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The 2011 Christine's Rankings Champion - Heikki Kovalainen - In which Timo Glock hands his trophy over to the new champion

Published by Christine

The second season of Christine's Rankings has been completed, and after 43 weeks and many, many highs and lows, Heikki Kovalainen has secured the crown for 2011. Taking the honour from previous winner Timo Glock, the Finnish driver spent a lot of time tweeting, being cute with his girlfriend and saving baby birds to take his place in the Christine's Rankings history books.

Comfortably on top
Comfortably on topCredit: Team Lotus

Here's how the year went for our three medallists.

Bronze Medalist - Mark Webber

Last year, Mark Webber finished seventh in the final rankings, a strong but mostly mid-field performance. This year, he's stepped up his game to become very active on Twitter, sharing some of the best and worst moments of his season with all. There have been pictures of his dog and his life at home, memorable moments from the paddock, plus more recently - time spent with fellow drivers such as Rubens Barrichello.

On track, it's not been the best season for the Australian, overshadowed by his teammate at almost every opportunity, but he picked it up towards the end of the year with a worthy win in Brazil. His journey on the rankings has been slightly more prosperous, with Webber leading the way for two weeks, dropping towards the end of the season and clawing his way back into the top three.

Despite tough times at the office, Webber has been personable and entertaining throughout the year and takes a fabulous bronze medal.

Silver Medalist - Jenson Button

In 2010, Button just missed out on a medals position coming in fourth place. This year, McLaren stepped up their promotional activities, and thanks to some great Santander and Vodafone videos and PR stunts, both drivers have picked up lots and lots of points over the course of the competition. Of course, Lewis Hamilton has had his own crosses to bear this year, but Button has mostly kept things on an even and happy keel, which sees him jump straight up into second place.

With all kinds of fun and games behind him, including a stint with a moustache last month and hitting the heck out of a Batak wall, the promotional stuff has occasionally gone a little bit too far. Case in point, the rather scarily starched outfits we saw in press conferences of late. Nevertheless, Button has done his best to toe the company line whilst remaining amusing and putting his own spin on proceedings. A well deserved silver place.

Gold Medalist - Heikki Kovalainen

Of last year's finalists, only Heikki Kovalainen has proven consistent in appearing in the top three. Timo Glock has fallen by the wayside, finishing a disappointing seventh, with Karun Chandhok behind him in eighth. Granted, Chandhok had less opportunity to gather points, but it is to Heikki that all the praise must go. Strong throughout the year, the Lotus driver has been at a team happy to have fun and connect with the fans along the way. He's spent a lot of time answering questions on Twitter, sharing open conversations with his lovely girlfriend Catherine, and, as mentioned above, saving baby birds.

He hasn't led every single week of Christine's Rankings this year, but he's always been somewhere near the top, and rightly so. With another stint at Lotus/Caterham in 2012, I'm convinced Kovalainen can defend his title better than Glock did. To Heikki, then, the 2011 Christine's Rankings Champion.

All content in the series Driver Rankings 2011