Drivers of the decade

Can you believe 10 years have come and gone oh so quickly? 10 years. We started the decade all full of hope and joy, didn’t know what an iPod was and twitter was what your Nan and your Aunt did (see how concise I melded ten years of human endeavour and technological development into a small paragraph? I rule!) and F1 was going through a golden age. Well, it seems looking at 2010’s list, it’s about to enter another one, but as the decade’s coming to an end, it’s time to reflect and look at the drivers of the decade. Or I should say, my drivers of the decade…

10) Juan Pablo Montoya
Fat, Lazy and very insane – Monty was a breath of fresh air when he arrived in F1. He came on the back of two CART championships and proceeded to rough up all of the front runners almost instantaneously. Although, like most geniuses, he was flawed and after signing for McLaren went into meltdown and cleared off to eat hot dogs in NASCAR.

9) David Coulthard
Not just a square-jawed Scott who argues with Eddie Jordan on the TV, Coulthard was a mean driver in his time. Spending most of the decade as Hakkinen’s wingman in the McLaren team, he was overshadowed by his enigmatic team mate and a McLaren that was sometimes a bit rubs. With a bit of an ability to wilt under pressure, it was a shame he never got the plaudits that he deserved. Quite funny though.

8) Rubens Barrichello
The first one that’s still racing! With the whole beard or no beard and comb over thing going on, Barrichello is the stalwart of the F1 grid, and, with no dominating team mate, proved that he’s still got it andwith a Williams drive, will be around for a few years yet…

7) Kimi Rakkionen
Could he be the only driver to win F1 and World Rally Championships? No. Because has is as lazy as he is monosyllabic. The Anthony Gobert of the F1 world, Kimi is as famed for his partying as is for his talent. If he focused a bit more on racing and not on moaning about his pay packet, eating ice lollies and looking glum, he could well have challenged The Chin for greatness. But he hasn’t. I wouldn’t feel that sorry for him though, he’s a Formula 1 Champion, got millions and millions of pounds and can wear funny hats. It’s a tough life.

6) Jacques Villeneuve
Are you sure? Yes, think I am actually. Villeneuve burst onto the scene in the late 1990s. Looking more like a chartered account, the son of one of the very, very best challenged eyebrows Hill in his very first year and took the title in the next. He then (are you reading this Lewis) made a few mistakes in his choice of career (can you remember the awful Bar with the terrible paint scheme?) and failed into obscurity. He did take no rubbish from Schumacher and did produce moment of genius and did have crazy hair in a time when everyone was supposed to toe the line. And more fun that that – he may be back in 2010.

5) Alex Zanardi
Well, he wasn’t much of a success in Formula 1 from 2000 – 2009 but he is an inspiration to anyone and everyone on the planet. Another top CART driver, Zanardi came to F1 with Williams in 1999 and didn’t go much. So, in 2000 went back to CART and continued in 2001. In Germany, on September 15th 2001 he crashed exiting the pits and hit a fellow competitor. Critically injured, he lost both his legs and almost his life. But, Zanardi survived and using prosthetic limbs, returned to car racing in 2004  in the World Touring Car Championship, winning 5 races. When he won his first race ironically in Germany, even Andy Prilaux, his fierce competitor said he couldn’t help but shed tears of joy.
Zanardi continued to race until the end of 2009 winning a race in Brno. He’s now retired from car racing and is turning his attention to hand cycling where he intends to race in the Olympics in 2012. A brilliant and inspiring man.

4) Lewis Hamilton
Yay! Another Brit! Lewis Hamilton, love him or loathe him (and as he’s successful, good looking, a liar and going out with a Pussycat Doll, there’s a lot to hate about him) there’s no doubt that he’s dripping with talent and is fast as anything. Runner-up in his first year (just!) and winner in an amazing finale just 12 months later, he’s one of the fastest drivers on the current F1 grid.
With a rubbish car this year, he was not in the battle at the start of the season, but after recovering from lying, Hamilton burst into action, with some truly remarkable drives. If he keeps going, I’m sure he’s going to be F1 Champion again.

3) Fernando Alonso
The only man to beat Schumacher with equal machinery?  Yes. But probably Flavio cheated with some sort of nitrous injection and oil slick stuff or something. He endured a torrid time after winning two titles and jumping ship to McLaren, but has always proved that he’s the quickest driver out there, as he has been probably for half the decade.

2) Mika Hakkinen
Before Alonso there was Hakkinen. Bubbly compared to other Finns, Hakkinen was the world champion when the decade started, and pushed Schumacher harder than any Brit would want to do. He was so fast that Schumey even said that the battles he had with Mika were probably the best he ever had. Which is a compliment.

1) Michael Schumacher
Well, who else, really? I do hope he comes back for 2010

So, do you like my list? I bet you don’t! Why not let me know who you think should be in the top 10…