The top 10 Formula 2 drivers of 2010

10. Johan Jokinen

Ran out of money a third of the way through the season, but while he was there was one of the few drivers rarely to drop out of the top four. It would have been interesting to see what he'd have achieved with a full year, and without the fear that the cost of any crash would end his season - which ultimately it did. But he was within range of victory once or twice, which is more than can be said for a lot of people that did the whole year.

9. Will Bratt

More was expected of the reigning Euroseries 3000 (now Auto GP) champion as one of the more experienced on the grid. He was a fixture inside the top 10, but didn't breach the top three anywhere near often enough. He never really seemed at the races and didn't come close to a win until the finale; too little too late.

8. Jack Clarke

Eight retirements in an 18-race season crippled him, even more frustrating was that seven of them weren't his fault. Often a regular inside the top four, and could easily have been in the third-to-seventh championship scrap if not for the foul fortune. But there were still a few too many times he qualified in the teens for him to ultimately out-perform those with race wins on their resumes.

7. Benjamin Bailly

A real development year for one of the more raw rookies. Not at the races in the first three events then broke out in spectacular fashion with victory from pole at Zolder. From there he was either on or off - up there at Algarve, Brno and Oschersleben. Not at Brands or Valencia. There's definitely something in there, he just needs to find it more frequently.

6. Nicola de Marco

Absolutely horrible start to the season with four points from the first eight races. With 84 from the last 10, including two wins, he was right up there with the battle for third in the championship - which is where he should have been all along. Ultimately frustrating as another driver that finds his best all too rarely.

5. Philipp Eng

Three wins and two poles would usually indicate a pretty positive season, but despite those successes, Eng had a shocker. The pre-season title favourite was winning races at the beginning, but the longer the season wore on the more he spent time languishing outside the top 10 than leading the way in it. Budget trouble meant he thought most weekends would be his last, and that can't have helped.

4. Sergei Afanasiev

There were several drivers who won, got poles and led more than the Russian, but he managed to out-do them all in the end, finishing third in championship despite only running in the top two for two laps all year long. He finished every race, fourth a lot, and only three times outside the points - the same as champion Dean Stoneman and fewer than runner-up Jolyon Palmer.

3. Kazim Vasiliauskas

Lithuania just sneaks the bronze over Russia. Might seem an odd choice, given that he was a slow starter this year and a bit absent in the middle months. But he was ahead of Afanasiev often enough, suddenly appeared as a force at the front in the last three rounds, and just kept sticking it on the front row. He was overdue his win by the season finale.

2. Jolyon Palmer

First, it surprised that he progressed far enough over the winter to become a front runner, but soon he was running away with the championship - and deserving it. He was eventually chased down, and the pressure seemed to show, but still, five wins and runner-up was a fine showing for a driver who had convinced few before this season.

1. Dean Stoneman

For a while it looked as though he'd be the quickest driver in the series but miss out on the title after two mid-season failures to score. There were a couple of clumsy moments, but the longer the campaign went on, the more he seemed a cut above. After a string of dominant wins from pole to turn the table around, few would argue that the right man won in the end.

2010 F2 season summary
2010 F2 final points standings

*For the full analyis of the Formula 2 season, buy this week's AUTOSPORT magazine - or get the online version, here.