F1

Are cars 1-9 also the nine best drivers?

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 25 total)
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  • #130910
    Tom_ec1
    Participant

    One thing struck me when looking at the cars numbered 1 to 9 this season:

    1. Vettel
    2. Webber
    3. Button
    4. Hamilton
    5. Alonso
    6. Massa
    7. Schumacher
    8. Rosberg
    9. Raikkonen

    I think these nine single-digit cars also the nine best drivers in F1 right now.

    What do you think?

    In the past, car numbers have only loosely correlated with driver talent. There is no better example of this that Hamilton and Button both winning the championship in car #22.

    I know some people would say maybe Kovalainen is better than Massa. Or that perhaps di Resta or Perez should be up there. However, I think the top 9 is pretty much exactly the top 9 in terms of talent (although in no particular order).

    I appreciate there are good arguments for changing the numbering system, perhaps to give drivers their own unique number (e.g. Rossi 46) or reserve specific pairs for each team (e.g. Ferrari 27/28).

    However, under the present system, I think this is the best outcome we could hope for!

    I know some people won’t find this level of detail interesting. But for the perfectionists out there this is a nice outcome.

    #192359
    W-K
    Participant

    The allocation of car numbers is decided by, number 1 goes to last seasons champion and his team mate gets 2, then it is decided by team position last year. If the champion retires then the number 1 is not used and replaced by a zero

    And no I don’t think that is the best 9 drivers, Mass and Schumacher would be out of tht list in my opinion.

    Has anyone noticed, Massa has only won from the front row, and when MSC has been involved with the team.

    #192360
    Slr
    Participant

    No I don’t think so. Webber and Massa were really poor last season, guys like Kovalainen, Kobayashi, Perez and Di Resta were better than them last year, and they probably deserve their seats more too.

    #192361
    Zadak
    Member

    There are several driver in F1 in the bigger numbers that are better than Massa.
    Schumacher may have been AMAZING at one point but he just isn’t now.

    #192362
    HK
    Participant

    @Slr; I find it amazing how you say drivers like Kobayashi and Perez are better than Webber. Sure, he did not have a great season last year. Still he did alot of fastest-laps, and also some pole positions. And besides, when driver at the top, you gotta compeet with the top. He was racing Alonso while Perez was racing Senna. I believe Webber is WAY better and more consistant than most people outside the top10.

    #192363
    JPQuesado
    Participant

    If that is the top nine, you have to replace somebody there for Nico Hulkenberg. He’s incredibly talented!

    #192364
    GeorgeDaviesF1
    Participant

    Schumacher has to have odd number, so if Rosberg was to be chmp and he stuck around, would he demand to be car 0 with Rosberg 1?

    #192365
    Slr
    Participant

    @me4me Webber had the best car, but from his performances you wouldn’t know it. He only won once, and only backed up Vettel to a Red Bull one-two finish twice, which is very poor for someone with the best car. Webber shouldn’t have had to be racing Alonso, as he should have been always ahead of him on the road, instead he struggled to outpace him most of the time.

    #192366
    matt90
    Participant

    I wouldn’t include Massa. And for Schumacher, Webber and Rosberg I don’t know. I know Rosberg hasn’t had much chance so far, but he needs to do something special soon I think. Webber needs to stack up better against Vettel next year otherwise he certainly shouldn’t be included. And I just don’t know about Schumacher. But then I don’t know who would replace any of them at this point.

    #192367
    Pamphlet
    Participant

    Webber and Massa in their current form don’t really deserve to be in the top 9. Not that there are many others that could’ve replaced them…

    #192368
    ed24f1
    Participant

    Career race wins of 1-9 drivers: 186
    Career race wins of 10-25 drivers: 2

    So theoretically, these drivers are the best in the field. I would agree with it as well, others are unproven at the highest level, or have failed to perform when in a good car such as Kovalainen. I wouldn’t say that anyone in the midfield was better than any of the Top 9 yet, although we’ll get an interesting old/new comparison at Lotus this year.

    #192369
    matt90
    Participant

    I’m curious to see how Grosjean, Perez, Hulkenberg and Di Resta develop this year, but even if they perform well I doubt it will be enough to say so early on in their careers that any belong in the top 8 (excluding that at least 1 should be better than Massa, and based on that even if Webber, Rosberg and Schumacher turn out to not be at the same level as the rest, I doubt the younger drivers can do enough in 1 year to outclass them categorically).

    #192370
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    However, I think the top 9 is pretty much exactly the top 9 in terms of talent

    Not really… maybe if Jaime Alguersuari would have taken the #2 and Rubens Barrichello would have gotten in there at the expense of Felipe Massa, then that assesment would probably be right.

    #192371
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I definitely wouldn’t call Massa and probably wouldn’t call Schumacher as top 9 drivers right now and with Raikkonen it is difficult to say because he has been out for 2 years.

    #192372
    Prisoner Monkeys
    Participant

    I would say that cars 1 through to 8 have the best eight drivers at the moment. It’s impossible to judge whether or not Raikkonen is one of the nine best. He has, after all, spent the past two years rallying.

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