The top 10 WRC drivers of 2017

It's hard to remember a World Rally Championship season that enjoyed as much hype as the one just passed. But it's even harder to recall one that delivered so comprehensively.

When Volkswagen walked away from the WRC just over 12 months ago, the prophets of doom circled. We needn't have worried. Yes, the WRC misses the benchmark competition, not to mention the massive VW marketing effort, but the passing of the Polo helped blow this season wide open.

If there is an area of concern through what's been an exceptional year, it's the progression onwards from the lower categories. The Junior WRC, WRC3 and WRC2 categories need a major overhaul to bring back some meaning. Current WRC2 winner Pontus Tidemand has no top-class seat for next season and Nil Solans's rampant win in the Juniors meant very little against some fairly sketchy competition.

But the hype around this year's WRC was extraordinary. The new cars, the open competition, the returning giants. And it lived up to that expectation on every level. Here are the star performers.

10. Hayden Paddon/Dani Sordo

Impossible to choose between these two. Both have struggled terribly for the sort of form that made them winners in the past, but they're on the list because there have been flashes this season.

A handful of fastest times and second overall in Poland was as good as it got for Paddon. For Sordo, the asphalt was disappointing - particularly his early bath at home in Spain - but a pacey Portuguese podium was the highlight of his year.

9. Esapekka Lappi

Such is the importance of Rally Finland to the WRC that it's impossible to compile a list of the season's top 10 drivers and not have the winner in here. Lappi's season didn't start until Portugal, but by the time he got to the final day in Porto he was showing some serious form.

He continued that speed through Sardinia - where he posted his first ever scratch time in a car missing first gear! The highlight of the year was, of course, at home, where he took his maiden WRC win in his rookie season.

8. Craig Breen

It's hard to believe this was Breen's first season with a factory team at the pinnacle of world rallying. He looked like he'd been there for years - a consideration underlined by the fact he was top Citroen driver in the points for most of the season.

Like Meeke, Breen's fortunes were tied to the capricious C3 but, when everything worked, he was able to turn in some superb stage times. On top of that, he kept the car on the island and picked up six top-five finishes. Not bad for a rookie.

7. Andreas Mikkelsen

Left on the bench with only the occasional Skoda Fabia R5 outing to keep him busy at the start of the season, Mikkelsen never lost sight of his goal and, when he was thrown a lifeline by Citroen and then Hyundai, made the most of each opportunity and returned himself to the top of a category that he should never have had to leave in the first place.

Were it not for two punctures, a second consecutive Rally Australia win would have been the perfect way to end his season.

6. Jari-Matti Latvala

Latvala was reckoned to be drinking in the last-chance saloon when he stepped aboard the Yaris WRC, but the Toyota deal has been the making of him. Gone is the look of a forever-number-two, and back is the sort of spark that's been missing for too long.

His Sweden win was superb, but what was more pleasing than anything about his year was his reaction to his Finland retirement: steering-wheel-thumping fury. Save the tears, it's more of this that we need to see. The boy is back.

5. Kris Meeke

Meeke's speed was never in doubt. But his temperament had always been in question. Until now. Like Tanak, there's a degree more calm about Meeke these days and that's showing in the results. He learned some fairly tough lessons this season, but he's emerged a more complete driver.

Taking him out of the car in Poland wasn't the right thing to do: the performance that followed in Finland was easily his worst of the year. But in Spain - like in Mexico and Corsica - he was untouchable.

4. Elfyn Evans

Without a shadow of doubt the most improved driver of the past couple of years. A true gauge of Evans's performance remains slightly confused by him being the sole user of DMACK tyres, but as his M-Sport team-mate Ogier said, you've still got to drive the car. And Evans did that superbly.

His whole approach was different. Finally, he feels like he belongs, which he absolutely does. The pain of missing victory in Argentina by seven tenths was eased by the bliss of a home win.

3. Thierry Neuville

He was the fastest. He led for the longest. He won the most rallies. So what, you might ask, is Neuville doing at number three? Simple. Too many mistakes.

Admittedly, the car wasn't up to the job of making him world champion, but stupid errors, like when he damaged the steering in Sweden, can't happen if you're going to be best in the world.

He was magnificent in Poland and Australia, but shocking in Finland, where he wasted the chance to take a clear lead in the drivers' championship.

2. Ott Tanak

Last year you still didn't know if he could really do it, still didn't completely trust him. Yes, Tanak had the natural ability to be faster than anybody on his day, but it remained a 50:50 gamble if he'd win or stick it in the trees.

This year he came of age and dramatically lessened those odds in favour of finishing first. Somebody flicked a switch in Tanak, and that somebody was his team-mate Ogier.

Following Ogier's lead, Tanak has won twice and become the complete driver. Not to mention a big threat for next year's title.

1. Sebastien Ogier

He wasn't the fastest. He didn't lead for the longest. He didn't win the most rallies. So what, you might ask, is he doing at number one? Simple. Ogier was still the best driver across the spread of the season.

Yes, the pack has closed up considerably, but still he was the best. Points came consistently and wins were there when the opportunity arose, but most importantly the mistakes were kept to an absolute minimum. That is the mark of a champion. And that's why Ogier still tops this table.