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Formula 1 in 2016: Who was the driver of the F1 year?

See the average 2016 driver ratings then have your say in the vote!

Lewis Hamilton has been crowned Driver of Year in Sky Sports Digital's driver ratings for the 2016 season.

After every Grand Prix, the drivers who finished the race are marked for their weekend-long performances out of 10 in a feature on the Sky Sports website and mobile apps.

To find out who has come out on top in 2016, we've worked out the average scores of each driver during the season.

Driver ratings from Abu Dhabi

The average is found by dividing a driver's total ratings score by the number of races they finished.

And Hamilton, despite being pipped to the world title by Nico Rosberg, has come out on top with an average rating of 8.42 out of 10.

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Daniel Ricciardo is second, with Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen close behind in third and fourth places respectively. New world champion Rosberg rounds out the top five.

Other recognised stars of 2016, including Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, also find themselves in the top half of the ratings grid.

Average driver ratings: The top half of the grid

Driver Highest single score Lowest single score Season average
Lewis Hamilton 10 6 8.42
Daniel Ricciardo 9.5 6 7.98
Fernando Alonso 9.5 6 7.91
Max Verstappen 10 5 7.81
Nico Rosberg 9.5 5 7.75
Nico Hulkenberg 9 5.5 7.56
Carlos Sainz 9 5 7.53
Jenson Button 10 5 7.37
Sebastian Vettel 9.5 5 7.24
Kimi Raikkonen 8.5 5 7.18
Sergio Perez 9.5 4 7.13

In terms of team-mate comparisons across the whole grid, the closest averages come at Renault where Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen were separated by just 0.4 in the ratings.

The widest difference was at Toro Rosso - 1.36 - between Sainz and Daniil Kvyat, who endured a tumultuous year after his demotion from Red Bull.

VOTE: Who is the driver of the year?

Using the top-ranked drivers from the table above, have your say on the leading performers in our interactive poll below.

Swipe Right for YES and Left for NO if the driver in each picture gets your vote for their achievements in 2016.

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