Drivers of the year: How JA on F1 readers have voted

We’ve had a huge response to the top five drivers of the year vote on JA on F1 over recent days, with just under 800 replies left on the site as ...

We’ve had a huge response to the top five drivers of the year vote on JA on F1 over recent days, with just under 800 replies left on the site as of Monday night.

Although the composition of the respective reader top fives have been naturally reasonably varied given there are 24 drivers to select from, the #1 ranked position has almost exclusively been contested between the three men who claimed 12 of the 20 wins between them in 2012 – world champion Sebastian Vettel, runner-up Fernando Alonso and four-time 2012 race winner Lewis Hamilton.

Indeed, a massive 96% of respondents placed one of the trio at the top of their personal lists with Fernando Alonso’s relentless performances throughout the year earning him a landslide victory – over two thirds of readers voting the Spaniard as their driver of the season.

Newly-crowned triple world champion Sebastian Vettel was selected as the best driver of 2012 in just 16% of lists in comparison, marginally more than McLaren’s Hamilton. The driver who finished third in the championship standings, Kimi Raikkonen, takes fourth in our vote on 2%.

Most selected driver in first place:

1. Fernando Alonso – 69%

2. Sebastian Vettel – 16%

3. Lewis Hamilton – 11%

4. Kimi Raikkonen – 2%

James Allen’s own personal top five is still to be revealed, of course, and three readers, selected at random, whose selections match his will win signed copies of the 2012 JA on F1 yearbook – The Year of Living Dangerously.

The 256-page book, published last Friday, can be ordered from our online shop, and as it’s a limited edition book which has been on pre-sale for a couple of weeks, we'd urge you to get your copy soon to avoid any disappointment!