[motorsportnerd]

OK, to get things started here is my top ten list of drivers and teams. I do not feel that the result of the Brazilian Grand Prix will change my mind, so I will submit the list now. (NOTE: you cannot change your mind once you've submitted a list).

Drivers:
1. Michael Schumacher, Ferrari. Almost goes without saying. No-one, including his team-mate, got close to him this year. Michael Schumacher's driving this year was peerless, virtually fault free (Monaco and rare spins at Monza and Shanghai excepted) and mostly free of any controversy (again, Monaco excepted). Schumacher seems to have found another gear now that he says hes driving only for the love of the sport. I'd rate this as easily his best ever year in a long and successful career.
2. Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari. Barrichello had easily his best year as well, but that in itself is not the reason I rate him second. After all, Michael Schumacher ran rings around him all year. Rather, I rate Rubens second because he had to actually drive the Ferrari much harder than previous years to stay ahead of BAR and Renault. The Ferrari was not as good a package overall as the BAR or Renault, the fact that Rubens battled with Button and Alonso more often than not attests to that. Rubens worked hard for his two wins, qualified well and his season was generally mistake free.
3. Jenson Button, BAR. I found it hard to separate the next three drivers. Button gets the nod over Alonso and Raikkonen for me. Button has been stunning this year. The most consistent podium scorer after Schumacher. He's been quick in qualifying and smooth and consistent in the races. Its his consistency that makes him number three for me. Any doubts that may have lingered about Button's driving ability were put to rest with what was undoubtedly the most outstanding drive of the season at the German Grand Prix.
4. Fernando Alonso, Renault. A brilliant first half of the year let down by a lack of consistency in the second half. That lack of consistency is partly down to the Renault team dropping the ball, but I got that feeling that Fernando has lost interest a little in the last couple of races.
5.Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren. This will be controversial, as I suspect that most other UCP members will rate Kimi higher. Certainly, there is no doubt that Kimi is the most talented driver out there after Michael Schumacher. However, when faced with a car that was less than his talents, he seemed to give up too easily. In situations where Coulthard plodded along for a finish, Raikkonen seemed to lose interest and give up. Champion drivers need to make the best of bad cars and need to motivate the team. We saw Michael Schumacher do this in his first year with Ferrari during 1996 when they had a dreadful car. Raikkonen's win a Spa confirms his talent. It was one of the best drives of the year. His Silverstone drive was equally good. However, all top drivers will be faced with a bad car a some stage. Raikkonen got his bad car this year, and didn't make as much of it as Schumacher did with the 1996 Ferrari.
6. Juan Pablo Montoya, Willaims. Just as it was hard to separate 3rd to 5th, the next three drivers are also hard to split. Montoya showed his talent on occasions this year - the US Grand Prix being the most notable. (edit post Brazilain GP - his performance in the Brazilian Grand Prix was by far his best of the year) He also once again showed that it is possible to pass other drivers for position in a modern F1 car. However, even allowing for the disappointment that was this years Williams, he was rather inconsistent and too prone to dummy spits and blaming others for his mistakes. You could never call Juan boring though.
7. Mark Webber, Jaguar. A couple of brilliant drives (Bahrain and Germany the most notable) and two brilliant qualifying performances at Malaysia and Japan help Webber to my number seven spot. His performances in a car not worthy of his talents are outstanding. Kimi Raikkonen would do well to note Mark's professionalism when faced with a less than perfect car. Mark didn't spit the dummy, rather he did his best to motivate the Jaguar team to do better. A couple of mistakes, particularly at Spa (and Brazil), spoilt his year a little, but there is no doubt that he'll be up there with Williams next year.
8. Jarno Trulli, Renault. His Monaco and Japan drives show he has what it takes. Also, he was hardly embarrased by having Alonso as his team-mate. Trulli kept Alonso honest, and in doing so improved his own stock. Let down once again this year by falling asleep on the job. Giving up a certain podium to Rubens at France was his worst error of the year by far.
9. Takuma Sato, BAR. A top drive in Bahrain, and some brilliant overtaking manoeuvres put Sato in my top ten. He's a little inconsistent still, makes silly errors (not pulling over safely at Monaco was the worst) and seemingly is a little hard on his engines. But there is no doubting his speed, talent or courage.
10. Giancarlo Fisichella, Sauber. Generally showed up the highly rated Massa, scored some solid points finishes for Sauber and qualified well, which is enough to put him in the top 10 ahead of Heidfield and Massa. A consistent, solid years work, which earned him the Renault drive for next year.

Teams:
1. Ferrari. I do not feel that Ferrari had the best car during the year - that honour goes to BAR and Renault. Ferrari did, however, have the best tyres and that brilliant strategist Ross Brawn. Also, both drivers were at the top of their game, and yet again, everything clicked into place. Goes to show that the best team and the best drivers don't necessarily need the best chassis to win the championship.
2. BAR. The biggest improver of the year by far. This year BAR had probably the best car in the field. They were let down a little by the Michelin tyres. But a combination of Dave Richards, Jenson Button and Takuma Sato brought results. Let down a little by the messy saga involving Button, but it is to the credit of both the team and the driver that they continued to score results.
3. Renault. Along with the BAR, probably the best car out there. Also let down by the Michelins. The Renaults had a very sweet chassis and the launch control could be guaranteed to gain them positions of the start. A brilliant Monaco result was the reward. However, the spat between Briatore and Trulli helped the team lose track a little. The fight for second could have been much closer.
4= Williams. A disappointment. Should've been fighting for the constructors title. The 04 Williams never seemed to work properly and strategic errors such as the one which cost the team a podium in Canada and a certain second in the US about sums up their year. And two unhappy drivers didn't help.
4= McLaren. Also a disappointment. The car never worked properly. The team didn't seem the cohesive unit of past years. The drivers were often unhappy. A fine win at Spa is a reward for Raikkonen's talent, but the year should have had so much more.
6 Sauber. A solid, consistent year, with a points haul that gains them sixth in the constructors title. Should continue this with Villenueve next year.
7. Jaguar. Rated ahead of Toyota, because they achieved more with less. It'll be sad to see them go, but unless the team's buyer brings a lot more funds, it will remain a team which will struggle to keep talented drivers like Webber.
8. Jordan. The car seemed quick at times, but they desperately needed money to develop it.
9. Minardi. A well deserved 8th in the US Grand Prix is a fine reward for the effort put in on a very small budget.
10. Toyota. Should have achieved more with the money they had. Poor effort. I'm rating them last just because they didn't achieve as much as Jaguar and barely more than Jordan or Minardi for their years work despite a budget estimated to rival that of Ferraris.

That's my list, and my reasons for the ratings. Now lets see everyone elses and we'll then tally it all up for an overall top 10 drivers and teams list.