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Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing, Jenson Button, McLaren and Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing
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Special feature

Rating the best drivers of the century so far

Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time

Autosport’s Top 50 drivers of the year rankings always cause controversy and debate – both within our office and the wider motorsport world. It’s our attempt to assess and highlight the best performers each season, but that doesn’t stop some fans (and even drivers) getting very cross about the final list.

The 2021 Top 50, which was topped by Formula 1 world championship runner-up Lewis Hamilton, was the 20th edition. Since the inaugural list in 2002, 292 drivers have appeared in the Top 50, some consistently, some just the once, while others have fallen in and out as their careers ebb and flow.

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