Team Principals rate Fernando Alonso best 2010 driver

He might not have managed to take a third Formula 1 championship title just yet, but votes from the twelve Team Principals rate him as the best driver of the 2010 season. The result of a poll by autosport magazine was revealed this afternoon, based on a survey carried out since the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The final classification, using the same points system as introduced this year to the highest level of motor sport, overturned the verdict delivered on track, as Fernando finished nine ahead of Sebastian Vettel by 229 points to 220.

“I am very pleased to learn that the majority of team principals chose me as their best driver of the year, even if it goes without saying that I would have preferred to receive that accolade in the guise of world champion,” commented Fernando Alonso. “It is yet another reason to claim this has been an amazing season, despite the disappointment at the final hurdle. The team and I fought all the way to the very end, without ever giving up, even when it all seemed like a lost cause: we staged a remarkable comeback. Next year, we will be looking to do better, but I will still remember 2010 as a wonderful year.”

The ballot might have been secret, but not the fact that Stefano Domenicali voted for the Spanish driver. “I am pleased and proud that Fernando has been rated by my fellow team principals as the best driver of this past year: he had a fantastic season. It is hardly a secret that he is a talented driver, but I must say, on behalf of everyone at Ferrari, that it was an honour for us to work with him from the human perspective. Fernando was a driving force and our aim next year will be to give him and Felipe a car which is competitive at the very highest level, right from the first race.”

Felipe Massa also figured in the top ten, coming in eighth equal with Hulkenberg on 17 points.