Regular readers of this blog will likely be aware that I produce a list of my top 10 Formula One drivers at the end of each season, but this year I have opted to do things a little differently.
As well as providing an authoritative take on the top 10 drivers of the F1 season, AUTOSPORT magazine also offers a list of the 50 best drivers across all of motorsport at the end of each year - my own version of which can be seen below.
The list incorporates drivers from F1, rallying, endurance racing, touring cars, US Racing and the junior formulae, taking into account not only the drivers' performances but also the quality of machinery at their disposal and the stiffness of the opposition they encountered in their particular championship.
For those wanting to know my F1 top ten, fear not - they can all be found below among their lesser-celebrated counterparts from elsewhere in motorsport. I have deliberately chosen not to include Jules Bianchi, who remains in a serious condition in hospital as of the time of writing, but suffice it to say that the young Frenchman definitely would have featured had he completed the season.
50. Joao Paulo de Oliveira (BR, 2nd in Super Formula)
The Japanese-based Super Formula series is one of the best kept secrets in motorsport, and Brazil's de Oliveira has been one of its leading protagonists for some years now. He finished runner-up to Kazuki Nakajima in this year's standings with three victories to his name, although it could have been a very different story had he not spun away a commanding lead in difficult conditions at Fuji.
49. Robert Wickens (CDN, 12th in DTM)
Wickens' third DTM campaign wasn't particularly impressive on paper, but the stats belie the fact that the Canadian was often the quickest of the Mercedes contingent, something that his poles at the Norisring and the Red Bull Ring stand testament to. He won at the former, and would have also triumphed at the latter without his rather contentious disqualification for an unsafe pitstop release.
48. Pierre Gasly (F, 2nd in Formula Renault 3.5)
Although he failed to win a race in his maiden year in Formula Renault 3.5, Red Bull junior Gasly proved a remarkably consistent performer, making no less than eight trips to the podium across the year. That he was considered a contender for the Toro Rosso seat alongside Max Verstappen despite his inexperience shows the high regard in which the young Frenchman is held by his paymasters.
47. Nico Hulkenberg (D, 9th in F1)
Unfortunate to miss out on a Ferrari drive to Kimi Raikkonen last year, it would be fair to say that Hulkenberg's stock has dipped slightly following a season best described as solid but unspectacular. At his best early in the year, scoring in all but four races was a laudable achievement by the German, but there were days when his lesser heralded team-mate Sergio Perez held a decisive edge over him.
46. Ryan Hunter-Reay (US, 6th in IndyCar and Indy 500 winner)
2014 was hardly the strongest campaign ever strung together by Hunter-Reay, but no-one else besides series champion Will Power could match his tally of three wins. But, while his victories at Barber and Iowa were impressive, it was the way he that he held off the challenge of Helio Castroneves to join the illustrious ranks of Indy 500 winners that earns the American a place on this list.
45. Kris Meeke (GB, 7th in World Rally)
Signing Meeke to a full-time works drive was undoubtedly a risk on Citroen's part, and the Ulsterman certainly suffered more accidents than he or his employers would have liked. But he was often the only non-Volkswagen driver to trouble the German cars on pure pace, his points tally failing to do justice to the way he outshone team-mate Mads Ostberg in the latter half of the year.
44. Colin Turkington (GB, British Touring Car Champion)
He may have had the best car, but Turkington used his West Surrey Racing BMW to devastating effect, with double wins at Oulton Park, Croft and Rockingham helping to propel him to a thoroughly deserved second BTCC title. It would be fascinating to see how the 32-year-old would fare against tougher opposition overseas if WSR are unable to hang on to him for 2015.
43. Romain Grosjean (F, 14th in F1)
After getting used to standing on the podium regularly late last season, Lotus's fall from grace must have been a bitter pill for Grosjean to swallow. Despite letting his frustration get the better of him on occasion, the Frenchman deserves credit for the way he dominated team-mate Pastor Maldonado, his performance at Barcelona, where he qualified fifth and finished eighth, standing out in particular.
42. Alex Lynn (GB, GP3 Champion)
While his predecessor as GP3 champion, fellow Red Bull youngster Daniil Kvyat, came on strong towards the end of the year after a limp start to secure last year's crown, Lynn was imperious early on before fading somewhat as the season progressed. Perhaps that explains why the Brit was passed up for a Toro Rosso F1 seat, but 2014 remains a season that Lynn can look back on with satisfaction.
41. Gianmaria Bruni (I, World Endurance GTE Pro Champion)
A stellar performance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was the bedrock of another consistent campaign by Bruni, who has established himself as one of the world's leading GT drivers with his exploits behind the wheel of the factory Ferrari 458. Four WEC wins and as many poles for the Italian and his co-driver Toni Vilander was a record no other driver pairing in the class could touch.
40. Dean Stoneman (GB, 2nd in GP3)
It might seem odd to place him two places higher than series champion Lynn, but the way Stoneman performed in the closing stages of the year once he switched to the Koiranen GP team served to take some of the sheen off his compatriot's achievements. The fact the 23-year-old was fighting testicular cancer only two years ago makes his feats all the more impressive.
39. Scott McLaughlin (NZ, 5th in V8 Supercars)
In only his second year of V8 Supercars competition, McLaughlin has firmly marked himself out as the category's next superstar with his searing pace in the all-new Garry Rogers-run Volvo contender. Four wins, including a double at Phillip Island, is pretty good going by any standards, but it was in qualifying where the young Kiwi really shone, taking no fewer than 10 pole positions.
38. Oliver Rowland (GB, 4th in Formula Renault 3.5)
His title assault may have been stymied by technical gremlins of various kinds during the year, but there was no denying Rowland's obvious class in his first season of Formula Renault 3.5. Two dominant victories at Aragon and Jerez stand as the main evidence of this, while three pole positions also helped to identify the RSF-backed driver as a potential star of the future.
37. Kazuki Nakajima (J, 8th in World Endurance and Super Formula Champion)
Nakajima's third year in the Toyota WEC stable was his strongest yet, the Japanese taking the #7 car to poles at Silverstone and Le Mans and making a strong contribution to the car's commanding position at the latter before electrical failure denied the team a likely win. He also showed he can still hack it in single-seaters by clinching a second Super Formula crown in the wet at Suzuka.
36. Thierry Neuville (B, 6th in World Rally)
Three trips to the podium, include a maiden victory in Germany - albeit in somewhat fortuitous circumstances - represents a solid return for Neuville in his first season as a factory Hyundai driver, which was blighted somewhat by numerous mechanical mishaps. The Belgian did enough to suggest he can be a threat to the Volkswagen drivers if the Korean manufacturer can raise its game next year.
35. Yvan Muller (F, 2nd in World Touring Cars)
Hitherto the benchmark driver in the series, Muller struggled to adapt to the new, more powerful and aerodynamic breed of WTCC machine. Arguably, the dye was cast at the very first round in Marrakesh, won by his Citroen team-mate Jose Maria Lopez, and though Muller went on to take four wins, he simply couldn't keep up with the Argentine in the latter half of the year.
34. Mike Conway (GB, Race winner in IndyCar and World Endurance)
IndyCar victories at Long Beach and Toronto enhanced further Conway's reputation for being something of a street circuit specialist, but 2014 showed that its in sportscars where the Brit's future really lies. He distinguished himself in his three appearances for Toyota, particularly at Bahrain, where he, Alex Wurz and Stephane Sarrazin took the #7 TS040 Hybrid's sole victory of the year.
33. Daniil Kvyat (RU, 15th in F1)
Eyebrows were raised when a then-teenage Kvyat was chosen for a Toro Rosso seat, but the Russian's performances this season have more than vindicated Red Bull's decision. He may have been outscored comfortably by team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne, but frequent mechanical woes were largely to blame for that, his speed demonstrated by his 12-7 qualifying record against the Frenchman.
32. Mattias Ekstrom (S, 2nd in DTM)
After being shaded by Audi stablemate Mike Rockenfeller last year, Ekstrom emerged as the standard-bearer for the Ingolstadt marque in this year's DTM series with wins in the final two races of the year at Zandvoort and Hockenheim. Three other podiums also marked out the Swede as the most consistent driver in the series with the exception of runaway champion Marco Wittmann.
31. Scott Dixon (NZ, 3rd in IndyCar)
Never out of the top three in the IndyCar points since 2007, Dixon is unquestionably one of the championship's class acts, but the New Zealander was a victim of his Chip Ganassi team dropping the ball in the first half of the year. Crashing in the Indy 500 was the nadir of his season, but he made amends with a superb charge from last to win at Mid Ohio, followed up by a second win at Sonoma.
30. Carlos Sainz Jr. (E, Formula Renault 3.5 Champion)
The quality of the competition in Formula Renault 3.5 wasn't quite as high as last year, but that shouldn't detract from what has been Sainz's best ever season in a single-seater. After being hammered in GP3 by team-mate Kvyat last year, the young Spaniard had a point to prove - and he did so in fine style, seven victories carrying him to title glory and an F1 shot with Toro Rosso.
29. Neel Jani (CH, 3rd in World Endurance)
Though Mark Webber monopolised media attention concerning Porsche's return to top-level endurance racing, Jani was often the quickest man of the Stuttgart marque's line-up. The Swiss took the #14 919 Hybrid to two poles at Shanghai and Bahrain, and was confident that he would have held on to take Porsche's first comeback win at Sao Paulo even before the sister car's shunt sealed the deal.
28. Brad Keselowski (US, 5th in NASCAR)
Six wins and a very strong final third of the year made Keselowski one of the year's star performers, and the 30-year-old would surely have been in title contention at the Homestead showdown if not for his transmission failure at Martinsville. Still, he'd have featured higher up this list had he not been involved in not one, but two post-race fights at Charlotte and Texas following contact at both races.
27. Jolyon Palmer (GB, GP2 Champion)
Dominating the early part of the campaign with five podiums in the first five races, it's hard to begrudge Palmer his GP2 title success. But, he was outclassed by Stoffel Vandoorne later in the year, and anything less than championship success with the all-conquering DAMS team would arguably have constituted failure bearing in mind his considerable experience at this level.
26. Sebastian Vettel (D, 5th in F1)
While Vettel's struggles with loss of the exhaust-blown diffuser meant he couldn't extract the most from the Red Bull RB10, the phenomenal success of Daniel Ricciardo in the other side of the garage makes the four-time champion's season look worse than it was in reality. Podiums at Malaysia, Singapore and Japan were the highlights of a year the German will otherwise want to forget.
25. Juan Pablo Montoya (COL, 4th in IndyCar)
Returning to single-seaters after a lengthy spell in NASCAR is no easy task, especially at 38 years of age. But Montoya handled the transition better than most observers predicted, frequently giving his Penske team-mates a decent run for their money. His win at the double-points Pocono race flatters his championship position a little, though he was unfortunate to miss out on victory at Houston.
24. Max Verstappen (NL, 3rd in European Formula 3)
Having two leading F1 teams squabbling over your signature when you're only 16 years old, and in your first season of car racing, is clear evidence you're doing something right. Some early errors and technical problems may have ended Verstappen's Euro F3 title challenge before it got going, but six wins on the trot at Spa and the Norisring were enough for him to land a Toro Rosso F1 seat.
23. Joey Logano (US, 4th in NASCAR)
Despite the botched pitstop that ruined his title shot at Homestead, it's telling that Logano would have been crowned NASCAR champion in 2014 using the previous points system. That's largely down to the fact that the 24-year-old finished in the top six in seven of the nine Chase races prior to the finale, victories at New Hampshire and Kansas taking his tally for the year to an impressive five.
22. Stoffel Vandoorne (B, 2nd in GP2 Series)
The nature of GP2 makes it hard for rookies to make an impact, but Vandoorne was able to prove his star quality with four victories - including one on his series debut at Bahrain - and as many pole positions, securing the best points finish for a newcomer since Nico Hulkenberg won in 2009. The only trouble now for the Belgian is that, next year, he'll be expected not only to win, but dominate.
21. Felipe Massa (BR, 7th in F1)
After five seasons spent in the shadow of Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, 2014 saw Massa back to his best form since his accident at Hungary back in 2009. While he was outpaced more often than not by Williams team-mate Valtteri Bottas, it was the Brazilian who took the Grove-based team's only pole of the year at Austria and came closest to victory, first at Canada and then at the Abu Dhabi finale.
20. Simon Pagenaud (F, 5th in IndyCar)
For the second year in a row, Pagenaud managed to notch up two race victories for the Schmidt Peterson outfit, only dropping out of the championship top three because of the double points on offer at the Fontana finale. It was hard not to feel that a driver of the Frenchman's calibre was rather too good for such a small operation - his promotion to Penske for 2015 is a just reward for his efforts.
19. Esteban Ocon (F, European Formula 3 Champion)
Though this year of F3 will be primarily remembered for Verstappen bursting onto the car racing scene, the achievements of series champion Ocon, who is equally deserving of an F1 shot, shouldn't be overlooked. The Frenchman was barely off the podium for the first half of the year, winning five of the first 12 races before effectively sealing the crown with an emphatic triple win at Moscow.
18. Jamie Whincup (AU, V8 Supercars Champion)
Simply put, over the course of the year, nobody else in the V8 Supercars series could touch Whincup, whose staggering tally of 14 wins (nobody else won more than four) duly delivered him a sixth title. That elevates him ahead of such greats as Mark Skaife and Dick Johnson as the championship's most successful ever driver - and who would bet against the 31-year-old winning more in years to come?
17. Jari-Matti Latvala (FIN, 2nd in World Rally)
Having won just one rally in 2013, this season was a much improved one for Latvala, who ran champion Volkswagen team-mate Sebastien Ogier far harder this time around. Beating the Frenchman in a straight fight on home turf in Finland was the highlight, and while his Germany crash halted his title charge, his late season form will give him great confidence heading into 2015.
16. Jose Maria Lopez (RA, World Touring Car Champion)
Alongside team-mates Muller and Sebastien Loeb, Lopez looked very much like the third driver in Citroen's WTCC line-up at the start of the 2014 - until the Argentine won first time out at Marrakesh. Muller fought back at first, but by the time of Lopez's double win at his home event, it was clear nobody was going to stop the 31-year-old taking a well-earned title in his first full season.
15. Jeff Gordon (US, 6th in NASCAR)
Gordon's been racing in NASCAR's top tier for as long as this writer's been alive, and the 43-year-old has lost none of the speed that carried him to four Cup titles. He was unlucky to miss out on a fifth championship, coming painstakingly close to making the final four for the Homestead shootout - a race he looked like winning for much of the distance before a late strategic miscue.
14. Jenson Button (GB, 8th in F1)
After two so-so years, it almost seemed as if the challenge of prolonging his F1 career helped to rejuvenate Button, who had the clear measure of his rookie team-mate Kevin Magnussen. Honours between the McLaren pair were roughly even in qualifying, but it was on Sundays that the Brit's experience told, squeezing over double the number of points out of a substandard car than the Dane.
13. Helio Castroneves (BR, 2nd in IndyCar)
You can't give Castroneves enough credit for the way he handled himself in the aftermath of defeat - not only at the Indy 500, after losing to Ryan Hunter-Reay by less than a tenth, but also after a succession of late season misfortunes denied him the chance to fight team-mate Will Power for the title. What's more, even at 39, you sense the jovial Brazilian has a few more good years in him yet.
12. Anthony Davidson (GB, World Endurance Champion)
Armed with what was demonstrably the quickest car in the LMP1 field, Davidson's determination to seize his chance of world championship glory was in clear evidence after the disappointment of missing out on a shot at winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Though narrowly eclipsed by co-driver Sebastien Buemi, the plucky Brit's pace and tenacity makes him a thoroughly deserving champion.
11. Marco Wittmann (D, DTM Champion)
It's not uncommon for those who excel in DTM to reach F1, and his dominance this year would make Wittmann a worthy candidate for a shot at the highest level. A maiden win at Hockenheim was followed by two poles and a second triumph at Hungary, and the 25-year-old was never lower than sixth thereafter - duly becoming the series' third-youngest ever champion with two rounds to spare.
10. Valtteri Bottas (FIN, 4th in F1)
We saw glimpses of his potential last year, but with a vastly better Williams underneath him in 2014, Bottas was able to show what he's really made of. Often the quickest non-Mercedes driver, he out-gunned his much more experienced team-mate Felipe Massa 13-6 in qualifying and was on the podium twice as often. Fending off Lewis Hamilton for second in Germany was his finest hour.
9. Sebastien Buemi (CH, World Endurance Champion)
There was little to separate him from fellow champion Davidson, but Buemi gets the nod for having more stand-out moments during the year. Chief among these was his mesmerising opening stint at Austin, team-mate Nicolas Lapierre undoing all of the Swiss driver's efforts with a spin once the heavens opened, while his early fightback from last to first at Shanghai was equally awe-inspiring.
8. Kevin Harvick (US, NASCAR Champion)
Say what you will about the controversial new NASCAR Chase format, but there's no doubt it produced a worthy champion in Harvick, whose win tally of five fails to do justice to the speed he demonstrated all season. Eight poles made the Stewart-Haas driver the benchmark in qualifying, the Californian also leading the most laps by a country mile - 2137 to Brad Keselowski's 1540.
7. Will Power (AU, IndyCar Champion)
Having missed out on the IndyCar title at the final round for three in years in a row from 2010 to 2012, it was refreshing to see Power finally clinch the prize this year after a season during which he just had the edge over Penske team-mate Helio Castroneves. Milwaukee was the most impressive of his three wins, the Aussie proving he's now a match for anyone on ovals as well as road courses.
6. Andre Lotterer (D, 2nd in World Endurance and Le Mans 24 Hours winner)
Outpacing Marcus Ericsson in qualifying at Spa by a whole second in a one-off outing for Caterham supplied yet more evidence that Lotterer is the quickest circuit racer outside of F1. An incredible late quintuple stint helped ensure a third Le Mans triumph for he and his Audi team-mates, while two victories in Super Formula further underlined just what a complete and versatile performer he is.
5. Nico Rosberg (D, 2nd in F1)
Many pundits' pre-season tip for the title, Rosberg managed to surprise and disappoint in equal measure behind the wheel of the dominant Mercedes. Few would have predicted the sheer one-lap prowess the German demonstrated, but all too often he had no answer to the race pace of his team-mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton, particularly after their contentious coming together at Spa.
4. Sebastien Ogier (F, World Rally Champion)
His second title may not have been quite as straightforward as his first last year, but there remains no other rally driver on earth able to consistently challenge Ogier. The Volkswagen driver scooped another nine victories this season, seeing off the threat of team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, and it could have been more if not for a rare error in Germany and electrical problems at home in France.
3. Fernando Alonso (E, 6th in F1)
Alonso's exploits in the least competitive car Ferrari have produced since joining forces with the Spaniard will have done little to dissuade the many observers who believe him to still be the sport's finest driver. Utterly trouncing stablemate Kimi Raikkonen, Alonso often dragged the troublesome F14 T to positions it had no right to be in, not least of which his stellar drive to second at Hungary.
2. Lewis Hamilton (GB, F1 Champion)
While Hamilton taking an overdue second title was by no means a surprise given the pace advantage of the Mercedes, the way the 29-year-old overcame team-mate Rosberg was far from expected. His success owed less to his out-and-out speed than to a mastery of the new regulations as well as the late-season psychological advantage over the German that he skilfully crafted himself.
1. Daniel Ricciardo (AU, 3rd in F1)
It's no accident that the only non-Mercedes driver to win a Grand Prix this season was Ricciardo, who can now consider himself part of F1's elite after putting his more illustrious Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel to shame. His pace was blistering all year, making hardly any errors of note, while some of the wide-grinning Aussie's overtaking moves can only be described as poetry in motion.
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