Hamilton best driver in F1 next to Vettel... but Vettel not on his level yet

what the heck, i'll play

- Hamilton not the best, in my view. Many factors must combine well, to create "the best". He certainly has raw talent and speed, but lacks good judgment. I'd even place Button above Hamilton, as a more complete ... and therefore, better ... driver. I'd place Alonso above Hamilton for this same reason.

- I do agree that Vettel hasn't yet been truly tested. But the talent is certainly there.

 

Hamilton is not the best race driver, but probably is the best qualifying driver (at the moment). Clearly, he is the fastest, and also clearly, he cannot keep the tires on the car. This is why Button won the first race.

 

Currently, Alonso is the best driver in Formula One. Closely followed by Hamilton (whom I rate above Vettel, but only slightly).

 

I can agree with this. Hamilton is indeed an amazing qualifier, but watch Schumacher's qualifying lap in Malaysia as it's surgically clean while Hamilton was indeed super-fast but sloppy. That being said, I believe Schumacher is the best actual race driver of the field. Since late last season, he re-honed a technique with tires or simply honed a technique he never needed to have before. He's been amazingly calculative. I'm losing my previous regard for Alonso as he has not been a good leader for the team as the team is just not putting out good cars. A 'great' will make it happen and grow the team, and Alonso is not doing this.

 

I'd rather have Alonso than anyone.

Provided he have an explosive implant within him for when he stabs the team in the back.

 

For God's sake all he can do is direct the tuners and then drive the car.

Growing the team is not his job nor should it be.

He's a second faster than Massa when it counts.
Thats like an eternity.

 

Alonso is far superior to either Vettel or Hamiton. Some day Vettel may be as good as Alonso. Hamilton never will be.

(Preparing for fanboy attack)

 

I think that Alnso is probably the most complete driver, but he, LH, JB and SV are all fairly equally effective. Any of them is great in a great car.

 

I put hamilton on the same level as alonso, and vettel is right there too. They all have different styles and i love it. Makes for some interesting racing.

 

i do think the thread kinda begs the question : what makes for a GREAT driver?

In my eyes, there's several components:

- raw talent, including quick reflexes and just plain speed
- passion to win
- good judgment ... when to force a pass, when not to force a pass, when it's your job to back out, etc.
- good "communion" with your machine ... how to read the car, get the most from the chassis and tires (even when it's not performing at 100%), etc.
- adaptability to track conditions : new-ness of circuit, weather (not just rain, but excessive heat as well)
- ability to provide accurate, specific feedback to mechanics and engineers

Hamilton excels at the first two, but is middle-of-the-pack on the last few. Sometimes i see evidence of maturity in Hamilton, but i'm worried that time is passing him by (as far as developing excellence in all these other areas).

During his heyday, Schumacher excelled at all of these (again, my view).

 

not an Alonso fan, but he is better IMO in many ways than Hami
Vettel is going to have to dig deep, he had all plus', but it's when without those advantages which will show his mettle

 

Button was laughing a bit more than Hamilton, at the end of last season

Surely, driver points aren't everything. But in 2011, in as closely-matched cars as we're likely to see, Button positively spanked Hamilton. Why? Maturity, patience, judgment, ...

 

selfish/angry/ultra-competitive streak does not, alone, equal a great driver.

my 2 cents ...

 

i believe hamilton is quite erratic esecially when in the middle of the field....

there are better drivers out there but not too many

 

true....he's fast, but necessariy 'the best' in this field of drivers

 

but Mike, that's kinda my point.

Driver A has "more speed". Everyone on the grid just knows it. But yet, Driver B brings home more bacon (points). Who's the "better" driver? Well, if i'm a teamowner, i know which way i'm leaning ...

yeah it's the "moneyball" view of F1 lol

I'm very interested to watch the Button/Hamilton competition this year!

 

i'd like to see more competition between button and hamilton, watch them hash it up!

 

+1

 

As usual, great post Mike.

 

That's a funny thing to say...last year all we heard from the MS haters is that the points do all the talking (so Nico is better). If that's true, then button must be better than hamilton going on last year and so far this year.