Originally Posted by Mystical123:
“That makes for an interesting question - how would everyone rank the drivers on the grid? I'd be inclined to say Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton and Vettel (in that order) are the best, then it becomes a little more difficult to rank after that - Webber has good and bad days but is a decent driver, Button's got plus points but gets less out of a sub-par car than some others, Massa on form is good, Grosjean has the potential to be great, so does di Resta....”
Regarding Vettel, it's kind of interesting the way people say he "can't race" and then, whenever he overtakes a couple of cars, other people say "Hah! and this is he guy who can't race?"
Thing is, I think the real indication of a properly "great" driver isn't
just how they race, in the moment. It's all about how they think strategically; it's about th ability to see how something they do now might affect the outcome of the race in an hour's time.
Put simply, do we think that Vettel, in last years Ferrari, would have ended up losing the championship by a single point?
I gotta say, I don't.
Regardless of his driving ability, I think Vettel has had an incredibly easy time over the last 3 or 4 years.
He's had a car which has meant he's rarely had to make any tough strategic choices and he has a team which are really good at figuring stuff out so he doesn't really need to come up with anything clever for himself.
I think, on pure pace, Hamilton is probably the most talented driver on the grid.
Having said that, I honestly think his time at McLaren has actually hampered his ability to think strategically.
He's been nursed and protected and mollycoddled and even actively discouraged from thinking for himself and he really needs to get on top of that aspect of the driving if he's going to be considered one of the "all time greats".
I think Vettel's situation is pretty close to Hamilton's although I don't think he's quite as quick.
Alonso is almost the opposite of Hamilton. He lacks a slight amount of raw skill (and he's even admitted that himself) but he more than makes up for it with his strategic abilities.
Like him or not, That's something Schuey excelled at and I think, regardless of whether he wins another title, Alonso already IS one of the "all time greats".
When they're making documentaries about F1, in 50 years time, I think Alonso will be remembered a bit like Moss is today; He'll be thought of as the "best" driver out there who's ambitions were stymied by the utter dominance of other cars.
Raikkonen is somewhere between Hamilton and Alonso.
He's got raw pace but perhaps note
quite as much as Hamilton but he's also got a clever head, although not
quite as clever as Alonso.
I reckon if you stuck them all in Formula Ford cars for a straight race, they'd finish with Hamilton first then Raikkonen, Vettel and Alonso.
If, OTOH, you found some way to test their mental agility Alonso would win, followed by Raikkonen and then Vettel and Hamilton.
All IMO, of course.