My 7 Of 11

The Formula One  season is finally over, the champion was decided about two months while the rest fought on for a few more races for the minor placings. Here though now is who I think have been the top seven drivers this year. This is based on who I believe has delivered the best driving performances irrelevant of their overall competitiveness during the season.

1. Sebastian Vettel Nobody can argue that Seb hasn't dominated most races with effortless efficiency this year. The gaps he has had to the second place drivers in most races this season probably don't reflect the true advantage he has had this year. Often he has put in a fastest lap of the race on the last lap, just to remind his competitors what he could be capable of if he was really trying. 
2. Fernando Alonso Though he only achieved a single victory this year, you felt that Fernando's driving was flattering the Ferrari somewhat. He fairly trounced his team mate Felipe Massa who didn't even score half the points of Alonso and to be honest was for most of the season not really in the same race as Fernando. I must admit I haven't been a big fan of Alonso, I thought he relied a bit too much on team orders and pit strategy when he won his titles at Renault and the incidents at Mclaren and then the Piquet incident in Singapore didn't make me warm to him much. With the performances I have seen from him this year though I am slowly coming to appreciate the racer in him, I don't think I'd be too upset if he was a contender for the championship in 2012.
3. Jenson Button I don't think many people thought Jenson Button would beat Lewis Hamilton over a season in the same car. Jenson probably did more in 2011 to bolster his reputation then he did in his championship year of 2009. He had that dramatic zero to hero race in Canada and then again in mixed weather conditions showed the way in Hungary. At Suzuka he proved that even in dry conditions he was capable of annihilating the field. 
4. Nico Rosberg In 2010 Nico was able at times to mix it with the top six and looked at times that he might, with a bit of good fortune, be able to pull off a win. This year he seemed further away from the top three teams in terms of pace but he was still the best of the rest.
5. Nick Heidfeld Maybe a strange choice seeing as he was replaced by Bruno Senna after eleven of the nineteen races. At the end of the year though Heidfeld finished the season with 34 points, only 3 behind Vitaly Petrov who started 8 more races and 32 more his replacement in the Renault team.
6. Lewis Hamilton A somewhat erratic season from the 2008 World Champion that has been over-documented already. Several victories prove he's still got it though.
7. Mark Webber Despite being thoroughly beaten by his team mate, Webber still managed third in the championship. He rarely though looked like a match for Vettel this year, only in Britain where he was told by the team to back off was he looking like he could pass the German. His only win was at the end of the year, thanks to a 'gearbox problem' with Sebs car.