lewis hamilton

[megadethmaniac]

Few interesting themes coming through on this.

World Champ twice is no mean feat and all credit to Lewis but does this make him a Great Diver? Is he better that Mansell, Button or anyone else that has won the World Championship once? Not in my view.

I agree that Lewis is a fast driver and he seems to do well in getting 100+% out of his car. The downside is that he sometimes tries too hard and ends up throwing it away, either with a crash or mechanical failure.

Teams and Drivers react differently to the changes in spec of the cars I wonder if Lewis`s team knowing of the changes in regulations last year developed the car for this year earlier than other teams and therefore took the pain of a sub optimal season then and the gain now? They obviously got the mix right or better than others and are at the front of the pack. If so and if other teams get a feel for the right mix then they may benefit next year and the advantage disappear? All depends if Lewis`s team improves the mix more than anyone else I guess.

Drivers eg Vettell obviously didn`t get on with their drives and ultimately may not have been comfortable /confident in their cars. Others eg Riccardo absolutely shone in the same (or a very similar) car. So it will be of interest if Vettel gains a new lease of life in a Ferarri?

That said with 2 teams in financial problems and some suggestions that some of the other lower level teams may mot be in great shape either. I wonder if there are going to have to be other significant changes in the near future. Standard parts and assemblies I have heard talk of as well as boosting the number of cars with other Formulas introduced. If that does come through then, with more standardised cars, it will be a lot easier to spot who is a great driver.

[jpsh120]

I don't disagree that the driver does make a difference, but when you have certain cars that are able to lap several seconds quicker than everyone elses then for me that isn't down to just the driver!

I'm not saying Lewis only won because his car was better than everyone elses, I'm just saying that more competition is better.

Go back to the start of the 2012-13 season when the first 7 races were each won by a different driver, the interest in the sport was noticeably higher (in my experience). When the result of a race is almost a given, barring breakdowns etc, it becomes less so.

[JPB]

Fair enough, but how does this perceived superiority comes about? The manufacturers are all out to succeed but not all of the cars are similar in the detail so there must be some that get it more right than others. Whether or not a driver's success is due to their car, it's inevtiable that a car which is better than others is going to continue in that vein throughout the course of a season as very few significant upgrades can happen during that time. But a driver is human (in most cases..) and as such subject to the same coughs & colds as the rest of us and will occasionally make a mistake. A car that's so much better is a worthy achievement and rather than bemoan the apparent predictability that this brings to the season, how about we blame the other teams for not keeping up?

Unless of course F1 supporters all write to the FIA to ask whether they'd ask constructors to consider easing back a little on their development work and try to be more similar in every little way to the other cars. That should appease the average and not offend the rest.

[jimmyybob]

Engines are designed at the start of the season and then the design is set and sealed and no changes are allowed in that season.
Also all ECU's used by all teams are supplied by mclaren and also set and sealed.

Lewis wouldn't win in a Volvo and a Granny wouldn't win in Lewis car.

[JPB]

By that logic, it must have taken nine months for Red Bull's upgrades to be discovered and declared illegal.

[tractorman]

As jimmybob says, engine design is set at the start of the season, though I read that Red Bull and other losers are complaining about that and want some mid-season upgrades to be allowed - because their engines were so poor in comparison to Mercedes.

I don't think "body" changes come under the same restrictions - they seem to do all sorts of little changes during the season. I doubt Red Bull will suffer a severe penalty for the extra springs in the front wings - they will do the same as Ferrari have always done and say that it is their interpretation of the rules. However, Ferrari always "get away" with that excuse (many other teams don't)!

While I can't imagine a granny wanting to drive a F1 car (even a young granny!), I would hazard a guess that any F1 driver could do well in a car that is so obviously superior to the rest of the pack (perhaps why Rosberg has done so well this year). What sets a great driver apart is that they can achieve a measure of success a poor car - something Hamilton hasn't done!

[rich.]

wish id kept my mouth shut now
as for the comments abaout grannies driving fast cars i knew an old lady that drove around town at 10 mph you couldnt keep up with her on the open road though...she did have a 4.2 jag also i was discussing cars with my 5 year old daughter & i asked her what she wanted when she is older she said a truck like yours dad.. anything else i asked & she replied id like a very fast one

[Luxobarge]

Drivers eg Vettell obviously didn`t get on with their drives and ultimately may not have been comfortable /confident in their cars. Others eg Riccardo absolutely shone in the same (or a very similar) car. So it will be of interest if Vettel gains a new lease of life in a Ferarri?.

This for me, excludes Vettel from any list of truly "great" drivers. Sure, he did well when he was in a dominant car, and was consistently better than Webber. However, he's clearly not good enough to also be able to adapt to the new style of car, and that means he's not "great" in my book. He's been consistently out-driven by his team-mate Ricciardo who is a rookie.

It will indeed be interesting to see how he does at Ferrari, but they're going to have to do an awful lot to their car before it will be capable of winning the championship, I think I'm right in saying that this season was the first in the modern era of F1 where Ferrari failed to win a single race. I wonder if some heads are rolling in Ferrari?

Interesting thread this!

[JPB]

As jimmybob says, engine design is set at the start of the season...

Yes, and that point wasn't disputed.

What sets a great driver apart is that they can achieve a measure of success in a poor car - something Hamilton hasn't done!

Not in F1 he hasn't, granted. But he has beaten Rosberg, who was in F1 before he started, had achieved equal success in the staging disciplines toward F1 and was regularly ahead of him when their cars were identical in every way.
And he did rather well in that Suzuki Liana.

[Phil P]

Ok so Hamilton won. He does need to get a personality! I was cheering for Massa and Williams. Great to see both of Franks cars getting on with the job with no arguments or drama. Just the way they did it in the days of Alan Jones. I remember standing by Alan Jones's car at Silverstone. The detail finish was concours standard plus! If you look carefully on the Saudia Williams cars all those years ago there is a very interesting sponsors name on the side. Bin Laden. Has anybody got a pic of a Williams with it on the side?