Most of the drivers on there are from long before I followed F1 (or was born) but I think the inclusion of any WDC on that list is incorrect. While maybe not the best in the world, these guys still managed to make it through a year with more points than anyone else. I do agree with Trulli's inclusion on that list.
Much too hard on Button. He's by far not the best out there, and the car may be more responsible for the championship than he himself, but he did have not only some, but a lot of flawless races this year. Maybe he's only in the list to start some conversation Instead of Button, they should rather have included Ralf Schumacher - he's the very definition of "overrated"!
I don't understand how or why Andre DeCeareis is on that list. He was never rated highly, therefore he cannot be considered overrated? Overrated: Damon Hill HH Frentzen Maybe even DC ? JV, not at all...he has proven himself in many forms of Motorsport. 1 Indy, and 1 F1 title would be considered a very successful driver IMO.
Cheaver should have definately been higher but they missed the big one: Michael Andretti. I can't see how anyone can call a world champion "over rated". Maybe you get a bit lucky that you have a superior car one year but you still have to perform. So, I say... no way on Button.
the analysis of button seems pretty accurate to me. He's quick and by no means a bad driver, but he's for the first 6 races there was no competition except from his team mate.
Which is why his team-mate should have made the list. I think that guy has a few races under his belt. No ?
Michael Andretti was only a flop in F1. He only had one season and not even a full one. A very sucessful driver otherwise.
I don't really remember much of many of the drivers on the list, but I've always thought these guys were over-rated... particularly Jarno Trulli. All the best, Andrew.
They are spot on with Jensen button. For sure it was the car and not natural talent that gave him the advantage. the last few races of the year really showed where he really was in the pack. Fisi- well I never though he was ever really rated highly to begin with- was he? I would add Nico Rosberg to that list. He hasn't been around that long but he's regarded as such a great talent- I haven't really seen it. Maybe we will find out next year. To me it will be Kimi that will be the biggest disappointment -he's got the skill-he's got incredible talent- and he's in a different league than every driver on that list but I would have to say he was totally overrated as to what he was going to accomplish. Ralf schumacher should be at the top of the list!
I agree--"DeCrasheris" wasn't really ever praised, he just managed to stick around for a long time mostly due to his ability to bring money to a team.
Fisi used to be pretty highly touted. He beat Jenson as a teammate when they were both at Renault. Fisi was seen as the driver that could never get a good ride but had a lot of talent. He, very much like Jenson, is a very smooth driver. He had some good results by loading up his fuel tank and going for 1 stoppers. http://f1rejects.com/ Is a good place to see rejects.
Is this the authors opinion. If so he is a complete jerk off. Above is his account of Button in Malaysia Norris your report's belong in the bin.
Totally agreed. I had no problems with the first 8 guys on the list. They're all loosers. But Button and Villeneuve should not have been on that list. Michael Andretti? Definitely. And many others. I really have a problem with putting a WDC on any looser list. The closest to that would be Rosberg and Damon Hill, but certainly not Button and Villeneuve.
car 80% driver 20%... Now rate Button again please? yes definetely overrated, thanks to RB strategies. first half of the season he was a driving god, second half he was a cry baby with shaking knees, please!!! Lets get real guys 60 something points out of 70 available in 7 races and ending the season with 95 out of 170 possible points... He was lucky to have a dominant car and several rivals for the WDC, and race winners (vettel, webber, barri...) otherwise, facing just one rival in a strong car he would be a swansong
Nonsense. Button drove an Alain Prost type of championship: Once he had a good enough lead he changed his strategy from flat out attack to collecting points conservatively. Point in case: His aggressive race in Abu Dhabi where it no longer mattered.
BTW: Rosberg has the fastest ever lap (over 150mph average at Silverstone in the turbo days)!! Can't put that sort of driver on an average list. CRG125, Regarding Weber, you need to rate a driver based on the cars he has driven. Only this year has he really had a race winning chance and he has won 2 races. Now yes he is obviously not the best F1 driver because if he was somebody on a competitive team would have noticed and he would have got a better car earlier. This is why Fisi has be considered completely useless as he has had many good drivers to under achieve every time. Also I think many are way too hard on Damon Hill. He won a WDC against MS, and against the whole world who thought he was not good enough AND also following Senna's death and suddenly becoming number 1 in a team. While not naturally brilliant he is 100 times mentally stronger than Button (and maybe LH too?) who nearly gave his WDC away through nervous mid-season races, etc. Pete
+1000 Button the racer showed up in Brazil. Numerous times in the season I remember Button putting passes in where it counted and making them stick, early on in the race.. some seem to forget that. PSK Pete on the whole I can agree, however mentally I believe Button is a lot stronger than you think, DH 100 x stronger..no sir.
As I said, I have a hard time putting any WDC into the looser category. Rosberg is certainly a great driver, but he "lucked into" his WDC by simply surviving 1982. The title should have gone to one of the Ferrari drivers. I disagree. Damon was a glorified midfielder. A busy bee who did endless testing laps and got pretty fast but lacked racecraft (something you care a lot about, don't you?). That's why he often won after putting the car on pole but had a hard time in a 1 on 1 fight. Sounds familiar? Ah yes, but that other guy didn't win the title... PS: Hamilton will win another WDC. Something Hill will never have.
While I have to agree that DH was weak on race craft like the other guy , he still had to deal with a very strong opponent and the emotions of Senna's death. Button on the other hand had a very clear car advantage, maybe similar to DH's Williams, but also no opposition, ie. Ferrari had their head up their @rse and McLaren were having car issues. DH instead had a pretty racy MS to deal with. JB's only opposition was RB, who simply does not count. So yes maybe my 100 times was a big exaggeration but I would put DH above Button in my book of drivers that you could count on. Button has more natural talent yes but I reckon seriously that DH would beat JB in the same car over a season. DH and the Williams was pretty scarily fast combination and DH did something that JB has yet to do: look competitive in a known weak car, ie. the Arrows. DH completely deserved to bag that win with the Arrrows. When has JB looked fast in a weak car ... never. He looked good at first in the Williams and then faded big time until RB made the super superior Brawn. Pete ps: If Hill had been able to maintain a decent drive he would have won another WDC ... but of course everybody thought his WDC was 99% the car. Why does everybody treat JB any different? ... I still say if JB jumped into Force India he would look no better than Fisi did. The Brawn won the WDC and JB was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. Atleast LH has looked fast in a struggling McLaren this year, and for that I give him a nod, JB has had plenty of opportunity to look fast in weak cars and simply looked average.
Overrated? Mark Webber, DC, Trulli, Ralf Schumacher (altho i think he could have done better but that back injury basically killed off his career).
