F1: Top 5 recovery drives of the 2018 season

#1 Fernando Alonso in Baku

Alonso's drive was uniquely brilliant in doggedness

The top comeback drive has to go to the Spaniard Fernando Alonso, for his sheer doggedness of dragging a double punctured McLaren through the long straights of Baku back into the pit on 2 wheels. A first lap incident like that would have had almost every driver throw in the towel.

Alonso had even more of a reason, having an underpowered, underdeveloped and underperforming car that would suffer on a power dependent street circuit. The drive back to the pit lane is itself a comeback, but then to wrestle it to seventh was doubling down. It was sheer determination from the double world champion - now a specialist in making cars finish in positions they have no business finishing in.

The safety cars helped his quest, but it was a display that defied many in the paddock as he was also driving with a damaged floor. It was an unbelievable drive, overachieving in inferior machinery. That makes Alonso's drive at Azerbaijan a worthy comeback drive of the year.