Well, he did it, and he did it in style. In the absence of a clear challenger for the title, Schuey Snr spent the season taking on history, and in most cases he beat it. While there were a couple of weekends that found the German off the boil, there were far more that saw him scoot away from the front row and disappear, leaving everyone else to scrap it out for the leftovers – much like he did with the 2001 crown.

Rubens Barrichello      Grade: B

Highest: A- (Germany, Italy)
Lowest: C+ (Europe, Japan)
Mid-Term Grade: B-
Average Qualifying Position: 4.66
Average Finishing Position: 3.5

Once Barrichello got going in a race he normally didn't do too badly, however he made things hard for himself by under-performing during that vital hour on Saturday – in fact, he only started four of the last nine races from the front two rows. Given that Schumacher scored five poles and one second during the same period, it's hard to dump too much blame on the car. When he was good though, he was really good, and a storming performance at Hockenheim showed just what the Brazilian can do when everything is dialed in properly.

MCLAREN

Mika Hakkinen      Grade: B

Highest: A (Britain, USA)
Lowest: C- (Europe, France)
Mid-Term Grade: B
Average Qualifying Position: 4.88
Average Finishing Position: 3.5

What was really going on in Mika's mind during the earlier part of the year? McLaren's efforts to implement their new electronic wizardry ended very embarrassingly for a team so devoted to perfection, and the struggle to simply get both cars away from the grid must surely have weighed heavily upon the Finn. It doesn't come close to providing a full explanation regarding why Hakkinen's mind was so obviously elsewhere for so long, but once he returned, he returned with a bang.

The shy smile was back, and so were some of the performances. His Silverstone performance was reminiscent of Mika circa 1998, and he was in his own league at Indy – a display that may prove to be his swansong. It's sad that Mika was unable to sustain a consistent challenge in the final year before his 'break', though uninspired outings such as we saw at the Nurburgring didn't help his cause.

David Coulthard      Grade: B

Highest: A (Belgium)
Lowest: C (Britain)
Mid-Term Grade: B
Average Qualifying Position: 5.22
Average Finishing Position: 3

Like Barrichello, Coulthard's biggest problem was qualifying. The McLaren obviously wasn't quite up to the task, as Mika usually qualified somewhere nearby, but even so, the Scot was more-often-than-not behind his teammate on the grid. Not the ideal way to go about a title chase. He certainly had his moments though – second at Spa was a great result after qualifying ninth, although he was helped along by retirements. Already, Coulthard has started his 'next year I'm the guy' routine, but given some of the progress being made elsewhere on the grid it's quite possible that his best chances are now behind him.

WILLIAMS

Ralf Schumacher      Grade: B

Highest: A (Germany)
Lowest: C (USA)
Mid-Term Grade: B+
Average Qualifying Position: 3.33
Average Finishing Position: 3.85

For much of the latter half of the season, Ralf's form was similar to what it had been in the opening races – sensational. While the win in Germany was an obvious highlight, he put in a number of strong performances, both in race and qualifying trim. In fact, he only failed to qualify outside the top four once in the last nine outings. Late in the year though, he began to become rattled – a spin here, a stop/go there. Did the late charge by his teammate have anything to do with it? Who knows, but in the closing stages of the season, JPM looked to have the upper hand. The timing of Ralf's comment about the need for team orders at Williams was, consequently, a little puzzling. As the saying goes: Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true. Next year will be very interesting.

Juan Pablo Montoya      Grade: B+

Highest:A (Italy)
Lowest: C+ (Hungary)
Mid-Term Grade: B
Average Qualifying Position: 3.55
Average Finishing Position: 3.4

Many (myself included) pointed to JPM's lack of finesse and sensitivity in his early races with Williams, however he has improved out of sight in the second half of the season. While he still makes mistakes, and has a tendency to push the car harder than it needs (or wants) to be pushed, he capped off a steady refinement of his driving with a great win at Monza. The real revelation, though, has been his qualifying speed. Though a little less consistent than Ralf, his speed has been amazing, with three pole positions and a P2 acting to serve notice that next year could be a big one.

SAUBER

Nick Heidfeld      Grade: B-

Highest: B (Britain, USA)
Lowest: C (Europe, Germany)
Mid-Term Grade: B-
Average Qualifying Position: 8.88
Average Finishing Position: 7.16

Heidfeld made it to the flag six times out of the last nine rounds, and four of those races saw the young German finish in the points. Coupled with the fact that he out-qualified his teammate 6-3, the Prost refugee should be very happy indeed with the way 2001 ended. The spotlight on Kimi allowed Heidfeld to go about his business quietly (much as the hype surrounding Button last year allowed Heidfeld to have a low-key debut season which, considering the 'quality' of the Prost, was probably a good thing), and it has paid dividends.

Kimi Raikkonen      Grade: C+

Highest: B+ (Britain)
Lowest: C (Japan)
Mid-Term Grade: B
Average Qualifying Position: 11.11
Average Finishing Position: 7.2

The new Finn at McLaren had a rather ragged finish to his otherwise impressive first year. Perhaps Heidfeld was starting to get a handle on his teammate, or maybe Kimi was simply letting the 'rookie' in him show itself a little more, but around the time that his defection to the Silver Arrows was announced, he began to look a little shaky. Raikkonen only scored points once in the second half of the year, and finished just outside the points on three other occasions However, the end of his debut season will probably be remembered most for the unintentional part he played in Alesi's dramatic exit from his final F1 race. His talent is undisputed, but he has to come to grips with a very different environment at Woking next year.

JORDAN

Jarno Trulli      Grade: C+

Highest: B- (France)
Lowest: C (Britain)
(Mid-Term Grade: B+
Average Qualifying Position:7.55
Average Finishing Position: 6.5

Pending the outcome of Jordan's appeal regarding the US GP, three letters stood between fifth and sixth in the Constructors Championship – DNF. Trulli greeted the chequered flag just twice in the second half of the season, and only one of those outings scored points. To be fair, it wasn't always his fault – he could have scored at the Nurburgring, for example, until the car let him down – but he still makes more errors than you would expect from someone with his experience. There's no doubting his speed - in terms of pure talent, there are several that rank him amongst the top two or three in the pitlane – but harnessing that ability it is another thing altogether. Unless Jarno can find some consistency next season, he risks falling between the cracks as others rise to the fore around him.

Jean Alesi      Grade: B-

Highest: A- (USA)
Lowest: C- (France)
Mid-Term Grade: C+
Average Qualifying Position: 13.55
Average Finishing Position: 8.42

Alesi looked off the boil during his entire tenure at Prost, but once he had swapped the blue driving suit for a yellow one he was transformed. Suddenly, he looked like a man who was passionate about his driving, and knew that he was most likely running out of time. His best races were Spa, where he scored a point after a cracking battle against Ralf Schumacher, and the US, where he bounced back from a bad run in qualifying to put in a great performance punctuated with some genuine overtaking en route to another championship point for Eddie Jordan. It's sad that Alesi's career ended the way it did – it would have been great for the French Sicilian to see the chequered flag one more time. It may have been a while since Alesi looked like a serious threat, but the sport will nevertheless feel very different without him.

Ricardo Zonta      Grade: C

Highest: C (Germany)
Lowest: C (Germany)
Average Qualifying Position: 15
Average Finishing Position: 7

Playing the understudy role isn't easy, so it would have been unfair to expect much from Zonta when he filled the seat vacated by Heinz-Harald Frentzen at Hockenheim. As things turned out, it was a fleeting appearance anyway – he was involved in a 'moment' with Jos Verstappen on lap 6, and that was that.

BRITISH AMERICAN RACING

Jacques Villeneuve      Grade: C+

Highest: A- (Germany)
Lowest: C- (USA)
Mid-Term Grade: B-
Average Qualifying Position: 11.88
Average Finishing Position: 7.57

During the early period of BAR's existence, it was easy to feel a mix of sympathy for the French Canadian in the face of the uphill slog he had ahead of him, and admiration for his dogged loyalty to the team under some testing circumstances. In the latter half of 2001, though, the sympathy started to dry up. While the BAR has rarely looked like it came ready for a party, Villeneuve has frequently looked just as out-of-sorts. He took Panis out at Silverstone, for example, and came frightfully close to doing it again at Spa. When Villeneuve is on it, there is nobody more exciting to watch, but it has been a while since he has shown anything approaching that kind of form. A lot of elements of the BAR package need to be tightened up if the team is going to be regularly competitive, and the 1997 champ is one of them.

Olivier Panis      Grade: C+

Highest: C+ (most of them)
Lowest: C (Europe, Britain)
Mid-Term Grade: B
Average Qualifying Position: 13.11
Average Finishing Position: 9.83

It was a frustrating end to a difficult season for Olivier Panis. Most of the time, the easygoing Frenchman looked like he had his hands full simply trying to coerce something out of the stubborn BAR, and he also took a few gambles on fuel strategy that didn't pay off.

BENETTON

Giancarlo Fisichella      Grade: B-

Highest: A (Belgium)
Lowest: C+ (Europe, France, Britain, Italy)
Mid-Term Grade: C+
Average Qualifying Position: 13.55
Average Finishing Position: 8.42

Well, Benetton didn't set the world on fire in their final nine races, but at least they stopped going backwards. Fisi for the most part did his best with what he had, but all too often that meant struggling around in the distant midfield trying to feed instructions to a car that simply didn't want to know about it. His efforts were rewarded with a good result in Belgium, and he backed it up with other respectable outings in Germany and Hungary.

Jenson Button      Grade: C

Highest: B+ (Germany)
Lowest: C- (Hungary, Belgium, Italy)
Mid-Term Grade: C
Average Qualifying Position: 15
Average Finishing Position: 9.6

Button will be very, very glad to see the back of season 2001. While the Benetton has not proved conducive to producing regular tangible results in the form of championship points, he has also been made to look ordinary by his teammate. Fisichella often blew the young Brit into the weeds in qualifying, and Button compounded this by making a couple of silly errors. I hate using the term 'make or break', but suffice to say that 2002 is an important year for young Jenson.

JAGUAR

Eddie Irvine      Grade: C+

Highest: A- (USA)
Lowest: C- (Hungary, Belgium)
Mid-Term Grade: C+
Average Qualifying Position: 13.44
Average Finishing Position: 7

Well, at least Eddie's mouth is in fine form. The self-nominated 'second best driver in F1' plugged away while the Jaguar soap opera unfolded around him, but there were undoubtedly times when the team wished he would just shut up and drive. A couple of good outings were rewarded with points at Indianapolis, and he could also have scored at Hockenheim before a misfire intervened. The Ulsterman still puts it into the gravel more often than you would expect from 'the best driver other than Schumacher', and he was outqualified 4-5 by de la Rosa. Irvine is doing a reasonably good job, but it's not difficult to imagine the top brass wanting more for the considerable amount of money that they're throwing at him.

Pedro De La Rosa      Grade: C+

Highest: A (Italy)
Lowest: C- (Germany)
Mid-Term Grade: C
Average Qualifying Position: 13
Average Finishing Position: 10.16

De la Rosa has done a great job in qualifying, but most of the races find the Spaniard driving hard for no real result. Fifth was a well-deserved reward for his efforts at Monza, and as he continues to find his place within a team that it simultaneously trying to find itself, it's not unreasonable to expect 2002 to bring a few more flashes of the skills that were on display during his tenure with Arrows.

PROST

Heinz-Harald Frentzen      Grade: C+

Highest: B- (Belgium, Japan)
Lowest: C (Europe, France, Hungary)
Mid-Term Grade: C+
Average Qualifying Position: 10.25
Average Finishing Position: 9

Heinz-Harald won't forget the second half of 2001 in a hurry. Amazingly though, he actually looked more impressive in the Prost than he did in the Jordan. The obvious highlight was his great qualifying effort at Spa, which must have provided a lift to a team than needed it badly. It ended in tears when the car stalled on the line, a misfortune that seemed to sum the Prost outfit up perfectly. Frentzen spent the rest of the season either battling through the lower midfield or pulling off the track with some component of the car having fallen to pieces, and it's hard to imagine the German suddenly bouncing back onto the podium next year.

Luciano Burti      Grade: C

Highest: B- (France)
Lowest: C- (Germany, Hungary, Belgium)
Mid-Term Grade: C
Average Qualifying Position: 16.83
Average Finishing Position: 11

Burti's season started the way it ended – dramatically. He switched to Prost earlier in the year after being found superfluous to Jaguar's needs, and made the front page of newspapers everywhere with a pair of gargantuan shunts at Hockenheim and Spa. He drove really well at Magny-Cours, outclassing the veteran Alesi his way to tenth, but otherwise he rarely looked up to the task. When the driver names are bolted up above the garages in the pitlane at Albert Park next March, don't expect to see Burti's among them.

Tomas Enge      Grade: C+

Highest: B (Italy)
Lowest: C- (Japan)
Average Qualifying Position: 20
Average Finishing Position: 12.5

Enge came into F1 in round sixteen waving great wads of cash around – or, more precisely, in the direction of Alain Prost, Esq. He made a few beginner's mistakes – perversely, he waited until his third race before unleashing his more glaring indiscretions, such as messing up his grid position on the start line, or reading another team's pitboard and pitting on the wrong lap. That said, his actual debut race, Monza, was actually pretty decent – he made no mistakes, and kept it all together to finish an admirable twelfth.

ARROWS

Jos Verstappen      Grade: C

Highest: B- (Germany, Belgium)
Lowest: C (Europe, Hungary, USA, Japan)
Mid-Term Grade: B-
Average Qualifying Position: 20.44
Average Finishing Position: 11.5

Not much was seen of Jos the Boss in the second half of the season. While some of the other teams were finding their stride, Arrows alternated between standing still and sliding backwards. The Dutchman put in a couple of decent slogs, such as Germany and Hungary, but he never came out with much to show for it. A major bugbear was qualifying – on more than one occasion, both Arrows found themselves outpaced by the lead Minardi.

Enrique Bernoldi      Grade: C+

Highest: B- (Germany)
Lowest: C (Europe, France, Britain, Belgium, Japan)
Mid-Term Grade: C
Average Qualifying Position: 19.44
Average Finishing Position: 12

To use a well-worn phrase, Bernoldi's debut year was solid, yet unspectacular. Again, the Arrows was not the greatest car in which to make in impression, and the youngster also had a frustrating series of engine problems. Interestingly though, with a 6-3 record, he had the wood on his vastly more experienced teammate in qualifying. His battle against Verstappen for eighth in Germany added some spice to the race, and was perhaps the highlight of Bernoldi's year.

MINARDI

Fernando Alonso      Grade: B-

Highest: A (Japan)
Lowest: C (Belgium)
(Mid-Term Grade: B-
Average Qualifying Position: 19.77
Average Finishing Position: 12.8

Alonso is showing all the signs of being an absolute sensation. He was able to qualify as high as 17th fairly regularly, which was a decent feat considering that the second Minardi started every race from P22. He drove maturely, and made surprisingly few mistakes – his four retirements in the last nine races were all due to mechanical failures; a record that makes some of his vastly more experienced (and more highly rated) opponents look a little ordinary. It's no surprise that the team is so keen to hold on to him, however it's difficult to image that Fernando won't be making a trip further up the pitlane before too long.

Tarso Marques      Grade: C

Highest: B- (France)
Lowest: D+ (Britain)
Mid-Term Grade: C-
Average Qualifying Position: 22
Average Finishing Position: 14

Marques plugged away and did his best, which was about all that could be expected of him. He is not a pure talent in the mould of his teammate, however he still managed to haul the Minardi around the track without making too many errors.

Alex Yoong      Grade: C+

Highest: C+ (USA, Japan)
Lowest: C (Italy)
Average Qualifying Position: 22
Average Finishing Position: 16