year though and scored seven podiums from the last 12 races.

1. Jean-Eric Vergne

A class apart. The fastest and most consistent driver, with the best car at his disposal, produced one of the most dominant championship campaigns in series' history.

Under pressure following a couple of below par performances at Silverstone and Magny-Cours, Vergne shifted up a gear and dominated the middle portion of the season to become the first Frenchman ever to win the British F3 title.

2010 F3 season summary
2010 F3 final points standings

*For the full analyis of the British F3 season, buy this week's AUTOSPORT magazine - or get the online version, here.