Top 10 Supercars drivers of 2021: Part 1

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship featured some outstanding performances, with several drivers recording career-best series finishes.

In the end, no driver could match Shane van Gisbergen, who cantered to a second drivers’ title and first since 2016.

Behind him, some big names returned to the top, with many breaking new ground in their careers.

In Part 1 of Supercars.com analysis, we break down the bottom half of the top 10 best drivers of the 2021 season.

10) Andre Heimgartner

Team: Kelly Grove RacingChampionship: 17thWins: 1Average finish: 14.4Poles: 1Average qualifying: 13.3

Heimgartner’s second half of 2021 reaped little results, but the Kiwi put in some stunning performances throughout the season to leave the Kelly Grove squad on a high. Notably, he ended his 161-race wait for victory in Tailem Bend in crushing fashion. His season was let down by inconsistency from his Mustang package. However, he finally proved his worth as a winning driver, and will leave for Brad Jones Racing a renewed talent.

9) Nick Percat

Team: Brad Jones RacingChampionship: 7thWins: 0Average finish: 9.7Poles: 1Average qualifying: 10.2

Percat was head and shoulders above his BJR teammates in 2021, scoring the team’s only pole and podiums of the season. He equalled his career-best championship finish of seventh, and ended his BJR tenure with another strong Bathurst performance. Walkinshaw Andretti United is getting an in-form driver for 2022.

8) Brodie Kostecki

Team: Erebus MotorsportChampionship: 9thWins: 0Average finish: 12.2Poles: 0Average qualifying: 12.2

Kostecki’s first full-time campaign ended with a stirring podium in Bathurst, adding to trophies at Sandown and Sydney Motorsport Park. He was regularly out-qualified and out-raced by teammate Will Brown, but held his own in combat and ruffled feathers in pit lane. He was rewarded with an impressive top 10 finish by season’s end. Not bad for a rookie season!

7) Will Davison

Team: Shell V-Power Racing TeamChampionship: 4thWins: 0Average finish: 6.2Poles: 2Average qualifying: 5.4

Davison scored 10 podiums in his full-time return in 2021. However, he was shadowed over one lap by teammate Anton De Pasquale, who also won six races. Davison, meanwhile, finished higher of the two despite failing to win a race. Davison went close several times to breaking his winless run, only to fall short. Notably, he surrendered the lead in Sydney due to an electrical drama, and ceded pole advantages in Darwin to van Gisbergen.

6) Cameron Waters

Team: Tickford RacingChampionship: 5thWins: 3Average finish: 7.6Poles: 4Average qualifying: 6.6

Waters didn’t hit the lofty heights of 2020 when he finished runner-up, although he won more races in 2021 than he previously had in his entire career. The Mildura ace won races in Tailem Bend and Townsville and finished second in the Great Race, but his title charge was let down by poor reliability and bad luck. Regardless, he loomed as van Gisbergen’s biggest threat from outside his own team for the balance of the season, proving his standing as one of the best racers on the grid.