Bottas has certainly scored more points, ... than Lauda. This does not make Bottas, in his prime, a better driver than Lauda, in his prime, respectively.
True, but he choked in 2018 with the best car, proving Hamilton to be the superior driver. He isn't fit to be mentioned in the same sentence as Prost.
2018 This was before the FIA intervened with Ferrari's fuel flow technique James Allison "We are probably on average better than Ferrari through the corners at most tracks, sometimes they take a bit from us in the low-speed, but medium and high-speed we normally prosper relative to them." "These are all small, small margins which is why the championship has yo-yoed one way and the other."
I agree. Hopefully you will reach that state of clear thinking and you will finally enjoy racing. I've been enjoying racing for decades, it's a great feeling appreciating driver skill and team effort.
Wasn't that in 2019? I remember reading a whole bunch of articles at the end of the season about how Vettel's plethora of mistakes is what ultimately cost him the championship. Beaching it from first in Germany was the most egregious.
What year? 2007? I am not a Hamilton fan, but at least that can be chalked up to inexperience. There's no excuse for Vettel choking as a 4-time champion.
Inexperience? His first time pulling into the pits? Would you consider losing a WDC to your #2 driver choking, or does that only apply when you lose to another team's #1 driver? I don't think anyone would argue that Nico was the best, or even second best, driver in the field.
Vettel certainly made some mistakes. The Hockenheim spin was most unfortunate, a Williams had just dumped some brake fluid and Vettel was the first car around after it. Right in the stadium section too. Clearly it wasn't meant to be. Vettel was never quite the same after his perfectly suited Red Bull. We are now seeing a similar dynamic with Hamilton.
How old was Hamilton then? 22? Hamilton lost to Rosberg in equal machinery. Vettel lost to Hamilton in superior machinery.
The Ferrari and Mercedes were fairly evenly matched albeit with different strengths at different circuits. Ferrari was faster on the straights for a period until the FIA stepped in.
Yes, but Vettel still threw away upwards of 90 points that season. https://beyondtheflag.com/2018/12/03/formula-1-plethora-mistakes-ultimately-costs-sebastian-vettel-2018-title/
well, Lulu did catch Covid twice. I mean, I guess it can be argued masks are useless, but then again - I would ask my surgeon to wear a mask if I was on the operating table. Just me.
I've given this a lot of thought and come down to on the side of Lewis. The rules are written by the FIA yes? In terms of how to interpret that, who decides? Fans? Or the FIA? (I'm not talking about our opinion) but what is LEGALLY binding. As per the FIA official report: #1) Masi called the safety car back into the pit lane without it having completed an additional lap as required by the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations (Article 48.12) #2) The process of identifying lapped cars has up until now been a manual one and human error led to the fact that not all cars were allowed to unlap themselves. Some say rule #2 was vaguely written and that the Race Director has the right to interpret this, well - according to the FIA = Masi's interpretation was flat out WRONG. It was clear Masi was trying to get them to fight it out. Does that mean an hour and a half of strategy shouldn't count? I would only say this makes sense if they were both on equal footing (same tires, starting the same area on a long straight) That said, I also agree Verstappen is World Champion*
