Our Top 50 drivers of the year… (20th to 11th)

Our journalists have elected their 50 best drivers of the 2022 season, all categories combined. At the end of a long process of selection, consultation and votes, here is our verdict.

Published on 29/12/2022 à 12:00

⁰ View comments)

Our Top 50 drivers of the year… (20th to 11st)

AUTOhebdo invites you to discover the fourth part of its Top 50 with the drivers ranging from 20th to 11th place. ©DR

20 – Victor Martins (France)
FIA Champion F3 2022 with ART Grand Prix (2 victories)

After the honorary title of best rookie in 2021, the Frenchman became Formula 3 champion in Monza (Italy). Leader of the category almost from start to finish, Victor scored two victories, all obtained in the Main Race, as well as seven podiums. The dramaturgy of obtaining his title, with a period of 15 minutes of procrastination and waiting in the pit lane, only added to the emotion of a second coronation acquired in car after that gleaned in F. Renault Eurocup in 2020. Make way for Formula 2 from now on.

19 - Lando Norris (UK)
7^e of the world championship Formula 1 2022 with McLaren (1 podium)

The “best of the rest” in Formula 1. The Briton continued to carry his team at arm's length in 2022. Third at Imola (Emilia-Romagna GP), Lando Norris was the only driver outside the three top teams (Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes) to climb on an F1 podium this season. While his teammate Daniel Ricciardo never found the key, the 23-year-old young man had a string of high-flying performances in qualifying and race finishes in the points. Too bad McLaren took it down a notch.

18 – Jules Gounon (France)
Winner of the 12 Bathurst 24 and Spa 2022, GTWC Europe champion Endurance Cup with Mercedes

French, who has chosen to represent Andorra starting in the 2023 season, has just experienced the most prolific season of his brilliant GT career. The native of Aubenas (Ardèche) started it head on with a 2^e personal victory at the Bathurst 12 Hours. He followed up with a 2^e success at the 24 Hours of Spa during the summer. And concluded with a GTWC Endurance Cup title with his friends Raffaele Marciello and Daniel Juncadella. In 41 races, the official Mercedes driver achieved 20 podiums, including 8 victories. Sorry!

17 – Joey Logano (USA)
Champion NASCAR Cup Series 2022 with Team Penske (4 wins)

Four years after his first coronation in 2018, Joey Logano entered the very closed circle of 32 drivers with more than one NASCAR Cup Series title at the age of 17. A rough driver on the track, still today considered one of the most difficult to overtake in the peloton, he seems to have reached a level. With an intact grinta, he now combines a knowledge of old-timer racing which has allowed him to be the most consistent driver of the season. As a great champion who knows how to provoke his luck, he outrageously dominated the Phoenix final to win his 2^e crown.

16 – Ryo Hirakawa (Japan)
Hypercar world champion in WEC and winner of 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022 with Toyota

Third man in the #8 Toyota alongside Sébastien Buemi et Brendon Hartley, Ryo Hirakawa had the difficult task of replacing Kazuki Nakajima, sacred monster of the Japanese manufacturer with whom he had triumphed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times (2018, 2019, 2020). If Nakajima had waited for his seventh attempt to win in Sarthe, his younger brother succeeded on his first appearance in the premier category, also winning the title of world champion. Nervous at the start of the exercise, the Japanese broke free during the Le Mans double clock by impressing his illustrious teammates.

15 – Shane van Gisbergen (New Zealand)
2022 Supercars Champion with Triple Eight Race Engineering (21 wins, including the Bathurst 1000)

The Auckland ogre left only crumbs to his rivals in Supercars to retain his title. By winning 21 times, Shane van Gisbergen eclipsed the record of his compatriot Scott McLaughlin (18 successes in 2019). Besides its 3^e Supercars title, the Kiwi offered himself a 2^e Bathurst 1000 and allowed the luxury of shining in WRC2 during the Rally from New Zealand (3^e of the category). An all-terrain talent.

14 – Felipe Drugovich (Brazil)
2 FIA F2022 Champion with MP Motorsport (5 wins)

Felipe Drugovich will not join George Russell, Charles Leclerc ou Lewis Hamilton in the circle of GP2/F2 champions from their first year, but the Brazilian can boast of having dominated the discipline head and shoulders in 2022: 5 victories, including two on the same weekend (a first in 6 years ), six other podiums and 4 pole positions. Very consistent, Drugovich was crowned in the penultimate round of the season in Monza (Italy). He has since been appointed as an F1 reserve at Aston Martin.

13 - Carlos Sainz (Spain)
5^e of the 1 Formula 2022 world championship with Ferrari (1 victory)

Convincing in 2021 with still limited equipment, the Madrilenian demonstrated in 2022 that we could rely on him. Very close to the Charles Leclerc duo-Max Verstappen in qualifying, Carlos Sainz was able to bring back good results on Sunday, including his first victory in Great Britain and his 8 other podiums. If he suffered somewhat in the face of the comeback of Mercedes, there is little doubt that with a new competitive car, he will be in the running in 2023.

12 – Sergio Pérez (Mexico)
3^e of the 1 Formula 2022 world championship with Red Bull (2 victories)

For his 2^e season in the Red Bull environment, the Mexican appeared much more to his advantage, particularly on the urban tracks where he showed himself to be very lively (pole position in Jeddah, victories in Monaco and Singapore). Close to Max Verstappen at the start of the year, he lost his footing as the RB18 evolved towards his teammate's style. Although he narrowly misses the honorary title of vice-champion, his contribution allows Red Bull to win its first Manufacturers' crown since 2013.

11- Sébastien Buemi (Switzerland)
Hypercar world champion in WEC and winner of the 24 2022 Hours of Le Mans with Toyota

By landing a 4^e victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Swiss has made a place for himself among the giants of the Sarthe classic. Through his experience, his consistency and his sense of teamwork, Buemi is the cornerstone of Japanese domination at Le Mans. Since 2018, Toyota has won five editions, including four for the No. 8 in which the drivers followed one another, from Fernando Alonso to Ryo Hirakawa through Kazuki Nakajima and Brendon Hartley. The New Zealander also distinguished himself this season, notably by winning the Le Mans Superpole, and also deserved a place in this Top 50.