Rating the best drivers of the century so far

By:

Kevin Turner

Jan 7, 2022, 10:28 AM

Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time

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Autosport's Top 50 drivers of the year rankings always cause controversy and debate – both within our office and the wider motorsport world. It's our attempt to assess and highlight the best performers each season, but that doesn't stop some fans (and even drivers) getting very cross about the final list.

The 2021 Top 50, which was topped by Formula 1 world championship runner-up Lewis Hamilton, was the 20th edition. Since the inaugural list in 2002, 292 drivers have appeared in the Top 50, some consistently, some just the once, while others have fallen in and out as their careers ebb and flow.

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Kevin Turner

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Kevin Turner is Autosport’s Chief Editor. While studying History at the University of York, Kevin began covering UK club events as a freelance reporter for Autosport and Motorsport News. He joined the Autosport staff as Editorial Assistant on the magazine in 2006, winning what is now known as the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award. He became National Editor in 2008 and over the next few seasons covered a range of international events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as the British Touring Car Championship and British GT. Kevin became Features Editor before switching to edit Motorsport News in 2014.

He returned to Autosport in 2016 to become editor of the magazine, a dream job that is still part of his role.

He became Chief Editor in 2020, helping to plan content for autosport.com and Autosport’s podcast as well as seeing the magazine through the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin also led work on the special publication celebrating 70 years of Autosport and has been a judge on the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, formerly known as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, since 2008. He lives in Fleet with his wife and two children.