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

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 28/12/2022 à 12:00

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

AUTOhebdo invites you to discover the third part of its Top 50 with the drivers ranging from 30th to 21st place. ©DR

30 – Raffaele Marciello (Italy)
Winner of the 24 Hours of Spa 2022, GTWC Europe champion 2022, ADAC GT Masters champion 2022 with Mercedes

The former great Italian hope of the car has established himself as one of the very best GT drivers in the world. With his teammates Jules Gounon and Daniel Juncadella (Intercontinental GT Challenge champion), Raffaele Marciello achieves the most prestigious victory of his career by winning the 24 Hours of Spa (July 30-31). At ease on all terrains at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, the ex-protege Ferrari is enjoying the glory days of the star manufacturer in all series where its talents are required: GT World Challenge Europe (champion Endurance Cup and overall ranking), ADAC GT Masters (also champion).

29 - Nicolas lapierre (France)
Hypercar world vice-champion in WEC 2022 with Alpine (2 wins)

It is difficult to decide between Nicolas Lapierre and Matthieu Vaxiviere in this Top 50 given the importance of the two men in the successful season ofAlpine in WEC. At Sebring (USA), Lapierre took an impressive pole, before the A480 dominated the race. In Monza (Italy), Vaxiviere won in a tough duel with the Toyota de Kamui Kobayashi in the pit straight for the second success of A Fléché in 2022. In the company of their Brazilian teammate Andre Negro, the two French people can only regret 24 Hours of Le Mans below and a final which did not really take place.

28 – António Félix da Costa (Portugal)
Winner of the Endurance Trophy and the 24 Hours of Le Mans LM P2 with Jota

The Portuguese admitted to us at the end of the 8 Hours of Bahrain (November 12), final of the 2022 WEC: this is his best year in motorsport. Associated with Will Stevens and Roberto Gonzalez in the No. 38 Jota, António Félix da Costa pocketed the Endurance Trophy in LM P2 at the end of a season where he and his teammates pocketed only one success, but the most important: the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Led by the native of Cascais (Portugal), the trio was the most consistent against those of United Autosports and WRT, with five podiums in six events. His season in Formula E with DS was more disappointing with an 8^e final place and only one victory for the 2019-2020 champion. The neo-pilot Porsche now dreams of a WEC-FE double in 2023.

27 - Theo Pourchaire (France)
FIA runner-up F2 with ART Grand Prix (3 victories)

How cruel it was this season for the French hope. After a first year of apprenticeship, Théo Pourchaire was seen as a serious contender for the title in the antechamber of the F1. Ultimately, the campaign was not easy for the Grassois. Between the numerous mechanical breakdowns and a few errors which did not make his task easy, the protégé of the Sauber Academy was unable to hold out over the long term against Felipe Drugovich. Be careful, not everything has to be thrown away. Théo won three Main Races and finished runner-up. Just 19 years old.

26 – Alessandro Pier Guidi (Italy)
GTE Pro world champion in WEC with Ferrari

No controversy this time. Twelve months after winning the world title by catching the rival Porsche of Michael Christensen and Kévin Estre less than a quarter of an hour from the finish of the 8 Hours of Bahrain, Alessandro Pier Guidi and James Calado retained their crown in the GTE Pro category of the WEC without any controversial maneuvers. However, it took all of the Italian's driving talent to finish the last race of the season with a stubborn gearbox. Pier Guidi also showed all his racing intelligence in this situation, by letting the leading Toyota pass on the last lap so as not to have to complete an additional loop which could have been fatal to him.

25 – Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar)
World champion Rally-raid (W2RC) 2022, winner of the Dakar with Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) 2022

The bronze medalist in skeet at the 2012 London Olympics did not miss his targets in 2022. Presented as the favorite for the Dakar, the Qatari did not fail despite the pressure applied by Sébastien Loeb. Well helped by an outstanding navigator in the person of Frenchman Mathieu Baumel, Nasser Al-Attiyah won the very first world title in the specialty awarded by the FIA. It's hard to do better behind the wheel of a Toyota Hilux T1+ that's less technologically advanced than the Audi hybrids, but more solid.

24 – Stoffel Vandoorne (Belgium)
2021/22 Formula E champion with Mercedes (1 victory)

“Champion of regularity”. This is how we qualified Stoffel Vandoorne after his victory in Formula E. The Belgian was, certainly, not the most offensive, nor the most victorious this season (only one success), but he used his maturity to be the most consistent and win his first world title. Fallen hope of F1 after two complicated campaigns at the wheel of a McLaren moribund, he took his revenge in the electric category to capture his first crown since his GP2 Series title in 2015.

23 - Ott Tänak (Estonia)
Vice world champion WRC 2022 with Hyundai (3 wins)

A mixed season for the Estonian. In a Hyundai team in difficulty with its new i20 Rally1 hybrid at the start of the season, Ott Tänak was quickly left behind in the championship by the steamroller Kalle Rovanperä. By the time the Korean firm developed its machine, it was already too late... but the 2019 world champion more than saved the day: three victories and an honorary title of vice-world champion. After the Safari Rally (June 23-26), Tänak scored more points than the new king of the WRC! His departure from M-Sport next year should allow him to reestablish himself as team leader... and title contender.

22 - Esteban Ocon (France)
8^e of the 1 Formula 2022 world championship with Alpine

Few drivers have beaten Fernando Alonso while playing in the same team. After Lewis Hamilton (2007) and Jenson Button (2015), Esteban Ocon has entered this very closed circle. Some will argue, rightly, that the Ibère suffered more from the precarious reliability of the French engines. This takes nothing away from the excellent performance of his young teammate, author of his most prolific campaign among the elite with 92 points. In two seasons of cohabitation with Alonso, the Norman will have done better than hold his position, which is no small thing when we look at the list of drivers whose careers were shattered on the Asturian rock.

21 - Sébastien Ogier (France)
6^e of the 2022 World Rally Championship with Toyota (1 victory)

An active retirement for the eight-time WRC champion, who has not been idle in 2022: the discovery of the WEC, participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 11-12) in LM P2 with the Richard Mille Racing Team and six WRC rallies . The Gapençais, eager to venture onto the circuits, decided to return to his first love... and with success! Two 2^es places, in Monte Carlo (January 20-23) and New Zealand (September 29-October 2), and a victory in Catalonia (October 20-23), helping Toyota reclaim the Manufacturers' crown.