Comments on 'Young Guns in Formula One' on F1 Insight

Comment by Eric M.

05/11/2007 19:39:21

I completely agree. I have to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Hamilton in the world, but he's far and away the best rookie of the year, and very likely better than any rookie we have ever seen. In fact a comparison to past rookie sensations would be very interesting! I think he would certainly rate better than Jacques Villeneuve, my former racing hero and the other rookie sensation Lewis seems to be most often compared to. But I agree that for all the advantages Hamilton had by being in the Mclaren, I can't imagine the other drivers you mentioned giving Alonso as much difficulty as Lewis did, had they been in his seat. None of them had a reigning world champion as a team mate, none of them had the added pressure that must surely come from driving for a frontline team, and none of them made as few mistakes through it all as Lewis did! The guy is the real deal, and his WDC crown is only a matter of time.

Comment by Clive

05/11/2007 19:57:46

I am no Hamilton fan either, Eric, but he has earned my grudging respect this year. Some of the in-car footage of his laps is astounding - nothing spectacular, just inch perfect placement and smooth transitions from acceleration to braking. If he's this good now, how good will he be in five years time? The mind boggles slightly...

Comment by F1Punter

05/11/2007 22:19:43

Pretty balanced that Clive. Are you writing off Mr Vettel a bit quickly though? I sense you still feel an injustice regarding Scott Speed and perhaps it shows in your appraisal of his replacement? He has had less drives than those that you are comparing him with, lacked the pre-season focus that they did and in my opinion showed good mental strength after his mistakes. Future champion? Who knows? But I am less unconvinced than you!

Comment by Clive

05/11/2007 22:27:33

Naturally I will compare Vettel with Speed since he was the one to replace the American, Punter, and I will be pretty hard on him too - if only to balance the exaggerated hype the youngster seems to be getting. If it's too early to rubbish him, it's also too early to make huge claims for him. It's quite annoying really. Vettel impressed me when he drove the Beemer at Indy so I wanted him to do well - but then he goes and takes Scott's seat! No fault of his, I know, but, if the STR bosses are going to congratulate themselves on their brilliant taste in drivers, I will take every opportunity to point out that they swapped a good driver for one who has done no better so far. When Vettel proves me wrong, I'll be gracious enough. ;)

Comment by F1Punter

05/11/2007 22:44:23

That's fair!

Comment by John F

06/11/2007 00:59:26

For us to compare "rookie" drivers we must look at the meaning of rookie. Is it fair to say that Vellenueve was a rookie in his first year? He had a few years of CART first. So what I do is us their age as a barometer. I like Hamilton but he is not my favorite driver. Having said that I feel confident to say that no 20 year old driver impressed me more than LH. His youth and arrogance kept him from the championship. But it is his youth that ensures that he will be back. I also have to look at the equipment that LH had at his disposal. Imagine how Vettel may have fared in such a car? We all have to us guidlines to judge these young drivers. I think the fact that we can have discussion about so many young drivers says alot for our sport!!

Comment by Clive

06/11/2007 01:18:43

Rookie seems to mean those who are in their first year in any particular formula. I agree that, in some ways, it was strange to call Villeneuve a rookie after all the experience he had in other formulae - a bit like calling Michael Schumacher a rookie if he decided to drive in Champ Cars. Yet each form of racing is different and requires different skills; many drivers who have done well in the lower formulae fail in F1 and, occasionally, one will succeed in F1 after being merely average in other formulae (Mansell was one). So I think it's more than just age that makes a rookie. The matter of how Vettel would have fared with Hamilton's McLaren is really what I'm getting at in the article - I don't think any of this year's rookies would have done as well even had they had access to the same car. That's a subjective judgment based mainly on how they fared against their team mates and is all we can do without actually putting them in the car. And no doubt we could argue each case until next season begins!

Comment by John F

06/11/2007 01:35:46

You are right Clive we could argue this forever. But I think it is safe to say that all the rookies would have performed better in a McLaren. How long do we have to wait (how many days) for the first race so we can get back to some intense disagreements and/or arguements.

Comment by Clive

06/11/2007 02:13:26

March 16 2008 - that's the date of the Australian Grand Prix that kicks off the new season, John. Seems an age away, doesn't it?

Comment by milos

06/11/2007 02:24:11

Winkelhock did not race in Spa, but at the European GP :-) I agree with you on Rosberg definitelly, he was shooting way above his league this year (meaning the car he had). And yes, he made his errors in his 2 seasons in F1, but I would kind of give him some break for 2006, driving Williams must have been at least as frustrating as driving Honda in 2007 ... Kubica has himself admitted that he had difficulties adjusting to Bridgestone tyres and had to completely change his driving style. I would give him few races in 2008 before making a judgement. But you are right with Heidfeld. He is much better driver that many think and he is definitelly a difficult team mate to beat.... Kovalainen will be there with the top, he is close. Whether he will or will not be a champion that depends on many factors, small details make big difference (tiny little patch of gravel for example as Mr. Hamilton could report). He is a driver who took some time to get used to F1 racing, but do not forget he was beating Fisichella pretty much from race 2 with exception of Monaco ... And he is pretty nice guy and that should make it easier for him to bond with any team and any group of mechanics... Vettel is too young and too fresh to comment on. His performances in Japan and China were sure helped by wet track, they also could have been just the flashes of brilliance. Need to wait for 2008 to see what he does in 2nd season. Sutil has been hidden at the back of the grid, but just the fact that he attracts so much attention from media and fans is a sign that he did something right. On the other hand, he did outperform every single team mate Spyker gave him, but we also need to look at who those team mates were - Albers, Winkelhock, Yamamoto... I would definitelly like to see him either in a better car so gets a chance to fight it with guys higher up the grid or matched with stronger team mate at least. I would not be surprised if Nakajima lands a race seat but it would probably benefit him more to stay in GP2 for at least one more season. I would not make much of the pit lane incident, even more experienced drivers perform some interesting pit lane stunts from time to time. When judging his race performance have to remember, he only had 2 weeks notice before his first F1 race, and he raced on a track he never been to before. What I would look at is how he improved in a course of the Brazilian weekend...

Comment by Clive

06/11/2007 02:32:03

Ah, you spotted the deliberate mistake, Milos! No, actually it was brain fade, I'll admit it - it's those brooding pine forests in the back ground of both circuits - give them the same atmosphere. I'll fix it. Otherwise, I think we're in agreement on just about everything. Especially Nakajima - given that he wasn't rated at all before he stepped into the Williams in Brazil, I think he did an excellent job, improving all weekend followed by an impressive debut race.

Comment by Number 38

07/11/2007 07:25:59

Davidson's "lack of FLAIR"??? You mean FLAIR like Kimi? "luck has a part to play in the making of a driver" ..... You're right! ... that's why Hamilton did so well, he was "lucky" to have his education paid for by McLaren. Lil Ant had to train in Honda's for 4 years and what did he get for it ...... #23 Super Aguri. I would like to see Hammy in the Super Aguri and Davidson in the McLaren. I wonder how different they really are?

Comment by Clive

07/11/2007 12:39:37

How different? Oh, probably something like Alonso's six tenths, Number 38. ;) If life was fair, Davidson would have been rewarded for his hard work over the years with a good drive in a competitive car. But life is anything but fair and it handed him an outside chance to shine in a year-old car. And the plain fact is that he didn't - sometimes through circumstances like an errant groundhog getting in the way, sometimes through his own errors. Essentially, he failed in his first task which was to make Sato look slow. Senna entered F1 in a Toleman that was anything but competitive but he wrung its neck until it became at least a platform for his skills - and had Prost begging the marshals to stop a wet Monaco GP so that he could stay ahead of the charging Brazilian. It's a matter of opinion but, judging by what I've seen of Hamilton's driving this year, I believe he would have done the same as Ayrton.

Comment by milos

08/11/2007 04:38:50

and Nakajima got his seat :-)

Comment by Clive

08/11/2007 05:00:06

Yes indeed, Milos - and I'm glad he did. :D

Comment by xItsErica

13/08/2011 08:03:44

whole life insurance policies 4246 home insurance spwqx

Comment by sj173jade

14/08/2011 02:22:04

cheap auto insurance cjzucv home insurance >:-DD