Crash.net Top Ten F1 2009 Driver Vote: Number 8

He may have failed to make it onto the podium during the 2009 campaign, but it still proved to be the best season to date in F1 for Nico Rosberg in what became his swansong with the Williams team.

The young German driver started his season with a solid points finish in Australia and managed to survive the carnage of Malaysia to take half a point when the race was ended early due to poor weather conditions.

Having suffered two failure to scores, Rosberg then started a run of top eight finishes which saw him score points in eight successive races - including a fine run from 15th on the grid to finish fourth in his home race at the Nurburgring.

With Williams struggling with the high-speed nature of the Monza circuit, Rosberg failed to score for the only time on European soil in the Italian Grand Prix but was back on form in Singapore - where he secured his best qualifying performance of the year with third on the grid. However, a penalty for crossing the white line exiting the pits ruined his race and stopped Rosberg battling for his maiden F1 win.

The Japanese Grand Prix would see Rosberg score for the final time in 2009 but his performances over the course of the year were more than enough to secure a race seat for Mercedes for 2010 - where he could be partnered by none other than Michael Schumacher.

Rosberg scored every point for Williams in 2009 and seventh in the standings surpassed his previous best of ninth - set in 2007. A total of 34.5 points also marked a personal best and saw you vote him eighth in your vote to name the top F1 driver of the year.

Statistics:

Championship finish: 7th

Starts: 17

Victories: 0

Pole positions: 0

Fastest laps: 1

Podiums: 0

Points: 34.5

Points finishes: 11

Top ten grid positions: 15