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Fernando Alonso has been voted as the driver of the year by Formula 1's team bosses in AUTOSPORT's annual team principals' top 10 poll.

The Ferrari driver, who lost out on the world championship by just three points to Sebastian Vettel, dominated the voting this year.

AUTOSPORT asked each of F1's current team principals to pick their top ten drivers for the season, with points being awarded under the current scoring system of 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1

The individual votes are kept secret so team bosses can give a more honest appraisal of their views.

Alonso was a clear winner this year, securing the biggest winning margin in the five years since AUTOSPORT began the top 10.

He was voted as best driver by eight of the 12 team principals. His score of 269 points gave him a 71-point margin over last year's top driver Sebastian Vettel.

It is the second time in the five years that the team principals' top ten has been running that Alonso has taken the number one spot.

He was voted as top driver in 2010, after also losing out on the championship in the final round.

Lewis Hamilton may have endured his frustrations on track with McLaren this season, but his efforts behind the wheel were acknowledged as he beat the returning Kimi Raikkonen for third place overall.

Nico Hulkenberg's form at Force India was also recognised on his F1 comeback, as he was voted as the seventh best driver by the teams.

AUTOSPORT team principals' top 10: 1. Fernando Alonso 269 2. Sebastian Vettel 198 3. Lewis Hamilton 177 4. Kimi Raikkonen 176 5. Jenson Button 104 6. Mark Webber 66 7. Nico Hulkenberg 50 8. Nico Rosberg 30 9. Sergio Perez 30 10. Felipe Massa 27