Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo is a notable omission from the 2021 top-10 drivers decided by Formula 1 team principals.
At the completion of every season, the bosses of all 10 teams submit their list of the top-10 drivers of the year, which Max Verstappen topped in 2021 on the back of his maiden Formula 1 title.
Drivers are awarded scores based on the Formula 1 points system – 25 for first down to one for 10th – and those scores are combined to generate a ranking.
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Ricciardo isn’t a member of this year’s top 10 despite finishing eighth in the world championship standings.
Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, George Russell and Esteban Ocon all finished lower than Ricciardo in the world championship standings but beat the McLaren driver to a spot in the team principals’ top 10.
Verstappen accumulated 213 points in the top 10, Lewis Hamilton (192 points) grabbed second and Ricciardo’s teammate, Lando Norris (110), collected third.
Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc, Alonso, Gasly, Russell, Valterri Bottas and Ocon round out the top 10 in that order.
Ricciardo had an underwhelming first season with McLaren, registering just six top-five placings and one podium finish.
That podium saw the Western Australian clinch his first victory since 2018, executing a glorious drive to take the chequered flag at the Italian Grand Prix in September.
Ricciardo has two years to run on his McLaren contract.
The team bosses involved in this year’s top-10 voting were Mattia Binotto, Jost Capito, Christian Horner, Laurent Rossi, Andreas Seidl, Guenther Steiner, Otmar Szafnauer, Franz Tost, Fred Vasseur and Toto Wolff.
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