F1: Sergey Sirotkin voted second-best driver of 2018

In a sport where the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel constantly play the frontrunners of the grid, not an awful lot is shared for the backmarkers- isn't it?

It's that time of the year where the rivalries have been forged and fiddled enough with, where races have been won and lost, where the verdict has been delivered and there remains no more than one final point-scoring opportunity for everyone.

It's the time of the year where those who are the runner's up - Ferrari, once again on this occasion- would go all out to end on a high, even if that means scoring a result that can do little to assuage the final tally.

Similarly, it's also that time of the year where those who've been winless, all throughout, would like to hold the upper hand in a final bid to upset the common narrative, take Valtteri Bottas for example, the winner of the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Usually, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix- scene of the famous 2012-radio rant fashioned by Kimi, "Leave me alone; I know what am doing," is a Grand Prix that arrives on the roster by the time the name of the world champion is known and can be heard loud and clear even from the outer space.

This year too, the feeling isn't any greatly different.

But what could've been a better prelude to the season-ending contest in the electrifying night safari in the UAE than finding the name of the popular drivers this season? Isn't it?

To that end, while the most popular driver is being currently decided in multiple polls being run online, the name of the second-best driver of the 2018 Formula 1 season is out there.

Do you have any clue? He belongs to the Putin-land and among his compatriots is a man funnily nicknamed, "The Torpedo."

Suffices to say that the second-best driver of the F1 2018 season has been bagged by none other than Williams' Sergey Sirotkin.

At present, Sergey Sirotkin stands with a solitary point.

With 1 point against his name, courtesy of a fighting P10 at the Italian Grand Prix, Sirotkin hasn't been able to add to his tally of points, having opened his account only after contesting in fourteen races.

In a verdict that might compel several to scratch their scalps, the Russian driver, admired for his cool and unflustered driving style has made it first on the list of the 'second most improved driver for 2018' according to a poll run by popular sports media broadcasting network Sky.

That said, while one can be happy for Sergey, who currently stands at the bottom of the driver's standings for 2018, one isn't really sure that how is it that his name was suggested in the rating over drivers like Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean, Charles Leclerc, and the others?