Our Top 50 drivers of the year… (30th to 21st)

Find all the sections of our Top 50: 

Our Top 50 drivers of the year: 50th to 41st (1/5)
Our Top 50 drivers of the year: 40th to 31st (2/5)
Our Top 50 drivers of the year: 20th to 11st (4/5)
Our Top 50 drivers of the year: 10th to 1st (5/5)

30. Johan Kristoffersson (SUE)
World champion Rallycross

Triple world champion at the start of the season in Barcelona, ​​Johan Kristoffersson was unsurprisingly the No. 1 candidate for his own succession. Unsurprisingly, he appears in our Top 50 drivers. However, this 2021 campaign was marked by the unknown since the Swede had to adapt to a brand new car, the Audi S1. In the tough and unlucky during the first three events where the Hansen brothers (Timmy and Kevin) signed three consecutive doubles, the Scandinavian gradually came out of his cave to overcome the siblings. Victorious after only the 5th round, Johan Kristoffersson managed to turn things around during the second part of the season with two additional successes to finish tied on points (217) with Timmy Hansen. Credited with a greater number of victories during the year (3 against 2), the triple world champion then became quadruple titled. A great way to end the thermal era of World RX. 

Johan Kristoffersson. © Paulo Maria / DPPI

29. Liam Lawson (NZL)
2021 vice-champion of DTM & 9th of Formula 2

In addition to his involvement in F2 with Hitech, Liam Lawson ran a full program in DTM this season. On the other side of the Rhine, the 19-year-old driver intended to gain experience and accumulate driving time for his Formula 2 campaign. Surprisingly comfortable despite his lack of experience behind the wheel of a GT3, the New Zealander took the paddock by surprise by winning on his first outing. Embroiled in the fight for the title, he finally became the main candidate going into the final round at the Norisring. Unfortunately, the alliance Mercedes and a surreal attack from Kelvin van der Linde cost him the crown. A terrible disillusionment since at the same time he was unable to do better than 9th in F2 after an eventful 2021 financial year. Enough to feed regrets.

Liam Lawson. © Red Bull

28. Kevin Estre (FRA)
Vice champion WEC (GTE Pro) & Winner 24 Hours of Nürburgring

The end of Kévin Estre's season could have been different without the collision between Michael Christensen and Alessandro Pier Guidi in the last quarter of an hour of the 8 Hours of Bahrain. Associated with the Dane and Neel Jani in the No. 92 Porch, the Frenchman was deprived of the world title despite a year in which he scored five pole positions out of six. Already victorious at Spa and Le Mans in his career, the Lyonnais added the 24 Hours of Nürburgring to his list of achievements. An edition taking place in terrible weather conditions with a race interrupted for 14 hours and 30 minutes due to fog. Reduced to 59 laps, the German classic ended with an incredible comeback from the driver Porsche from 11th to first place in less than three laps in the rain. 

Kevin Estre. © Germain Hazard / DPPI

27. Thierry Neuville (BEL)
3rd in the World Rally Championship WRC
Co-piloted by Martijn Wydaeghe

The Belgian had a solid season, but we must recognize that he had accustomed us to better. He is the one who most often threatened Sébastien Ogier in recent seasons in his title quests, but he has not been able to do so in 2021. However, Neuville has signed as many podiums (7) as Ogier and Elfyn Evans, including four in the first five rounds. But when he was not on the box, he was not in the points at all, betrayed by his mechanics but also by guilty errors. Four times vice-world champion between 2016 and 2019, Thierry Neuville has not been since. He intends to take advantage of the arrival of the hybrid era to finally manage to win this championship title which has eluded him since his beginnings, despite his great burst of speed.

ALSO READ > Did Thierry Neuville deserve the champion title in 2021? 

Thierry Neuville. © Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

26. Shane van Gisbergen (NZL)
Champion Supercars

In 2021, there was only one for Shane van Gisbergen in Supercars. Scott McLaughlin left IndyCar with Penske, the New Zealander was logically the big favorite to succeed his compatriot. A status perfectly assumed by the Triple Eight driver who left only the crumbs to his rivals. With a Holden Commodore No.97 tuned to perfection throughout the year, the Kiwi gleaned 14 successes and 9 additional podiums in 29 races with art and style. Opposed to his teammate Jamie Whincup, Shane van Gisbergen demonstrated great things on the track making him the best driver and logical double champion (first title acquired in 2016) at the end of a season dominated from start to finish. Whincup now retired, Shane van Gisbergen hopes to use this coronation to finally launch his reign. 

Shane van Gisbergen © Red Bull Content Pool.

25. Yifei Ye (CHN)
Champion ELMS

The Le Mans legend according to which the Le Mans classic chooses its winner has seen a new page written this year to the detriment of Yifei Ye and his friends in LMP2. Leading on the last lap with the No. 41 of Team WRT, the Chinese experienced the heartbreak of having to stop at 23:59 p.m. A situation which was reminiscent of the Toyota No. 5 during 24 Hours of Le Mans 2016, stopped one lap from the goal. Without this last minute worry, the new Porsche Asia-Pacific driver would probably be much higher in this ranking. ELMS Champion with Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica within the Belgian team, the protégé of the German firm made an impression with his results and is now claiming a place in the future LMDh of the Zuffenhausen brand.

ALSO READ > “We almost won Le Mans on our debut”

Yifei Ye. © Paulo Maria / DPPI

24. Theo Pourchaire (FRA)
5th in Formula 2, winner in Monaco

The great French hope has had an extremely busy year, and that's saying something. After making the big leap into F3 directly from F4, it was as vice-champion of Formula 3 that the Habs arrived in F2 at only 17 years old. His sovereign pole position with a half-second lead in the streets of Monaco, as well as his victory in the main race on Sunday, will have been the highlights of his year 2021. Unfortunately, Théo also experienced two complicated moments. His fractured radius in Baku, which handicapped him until Silverstone, and his crash with Enzo Fittipaldi in Saudi Arabia, suffering a 72G shock, caused him to lose quite a few points along the way. Fifth in the championship, the Frenchman will return to F2 with ART Grand Prix in 2022, and will have to hope for both greater consistency and a little more success to be a candidate for succession.Oscar piastri.

23. Sergio Pérez (MEX)
4th world championship F1, 1 victory

The Mexican, like most of his teammates Max Verstappen, took a long time before taming the wild Red Bull. Checo took advantage of the misfortunes of the Batavian andHamilton in Baku to pull the chestnuts out of the fire and sign his first success in red and blue. The Mexican had a sufficiently convincing season, according to the Red Bull staff, to keep his place in 2022. Despite a few setbacks (slip during the Sprint at Silverstone, crash on the grid lap at Spa), Sergio Pérez participated seriously to the war effort of the Austrian clan and put himself at the exclusive service of his crack Dutch teammate, as in Abu Dhabi. Which is not nothing.

22. Stéphane Peterhansel
Winner of the Dakar (rally-raid)

With age, you know your body and its abilities. Stéphane Peterhansel obviously does not need to conduct training events to stay in shape, since he only competed in one event in 2021, which he won hands down: the Dakar, for the 14th time in 30 years. The 55-year-old Frenchman gave Mini his latest success in Saudi Arabia, but the romance was not a seamless one. The change of co-driver with the arrival of Édouard Boulanger could have raised difficulties in a discipline where trust and communication are crucial. Everything went straight and even a bit of luck was on their side, like during the marathon stage where a mechanical problem occurred… at the end of the course. Engaged with Audi in the 2022 Dakar, “Monsieur Dakar” is taking a breath of fresh air by being involved in the development of a hybrid concept. 

21. Nyck De Vries (PB)
World champion Formula E

For his second season with Mercedes, the Dutchman became the first ever FIA Formula E world champion. The Silver Arrows reserve driver achieved two successes, the season-opening ePrix in Diriyah (Saudi Arabia) and the Valencia event, disrupted by numerous breakdowns. His performances even made him the subject of rumors sending him to F1, particularly within the team Williams replacing George Russell. This year, Nyck de Vries also won at the 4 Hours of Le Castellet, with Roman Rusinov and Franco Colapinto for G-Drive Racing in LM P2. Proof that he is comfortable in all seats, the 2 FIA F2019 world champion was tested with Meyer Shank Racing in IndyCar recently. We haven't heard the last of Nyck de Vries!

Nyck De Vries. © Germain Hazard / DPPI