Michael Schumacher - Scuderia Ferrari        

WDC Position: Champion
Wins: 6
Podiums: 2
Total points: 93

The reigning World Champion entered the 2003 season as the hottest favourite in years, yet ended up retaining his crown by the slimmest of margins. Early season mistakes, combined with a bafflingly uncompetitive five race streak just after mid-season (in which he failed to lead even a single lap) made the German's job a lot harder than it might have been. The pressure of chasing an unprecedented sixth title may have been the major factor. With that record now in his sole possession, 2004 will determine whether Schumacher's passion for racing remains undiminished, or whether he has perhaps lost a step against the young and hungry opposition.

Rubens Barrichello - Scuderia Ferrari        

WDC Position: 4th
Wins: 2
Podiums: 6
Total points: 65

2003 was another trademark year for the Brazilian - brilliantly dominant at times (Silverstone and Suzuka), unlucky or disappointing in other races. During the latter half of the season, Barrichello showed his worth to Ferrari, outperforming his team leader on several occasions and keeping Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship hunt while taking points away from Schumacher's WDC rivals. Ideally, though, the Brazilian is still seeking the breakthrough season in which he can fight for his own glory, not just Ferrari's. 2004 could be his opportunity.

Juan Pablo Montoya - BMW Williams        

WDC Position: 3rd
Wins: 2
Podiums: 7
Total points: 82

Prior to Monaco, Ferrari boss Jean Todt quipped that nobody was talking about Montoya anymore. His words came back to haunt him, as Montoya promptly reeled off eight podium finishes, including two wins, setting himself and Williams up for possible championship glory. The light rain at Indianapolis eventually derailed the Colombian's plans. Still, he can be well satisfied at another season of excellent development. If he'd enjoyed the same zero-defect machinery that Michael Schumacher had at his disposal, Montoya would probably have been champion in 2003.

Ralf Schumacher - BMW Williams        

WDC Position: 5th
Wins: 2
Podiums: 1
Total points: 58

The younger Schumacher was the model of consistency during the first half of the season, recording ten straight points finishes to keep himself in touch with the championship leaders. The unfortunate first-corner shunt at his home GP in Germany, followed by a testing crash which forced him to sit out the Italian GP at Monza two weeks later, left Ralf in his customary 'close but not close enough' situation coming down the championship stretch. Even though he won the same number of GP as his teammate (2), Ralf continues to give the impression that he is more likely to finish than Montoya, but less likely to excel.

Marc Gene - BMW Williams        

Race Starts: 1
WDC Position: 17th
Total points: 4

Following Ralf Schumacher's testing accident, Williams' Spanish test driver was drafted into the race line-up on extremely short notice at Monza. Under the circumstances Gene performed admirably, driving a calm and measured race to finish fifth and secure four valuable constructor points for Williams.

David Coulthard - McLaren Mercedes        

WDC Position: 7th
Wins: 1
Podiums: 2
Total points: 51

After unexpectedly winning the Australian season-opener from 11th on the grid, Coulthard had every reason to be optimistic about the rest of the season. Sadly, it was the season's only highlight for the Scot. His single-lap qualifying performances didn't get much better, and his results deteriorated. Like Rubens Barrichello, Coulthard can usually be counted upon to produce a couple of stunning drives each season, even if he doesn't challenge for the championship. In 2003, the Scot failed to meet this expectation. With McLaren pinning their hopes squarely on rising star Kimi Raikkonen, Coulthard's 2004 prospects look gloomy.

Kimi Raikkonen - McLaren Mercedes        

WDC Position: 2nd
Wins: 1
Podiums: 9
Total points: 91

The young Finn drove like Alain Prost this season, despite having only a fraction of the French master's vast experience. Raikkonen will regret the qualifying errors in Spain and Canada, as well as the sheer bad luck of his engine failure at Nurburgring and the first corner shunt at Hockenheim. Nevertheless, it was a magnificent season for the Iceman, and one that has launched him into the top echelon of current drivers. He will absorb his rare mistakes in his unflustered style, and emerge as an even stronger and better driver in 2004. That won't be a comforting thought for his rivals.

Jarno Trulli - Renault        

WDC Position: 8th
Podiums: 1
Total points: 33

Trulli may not have grabbed the headlines like his mercurial young teammate Alonso, but the Italian still has reason to feel satisfied with his 2003 effort. He remains one of the fastest qualifiers in the field, and only the unfortunate timing of the rain at Suzuka scotched a potentially stellar end to the season. Trulli is steadily developing into a full two-hour racer rather than just a one-lap specialist. With the Renault gradually closing down the gap to the Big Three (Ferrari, McLaren, Williams), Trulli's maiden win is surely a strong possibility in 2004.

Fernando Alonso - Renault        

WDC Position: 6th
Wins: 1
Podiums: 3
Total points: 55

Alonso fulfilled the high expectations that accompanied his debut F1 season at Minardi - and then some. When a driver wins his first GP in his first season driving a competitive car, it will often be dismissed as a flash in the pan. Alonso has that intangible star quality that leaves most in no doubt that Hungary was just the first of many victories to come. He may not be as consistent as Kimi Raikkonen yet, but in only his second full F1 season, it would be unrealistic to expect otherwise. Alonso's fiery unpredictability was best summed up in Brazil, where he dragged himself from a wrecked Renault and still ended up on the podium.

Nick Heidfeld - Sauber Petronas        

WDC Position: 14th
Highest Finish: 5th (USA)
Total points: 6

Nick Heidfeld is still rankled by McLaren-Mercedes' decision to sign his former Sauber stable-mate Kimi Raikkonen instead of him. The decision illustrates how, in F1, timing is everything. Heidfeld compared relatively well against Raikkonen at Sauber. This season, the German languished down the field while his Finnish former teammate was challenging strongly for the title. Heidfeld pipped his more experienced teammate and fellow countryman Heinz-Harald Frentzen 9-7 in qualifying, but Frentzen proved more consistent especially in wet races, recording three top six finishes to Heidfeld's one. Neither driver did enough to convince Sauber to retain his services, and Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa have been signed for Sauber in 2004.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Sauber Petronas        

WDC Position: 11th
Podiums: 1
Total points: 13

2003 was rumoured to be the Moenchengladbach veteran's final racing season in F1. After winning races earlier in his career for Williams and Jordan, Frentzen has struggled to secure a regular drive, with both Prost and Arrows folding around him. Frentzen's career-long reputation for sustained periods of apparent disinterest, punctuated by sudden flashes of brilliance, was in evidence again this season with his unexpected podium finish at Indianapolis. The German couldn't have provided a better parting gift to Sauber, the six points from his solid wet weather drive helping to propel the team from ninth to sixth in the Constructors' Championship. If one race epitomised Frentzen's F1 legacy, it was the 2003 US GP.

Giancarlo Fisichella - Jordan Ford        

WDC Position: 12th
Wins: 1
Total points: 12

The unluckiest driver in F1 finally got lucky in Brazil. Although the wet and chaotic Interlagos win was down to pure fortuitous timing rather than individual brilliance, the Italian's maiden victory was arguably the most popular win of the season. Sadly and all too predictably, it was the sole highlight in another dreadful year for Jordan. Fisichella will drive for Sauber in 2004, a move that is likely to provide a change of scenery, but no significant improvement in Fisichella's fortunes.

Ralph Firman - Jordan Ford        

WDC Position: 19th
Highest Finish: 8th (Spain)
Total points: 1

Ralph Firman's debut F1 season was never going to be easy. Even though he entered F1 with a wealth of British F3 and Formula Nippon experience, he was partnering one of the sport's fastest and most experienced drivers in a difficult car. Considering his situation, and the additional problem of a testing accident that forced him out of two GP late in the season, Firman performed solidly. His single WDC point may not have seemed like much reward for his season's effort, but it was about as much as could be reasonably expected.

Zsolt Baumgartner - Jordan Ford        

Race Starts: 2
Highest Finish: 11th (Italy)
Total points: 0

The Hungarian F3000 driver was drafted into the Jordan line-up following Ralph Firman's injury, and faced exactly the same intimidating situation as Firman - being measured against the Fisichella benchmark. Other than the local interest generated by competing in front of his home crowd in Hungary, Baumgartner's performances, unsurprisingly, didn't attract much attention.

Mark Webber - Jaguar Cosworth        

WDC Position: 10th
Highest Finish: 6th (3 times)
Total points: 17

The Australian continues to ritually hammer his teammates - all of whom, frustratingly, have lacked the F1 experience and proven ability to serve as a reliable gauge of Webber's potential. On occasion, Webber was accused of holding up the pack on Sunday, his race pace not matching his qualifying form. It is Webber's job to make the most of his machinery and race as far up the order as possible. This year, he fulfilled that responsibility almost as well as any other driver in the field, netting 17 of Jaguar's 18 constructor points. Surely it is just a matter of time before the Australian's talent secures him a top drive? Although most people thought the same about Giancarlo Fisichella...

Antonio Pizzonia - Jaguar Cosworth        

Race Starts: 11
Highest Finish: 9th (Austria)
Total points: 0

Compared to teammate Mark Webber, Pizzonia often vanished anonymously into the pack during the first half of the season. His most visible moments were unfortunate - clattering into the back of Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams in Malaysia, and his stationary Jaguar proving the immovable object to Kimi Raikkonen's irresistible force on the grid in Spain. Pizzonia failed to live up to his testing promise, and few were surprised when Jaguar replaced him with Justin Wilson after the British Grand Prix in July. It will be cold consolation to Pizzonia that, compared to Webber, Wilson has fared little better.

Justin Wilson - Jaguar Ford; Minardi Cosworth        

WDC Position: 19th
Highest Finish: 8th (USA)
Total points: 1

For the last five races of the season, the lanky Wilson got the chance to renew his rivalry with former F3000 championship opponent Mark Webber. Wilson admitted that the switch from perennial minnows Minardi wasn't as easy as he'd hoped, and his cause wasn't helped by mechanical failures in each of his first three appearances for Jaguar. The tide turned in the wet at Indianapolis, as it did for so many other drivers, where Wilson earned his first point for Jaguar and the only Constructors' Championship point not collected by Webber. Wilson's hopes for a strong finish to the season were dashed by an indifferent race at Suzuka, and he is still waiting for Jaguar to confirm his contract for 2004.

Jacques Villeneuve - BAR Honda        

WDC Position: 16th
Highest Finish: 6th (Twice)
Total points: 6

With the continued disappointing results from BAR, it was inevitable that Jacques Villeneuve's tempestuous relationship with the team would reach breaking point sooner or later. Even after another season in which the Canadian's contractual disputes off track garnered more attention than his underwhelming race performances, the acrimonious split was cruelly abrupt. Although Villeneuve is left without an F1 drive for 2004, almost any outcome is an improvement on his long-term decline with BAR. With the former World Champion reduced to just two points scoring finishes in the minor placings, the fans' dream of a Villeneuve title at BAR were even more distant in 2003 than they were back in 1999.

Jenson Button - BAR Honda        

WDC Position: 9th
Highest Finish: 4th (Twice)
Total points: 17

In spite of all the turmoil around him, Jenson Button showed a mature approach to the season, staying out of the Villeneuve-Richards feud and simply getting on with the job of driving. The car responded well to his smooth style, and his two fourth-place finishes (in Japan and Austria) were well merited. Button should continue to develop in the 2004 season when, for the first time ever in his F1 career, he will be paired with a teammate (Takuma Sato) who doesn't have more F1 experience.

Takuma Sato - BAR Honda        

Race Starts: 1 (Japan)
WDC Position: 18th
Total points: 3

Sato may not have been able to emulate his 2002 Suzuka heroics for Jordan, but his single appearance of 2003 was praiseworthy. His clash with Michael Schumacher won't have won him many fans in Germany and Italy, but the Japanese driver was totally blameless for the incident. Stepping into Jacques Villeneuve's position following the Canadian's controversial departure, and hanging on tenaciously for a valuable sixth place in his first race back in F1, was a fine effort.

Jos Verstappen - Minardi Cosworth        

Highest Finish: 9th (Canada)
Total points: 0

2003 was an unnaturally low-key season for Verstappen, as not even his unconventional style could coax a single championship point out of the predictably uncompetitive Minardi. That was more a result of the exemplary reliability of teams further up the grid, rather than any shortcoming on Verstappen's part. The unusually dry summer also played against Verstappen's traditionally wet weather strengths.

Nicolas Kiesa - Minardi Cosworth        

Race Starts: 5
Highest Finish: 11th (USA)
Total points: 0

Nicolas Kiesa may have finished each of the five races he started for Minardi in 2003, but the Danish rookie's performances were even more low-key than Verstappen's. At times, Kiesa seemed almost apologetic to be sharing the track with the faster teams. Completing his F1 apprenticeship without a race-ending driver error was a responsible and cautious effort, although probably too cautious for many.

Olivier Panis - Toyota        

WDC Position: 14th
Highest Finish: 5th (Germany)
Total points: 6

2003 was a frustrating season for the French veteran. Twelve times, Panis qualified in the top ten on the grid. His meagre haul of just three top eight finishes didn't do justice to the team's development as a whole. Unreliability and Toyota's propensity for running light were contributory factors, with Panis either retiring or falling back through the field as the race strategy unfolded. Especially considering his reputation as a car developer, Panis would have expected more.

Cristiano da Matta - Toyota        

WDC Position: 13th
Highest Finish: 6th (Twice)
Total points: 10

After a shaky start to his F1 career, da Matta improved steadily as the season progressed, with three of his four points scoring finishes coming in the last six races of the year. Although he enjoyed far better reliability than his teammate, da Matta had the handicap of driving many of the circuits for the first time. Ultimately, he will be satisfied at scoring the lion's share of Toyota's constructor points. Toyota are best positioned to challenge Renault as 'best of the rest', and da Matta will be looking to double his points haul (at least) in 2004.