Fernando Alonso has been voted by readers of a British newspaper as the best driver of the 2008 season.

The Spaniard finished the drivers' championship outside of the top four, and Britain's own Lewis Hamilton earlier this month stole Alonso's record for becoming the youngest ever world champion.

The pair each attracted more than 1000 votes apiece in The Times' ranking, with Alonso emerging with the number one spot by a margin of just ten.

The 27-year-old's minor victory made headlines in the international specialist media, including the websites of La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italy) and Marca (Spain).

The Times' Edward Gorman wrote of Hamilton: "He won the world championship and he produced some incredible drives but he was also erratic and unconvincing at times."

72 votes behind McLaren's Hamilton, his 2008 title runner-up Felipe Massa came in third.

Winners of one race apiece, Robert Kubica (BMW) and Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, ranked higher than the reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Newcomer Timo Glock took eighth spot ahead of the other Toyota driver Jarno Trulli, and Hamilton's teammate Heikki Kovalainen scored enough votes for only 12th.

Britain's other drivers, Jenson Button and David Coulthard, fared poorly in the ranking, with 17th and 19th positions respectively.

And two drivers that only completed the initial four races of 2008, Super Aguri's Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson, managed to avoid last place.

That dishonour befell Williams' Kazuki Nakajima, who will again line up on the grid for the British team in 2009.

Source: GMM