1) Lewis Hamilton
In his second season with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team, Lewis Hamilton was the dominant driver of 2014 and after eleven race victories took his second Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship, finishing ahead of team-mate and main rival Nico Rosberg by 67 points.
It was nothing less than the Briton deserved, and when he finished was always on the podium. The only times he wasn’t seen there was when he retired, which happened three times, twice due to mechanical issues and the third at Spa-Francorchamps when he decided to retire close to the end of the race when his chances of scoring points had gone.
His early retirement in Australia was followed by a run of four consecutive race wins in Malaysia, Bahrain, China and Spain, each time finishing just ahead of team-mate Rosberg. In Monaco he was forced to finish behind Rosberg, and then took his second retirement in Canada when his brakes failed after an MGU-K failure. Another runners-up spot followed in Austria after recovering from a ninth place grid slot after spinning during the final part of qualifying.
A win in front of his home fans at Silverstone was well appreciated, but it was his races at Hockenheim and the Hungaroring that stand out, even if he would only finish third both times. In both instances, he had troubled qualifying sessions; in Germany his brakes failed and in Hungary his car caught fire, resulting in two very lowly grid slots. Despite these issues, he fought superbly onto the podium in both races.
His race in Belgium was what Hamilton described as the turning point of the season, even if his race was compromised early after suffering a puncture when Rosberg clipped his rear wheel on the second lap of the race. Hamilton was virtually untouchable afterwards, winning six of the final seven races to clinch the title. He also became the British driver with the most wins in Formula 1 history, when he took the win in Austin, overtaking Nigel Mansell’s previous record of 31 race wins.
Hamilton will now head into the 2015 season with his confidence high and with a third World Drivers’ Championship in his sights to match his idol Ayrton Senna’s record. He will remain with the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS team, and will once again want to defeat Rosberg.
