Driver Of The Year - 11th to 15th

We will now take a look at the 15th,  14th,  13th, 12th and 11th best drivers of 2011.

15th - Rubens Barrichello
Team - Williams   Races - 19   Best Finish - 9th (Monaco & Canadian GP)
Rubens has had a troubled season. With Williams giving him a poor car, the only time the Brazilian managed to get a top 10 finish was at Monaco & Canada. Even these results were not the car's doing, with retirements ahead of him helping him up the grid. He has also had troubled with his team mate Maldonado. In the first half of the season, the veteran seemed to have a handle on the rookie. However, looking at the results in the final half of the year, Pastor managed to close the gap, and also managed to beat his more experienced team mate. This comparison has cast doubt on Rubens' career. Many will hope he will continue on in F1, however, seats and time are running out. His only real options at the moment are Lotus and Williams, however, the two teams seem keen on other younger drivers. It will be a shame if Rubens does leave the spot, but all good things must end.

14th - Sebastien Buemi
Team - Toro Rosso    Races - 19   Best Finish - 8th (Australian & Hungarian GP)
Sebastien has had a mixed year, both on and off the track. At the beginning of the season, he was performing well. Outscoring team mate Alguersuari, and looking strong in his Toro Rosso. These performances put the pressure on Jaime. With doubts on his future, he started putting in the results. This paired with the fact Sebastiens year taking a nose-drive, didn't do the Swiss driver good. In the final 8 races, he only finished 4 of them, and only got 2 top ten finishes. This has left Sebastien with a lot of pressure on his shoulders. It is now up to Toro Rosso's owners whether to keep him, or replace him with a possible future star.

13th - Jaime Alguersuari
Team - Toro Rosso    Races - 19   Best Finish - 7th (Italian & Korean GP)
Jaime almost had the complete opposite year to team mate Buemi.  The Spaniard had to wait until June before a points finish. This drag of poor performances had put huge pressure on the youngster. Rumour was that he was going to be replaced by Aussie, Daniel Ricciardo. However, a huge turn-around in performances relieved the pressure. In the second half of the season, Jaime was racing brilliantly. He got a great seventh place at Italy, before putting in a great drive at Korea, again taking seventh. This drives, and consitant performances has started to point to a bright future. But, it still may not be enough. It is still undecided if he will race for Toro Rosso in 2012, or he could take a possible move to Hispania.

12th - Kamui Kobayashi
 Team - Sauber   Races - 19   Best Finish - 5th (Monaco GP)
In 2011, Kamui Kobayashi has really grown as a driver. He has teamed his supreme over-taking skills, with consistency and calmness. In the first seven races, he got seven top 10 finishes (excluding his DSQ). Included in these results was a career best fifth place at Monaco. He also gave a brilliant drive at Canada, where he spent most of the race in second place, only for his car to let him down on the drier track. A poorer final  half of the season has put a few doubters on Kobayashi. But, he ended the season with a 10th and a 9th, to remind people that he was still as good as ever. Kamui's performances have also caught a few teams eyes. He is secured with Sauber next year, but he could be racing elsewhere in 2013. A possible drive at Ferrari, but he may have competition with team mate Sergio Perez for that seat.

11th - Vitaly Petrov
Team - Renault    Races - 19   Best Finish - 3rd (Australian GP)
After very high hopes at the beginning of the year, Vitaly Petrov and Renault have had a poor season. Actually, their season started brilliantly, helped by Petrov's third place at Australia. However, things started to slip almost immediately. Taking away his podium, his best finish was fifth at the rainy Canada, then an eighth place at Turkey. In the final ten races, the Russian only got four top ten finishes, 2 ninth places, and 2 tenth places. These aren't the perfect results for arguably the fifth fastest car on the grid. This poor end to the season left Renault fighting with Force India and Toro Rosso, instead of Mercedes.Petrov's future now could be in doubt. With only one seat left at Lotus (Renault), he is now battling with Bruno Senna & Romain Grosjean for that second seat. If he losses that battle, then he is short of options, with seats only available at Williams, Toro Rosso and HRT. So this mid-season break could be very tense for Vitaly Petrov.