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"By some order of magnitude the best driver line-up in Formula One," cooed McLaren ceo Ron Dennis at this morning’s unveiling of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button . Now all he has to do is to produce a car worthy of it. Easier said than done.
The return to the sport of Honda will give McLaren notional grunt but dyno muscle, though necessary, is rarely sufficient in this game. McLaren need to hook the complete design package together to prosper. The performance advantage at Mercedes represents hard yards to close.
At least McLaren start 2015 with serious cockpit credibility. A combined three world titles and 47 race wins suggest opportunities will be taken if offered.
Show all 22 1 /22F1 2014 championship driver ratings F1 2014 championship driver ratings Lewis Hamilton – 9 The two-time world champion deserved every bit of his success in 2014, in which he showed he was the faster driver in the battle with Nico Rosberg. Had he not made the error in Brazil that allowed Rosberg to take victory, it could well have been a perfect 10 for Hamilton.
F1 2014 championship driver ratings Nico Rosberg – 8 Rosberg pushed his team-mate all the way but ultimately who had no answer to Hamilton’s sheer speed when it was a straight dog-fight between the two. The mechanical failure in Abu Dhabi robbed him of any hope of winning the title, but it would’ve been unlikely that he could have passed the eventual champion anyway.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Sebastian Vettel - 5 Who’d have thought the four time world champion would not win a single race this season? Perhaps that’s not so bad given Mercedes dominated the season, but his new team-mate Ricciardo won three times, and simply it’s been a case of not good enough from Seb. He’ll hope the grass is greener at Ferrari next season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Daniel Ricciardo - 9 A world champion in the making, Ricciardo has shown that he is both hugely talented and one of the nicest guys on the grid. He was rewarded for his excellent drives with three victories in Canada, Hungary and Belgium, and he fully warrants his third place in the Drivers’ Championship.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Fernando Alonso - 6 The Spaniard may have endured a difficult year with Ferrari which has led to his exit, but in his eyes he has put in some of his best drives this season. He dominated his team-mate, the 2007 world champion, and he can still be pleased with a number of his performances this season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Kimi Raikkonen - 3 What happened to the Flying Finn of last season at Lotus? Raikkonen has not performed well at all since his return to Ferrari, and there’s a strong case to drop him to have been dropped for next year – though he will partner Vettel next year. A season-best of fourth in Spa is the anomaly of a poor season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Felipe Massa - 7 His career could have been over when he left Ferrari last season, but the Williams team rewarded his determination to remain in F1 with a massively fast car. Two third-place finishes – the best in Brazil in front of his home fans – made up for a few retirements and nasty crashes, though they weren’t of his doing.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Valterri Bottas - 7 One more podium finish than his team-mate and just one retirement all season has capped a breakthrough year for Bottas. The Finn is showing why he is rated so highly and he has a phenomenally calm head on his shoulders. His drive in Austria was a particular highlight.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Jenson Button - 6 Somehow under the radar Button has performed admirably in a car that has not been up to scratch this season. Button has out-performed Magnussen in the Drivers’ Championship and started with a bang as he secured third in Australia, and a strong end to the season could still see him remain for 2015.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Kevin Magnussen - 6 Moments of sheer braveness and incredibility have been hindered by errors and rashness, and a number of penalties this season have ended up costing Magnussen. Like Button, he amazed by finishing second in Melbourne, but has managed no better than fifth since then.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Sergio Perez - 4 Inconsistency has seen Perez finish up and down the field, with a third place in Bahrain helping him forget the fact that he didn’t even start in Malaysia due to reliability failure.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Nico Hulkenberg - 5 Big things were expected from Hulkenberg after last season’s performances despite missing out on a so-called ‘big team’ but hasn’t been as outstanding as we’ve come to expect. Consistently inside the top-10, Hulkenberg will still be in the Force India next year.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Jean-Eric Vergne - 4 Five retirements in the first eight races looked to pave the way for Vergne’s exit, but Kvyat’s move to Red Bull could yet allow the Frenchman a second chance in F1. A season-best of sixth in Singapore was the best of a poor season.
F1 2014 championship driver ratings Danil Kvyat - 4 The young Russian has shown that he has what it takes to make it in F1, but too many times this season he’s fallen away and finished outside the top 10. Only three times this season did he finish inside the top 10, which hasn’t been good enough.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Adrian Sutil - 2 A dismal year for Sauber looks to have confirmed the end of Sutil’s time in F1. He hasn’t scored a point and has already been confirmed as leaving Sauber, and he’s unlikely to be picked up again before the start of next season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Esteban Gutierrez - 2 A year to forget for the Mexican who will also be leaving Sauber this year. He remains confident of securing another drive for next season, but it certainly won’t be based on results this season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Romain Grosjean - 3 Let’s not take too much from Grosjean’s results, as the Lotus has simply been awful this season. He’s asserted himself as the lead driver in the team following Raikkonen’s exit, and he’ll hope for much better fortunes next season having confirmed his stay witht he team.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Pastor Maldonado - 1 Where do you start with him? If he’s not crashing, he’s being penalised by the stewards for reckless driving. At times he’s even been running behind the Caterhams and Marussias which simply isn’t acceptable for Lotus. Finally scored a first point of the season in the United States.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Jules Bianchi - 5 It would be easy to bump up his rating due after the tragedy of his crash in Japan, but the fact is that Bianchi has impressed everyone this season. His drive in Monaco to score Marussia’s first ever point will go down in F1 history, and he looked nailed on for a future Ferrari drive. Here’s hoping he makes a recovery from his serious injuries.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Max Chilton - 2 Chilton’s efforts in finishing every race he started finally came to an end in Canada, but he was consistently out-performed by Bianchi. Marussia’s absence from the grid towards the end of the season looks to have ended his time in F1.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Kamui Kobayashi - 2 A strange season saw Kobayashi somewhat surprisingly recalled to Caterham, but financial problems meant he lost his drive in Monza only to return for the next race. Two 13th place finishes represents Caterham’s best finishes this season.
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F1 2014 championship driver ratings Marcus Ericcson - 1 He has structured a move to Sauber for next season and severed ties with Caterham before their return in Abu Dhabi. A tough year, but he’ll get another chance to impress next term.
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Despite the disappointment suffered at Ferrari, Alonso’s reputation, as arguably the most complete driver on the grid, remains intact. And in the right circumstances Button, too, has few equals.
Ross Brawn, in whose car Button won the 2009 world championship, put him in the same bracket as Michael Schumacher behind the wheel of a winning car. Praise indeed.
Ron Dennis and Eric Boullier (Getty Images) Dennis will not settle for second best. His return to the helm at the expense of his protégé, Martin Whitmarsh, is the truly significant development at Woking.
The first Honda-McLaren partnership was the most prolific in Formula One. None expects to reprise the glory years of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost tomorrow, but the day after is another story.
Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost (Getty Images) Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button will drive for McLaren next season (Getty Images) 'Second is the first of the losers' was always the Dennis mantra. Winning is not an option at McLaren, it’s an obligation. Welcome back.
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