Formula 1: Nico Hulkenberg wins 2018 ‘best of the rest’ driver championship

Nico Hulkenberg clinched the unofficial “best of the rest” driver championship for the 2018 Formula 1 season in the season finale, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, at Yas Marina Circuit.

Renault Sport’s Nico Hulkenberg entered the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the 21st and final race on the 2018 Formula 1 schedule, sitting in seventh place in the driver standings with 69 points. He trailed only the six drivers who drive for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Scuderia Ferrari and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing in the standings.

As a result, the 31-year-old German was in a position to clinch the unofficial “best of the rest” driver championship for the 2018 season in this 55-lap race around the 21-turn, 3.451-mile (5.554-kilometer) Yas Marina Circuit on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

With a maximum of 25 points on the table for each driver in each race, as race victories are worth 25 points each, five other drivers aside of Hulkenberg entered this race with a chance to win this season’s unofficial “best of the rest” driver championship.

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These five drivers were Racing Point Force India’s Sergio Perez, Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, Force India’s Esteban Ocon and Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr. They entered the race sitting in eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th place in the driver standings having scored 58 points, 55 points, 50 points, 49 points and 46 points, respectively, through the season’s first 20 races.

Hulkenberg ended up violently crashing out of the race on the first lap, so he was officially scored in 20th place and did not score any points. As a result, he ended the season with 69 points.

Of these other five drivers, only Ocon failed to finish the race. He ended up being forced to retire later in it with a mechanical issue and was officially scored in 17th place, which prevented him from scoring any points in it as well. As a result, he ended the season with 49 points.

Of the other four drivers, only Alonso failed to score points in the race. He finished it in 11th place. As a result, he ended the season with 50 points.

Meanwhile, Sainz Jr., Perez and Magnussen finished the race in sixth, eighth and 10th place. As a result, they scored eight points, four points and one point in it, bringing their season point totals to 53 points, 62 points and 56 points, respectively, to close out the season.

Which driver do you believe will win the unofficial “best of the rest” driver championship in the 2019 Formula 1 season? In which season do you believe a driver who drives for a team other than Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull Racing will finish the season in the top six in the driver standings?