The top 10 IndyCar drivers of 2016

The 2016 IndyCar season was dominated by Simon Pagenaud and Team Penske as Chevrolet's aero kit continued to overpower Honda's. A crushing campaign delivered Pagenaud his maiden IndyCar title, as a range of sub-plots derailed the efforts of his rivals.

The final championship table does not always tell the whole story, though. Behind Penske's leading men, there were still some star performers.

1 SIMON PAGENAUD
Team: Team Penske
Starts: 16
Wins: 5
Position: 1st

Pagenaud has the special combination of skill, aggression and intelligence to know when to risk it and when not to.

That is why his decision to back out of a four-abreast battle during the closing laps in Texas rather than crash was a "points move", according to his race strategist Kyle Moyer.

It was a wise decision and may have been one of the moves that won him the championship. He started the season strong and finished it even stronger.

If there was one shortcoming, it was his performance in the big one, the Indy 500.

"It was a lot of work in the winter trying to understand how we could make it better and communication within the team and being open-minded," Pagenaud says.

"We went out there to try to make the car as good as possible before the race and we ended up winning seven poles.

"It was a dream season where nothing could stop us."

2 WILL POWER
Team: Team Penske
Starts: 15
Wins: 4
Position: 2nd

Considering he gave the rest of the field a one-race headstart when he was forced out of competing in the season opener, that he made it a close title race is a remarkable achievement for Power.

Power was suffering from severe muscle tension in his neck, instead of the suspected concussion, when he was ruled out of the St Petersburg opener, but he needed time to heal.

By the time he returned for the next race at Phoenix he was back to form with a third place finish behind Pagenaud and race winner Scott Dixon.

The next day would be the start of a sensational six-race stretch for Power - four wins and two second-place finishes.

What was most impressive about his season was his attitude. His demeanour was much more calm and focused, no longer the 'wild man' we've seen in the past, and that played its part in his return to competitiveness in 2016.

Rather than trying to get all those lost points from St Pete back at once, he took the attitude of getting them back a little at a time.

3 SCOTT DIXON
Team: Chip Ganassi Racing
Starts: 16
Wins: 2
Position: 6th

When it comes to true racing ability there is probably no one better than Dixon.

After all, he didn't win the 2008 Indianapolis 500 and his four IndyCar title without a tremendous amount of racecraft and skill.

The Chip Ganassi Racing warhorse is notoriously a slow starter to IndyCar seasons, so when he drove to victory in the second round at Phoenix it looked as though another title bid was on the cards.

But bad luck dogged his campaign and losing a certain victory in Toronto after getting caught out by a caution period was a mircocosm of his season.

Inconsistency was the trademark of Dixon's year. It left Dixon in unusual territory entering the final race of the season: for one of the few times in his career, he was not fighting for the championship.

4 JOSEF NEWGARDEN
Team: Ed Carpenter Racing
Starts: 16
Wins: 1
Position: 4th

At 25 years old, Newgarden came of age with his best finish in the points yet with Ed Carpenter Racing.

But Newgarden also endured inconsistency throughout the season, as he flitted from end of the results to the other.

The ex-GP3 racer overcame a massive crash at Texas Motor Speedway in June that left him with a broken clavicle and fractured right wrist.

But the kid was tough and didn't miss a race, finishing eighth just two weeks later at Road America and winning at Iowa Speedway a fortnight after that.

Combined with his youth, that's why he is one of the hottest properties in IndyCar, and why the Tennessee driver is tipped to be on his way to Penske to replace Montoya.

5 GRAHAM RAHAL
Team: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Starts: 16
Wins: 1
Position: 5th

After his breakout title-challenging season in 2015, expectations were high for Rahal, who remained at his father's Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing team.

Once again he finished as the top Honda-powered driver among the sea of Chevrolet superteams, but his performance was hampered by inconsistency and bad luck.

Still, it's the bravado that stands out for Rahal, highlighted by his lack of fear in getting physical with Pagenaud in the closing laps at Barber Motorsports Park, and his last-gasp win when he pipped Hinchcliffe to the flag in a spectacular and dramatic race at Texas Motor Speedway.

6 HELIO CASTRONEVES
Team: Team Penske
Starts: 16
Best result: 2nd
Position: 3rd

The likeable 41-year-old Brazilian continues to show no signs of slowing down in the latter years of his career as he continues to search for his first IndyCar title.

In his 17th season with Penske, Castroneves was able to parlay two poles and four podium finishes into third in the championship.

But on the downside, he hasn't won a race since Detroit 2014.

The veteran may not win as often as he used, to but Roger Penske refuses to turn him into an 'Indy 500-only' driver and he remains competitive and a great asset to the team.

7 RYAN HUNTER-REAY
Team: Andretti Autosport
Starts: 16
Best result: 3rd
Position: 12th

This was Hunter-Reay's first season without a victory since 2009, but that doesn't mean he didn't have the speed to win two of the biggest races of the year.

He led the Indy 500 for 52 laps before he was slammed into by part-time team-mate Townsend Bell as they left the pits near the 300-mile mark, and lost two laps at Pocono when the electronics failed, cutting his engine, before storming back to third.

The 2012 champion and his Andretti Autosport team-mates were plagued by mechanical-grip issues on the street and road courses during the season but were very fast on the ovals.

Hunter-Reay may have gone winless but he certainly never quit.

8 SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS
Team: KVSH Racing
Starts: 16
Wins: 1
Position: 14th

While his compatriot and former Peugeot LMP1 team-mate sped to the title, Bourdais had a downer of a season.

But there is plenty of good racing left in the four-time Champ Car title winner, who showed as much when he took victory on the Saturday of the Detroit double-header.

Bourdais still has the combination of aggression and savvy to become a threat in most races, and led four events over the season with KVSH Racing, which he will likely leave for a return to Dale Coyne Racing in 2017 after asking Kevin Kalkhoven and Jimmy Vasser in vain over the season for a new contract.

9 JAMES HINCHCLIFFE
Team: Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
Starts: 16
Best result: 2nd
Position: 13th

That the Canadian was back in a race car at all after he was nearly killed in a crash during practice for the 2015 Indy 500 was an accomplishment to be celebrated.

Not only was he back, he was as fast as he was before.

And that 12 months later he returned to the Brickyard to finish third on the road course and then take an emotional pole for the 500 in his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports car was one of the stories of the season.

After this, he came heartbreakingly close to winning on the Texas oval, only to be pipped by Rahal by a few inches.

A three-race stretch of 18th, 21st and 14th across the Detroit double-header and Road America dropped him out of the top 10, but that should not detract from a remarkable year.

10 JUAN PABLO MONTOYA
Team: Team Penske
Starts: 16
Wins: 1
Position: 8th

Much more was expected from the popular Colombian.

He lost the 2015 title to Dixon on countback to number of race wins, and bounced into the '16 season with a win in the opening round at St Petersburg.

But then his season went into freefall, and Montoya dropped as low as 14^th in points with one round to go before blasting back up to eighth with a third place in the double-points finale.

While it appears he has fallen out of favour at Team Penske and will likely be racing elsewhere in 2017, he has told Autosport he will be racing Indycars "harder than ever".