Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Whilst the ranking is sure to cause the usual controversy and debate, amongst fans and those featured in the list alike, we do our best each year to assess which drivers excelled given various factors such as the series they race in, the competition and the machinery at their disposal.

Today's podcast will reveal who came first, who scraped in at 50th, and our reasoning behind some of the picks this year.
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Top 50 Drivers of 2023

The podcast for fans of Formula 1, Formula E, Sportscars, Touring Cars and Rally. The Autosport Podcast is the official podcast of Autosport, the world’s leading authority on motorsport.

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The British Touring Car Championship returns for its 2024 Season this weekend with its opening round at Donington Park, and with it, big changes to the series as a whole. A new "IndyCar" style Qualifying system with two-group, elimination format, a forced harder compund tyre change in Race 2 for the Top 10 finishers in Race 1, and a doubling in hybrid boost to aid overtaking. On the Autosport Podcast, Tom Howard and Stephen Lickorish talk about what impact the changes may have on the series, as well as discuss all the key contenders. Is it a fight between Ash Sutton and Colin Turkington for their fifth titles? Is it Tom Ingram pushing for a second crown? And what about the chasing pack of Jake Hill, Dan Cammish or Josh Cook?
The support classes get a full preview as well with Porsche Carrera Cup, British Formula Four Championship and the Mini Challenge all featuring!
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2024 BTCC Season Preview - Sutton vs Turkington In The Race For Five?

The 2023 Formula 1 offseason marked the first time in the sport's history that all 20 drivers on the grid that finished last season, stayed with their original teams. But when Lewis Hamilton announced in February that he was switching to Ferrari for 2025, it opened the floodgates to some of the earliest "silly season" dialogue that the sport has ever seen. 
In this edition of the Autosport Podcast, Bryn Lucas sits down with Grand Prix Editor Alex Kalinauckas to discuss the possibilities as to where drivers could be heading for 2025, including the latest on both Red Bull drivers, Mercedes push for Andrea Kimi Antonelli from F2, where Carlos Sainz fits into the equation, and seeing if Sauber could take a chance on Nico Hulkenberg as Audi begins to exert their influence on the team. 
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F1 2025 Driver Market Update - Where Do Sainz, Perez and Ricciardo Fit?

It was a rain-affected classic as Round 2 of the World Endurance Championship headed to Emilia-Romagna and the 6 Hours of Imola. Ferrari were hopeful for home glory after a perfect 1-2-3 in Qualifying, but a strategic blunder when the rain fell mid-race dashed all hope for the Italian manufacturer. On the Autosport podcast, Kevin Turner is joined by Gary Watkins as they break down just how Ferrari lost in Imola, how Kamui Kobayashi survived the rain, a massive fuel save at the end of the race, and the pressure of Kevin Estre in the Porsche Penske.
There's also a chat about the state of the field's Balance of Performance and why Imola showed the FIA and ACO still might be missing the mark, and the LMGT3 category as Team WRT brought home a 1-2 finish for BMW, with MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi scoring his first WEC podium.
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WEC Imola Review - Toyota Masters The Rain As Ferrari Blows 1-2-3

Despite starting from fourth, he won the sprint race by 13 seconds, and then did it again during the grand prix, starting from pole and comfortably cruising to the win.
Joining Bryn Lucas on the show are Filip Cleeren and Jake Boxall-Legge as they dissect the more interesting stories beneath the surface, such as Lando Norris turning a "damage limitation" round into a second-place finish.
Also, Mercedes continued to struggle as Hamilton had a tale of two weekends - second in the sprint, but recovering to ninth from 18th in the grand prix, and a bizarre crash on a restart as Lance Stroll drove hard into the rear of Daniel Ricciardo.
And finally, F1 is considering extending the current scoring system down to 12th, is that to solve the championship’s performance disparities or a genuine scrap for the midfield?
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Chinese Grand Prix Review - Max Dominates Again, Norris Surprises In Second

Who doesn't love a good livery? In the final episode of our Top 10 Series on the British Touring Car Championship, Martyn Lee, Kevin Turner, Tom Howard and Motorsport Vision and Super Touring Power organiser Tom Arron sit down to debate their 10 favourite liveries in BTCC history. Now this isn't just the best looking of them all, it's twinned with overall heritage and impact within the series. From the classic white, blues and reds of the 90's BMW to Matt Neal's Ford Mondeo and the big, bold "100+" sponsorship, and references to Scalextric sets of the 90's, many a disagreement was held as our final list was formed! Thanks for listening to our Top 10 Series and check back next week for our 2024 BTCC Season Preview! 
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Top 50 Drivers of 2023

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