Erm, not saying that. The point is, from the evidence we've seen so far, having an F1 dad (or uncle, cousing, brother, whatever the ****) does not somehow guarantee greatness. Mick had the greatest F1 driver of all time as his dad and was ****. Piquiet jr had a 3x world championship winning father, what did he accomplish? Max's dad could certainly tell him a great deal about the gravel traps he knows the ins and outs of, though that information would be largely pointless given that almost all of them have been turned into glorified parking lots. Yes in my opinion. Are you going to argue that Jos was better than Michael?
All of those names you mentioned in some way had an advantage growing up with a father driver. Hence the advantage Max had vs Lewis . Thats all I'm saying.
Lewis has a lot of outside interests to f1. Would he want to test as much as say MS? We will never know but my opinion would be no. Not saying that as a bad thing, just a thought. Edit: I don't think Max would either.
I would agree. Lewis dislikes practicing(tire tests with Pirelli) and testing. I honestly believe he wouldn't put in the time that Michael Schumacher put it. Lewis even came out on an article saying "F1 has robbed him of his life."
Stats in any sport are relevant. If you only look at a drivers wins, poles, and championships then you choose to see only a very small piece of the equation. Especially in F1, one needs to look at the data for the cars as well. Then of course, it makes a big difference if you actually watched the races. People already think Max had a dominant car in 2022 when the truth is Ferrari was as good or better for the first 10 races or so. But people see 15 wins without watching the season and think Max had an unbeatable car. One form of stats that means nothing to me in motorsports is anything related to age.
People just like to knock down anyone successful; being in business, entertainment, politics, sports, you name it. Success and fame irritate the masses.
I agree with that. Hamilton has been an unpopular winner among F1 followers. We will probably never get to the bottom of WHY ?
To put some perspective here, Graham Hill passed his driving test at 24 years of age and finished twice WDC, Le Mans and Indy winner. So how can one compare age, career span, success, etc ... ? We live at an age where we put teenagers in F1.
I wonder which side could better influence the sponsors, or decide a junior team to take them on. A nod from Ron Dennis was a serious calling card, I think. But at the same time, Jos may have given more practical advice to his son.
The token system was more of a brake in engine development than the restriction on track testing, IMO. Engines are developed on the bench.
On the flip side, some people jump on the success band wagon. How many Hamilton nut suckers are only showed up because he was winning races?
Same for Verstappen though. As soon as he started winning, a huge number started following him, attending races everywhere like an army in support. The Netherlands revamped the Zandvoort circuit, and paid for having a Dutch GP after years of neglect. How about that for "jumping on the success band wagon" ?
Wow...who knew? You would think people would show some initiative and follow the guy that finishes 15th every week....
If you watched Sky Sports coverage you would see how giddy they got over George Russell in the last place Williams. So it happens. It's the same story all the time. People want to feel like part of a winner, so they follow the winning driver or team. Then when someone else beats their driver, they hate that guy for winning. Then we often see love or at least respect for the once enemy. Schumacher was hated when he started beating Senna, then loved when he was winning at Ferrari. Alonso was hated when he started beating Schumacher, then loved when he was winning at Ferrari and is now an icon at AMR. Similar stories for Max, Hamilton, and probably Senna. I used to despise Verstappen when he was a wreckless twit. He has since matured to someone that I usually agree with. Being part of one of, if not the most exciting seasons in F1 history against Hamilton in 2021 surely helped his popularity. I hate seeing him win every race in 2023, but I won't deny that he is far and away the best driver on the grid today, among the best Formula 1 has ever seen.
That's the way it should be, IMO. A winner is inspiring, a reflection of what is best in the sport. TRying to win is, after all, the main reason for competing.
And Lewis also had advantages by being bank rolled - instructed by Mclaren-Mercedes. Both Max and Lewis had different types of influence that benefited them. Well what was the point then of bringing it up? And why should I? It's a forum. Everything said here is someones opinion. I'm going to make it easy for you here Jimmy: From here on out, everything you read from me will be my opinion, unless it's an absolute fact. Are you happy now? Saves me typing ''in my opinion'' before and after every sentence just so that you get it through your impressively thick skull.
Max was bank rolled when he was born. Hamilton had to wait till he was in his teens. Absolutely nothing you can say that can overcome the advantage of a father being an F1 driver (and mom who raced karts). You can pull out all the scenariuos you want it, it can't compare.
Why single out Lance Stroll, when the same comment applies to many on the grid ? It may also not be the main reason for his father: showcasing his brand is equally important.
Very true, and it's impossible to determine what influence was more important. What's best ? Someone paying for your progression, or someone else blowing in your ears all the time.
and yet we have drivers who had father that had far more impressive CV's than Jos ever did yet are totally rubbish. I know people's whose dads are extra-ordinary businessmen yet their sons are one step away from needing assistance tying their own shoes. I knows sons whose dads are total ****ing losers yet the sons run impressive businesses or do great in life. My point, which you totally failed to see, is that having a racing dad is one thing, as is having factory team suppory before you even start high school. Even having talent is one thing. You still need to manipulate the talent in order to make something of it. Both Max and Lewis have used the advantages they had in life very well indeed, molded and shaped that talent into what they became. To quantify which is a bigger advantage is impossible as the metrics don't align at all: One was being groomed by one of the richest companies in the world into a great racing driver, from PR to having active and retired racing drivers coaching, doctors and diet experts making sure the right food is eaten, thrown into the best teams with the best facilities. The other was shaped and trained into a driver where he had to learn from all of is dads mistakes. One had wider metrics, the other closer attention.
Nope. If Lewis mom and dad raced and had his kart waiting after he started walking, Lewis would be even more deadly. And Max got the same backing and coaching under Red Bull as a teenager. Try again. Actually don't try again. I'm sure people are laughing at you behind the scenes by now. Hilariuos to compare the two.
