It’s an utter shame that my fascinating & really engaging topic – has turned into some ridiculous personal banter, the latter is not the purpose of the topic & I’m sure that Keith disapproves of this.
Since I’m an open-minded, indulgent person, I’m not going to close this topic but leave you with my personal ratings:
Qualifying speed
1.) Hamilton
2.) Vettel
3.) Alonso
Overtaking
1.) Hamilton
2.) Alonso
3.) Vettel
Consistency
1.) Alonso
2.) Vettel
3.) Hamilton
Technicality
1.) Vettel
2.) Alonso
3.) Hamilton
Car setup
1.) Alonso
2.) Vettel
3.) Hamilton
Race starts
1.) Alonso
2.) Vettel
2.) Hamilton
Speed in wet/mixed conditions
1.) Hamilton
2.) Alonso
3.) Vettel
Decision-making
1.) Alonso
2.) Vettel
3.) Hamilton
Communication with team-personnel
1.) Alonso
2.) Vettel
3.) Hamilton
Personality – I’m going to give them a fair share given that everyone’s different at the end of the day with their unique personas.
1.) Vettel
1.) Alonso
1.) Hamilton
Alonso – 1s: 7
2s: 2
3s: 1
Hamilton – 1s: 4
2s: 0
3s: 6
Vettel – 1s: 2
2s: 6
3s: 2
Just to add my view & probably conclude this all – the WHOLE reason why Vettel gets the stick he does is because he constantly dominates with superior machinery that he has stuck on the front of the grid, the primary theme of the Vettel hatred is down to how proven he is in difficult circumstances such as having inferior machinery or not leading a race generally, we’ve seen flaws & cracks in him in the past, his 2010 season being a primary case but that has begun to disappear & is still disappearing as of now & races such as Silverstone in 2010, Monza last year & Australia this year, for those questioning his race craft or ability to race when not leading, have demonstrated audacity from him when it’s vitally required to gain positions as soon as possible.
People say that – when Hamilton or Alonso leads from the front, whether it’s on the front row or pole position, it’s guaranteed some track action or a lead that’s deservedly earned throughout valiance, remember this, they have both been in positions in their careers where they have had superior machinery regardless if their nearest competition was a Ferrari or a McLaren or even Red Bull, they still demonstrated through dominance & composure in the particular races, that in their hands, their car was the best (or fastest) in qualifying or race day. Answer this – regardless of how boring or dull you find his wins, isn’t that what Vettel, in 2010, 2011 & this season has done? Two things – a driver can’t & WON’T slow down for the sake of entertainment for others (they hope it unfolds naturally of course for the fans) & a car doesn’t drive itself (in the form of ABS, TC & active suspension, compare those innovations to blown diffusers & exhaust systems) & for the best car to win, it needs a driver with a great amount of competence.
Hamilton is one who’s renowned for his natural talent & enviable speed that stands out from all drivers quite frankly, one with the most fascinating, exhilarating & combative driving style, which involves his uncanny overtaking ability, in other words, on par with Vettel, he’s the fastest driver on the grid today. What worries me about him of current is not his consistency in his performance, but the consistency of his surroundings, how well positioned he is to gain the results he deserves given the machinery, hence why I miss the 2007 & 2008 Lewis, despite not watching F1 at the time, because of the natural consistency he showed, a radical example is his first nine races. His independence is another area for concern, as noted above, he hasn’t demonstrated the responsibility of making decisions for himself or stepping away from his team & going with his views, it’s comprehensive to think that the team would know better but ultimately there has to be situations where your views conflicts that of your team’s & the desire to be correct must be of most importance, not the desire to fit in & conform to decisions made by others.
Alonso, as many view & interpret & perhaps what the experiment shows, is the most complete driver of them all. Doesn’t make my experiment a foregone conclusion or a waste of time from others’ perspective but – back to him as a driver, unquestionably one we see today that constantly puts in lap after lap after lap that are virtually on the limit of the car’s capabilities & whatever is given to him on a plate, he makes the most of it, particularly out of other drivers’ misfortune, he’s one that can play the long game that requires patience, calmness & consistency, all in all, it’s all tactical with Alonso & to occasionally, mythical. Whatever he’s got at his disposal & it goes to the finest of details (technicality) whether it’s experimenting with racing lines, KERS usage at a particular part of the track, it also stretches to psychology too, one can think of Valencia & Germany this year when Hamilton & Button respectively, were chasing him for the lead, the ultimate results ending in Alonso taking controlled & enviable wins it must be said, with the McLaren drivers wearing out their tyres & hitting trouble, there’s the gamesmanship side as well in the form of his radio messages that are seemingly directed to the stewards in response to incidents he’s been involved in (Rosberg in Bahrain & Vettel in Monza this year). He can bloody well overtake & calculate moves with precision prior to committing to them.
Back to Vettel – I am saddened that he is putting himself in records that rank amid drivers that he shouldn’t compare nor contrast with, that Webber, annoyingly, for me can’t challenge him, that it is what it is, you can point fingers at Newey’s great intellect for all of Vettel’s success but – success is a part of racing, not just F1, it’s part of life & we just have to get on with it & enjoy what we’ve got.
Apologies for the long post but it had to be done…
