Vettel: Fastest driver, not car, should win

[Monty]

OMG! I actually agree with something Vettel has said! Although, when Ferrari dominated I doubt anyone at Maranello was complaining!

http://planetf1.com/news/vettel-fastest-driver-not-car-should-win/

[Scott]

He can always move to Indycar or some other spec series to prove his worth, but in F1 I like the team technical competition as well, and would be sorry to lose it to some boring formula that keeps everything perfectly equal.

[cosworth151]

They could always restart the old IROC. All cars identical except for their Easter egg colors & the drivers drawing lots to see which car they'd drive at each race.

At the top levels, racing should be about the entire team - the driver, car, engine, pit crew, everything.

[John S]

Yeah have to agree with you Scott, and I'm sure Vettel's point is only really valid for him when he is not in the most winning car.

F1 has always been about the best drivers a team can get in their individual cars, and I mean individual cars. Surely it's why we consider Fangio and Schumi such greats - because they drove different teams cars to championship victory.

Now correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this need to become a great mostly the reason Seb took on the Ferrari challenge.

Oh and of course the Red Bull dominance allowing him multiple championships never put spectators off. 


IMHO he should just get on with trying to build his own heritage and stop worrying about a mythical level playing field. After all in a true spec series he may find lots of others may well whoop his ass.

[Monty]

I agree that F1 is a technical formula and I love innovation. I just wish they would stop tinkering with the regs. so that everyone can get proficient with the current technology.
Any way, there is no such thing as a level playing field in motor racing. Money always talks. My kids raced in the UK Rotax Max karting championship. This is supposed to be a fixed specification sport with sealed engines etc. My son became good friends with one of the sponsored drivers who was typically 0.5second per lap faster than my son (on a 45second lap). He got the team to give my son a test drive in their kart - he was instantly 0.6second faster than his best time in his own kart. What was the difference? About £10,000 per year!!

[Jericoke]

Racing is a team sport, and part of being the 'best' driver is allying
yourself with the 'best' team.

Tennis, golf, track and field... that's where you go if you want to shine as an individual.  Even then, at top levels having the right coaching, nutritionist etc can mean a big difference.

[Andy B]

I didn't hear Vettel complaining that he was the only one winning during his four year spell at the top when RB were the top car so just another Vettel whinge!

[Dare]

I wonder if he'd won another title in 2014 would he have
left for Ferrari?I doubt it

[Jericoke]

I wonder if he'd won another title in 2014 would he have
left for Ferrari?I doubt it

Hard to say.  Schumacher left Bennetton as reigning champion, I can imagine that Vettel would jump at any chance to emulate him.

[cosworth151]

It certainly would have made the 2014 season a lot more interesting.

[Irisado]

The best drivers usually find their way into the best cars, so I think that Vettel's point is redundant in any case.  That said, Formula 1 is a team sport and a sport based around different chassis/engine combinations.  If he's looking for a test of driver skill and nothing else, he needs to race in a one make championship.

I also find his comments somewhat hypocritical given how much he benefited from Red Bull's chassis dominance during the V8 era.  He was arguably out driven by Alonso in 2010 and 2012, but still managed to win because of the inherent superiority of the Red Bull.

[Jericoke]

The best drivers usually find their way into the best cars, so I think that Vettel's point is redundant in any case.  That said, Formula 1 is a team sport and a sport based around different chassis/engine combinations.  If he's looking for a test of driver skill and nothing else, he needs to race in a one make championship.

I also find his comments somewhat hypocritical given how much he benefited from Red Bull's chassis dominance during the V8 era.  He was arguably out driven by Alonso in 2010 and 2012, but still managed to win because of the inherent superiority of the Red Bull.

I think that even though Vettel and Hamilton have been 'dominant' of late, there is no clear 'best driver' like there was in the 1st Schumacher era.  Any of a dozen drivers would win the championship in the 'best' car.

What I truly miss is the ability for a great driver to bring their car up, and earn points that the team otherwise had no hope of earning.

However, I don't think it's a technological issue, I think the gap between top drivers is smaller than ever.  The drivers are so well matched that it is the machinery/strategy that makes the difference.

[Monty]

I think that even though Vettel and Hamilton have been 'dominant' of late, there is no clear 'best driver' like there was in the 1st Schumacher era.  Any of a dozen drivers would win the championship in the 'best' car.

Don't get me started.....

To be honest, there has always been a car advantage, even back to Bugatti 35's, Mercedes Silver Arrows, etc., etc.
All of Schumacher's championships were won, in part, to him having the best car - especially the Ferraris (and of course his ability to undermine team mates and crashing into faster drivers).

The recent Mercedes dominance was due to a rare coincidence of their drivers being two of the best in the current era plus their cars not only being the fastest but also the most reliable.
So far, today's testing is at least providing us the hope that Ferrari will be as fast as Mercedes. Time will tell.

[Jericoke]

I think that even though Vettel and Hamilton have been 'dominant' of late, there is no clear 'best driver' like there was in the 1st Schumacher era.  Any of a dozen drivers would win the championship in the 'best' car.

Don't get me started.....

To be honest, there has always been a car advantage, even back to Bugatti 35's, Mercedes Silver Arrows, etc., etc.
All of Schumacher's championships were won, in part, to him having the best car - especially the Ferraris (and of course his ability to undermine team mates and crashing into faster drivers).

The recent Mercedes dominance was due to a rare coincidence of their drivers being two of the best in the current era plus their cars not only being the fastest but also the most reliable.
So far, today's testing is at least providing us the hope that Ferrari will be as fast as Mercedes. Time will tell.

I'm just suggesting that in the past the gap between drivers was big enough that sometimes it would overcome the gap between machinery.  Now I think the gap between drivers is small enough (among the top dozen or so) that machinery is the only difference on track.

[J.Clark]

Although there is a World Driver's Championship, there also exists a team issue called the World Constructors' Championship.  This is part of the whole team concept, in which teams must do what they believe to be within the rules and their budget in their attempt to win THAT championship.  Formula 1 is not, nor to my memory, ever been all about the drivers.