Lewis 2016's best driver say F1 team bosses

[John S]

They chose Lewis by big margin in Autosport.com poll.

Do we agree with their opinions on the top 10, or should The Hulk and Grosjean feature in place of Bottas, Sainz & even Nando? 

Shows why Merc are unlikely to fire Lewis though don't you think?   

AUTOSPORT'S 2016 TEAM BOSS'S TOP 10

1 Lewis Hamilton, 234 points (No change)
2 Max Verstappen, 183 (Up two places)
3 Nico Rosberg, 176 (No change)
4 Daniel Ricciardo, 133 (Up five)
5 Sebastian Vettel, 90 (Down three)
6 Fernando Alonso, 67 (No change)
7 Kimi Raikkonen, 61 (Up three)
8 Sergio Perez, 52 (No change)
9 Valtteri Bottas, 26 (Down two)
10 Carlos Sainz Jr, 25 (New entry)

WHO VOTED

Toto Wolff, Mercedes
Christian Horner, Red Bull
Maurizio Arrivabene, Ferrari
Vijay Mallya, Force India
Claire Williams, Williams
Eric Boullier, McLaren
Franz Tost, Toro Rosso
Gunther Steiner, Haas
Fred Vasseur, Renault
Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber
Dave Ryan, Manor

[lkjohnson1950]

No doubt he's been consistently the quickest, especially in race trim, buthow much is he flattered by the car? I'd like to see if one of the R/B or Ferrari drivers could push him a bit harder than Nico. I think Nico's pretty good and a deserving WDC but clearly not at the very top level.

[guest3164]

I think Bottas gets in largely on reputation from the last few seasons, this year he was largely underwhelming but then the FW38 did very little to boost him.  I think Hulkenberg was pretty well eclipsed for the most part by Perez so not surprised to see him on the list.  Grosjean did a decent job but at times the Haas let him down so I think he was either performing well or invisible and there was very little in between. 

I feel Kimi ought to have been above Vettel on this year's performances though. 

[Andy B]

No doubt he's been consistently the quickest, especially in race trim, buthow much is he flattered by the car? I'd like to see if one of the R/B or Ferrari drivers could push him a bit harder than Nico. I think Nico's pretty good and a deserving WDC but clearly not at the very top level.

Wherever Lewis has been and whoever he's had as a teammate he has not been embarrassed and that includes Alonso when Lewis was just a rooky and Nico has performed well but as you say he's seen as a good number 2.

[John S]

Wherever Lewis has been and whoever he's had as a teammate he has not been embarrassed and that includes Alonso when Lewis was just a rooky

Except maybe in 2011 when Button gave Lewis a real hammering. 

[Jericoke]

Wherever Lewis has been and whoever he's had as a teammate he has not been embarrassed and that includes Alonso when Lewis was just a rooky

Except maybe in 2011 when Button gave Lewis a real hammering. 

Wasn't that the season Hamilton and Massa kept colliding?

I think Hamilton learned a lot about being an F1 driver, from a technical point of view, from getting along with other drivers point of view, and being outscored by your teammate point of view.  (Not saying he mastered what he learned, just that's part of what helped him succeed at Mercedes)

[Andy B]

Wherever Lewis has been and whoever he's had as a teammate he has not been embarrassed and that includes Alonso when Lewis was just a rooky

Except maybe in 2011 when Button gave Lewis a real hammering. 

Wasn't that the season Hamilton and Massa kept colliding?

I think Hamilton learned a lot about being an F1 driver, from a technical point of view, from getting along with other drivers point of view, and being outscored by your teammate point of view.  (Not saying he mastered what he learned, just that's part of what helped him succeed at Mercedes)

Quite right Jeri he beat himself that year but it seems he learnt from the experience but then one year out of ten is quite a good record.
I see the latest rumour is Alonso is being considered but I just cannot see that after the turbulent 2007 and do Merc management want a second season like the one just gone?

[Jericoke]

Wherever Lewis has been and whoever he's had as a teammate he has not been embarrassed and that includes Alonso when Lewis was just a rooky

Except maybe in 2011 when Button gave Lewis a real hammering. 

Wasn't that the season Hamilton and Massa kept colliding?

I think Hamilton learned a lot about being an F1 driver, from a technical point of view, from getting along with other drivers point of view, and being outscored by your teammate point of view.  (Not saying he mastered what he learned, just that's part of what helped him succeed at Mercedes)

Quite right Jeri he beat himself that year but it seems he learnt from the experience but then one year out of ten is quite a good record.
I see the latest rumour is Alonso is being considered but I just cannot see that after the turbulent 2007 and do Merc management want a second season like the one just gone?

I think Alonso was surprised by how well Hamilton did in 2007, and was put off by not being the 'big dog' like he'd expected (and presumably been promised.  I don't know that many people expected that good a year from Lewis). 

Alonso has said it's water under the bridge, and I believe him.

Further, Mercedes knows what has gone on in public AND in private.  I have a feeling that the key decision makers like the open conflict.  Otherwise, you're right, hiring Alonso would be a non-starter.

[Irisado]

Alonso and Hamilton are the joint best for me.  Hamilton has a slight edge in raw qualifying pace, but Alonso is more reliable and consistent, while still having a higher level of pace than another consistent performer, such as Rosberg.

Autocourse's top ten reflects the current state of play among the drivers better than the list created by the team bosses in my opinion.