F1 in the 21st century has not ideally been a spectacle of competitive racing. The sport has seen three of the most dominant eras in the history of the sport. The first was Ferrari, which dominated the sport for five years from 2000 to 2004. Then Red Bull took over with a four-year dominance from 2010 to 2013, and most recently we've had Mercedes reign supreme in the turbo era for eight years since 2014.It's been a series of dominant eras in Formula 1 where if one team picks up the initiative, then it runs with it for a significant period. Even during these extended stretches, however, we've still had quite a few interesting and closely fought championship battles. There have been battles that have featured driving at very high levels and some intense on-track battles.In this piece, we rank the top 5 F1 seasons of the 21st century, with the ordering based on the quality of driving by the contenders, the key storylines, and how close the battle was for the title.#5 2003 F1 season (Michael Schumacher vs Kimi Raikkonen vs Juan Pablo Montoya)Formula 1@F1#OnThisDay in 2003, history was made 🗓The mighty Michael Schumacher became the first #F1 driver to achieve SIX world championships 🤯And, he did it in an unforgettable fashion at a wild Japanese Grand Prix, the final race of the 2003 season! #F1 @ScuderiaFerrari8:20 AM · Oct 12, 20216608685#OnThisDay in 2003, history was made 🗓The mighty Michael Schumacher became the first #F1 driver to achieve SIX world championships 🤯And, he did it in an unforgettable fashion at a wild Japanese Grand Prix, the final race of the 2003 season! #F1 @ScuderiaFerrari https://t.co/HkTwGOLyMaMichael Schumacher was considered the gold standard of driving in F1. In the 2003 season, however, he was facing an uphill task against the new blood that had made its way into the sport. With exceptional drivers like McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya, Schumacher was involved in a see-saw battle for the championship that season.There were stages when the championship was led by Raikkonen. There were stages when Montoya would obliterate the field in his Williams, eg. 2003 German Grand Prix. Schumacher, however, ultimately took the initiative in the latter stages of the season and won the title against Raikkonen by the tiniest of margins of just two points.#4 2007 F1 season (Lewis Hamilton vs Kimi Raikkonen vs Fernando Alonso)Formula 1@F1#OnThisDay 9 years ago: Kimi Raikkonen becomes an #F1 world champion - beating Hamilton & Alonso by ONE point >> youtu.be/dCmT9A7mCwM3:24 AM · Oct 21, 2016535353#OnThisDay 9 years ago: Kimi Raikkonen becomes an #F1 world champion - beating Hamilton & Alonso by ONE point >> youtu.be/dCmT9A7mCwMThe 2007 F1 season was the first since Michael Schumacher's retirement, and to the surprise of many, the season did not disappoint. Lewis Hamilton made his debut this season and made an immediate impact on the sport.In his rookie year, Hamilton would challenge, and beat, reigning two-time world champion Fernando Alonso in the same car. The season had a lot of drama with the 'Spygate' controversy, but with Alonso, Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen driving at their best, the season kept everyone hooked.To cap it all off, the final race of the season had Hamilton leading the championship followed by Alonso and Raikkonen. The Briton would, however, struggle from reliability issues during the race. With Raikkonen winning the race, the Finn would clinch the title by 1 point from Alonso and Hamilton.