[Everwondopedo]

....................., but if ioan came out and said Massa was the best, we'd have a lively discussion.

Or a public decapitation.

[uchetrip]

Or a public decapitation.

Hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion.... no matter how ill-informed, misguided and inaccurate it might be

[Everwondopedo]

Hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion.... no matter how ill-informed, misguided and inaccurate it might be

Lucky you!

[whimpykid]

Hey, everyone is entitled to their opinion.... no matter how ill-informed, misguided and inaccurate it might be

[Deengealf]

ioan's example of Vettel is a good one. Clearly he is a very talented driver. However, IMHO Ron is perfectly entitled to his view and from what we've seen so far, could well be right.

Of course Hamilton stepped right into a competitive car from the very start of his F1 career. The likes of Vettel, Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher didn't have that opportunity because a winning team did not take the risk of signing them. With Hamilton, McLaren did take that risk. It could have backfired on them, but it hasn't. The reason it hasn't is the reason why Ron rates Lewis so highly.

Proving that the likes of Vettel, Raikkonen and Schumacher could have done what Hamilton has done is impossible. We can only speculate what might have happened to them, but that in no way detracts from what Hamilton has achieved. He is an exceptional talent.

[milfovoxapl]

Of course Hamilton stepped right into a competitive car from the very start of his F1 career. The likes of Vettel, Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher didn't have that opportunity because a winning team did not take the risk of signing them.

Well, Schumacher had a race winning car in his first full year of F1.

[ronaldasten]

Well, Schumacher had a race winning car in his first full year of F1.

Yes, but it wasn't as good compared to the best opposition as was the McLaren that Hamilton had last year.

[uchetrip]

All the drivers in F1 can do very well and win races in the top cars. Lets not put them down as they are all excellent racers with more racing ability in their little toe than most of us have.

So, the benchmark isn't set at 50%, 75% or even 90% but probably 99.??%

Give any of those drivers a "standard" F1 car and 20 laps and they will all lap within a 10th or so of each other.

What makes the top draw drivers is the ability to turn out that 99.??% performance lap, after lap, after lap, no matter what changes; the track, the temperature, the weather. The best seem to extract the maximum when their contemporaries fall by the wayside.

Take Massa for example. He can show superb ability in the car but struggles when things change (silverstone) whereas Lewis with the same weather conditions excelled. Or last weekend when he was really unwell, yet still turned out that 99.??% performance.

Schumacher was the same. I remember when he dried his own bit of track out to overtake on or still managed to bring a car home in 2nd with a lost gear. Genius.

lets face it, you cant imagine Kimi doing that.

Hamilton was recognised as a prestigious talent from a early age and sponsored into F1 by McLaren. Ron had the confidence that he could fit into the job and has been paid back in spades.

Schumy was also a recognised driver and was sponsored to drive by Mercedes who wanted him to enter the Mercedes powered Sauber team. However, we all know he reneged on that deal (and on the agreement in principal with Jordan) in a Buttonesk manner to move to Benetton who he had 2 Championships with.

So, he was always going to make it as he had the might of Mercedes behind him as Lewis had McLaren.

However, starting in the lower teams gives you a distinct advantage.

1. It allows you to ease into F1 without the huge media hype Lewis had to contend with.

2. The drivers you are up against are not the top drawer ones so you can shine easier.

Lewis has not had that luxury. He has been thrust into the spotlight and against the 2X current world champion.

Expecting to fail, he shocked everyone by not only surviving but beating Alonso in his debut year and almost winning the WDC in a car that wasn't the best out there.

There's not much more I can say.

[tetMitshisk]

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,1895...047504,00.html

How about Vettel, Ron?
He's only been in F1 about as long as Lewy, and last week end was the fastest guy out there, just take a look at the fastest lap times posted during the qualis. All this in a STR, not a McLaren!

Vettel?

Schumacher was the same. I remember when he dried his own bit of track out to overtake on or still managed to bring a car home in 2nd with a lost gear. Genius.

lets face it, you cant imagine Kimi doing that.

Did you miss the french GP?

[OWDavid]

Did you miss the french GP?

I think a better example is Nurburgring 2005 where he continued racing with a huge flat spot and almost won the race.

[milfovoxapl]

I think a better example is Nurburgring 2005 where he continued racing with a huge flat spot and almost won the race.

Flat spot caused by himself.

Classic example of punching above your weight would be Damon Hill in Arrows at the 1997 Hungarian GP.

[whimpykid]

To be fair, did anyone seriously expect Ron to say anything else?

Well, yeah! I thought he'd say that Fernando was the best driver in F1.

[comprar-espana]

I think the only person who should be dissapointed with Ron's comments is Kovalainen. Can't be nice having your boss tell the world that you're not as good as your teammate. Then again, maybe Kovy's accepted his No.2 role and it wouldn't bother him.

[first_pr]

Knock-on, remember the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix? In that race Kimi showed how good he is. That was a tremendous victory in which a driver excelled.

[RIjdrVs3]

How about Vettel, Ron?

When Hamilton entered he was instantly a match for Alonso. When Vettel entered, he wasn't impressive against Liuzzi.

And I don't think anyone would say that Liuzzi is on the same level as Alonso.

[Donadoni1809]

I think the only person who should be dissapointed with Ron's comments is Kovalainen. Can't be nice having your boss tell the world that you're not as good as your teammate. Then again, maybe Kovy's accepted his No.2 role and it wouldn't bother him.

I think everyone, even Kovalainen himself, knows that at the moment he is not as good as Hamilton. And if Ron or someone said this, it wouldn't sound credible.

[first_pr]

I think that jens is very right. It is weird to say who is the best, because it depends on the current form of the driver. F.ex. I think that in 2005 Kimi was much better than now.

[vypusknye]

Well, Schumacher had a race winning car in his first full year of F1.

Was it a race winning car before he joined? How many wins did the team get before he joined? How many wins did his team mate get in that year? (or the next?)

[Everwondopedo]

When Hamilton entered he was instantly a match for Alonso. When Vettel entered, he wasn't impressive against Liuzzi.

And I don't think anyone would say that Liuzzi is on the same level as Alonso.

Vettel went on to improve a lot in that Torro Rosso, and last week end is a testimony to this.

Hamilton? He certainly is as good as 18 months ago but better, faster? I don't think so. Having a slower team mate doesn't help him either.

[gagagaridze]

There's not much more I can say.[/QUOTE]

thank god