1 Sebastian Vettel – Red Bull

This was the season when even the most curmudgeonly of Vettel-doubters conceded his all-time greatness, when he became only the third driver after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher to win a fourth consecutive championship. Alain Prost, the four-time champion known as Formula One's "Professor" for his intellectual approach to the sport, appeared to praise Vettel as his successor, when he said: "He is a great driver. You can see he is methodical in his approach and builds a strong team around him."

2 Romain Grosjean – Lotus

The Frenchman could hardly represent a better commercial for the benefits of new fatherhood. He had so many accidents last year that he seemed more likely to make it as a stunt driver than as a genuine world championship contender, but that is exactly what he should be next season. He finished this year strongly with four podium finishes in the final six races.

3 Nico Hulkenberg – Sauber

The driver on a number of wish-lists – Lotus and Force India have been falling over each other to sign him - it is astonishing that he went into the final race of the season without a confirmed drive for 2014. A serial overachiever in an unremarkable car, the German regularly made Q3 and was fourth in Korea.

4 Nico Rosberg – Mercedes

This Leonardo DiCaprio lookalike is clearly determined to be nothing other than a leading man. He saw off Michael Schumacher, his previous team-mate at Mercedes, but that didn't stop people predicting that Lewis Hamilton would blow him away this year. But this highly intelligent driver has two wins to Hamilton's one, and has often out-qualified the Briton.

5 Valtteri Bottas – Williams

When the departing Mark Webber was asked who would be replacing him as the maverick voice in the Formula One paddock he replied "Bottas." He was being ironic. The Finn lets his driving do the talking for him. He looked superb in Texas at the US Grand Prix and one wonders what he might achieve within a bigger team. The real deal.

6 Kimi Raikkonen – Lotus

The world's fastest unpaid driver at times this season, the Finn put Lotus's financial problems behind him to string together a sequence of eye-catching performances as he reproduced his often stunning comeback form of 2012. He was so impressive – at least until he got a bit sulky at the end when he threatened not to race due to the pay issue – that Ferrari, the team that paid him off in 2009, re-engaged him. Missed the final two races after a back operation.

7 Jules Bianchi – Marussia

In an uncompetitive car, the Frenchman took the fight to Caterham as Marussia successfully battled for the financially important 10th place in the constructors' championship. Beside a rookie sidekick in Max Chilton, he was often a strong and feisty team leader, and achieved a best placing of 13th in Malaysia.

8 Daniel Ricciardo –Toro Rosso

Always smiling, and always working very hard, the Aussie Toro Rosso driver's greatest achievement was to win the most coveted seat in F1, driving for Red Bull alongside Vettel next season. Red Bull thought long and hard about this, before rewarding the driver who finished seventh in China and Italy.

9 Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes

Most people thought he was crazy to quit McLaren for Mercedes a year ago, but it proved to be an inspired move as he has formed part of a revival at the Arrows. Has not yet got a car that suits his style but he still pulled off five pole positions and a stunning win in Hungary.

10 Mark Webber – Red Bull

The Australian provided another strong drive in Brazil in his final Formula One race to come second and pip Hamilton to third place in the drivers' championship. In the end, Vetel made him look almost ordinary but Webber was better than that and he went out in style.

11 Max Chilton – Marussia

An habitual back-marker – but not here – he has finished last on a dozen occasions. His best performance was 14th in Monaco – and even then he was last but one. But this affable Marussia driver also set a rookie record by finishing every race. Astonishingly, he was the only driver to do so, and at the end of the season the team wanted to keep him.

12 Fernando Alonso – Ferrari

He looked a real title challenger when he won in China and Spain early in the season. And he remained wonderfully consistent, with nine podium finishes. But he also had a row with Ferrari and he didn't have a good enough car. The mid-season change of tyres appeared to cost him but, nevertheless, did not look quite as formidable as he has been.

13 Paul di Resta – Force India

He looks destined to walk away from Formula One at the end of the season, as Force India settle for Adrian Sutil and maybe Sergio Pérez. This would be a disappointment because he has shown consistent pace all season. But the sport can be unfair like that and he does not bring in any money in terms of sponsorship.

14 Jenson Button – McLaren

Has coasted a little in recent races, even though his fourth place in the final race pointed the way to better things in 2014.

He was never pushed by his team-mate Pérez, although all that might change when the Kevin Magnussen joins next year from the team's driver-development programme. It will also help if he has a competitive car.

15 Felipe Massa – Ferrari

Had some of his best drives after Ferrari had shown him the door. But the fact is that he has been living on borrowed time since his serious accident in 2009 reduced his ability to drive fast and made him settle for being Alonso's stooge. Could still be a good signing for Williams, though.

16 Adrian Sutil – Force India

Was not dominated by his team-mate Di Resta as much as many anticipated. And he also brought some much needed money to the team. He faded in the second half of the season after being a regular single-digit finisher in the first half. But the mid-season tyre change did not suit Force India one bit.

17 Jean-Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso

His best performance was his sixth place in Canada but it was no surprise when he lost out to Toro Rosso team-mate Ricciardo in terms of getting promotion to Red Bull next season. He made a weak finish to the season, with a 17th in Abu Dhabi, a 16th in Texas and a 15th in Brazil. If only the season had lasted a few more months.

18 Giedo van der Garde – Caterham

Driving for Caterham can't have been too much fun but the 28-year-old Dutch rookie showed some pace on occasions and was 14th in Hungary. His best qualifying performance was his 14th in Belgium. Looked better than Charles Pic at the end of the day, and beating your team-mate is the first priority.

19 Esteban Gutiérrez – Sauber

He had a difficult start to the season and never properly recovered. When he put it all together he proved he could be quick, at Suzuka for example, and he was also a top-10 qualifier in Singapore and Korea. But there were too many mistakes and he was a poor second to Hulkenberg at Sauber.

20 Sergio Pérez – McLaren

He was given the opportunity of a lifetime, a drive with one of the biggest and best teams, and he blew it. On the surface he was unlucky to be shown the door by McLaren, because he was often quicker than the much more experienced Button. But the suggestion was that he had not fully embraced Formula One's work ethic and the feedback that he gave his team was poor.

21 Charles Pic – Caterham

It has been a disappointing second season for the Frenchman. There have been silly mistakes, coming from a non-rookie, and he has not enamoured himself to his team either because the feedback has not been deemed good enough. A big disappointment, feeding rumours that he may not be around next year.

22 Pastor Maldonado – Williams

He was regularly outperformed by his less experienced team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, and at the US Grand Prix he even accused his team of trying to sabotage his effort. Did not build on last year's maiden win and it may be just as well he has Venezuela's state oil company behind him. In the cash-strapped world of Formula One that makes him an asset.

• Heikki Kovalainen is not included after driving in only two races in place of Kimi Raikkonen

How they finished in the drivers' championship

Pos Driver Nationality Team Points

1 Sebastian Vettel German Red Bull Racing-Renault 397

2 Fernando Alonso Spanish Ferrari 242

3 Mark Webber Australian Red Bull Racing-Renault 199

4 Lewis Hamilton British Mercedes 189

5 Kimi Raikonnen Finnish Lotus-Renault 183

6 Nico Rosberg German Mercedes 171

7 Romain Grosjean French Lotus-Renault 132

8 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 112

9 Jenson Button British McLaren-Mercedes 73

10 Nico Hulkenberg German Sauber-Ferrari 51

11 Sergio Perez Mexican McLaren-Mercedes 49

12 Paul di Resta British Force India-Mercedes 48

13 Adrian Sutil German Force India-Mercedes 29

14 Daniel Ricciardo Australian STR-Ferrari 20

15 Jean-Eric Vergne French STR-Ferrari 13

16 Esteban Gutiérrez Mexican Sauber-Ferrari 6

17 Valtteri Bottas Finnish Williams-Renault 4

18 Pastor Maldonado Venezuelan Williams-Renault 1

19 Jules Bianchi French Marussia-Cosworth 0

20 Charles Pic French Caterham-Renault 0

21 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish Lotus-Renault 0

22 Giedo van der Garde Dutch Caterham-Renault 0

23 Max Chilton British Marussia-Cosworth 0