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

Button proved last year in several races, which he won, that he could go way beyond the "expected life span" of a certain compound due too a smoother driving style and nobody could catch him ie he matched if not bettered driver B's lap times when needed.

I do not remember every lap as I did 20yrs ago but I still remember certain aspects of a race and its winners prowess. I'm not argueing, just saying.

 

+1

It's subtle, but certainly JB is known to be "gentle" on his tires.

What gets me is the Speed guys (and the BBC?) harping on that "the options only last for a few laps" before dropping off a cliff. Then we look at the race and Checo (and a few others) go and do half the race on one set at a good pace.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

How can you not pay attention, it's all the commentators talked about for the most part.

It was a wet race, but then it started drying up, and Perez was consistently faster than most everyone else, setting fastest lap after fastest lap.

Sergio has proven that he can go MORE than 5 laps more than Kamui, several times. Last year at his debut in Australia comes to mind right away. He did the same thing again in Australia.

 

I said sports conversations. Not matters of empirical truth.

 

+1

 

After reading the whole thread, I don't think Button is getting enough credit in here. He flat out beat Hamilton last year on points. I find it odd his talents are so easily dismissed by a certain member here who always gets hung up on 2007 in the Hamilton vs. Alonso debates and loves to reference the final standings as the end-all-be-all, even though both were tied on points

I think Button is "top shelf," but that is a rather ambiguous term. How far does the "shelf" extend? Top 3 best? Top 5 best? I think he's certainly one of the top 5 best in F1 and knocking on the door of being in the top 3.

In hindsight, I really, really wish it was Ferrari that picked him up rather than McLaren.

 

+1

 

+1

 

Here’s a thought. I think we have to take into account the era of F1 that we are looking at. In the Michelin/Bridgestone days the tires performed well over the entire stint and the drivers with pure speed dominated. I believe that that time frame favored drivers like Hamilton, Schumacher, Vettel, Alonso. When F1 went to the Pirellis, tire degradation became a bigger factor. I my opinion, this is why Button performed so well last year. He benefitted from the ability to save his tires. If F1 still had ultimate performance tires I think you would see Hamilton shine and a larger gap back to Button. So, given the current F1 spec, I'd say that Button will continue to perform and be able to match Hamilton's race results. This puts him in the top 5 drivers. No matter the reason if a driver can compete over race distance with the top 5 drivers he has to be considered a top 5 driver. Assuming this logic is true, if the tire specs change to the old specs Button may fall out of the top 5 at that time.

I think the current top 5 drivers would be (not in any order):
Alonso
Vettel
Hamilton
Button
Schumacher

 

Finally found a thread worthy of a reply since '03, nice.

 

Indeed. That's some *serious* long time lurking!

And not a bad interpretation of the current state of play either IMO.

Welcome!

Cheers,
Ian

 

Agreed.

 

Do we have a record here?

Welcome out into the "light"

 

What can I say. I've been a lurker. I find the interest in F1 and the threads on this forum to be the most interesting of the F1 boards I lurk.

I tend not to post on forums in general, but the tire situation and how it's changed F1 is fascinating to me.

Thanks to everyone. Keep up the interesting postings.

Is there a prize for the longest lurker???

 

Hah. Great post and welcome back. I have to agree with you though, I won't post or even look at the autosport forums any longer for instance. Thankfully we have nice flavorful base of level-headed posters and moderators.

 

Yup. A full year of Fchatters explaining to you why Shoe should be president of the galaxy OR a complete season with Jacques Villeneuve (once he returns to F1) or a half opened can of Sprite.

I consider myself a winner many years running although I'm still waiting for the Sprite...

 

Welcome home our long lost brother.

 

Thread end
During this weekend’s 2011 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Alonso stated to the media that he believes Hamilton is the only driver that can win a championship title without the best car.
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1068548_hamilton-blown-away-by-alonsos-latest-comments

 

"In response, Hamilton also returned the compliment"

Thread not over.