Which current F1 drivers out drive their car?

[Fivepercent]

So who gets more out of the car than the car deserves?
You have to rule out the two McLaren and the two Ferrari drivers as they are all fairly well matched to their team mates.

For me there are three candidates for this accolade.

Vettel, blimey how he has come along this year. He consistently makes the experienced and mega successful Bordais look pedestrian. (except today!!!)
Kubica. Makes quick Nick not look so quick. Makes no mistakes and has a lot more points than that BMW deserves.
Alonso. The best all round current F1 driver has been getting the poor handling and down on power Renault into places it has no right to be, especially in qualifying. If anything his driving this year is the best he has done so far. Even if pushing it so ultra hard has resulted in a few offs.

So what do you think?

Edited by Fivepercent on Saturday 6th September 17:29

[sirtyro]

Out of interest why do u think Alonso is the best all round driver? (no im not trying to have an argument just interested in why you think that)

[skinny]

i don't think the renault is especially poor handling, you never see their drivers having to fight the car the way others do, i think it just lacks aero efficiency so it creates more drag for the same downforce, and the engine isn't great. but it works the tyres nicely and doesn't look too difficult to drive.

i don't think anyone is really outdriving their car. top 4 as expected, bmw as expected (nick has well known problems in heat-up, whenever he can sort those he's on a par with kubi and if you look at the points there isn't a massive difference), no-one else really stands out as consistently dragging a midfield car any higher.

vettel i have to say i'm a massive fan of, i started following his progress from a test driver at bmw and am certain that he is wdc material. and whilst it's very easy to be impressed by him and the team formerly known as minardi, the fact is they have an adrian newey designed car with a ferrari engine. i think that red bull are doing so bad and being completely overshadowed by their b team is more surprising than str's results. but still, in response to the question i'd say vettel anyway

[Jungles]

Mostly:
- Alonso

Sometimes:
- Kubica
- Vettel
- Webber

Rarely:
- Hamilton
- Trulli
- Sutil

skinny said:

i don't think the renault is especially poor handling, you never see their drivers having to fight the car the way others do, i think it just lacks aero efficiency so it creates more drag for the same downforce, and the engine isn't great. but it works the tyres nicely and doesn't look too difficult to drive.

I remember one or two onboard shots of the Renault earlier in the season where Alonso was sawing at the wheel more than others (I think there was a comparison shot with a BMW or a McLaren). But I agree that generally, the Renault isn't especially poor handling. It's just that Alonso seems to in "qualifying" mode all the time, whereas other drivers switch on and off.

Edited by Jungles on Sunday 7th September 01:32

[Fivepercent]

skinny said:

i don't think the renault is especially poor handling, you never see their drivers having to fight the car the way others do, i think it just lacks aero efficiency so it creates more drag for the same downforce, and the engine isn't great. but it works the tyres nicely and doesn't look too difficult to drive.

It seems to have bit Alonso a few times this season. Most notably at Monaco.

[Fivepercent]

sirtyro said:

Out of interest why do u think Alonso is the best all round driver? (no im not trying to have an argument just interested in why you think that)

Watching him through many GPs.
He is twice WDC whilst not in the best car and against Michael Schumacher.
Comments from many real F1 experts. (not the fanboys on here)
Would have easily been WDC last year if McLaren had backed him instead of their favourite son.
This year he is getting grid positions (again yesterday) that the car just does not deserve.

[kusee pee]

Alonso - definitely
Kubica - sometimes (certainly in early season)
Vettel - sometimes (but not in early season)

All the others are pretty much doing the expected job. I can't wait for less aero grip next year, should make for more driver difference.

[skinny]

maybe earlier in the season it was worse but i think more recently renault have got to grips with the handling of their car. there was a bit of a story a few weeks back about how they'd got the tyres to behave very consistently over a whole stint.

don't get me wrong i think he's an awesome driver but i don't really see him outperforming the car. same as kubi, massive fan but he's put the car where it should be really tho his consistency and reliability has been excellent.

Edited by skinny on Sunday 7th September 10:02

[Jungles]

Ross Brawn's opinion on Alonso has to count for something: http://www.crash.net/motorsport/f1/news/168649-0/h...

And if Renault's handling has been sorted out, their power deficit and poor aero efficiency has not.

Having said that, I think the most impressive "out-drive the machine" feat goes to Adrian Sutil at Monaco.

Edited by Jungles on Sunday 7th September 12:13

[AlexS]

Fivepercent said:

sirtyro said:

Out of interest why do u think Alonso is the best all round driver? (no im not trying to have an argument just interested in why you think that)

Watching him through many GPs.
He is twice WDC whilst not in the best car and against Michael Schumacher.
Comments from many real F1 experts. (not the fanboys on here)
Would have easily been WDC last year if McLaren had backed him instead of their favourite son.
This year he is getting grid positions (again yesterday) that the car just does not deserve.

Though he only really won one drivers championship against Schumacher as 2005 he was racing against Kimi, with the Ferrari hampered by running wooden tyres.