Lewis Hamilton has been voted the driver of the season by British magazine Autosport in their prestigous end-of-season review, despite the Briton finishing only fifth in this year's world championship standings. Although the MP4-24 was well off the pace at the beginning of the season, an upgrade package introduced at the German Grand Prix propelled Hamilton to the front of the field, before he took two victories and a further three podium finishes in the final eight races.

Autosport's grand prix editor Mark Hughes credited Hamilton with taking full advantage of McLaren's upturn in performance, as he consistently outshone team-mate Kovalainen, and scored more points than any other driver in the latter part of the year. “The moment the car's performance window widened, Hamilton was consistently brilliant,” wrote Hughes. “His spectacular skill-set was on display from the moment the MP4-24 was given the Nurburgring update that lent it credibility.”

Hamilton beat 2010 team-mate and 2009 world champion Jenson Button in Autosport's rankings, while world championship runner-up Sebastian Vettel was third.