North American International Auto Show

Kimi Raikkonen at number one; we can’t argue with that, nor with the two that follow, rookie stunner Lewis Hamilton, and former world champion Fernando Alonso.

Those three were the cream of the Formula One crop in 2007.

Compiling such a list from diverse theatres of motor sport is not easy. But, boy, some of the ranking in Autosport magazine’s top 50 drivers of the year are absurd, if not reeking of some hefty British bias.

Fourth and fifth in the top 50 were a couple of worthy rally aces, but bizarrely Autosport placed the now-retired Marcus Gronholm ahead of Sebastien Loeb. So let’s get this right… Loeb, the freak who has won the last four rally championships, including the latest, is not as good as the Finn who metaphorically shot off his foot in Ireland?

Oh, Loeb is French… that may explain it.

At number six is Jenson Button, the driver who spent most of 2007 in the back half of the F1 field, admittedly handicapped by a slow Honda. But number six. Come on lads…


Next are two American-based open wheel drivers, new IRL champion and Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti (seventh), and Aussie-born Kiwi Scott Dixon (eighth).
Good drivers both, but are they better than many of the names behind them in the Autosport list? The IRL grid is hardly brimming with stellar drivers. Both have been tested by F1 teams in the past, without impressing.

Mark Webber comes in at number nine after a tough season at Red Bull. He might be lower than Franchitti and Dixon in the Autosport rankings but is above fellow F1ers Nick Heidfeld, Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica.

Webber’s ranking was higher than his finishing position -12th - in the Formula One world drivers’ championship and suggests he did a exception job with a car incapable of winning races.

Webber is rated so highly because, says Autosport, six times this year he beat teammate David Coulthard by at least six places, and four times he was among the top six on the grid. That’s great stuff in that Red Bull car, but Webber’s points’ haul this year was not the stuff of legend, and motor racing is a result-based business. Coulthard made the list at number 29.


Losing more credibility, Autosport includes two imposters from the F1 class of ‘07, Jarno Trulli at 17th and Giancarlo Fisichella 18th. Maybe they looked nice in their shiny overalls.

The list was subjective and determined by the Autosport panel. The magazine says it took into consideration factors such as consistent level of performance attained, the competitiveness of the equipment at the drivers' disposal, and the overall competitiveness of the championship.

Impossible to justify is the Brits putting oval racers Franchitti and Dixon so high and yet only placing two-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson at 20.

Johnson is spoken of in hushed tones in NASCAR racing. He won 10 Cup races this year, including four in a row at the business end of the season. Maybe Autosport doesn’t quite understand the depth of competition in NASCAR and the skill in drafting among 40 cars at 300km/h.

You would struggle to find many people in the US who wouldn’t place Johnson above any of the US-based open wheeler drivers. He’d be in my top 10.

No driver racing in an Australian series cracked a place in the top 50. No Garth Tander, Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, Rick Kelly, Mark Skaife or Simon Evans.

Autosport Top 50 drivers for 2007:

50. Alex Lloyd - Indy Pro Series winner
49. Fabrizio Giovanardi - BTCC champ
48. Jari-Matti Latvala - 8th in WRC
47. Anthony Davidson - 23rd in F1
46. Marko Asmer - British F3 champ
45. Yvan Muller - 2nd in WTCC
44. Oliver Jarvis - Macau GP winner, 3rd in Japanese F3
43. Justin Wilson - 2nd in CCWS
42. Sam Hornish Jr - 5th in IRL
41. Nico Hulkenberg - Masters of F3 winner, 3rd in Euro F3
40. Mattias Ekstrom - DTM champ
39. Adrian Sutil - 19th in F1
38. Romain Grosjean - Euro F3 champ
37. Giorgio Pantano - 3rd in GP2
36. Matt Kenseth - 4th in NASCAR
35. James Thompson - 3rd in WTCC
34. Paul Di Resta - 5th in DTM
33. Nicolas Minassian - 3rd in LMS
32. Vitantonio Liuzzi - 18th in F1
31. Bruno Spengler - 2nd in DTM
30. Helio Castroneves - 6th in IRL
29. David Coulthard - 10th in F1
28. Timo Glock - GP2 champion
27. Rubens Barrichello - 20th in F1
26. Allan McNish - 1st in ALMS
25. Jeff Gordon - 2nd in NASCAR
24. Romain Dumas - 1st in ALMS
23. Sebastien Bourdais - CCWS champ
22. Sebastian Vettel - 14th in F1
21. Alain Menu - 6th in WTCC
20. Jimmie Johnson - NASCAR champion
19. Mikko Hirvonen - 3rd in WRC
18. Giancarlo Fisichella - 8th in F1
17. Jarno Trulli - 13th in F1
16. Tony Kanaan - 3rd in IRL
15. Andy Priaulx - WTCC champion
14. Nico Rosberg - 9th in F1
13. Heikki Kovalainen - 7th in F1
12. Robert Kubica - 6th in F1
11. Felipe Massa - 4th in F1
10. Nick Heidfeld - 5th in F1
9. Mark Webber - 12th in F1
8. Scott Dixon - 2nd in IRL
7. Dario Franchitti – IRL champ, Indy 500 winner
6. Jenson Button - 15th in F1
5. Sebastien Loeb – World rally champion
4. Marcus Gronholm - 2nd in WRC
3. Fernando Alonso - 3rd in F1
2. Lewis Hamilton - F1 runner up
1. Kimi Raikkonen - F1 world drivers’ champion