F1 2016 driver ratings: Nico Rosberg and Max Verstappen lead the way as Lewis Hamilton's loss of focus costs him dear

Man-for-man marking from the 2016 Formula One season after Nico Rosberg secures his maiden title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Jack de Menezes

Monday 28 November 2016 16:42 GMT

F1 2016 driver ratings

Show all 23

1/23F1 2016 driver ratings

F1 2016 driver ratings

Nico Rosberg – 9 out of 10

After losing two consecutive title battles to his Mercedes teammate, even Nico Rosberg appeared to doubt Nico Rosberg last February. The fact he bounced back to triumph is great testament to his character and determination. Standout drives in Azerbaijan, Italy, Singapore and Japan were reinforced by his tremendous recovery to third in Malaysia. The only negative is he still hasn’t convinced anyone that he’s more talented than Hamilton.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Lewis Hamilton – 8 out of 10

Reliability issues and grid penalties. The story of 2016 for Lewis Hamilton, but he‘s guilty of taking his eye off the ball too. Rosberg had no right to get back into the title fight after the summer break, but Hamilton was no longer the mighty force we’ve come to expect and allowed off-the-track distractions to impact his cause. Malaysia’s engine blow-up was pivotal in the title battle and ended up with him accusing his own team of sabotage, but the dropped points in Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Singapore also cost him dearly.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Daniel Ricciardo – 9 out of 10

After a baron 2015, it was a delight to see the Ricciardo smile back on the top step of the podium in Malaysia – and introducing the ‘shooey’ to boot. He cruelly had victory snatched away from him by his team twice in Spain and Monaco. Faced a fresh challenge when Verstappen stepped up, but more often than not kept him at bay.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Max Verstappen – 9 out of 10

Lit up the season with his breath-taking drives through the field. Stunned the world when he won in his very first drive for Red Bull in Spain, but it will be his drive from 16th to third in the atrocious conditions in Brazil that will go down in history. Clashed with Vettel and Raikkonen and his defensive driving has been under scrutiny. But he has the talent to win multiple world championships, now he just needs the car. Red Bull may just deliver that in 2017.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Sebastian Vettel – 7 out of 10

Seven podium finishes fell like short change from a Ferrari that was tipped to challenge Mercedes in pre-season, but the fact is that Vettel has been ringing a lot out of what has proven a really poor car. Consistently out-drove Raikkonen, and will hope to get back on top of the rostrum in 2017.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Kimi Raikkonen – 6 out of 10

Showed signs of the old Kimi in the first half of the season with plenty of smart strategies that brought him into podium contention. Tailed off as the season wore on though, and looked to be somewhat affected by his battle with Verstappen.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Sergio Perez – 7 out of 10

His two impressive third-place finishes came in Monaco and Azerbaijan, but it was his consistency over the second half of the season that really stood out and secured him seventh in the standings. Reeled off 10 straight top 10 finishes to consolidate his position as Force India’s No 1.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Nico Hulkenberg – 6 out of 10

You do wonder if he will ever reach his true potential. Linked with a move to replace Raikkonen at one point, he will now start 2017 at Renault. They may be a manufacturer, but are they where the German should be at the peak of his career?

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Valterri Bottas – 6 out of 10

Kept his head as chaos unfolded around him to take an impressive podium finish in Canada, but his performances tailed off as the season wore on and he ended 2016 with a whimper, struggling to 11th in Brazil before retiring after a handful of laps in Abu Dhabi.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Felipe Massa – 5 out of 10

Perhaps he took his eye off the ball after announcing his retirement at the end of the season, but his performances through the latter stages tended to result in either retirement or a mid-field finish. Highlight performances in Melbourne and Sochi hinted to a better farewell, though he deserved every second of his emotional send-off in Brazil.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Fernando Alonso – 7 out of 10

The Spaniard showed his class on a number of occasions in a McLaren that is still not up to scratch. Saw off Jenson Button in the battle of the veteran world champions, and after starting his season upside-down in Melbourne in a frightening accident, he recorded two fifth-place finishes and nine points-scoring results to stand out from the rest.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Jenson Button – 5 out of 10

A sixth place in Austria is as good as it got, but some may argue it was one year too many for JB, and they might be right. With Alonso scoring more than double the points Button managed and Stoffel Vandoorne waiting in the wings, he disappointed this season though that wasn’t through a lack of trying. Still one of the most popular figures in the paddock, he’ll be missed.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Carlos Sainz – 7 out of 10

Enjoyed a tremendous start to the season with regular points-scoring finishes, and showed his undoubted talent with three sixth-place finishes. Sainz also demonstrated a good understanding of the Pirelli tyres as he excelled on long runs, and a place in the senior Red Bull team may not be as far off as it looks.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Daniil Kvyat – 3 out of 10

What started at Red Bull ended with Kvyat riding a bicycle back to the paddock in Abu Dhabi. It may seem like a distant memory but Kvyat actually finished on the podium back in China in his penultimate Red Bull outing, though once he was ousted by Verstappen he managed to take just four more points throughout the season. Lucky to keep his place at Toro Rosso.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Romain Grosjean – 6 out of 10

Looked like he could be one of the surprises of the season with the newly-formed Hass F1 team, as the American outfit scored points in their very first F1 race. The season started to become a struggle as it wore on though as the Frenchman’s car suffered repeatedly from brake issues, but he still demonstrated that he had raw pace when everything clicked.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Esteban Gutierrez – 2 out of 10

While Grosjean impressed with 29 points, Gutierrez was nothing short of terrible this season and managed to finish the year as one of only two full-time drivers without a point. He also faced the fury of the front-runners who were less than impressed with his reactions to blue flags, and his angry reaction to being dropped by Haas was a rather damning indication of his character. Doesn’t deserve a 2017 seat at Manor.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Kevin Magnussen – 4 out of 10

Billed as the unbeatable teammate at Renault, the Dane is leaving after just one year. Outscored Jolyon Palmer with an assured drive in Russia and also used the Renault’s strong technical aspects to score points in Singapore. Off to Haas next year, which may be a wise move for him.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Jolyon Palmer – 4 out of 10

Turned around a difficult year to record a string of impressive drives in the second half of the season to out-perform Magnussen. History shows he gets better the longer he spends in a certain formula, but he’ll have his work cut out next year when Hulkenberg comes to town.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Felipe Nasr – 4 out of 10

He struggled this season, but delivered the goods when it mattered most to score two crucial points for Sauber that lifted them above Manor in the Constructors’ Championship. Deserves another shot, and while his projected deal with Sauber has been held up, it should get over the line before 2017.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Marcus Ericsson – 3 out of 10

A dismal run through the middle of the season saw Nasr fight back in their head-to-head battle, and it was his fault when the pair collided at Monaco in a moment to forget. The only other driver not to score despite competing in every grand prix.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Pascal Wehrlein – 4 out of 10

It’s almost F1 law that the Manor should be at the back of the field, so it was a delight to see Wehrlein take tenth and claim a point in Austria. He showed signs of why Mercedes rate him so highly with a second standout performance in Bahrain.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Esteban Ocon – 5 out of 10

Came in for the Belgium Grand Prix and instantly provided more competition for Wehrlein, and if you count their retirements, he won the inter-team battle 7-2. Has secured himself a role at Force India next year, which isn’t too shabby at all.

Getty

F1 2016 driver ratings

Rio Haryanto – 1 out of 10

Remember him? His F1 spell lasted all of 12 races where he secured a best finish of 15th. Don’t expect him back any time soon.

Getty

The 2016 Formula One season came to a thrilling close in Abu Dhabi as Nico Rosberg won his first world championship after finally getting the better of his long-time rival and teammate Lewis Hamilton, despite the outgoing champion winning a fourth consecutive Grand prix.

In the end, the pair were separated by just five points and, had things played out differently in one or two races, it could have been a hugely different story. Hamilton outscored Rosberg 10 wins to nine, but the German was more consistent as he avoided the reliability troubles that hit Hamilton throughout the season, made the better starts and rarely missed out on the podium even when things weren't going his way.

Hamilton fought back from a 43-point deficit to lead the championship by 19 points at the summer break, but he was guilty of losing his focus as the second half of the campaign kicked off and a devastating engine failure while leading the Malaysian Grand Prix ultimately cost him dear.

Away from the Mercedes duo, both Red Bul drivers secured popular victories, with star of the season Max Verstappen producing a stunning display to win the Spanish Grand Prix in his first weekend after moving up from the Toro Rosso side to replace Daniil Kvyat - dropped for repeated clashes with Sebastian Vettel. The win for Verstappen came at the cost of his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, who was robbed of wins in Barcelona and Monte Carlo, but his time would come when he capitalised on Hamilton's misfortune to triumph in Malaysia.

This weekend's Grand Prix brought to an end a rollercoaster season that went right down to the final lap of the final race.

With that in mind, click on our gallery above to see how the drivers ranked this season.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies