Comments on: F1 07 review: Driver rankings (3/3)

By: Ghost2912

Ghost2912 — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 18:20:24 +0000

Kieth, I know this thread is a little dated by now, and I’m sorry for posting now, but I have to say this.

Most Hamilton fans, even those who aren’t antagonistic toward Kimi, have claimed at some time or the other that Massa gifted Kimi the win in Brazil. I couldn’t agree less, and this is probably (and completely inadvertently) the best time put forth my argument.

Yes, we all watched at Interlagos when Kimi leapfrogged Massa in the pits, and then Massa dutifully shadowed him to the chequered flag.
We all know that Massa would have been categorically asked to do so, and he did (although I think he was a little excessively sour about it).
But what if he hadn’t been asked to move?
Or what if he had refused?
Does anyone actually believe that a driver of Raikkonen’s caliber wouldn’t have leapfrogged a hypothetically uncooperative Massa either if he had to? And if you’re one of the few who answered ‘yes’ to the last question, may I present Exhibit ‘A’ – laps 16-19 of the Malaysian Grand Prix, 2008.

Oh, and one more thing. You claim that unlike Kimi, Lewis gained no advantage from his teammate. What about the advantage he gained by clearly being the team’s favorite son over the second half of the season? And if you think that claim is disputable, may I present Exhibit ‘B’, a quote from Ron Dennis in Shanghai – "We were racing Fernando."

Thank you for letting me vent. Having vented, may I say I think it’s a very well written piece, even though I dispute (as few have) the top two results.

By: Number 38

Number 38 — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:23:57 +0000

Hamilton led more laps than anyone else (321) and was second on more laps than anyone else (311). His consistency extended to qualifying, where he had more front row starts (12) and a better average starting position than anyone else…………….

BUT, he didn’t win the championship!

By: Iaa

Iaa — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:38:46 +0000

Well, I’m sure Hamilton will be a great driver in the future. But are we judging drivers or cars?? Would have any other rookie perfomed like Hamilton if they had been in McLaren? Maybe better? or worse?

Anyway, I think Kimi has been the best one this year (the best wins, and he did it), and though Hamilton and Alonso were pretty close I’d say Alonso is number 2. Why? Let’s see:

Alonso made McLaren’s car a winner car.

How could Hamilton act so well in his first race in F1? Cause he had a car Alonso had improved and he had his experitse as well due to McLaren’s policy of giving the same chances to both drivers (which means learning from the champion and using that knowledge with Hamilton). For this I think Alonso deserves part of Hamilton’s merit.

By: Sumedh

Sumedh — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:11:00 +0000

Hi Keith, I am reading your article for the first time. And I must say, Your analysis is spot-on. The top-2 are the same for me. I would even put Nick Heidfeld ahead of Fernando Alonso. Lewis deserves the #1 spot for his consistency. Even after 2 mistakes in last 2 races, He didn’t lose the championship until the gear-box failure. Kimi was definitely lucky to win this championship

By: Number 38

Number 38 — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:38:18 +0000

Hamilton is NOT #1 in my book and although this article was about Keith’s version of the top three let’s not forget Kimi is champion only because Massa performed flawlessly at Brazil to displace either Mclaren from scoring second. Massa himself should have been in this discussion but for a suspension failure at Monza which tipped the scales to Kimi.

By: fifan

fifan — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 16:39:11 +0000

I am not sure , it is a driver error or not . As a f1 driver , he should be smart enough to identify the tyre situation at that point of time ( For SoLiD and Keith’s information , u know what happened in china , lewis was pushing hard , to get fastest laps , keep him on front , where as smart guys saved there tyres ) . Even if mclaren refused bridgestone’s request to invite lewis to pitlane , he can just do that . he had the bad history of disobeying team orders in this season … ron wont care :) ..

Let see what is happening in next year …

By: SoLiD

SoLiD — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 14:20:55 +0000

I agree with Lewis at the top, I think he would have deserved the title!
But many ppl can’t handle lewis on top..cause he’s so ‘hyped’…sorry this is not just a hype… he is this good, and don’t forget that some ppl knew this before this season started (me) .. With Montoya leaving, it felt natural to sheer for Lewis, as i loved his aggresive drives! It’s a pitty in a way he got so popular..you got the old hate or love him with ppl who can’t look at f1 in a neutral way!
If he wins its his car, if he fails its a bad driver…
I agree with Keith… he didn’t really make a driver error… China was really bad luck, that tyre was so badly damaged, he didn’t overdue it in the pits.. any driver could have gone off i think.. and the transmission failure in Brasil isn’t his fault DUH…and his move on alonso, why not, not that smart ok..but else ppl complain they don’t ‘race’… but again it will never be good for us all, right!

By: milos

milos — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 06:18:04 +0000

I would place Kimi at the top for one reason – he is the champion and he won most races, even if we deduct the win given to him by Massa. He overcame huge point deficit, Hamilton threw away huge lead…

But it is difficult to rank the top 3, at the end there was only a point between them. It is easy to find arguments for and against any of them.

By: alan

alan — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 22:25:25 +0000

Keith I quite agree with youre top 3 rankings and they have all had their mistakes/strokes of misfortune – depending on your choice – but the thing is that you could vitually swap them about as they all showed signs of both brilliance and frustrating stupidness/mis judgement.
But Hamilton because it was his first year in F1 proper just did enough for me – but will he be as competitive next year? – well thats the big question – we know both Raikonnen and Alonso have been compeitive each year so lets see what happens 2008

By: oliver

oliver — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 21:36:19 +0000

I can’t complain too much about the rankings. The only reason I believe Hamilton comes at the top of it, is because this is his first year racing in F1, all other drivers he competeted 3 championship contenders, had over 4years of experience racing in F1. His consistency belied his inexperience.

As for throwing away points, review the entire season of the top 4 finishers, and u will find they all threw away almost an equal amount of points during the entire season. Unfortunately, the law of averages caught up with hamilton at the end.

Why I can support a no2 ranking of Kimi is due to his initial indiference and also his monaco accident. I remember a few years back, when Alex Yoong crashed into the unforgiving barriers that is Monaco, and that was the first time, I ever saw Kimi really laugh. But of course we all know what Kimi is capable of, but laughable still.

Well Alonso, It still remains a mystery to me. He just lost psychologically. Its my belief what ever motivated the breakdown of his relationship with the team, originated from outside the team. He wasn’t appreciated by the English media, because the had one of their own there, and from that angle the seeds of discord were sown. In that situation, it would have been quite easy for any old friend or manager (Flavio) to suggest things to his suspicious mind. The outcome was really sad for both parties, himself and Mclaren.