FB's totally (un)objective review of the current F1 driver line up

FB

Not my cup of cake
Valued Member
It's been a long week and after coming back from holiday I'm a bit bored with catching up on e-mail so here's my views on the current crop of "best drivers in the world". BTW - the order is as they appear on the F1 Wiki page so don't read anything in to this other than I couldn't be bothered to think about it.

Sebastian Vettel - Struggled a bit since leaving Red Bull and certainly not the same driver without an ultra-competitive car. Still one of the top three on the grid but he has developed a petulant side since joining Ferrari which is not very becoming.

Kimi Raikkonen - Remember when Kimi left teh sport and went home to sit on a big pile of Ferrari coloured Euro's. Then he came back and was quite exciting, although in bursts. Those bursts are becoming few and far between these days and I can't help but think he is only being kept on to keep Vettel happy.

Sergio Perez - Being much touted as someone who deserves a top drive but I'm not so sure myself. A useful mid-field runner but hardly putting his team mate in the bin despite his, as the team put it, lack of experience. He's now in his 7th year in F1 and had a chance at McLaren without setting the world alight (yes, I know the car was dog) he appears to be a driver who will keep hanging on and slowly work his way down the grid taking a big suitace full of Peso's with him. If I was looking for a driver to win races and championships Sergio would be a long way down the list

Esteban Ocon - I've been quitely impressed with the young Frenchman so far this season. Yes, he got the drive as he's a Merc prodigy but he has certainly not been embarrassed and looks to be quite a bright star for the future.

Romain Grosjean - Hmmm, what has happened? Okay, he never really took the fight to Kimi at Lotus which should have given us an indication of the limits of his capabilities but he's surely quicker than Kevin Magnussen. Maybe better off in WEC where he might win something.

Kevin Magnussen - Remind me how he got back in to F1 after his year at McLaren? I got the feeling that Renault so desperate for a driver with F1 experience that Stirling Moss could have got a drive if he'd offered his services. Then he pops up at Haas. How? That said, he's driving quite well this season but another who should probably be in WEC rather than "filling a seat" in F1.

Stoffel Vandoorne - the new Lewis Hamilton they all said. Been a bit absent so far hasn't he?

Fernando Alonso - as much as it grieves me to say this but the second of my top 3 drivers currently in F1. If only he was actually likeable as a human being.

Lewis Hamilton - The last of my top three in F1 at the moment. In the car, what a driver, brilliant. Out of the car, what a twat. You're not a rock star Lewis and if you spent less time hanging around with them you might find yourself being a little less marmite.

Valterri Bottas - I presume Totto got his 10% from the Merc contract. Okay, he can be quick but he's not a team leader and, I suspect, this season will be his moment in the sun before he moves back to be amongst the mid-field runners. I know Finnish drivers have a reputation for being "icemen" but does this have to also mean dull?

Daniel Ricciardo - For both his personality and speed he really deserves to be challenging at the front every weekend. How he maintains that huge smile with the rather average car Red Bull have given him I have no idea. There comes a point when he needs to realise that although Red Bull gave him the breaks there is a time where he should think about himself and his potential.

Max Verstappen - Blinding quick and certainly has the potential to be a multiple world champion although it remains to be seen how he will cope when this sort of pressure actually comes his way. He can be a bit moody at times and does he have to mental strength to cope when he's expected to win rather than outperforming the car a la Villeneuve.

Nico Hulkenberg - Enough speed to have justified getting in to a winning team but never seems to get the opportunity. Will Renault provide a car good enough for his talent? I hope so. If not he should move on to a series which will give hm race wins and titles.

Joylon Palmer - Next! No, seriously, he's really not cut out for a seat in F1 and I have no doubt this will be the last season we see him plying his trade in an F1 car.

Marcus Ericcson - Okay, so the people who own Sauber are family friends but how did he get in the car in the first place? Ah, money. Okay. Why do people with the sort of money to back a driver in F1 not try and support someone with some talent?

Pascal Wehrlein - Very pretty.

Daniil Kvyat - Make the most of this season Danii as you won't be in even be able to sniff the exhaust pipe of an F1 car in 2018.

Carlos Sainz - Erratic but fast. I would presume he will be moving up to Red Bull next year of either of the current 2 jump ship and it will be well deserved.

Lance Stroll - An F1 driver really shouldn't be learning on the job. Another couple of season in the lower formulae would not have gone amiss.

Felipe Massa - Should you chose to retire again at the end of this season Felipe please, do us all a favour, and stay retired. I know Bottas left Williams for Mercedes but surely there were other options for the team from Grove beyond this geriatric (he's 15 years younger than me)?

So there you have it. These are far from the best drivers in the world. If I were a team principal there are only 8 of the current bunch I would think of sticking in my car which isn't very good really is it?

You may disagree.
 
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Sebastian Vettel - Struggled a bit since leaving Red Bull and certainly not the same driver without an ultra-competitive car. Still one of the top three on the grid but he has developed a petulant side since joining Ferrari which is not very becoming.
What do you mean by not the same that he's not dominating? His petulant side was noticeable while he was at Red Bull too. Whenever he received a penalty, e.g. Spain 2012?; 'when Webber crashed into him or he crashed into Webber' (Dr. Marko has a different perspective than the rest of us :D), e.g. Turkey 2010, Multi 21 incident in Malaysia 2013 etc.. There's enough of that side if you take a closer look.

Kimi Raikkonen - Remember when Kimi left teh sport and went home to sit on a big pile of Ferrari coloured Euro's. Then he came back and was quite exciting, although in bursts. Those bursts are becoming few and far between these days and I can't help but think he is only being kept on to keep Vettel happy.
Bwoah. He's simply starting to become boring. I have no idea why people perceive a driver who doesn't speak as entertaining.

SerEGO Perez - [...]
FTFY.

Esteban Ocon - I've been quitely impressed with the young Frenchman so far this season. Yes, he got the drive as he's a Merc prodigy but he has certainly not been embarrassed and looks to be quite a bright star for the future.

Romain Grosjean - Hmmm, what has happened? Okay, he never really took the fight to Kimi at Lotus which should have given us an indication of the limits of his capabilities but he's surely quicker than Kevin Magnussen. Maybe better off in WEC where he might win something.

Kevin Magnussen - Remind me how he got back in to F1 after his year at McLaren? I got the feeling that Renault so desperate for a driver with F1 experience that Stirling Moss could have got a drive if he'd offered his services. Then he pops up at Haas. How? That said, he's driving quite well this season but another who should probably be in WEC rather than "filling a seat" in F1.

Stoffel Vandoorne - the new Lewis Hamilton they all said. Been a bit absent so far hasn't he?
Not if you look at his social media, he's very active there.

Daniel Ricciardo - For both his personality and speed he really deserves to be challenging at the front every weekend. How he maintains that huge smile with the rather average car Red Bull have given him I have no idea. There comes a point when he needs to realise that although Red Bull gave him the breaks there is a time where he should think about himself and his potential.
I simply don't like the fella and I don't rate him as high as Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel. He's not really looking too good next to Verstappen this year, although that's relative as they have only had two joint finishes.

Nico Hulkenberg - Enough speed to have justified getting in to a winning team but never seems to get the opportunity. Will Renault provide a car good enough for his talent? I hope so. If not he should move on to a series which will give hm race wins and titles.
Perez made me doubt this 'outstanding' talent.

Pascal Wehrlein - Very pretty.
He's a bit of a Christiano Ronaldo lookalike.
 
My Assessment

Hamilton - On the one hand, all-time great. On the other, lost a title to Nico Rosberg. Outrageously gifted, one of the best, needs to beat Vettel this year.

Bottas - Barrichello, but with rights. He'll challenge occasionally, but only occasionally.

Ricciardo - Top bloke. He's a true Button successor; so capable of making his way through utter chaos to win. Would be great if he got his '09.

Verstappen - The Crown Prince. He's seriously brilliant and utterly driven. He'll be champion save for an Alonso-style contractual error streak.

Vettel - How good is he? If he beats Hamilton in a relatively straight fight that'll seal his reputation. Otherwise, we won't forget 2014!

Raikkonen - He used to be very good. He's taken his contractual number 2 status too seriously!

Perez - In the Fisi-zone. He looks great leading a midfield team; he's not going to pull up trees at the top.

Ocon - Bottas has beads of sweat on his forehead. If Ocon starts beating Perez habitually, he's in the seat. I think it will happen by this time next year.

Massa - He has had a good run, but I'm sure there's a seat in IndyCar with his name on it.

Stroll - Gone from miles behind Massa to slightly behind Massa. Podium secured in Baku, but the next year will determine if he's made of the right stuff.

Sainz - I feel his inconsistency will show up if he does make the leap; in limbo until one of the Red Bull drivers leave.

Kvyat - He's had his chance, even in the First Team. Buemi must be fuming. Not worth persisting with, unfortunately.

Hulkenburg - I'd love to see him get a top car; Enstone is the most likely place for him to get one. Must still see his collision with Hamilton at Interlagos in nightmares. If Renault continue to struggle, we know he could do a job in WEC.

Palmer - He's not great. I think he could secure more job security Stateside.

Grosjean - He's good but not great; a vanilla driver for a vanilla team. He could do a good job in F1 but seems to me that WEC cars tend to have good brakes. Formula E also seems a fit.

Magnussen - Unimpressive against Palmer, but surprisingly good against Grosjean. I still don't know, but I suspect his debut will remain his best result.

Alonso - He's very good. But I wouldn't employ him; I suspect he's done more to damage Honda's image than the guy who painted the car like the Earth. But he's very good.

Vandoorne - Driving a frequently-breaking dog-slow car for a formerly-great team in a crisis up against one of the greats? What an easy start! I'm therefore withholding judgement.

Ericsson - €€€

Wehrlein - Hints there that he's quite good. Would like to see him in the genuine midfield really. I think he's somewhere between a Frentzen and a Herbert.
 
They're all on a scale from Fairly Good to Poor apart from Verstappen. He's basically come in and shown them up. The fact that drivers of the standard of Button, Rosberg and Webber have been in contention for world championships, with two winning them, in the past decade, frankly speaks volumes for the quality level.
 
They're all on a scale from Fairly Good to Poor apart from Verstappen. He's basically come in and shown them up. The fact that drivers of the standard of Button, Rosberg and Webber have been in contention for world championships, with two winning them, in the past decade, frankly speaks volumes for the quality level.
Do you mean Hamilton isn't as good as he's made out to be, as he was beaten by both Button and Rosberg... :o
It's a shame that Mercedes didn't dump Rosberg at the end of 2012, in order to pair Schumacher with Hamilton.
 
But Schumacher was pretty crap by then.
Was Senna average because he didn't race Stewart or Clark or Fangio?
 
Kimi - what is the point ? He is rich enough already and he's not allowed to beat Vettel and furthermore damaging his own legacy. He has not got anything to prove other than Ferrari are stupid to pay him that much money to be a No 2
 
But Schumacher was pretty crap by then.
Was Senna average because he didn't race Stewart or Clark or Fangio?
Not really, he had plenty technical issues that season. Australia, China, Monaco, Canada and Hungary. He was in very good positions in Australia (P3) and China (P2), thus, he lost a lot of points against Rosberg.
He was beat Rosberg in every GP from the European GP onwards with the exception of the US GP. It was a trend that had continued from the end of 2011.
 
he's not allowed to beat Vettel and furthermore damaging his own legacy

We've never seen him quick enough to know if he's allowed to beat Vettel (He lost Monaco on pace whatever the media tries to tell you,). As for destroying his legacy - he's been doing that since 2008.
 
RasputinLives Which makes you wonder why anyone would be stupid to hire him given how much money he asks for ? He's becoming more like Eddie Irvine

His two seasons at Lotus were good but that is because they motivated him that he would only be paid based on every point he scored but someone at Genii capital tried to do a fast one and got their finances all wrong that it would be more costly if Kimi was competitive
 
IMO, NONE of them are worth the money they command.

If you want to see the world's best drivers in action, go to a WRC race. They compete on courses and in conditions that would have any F1 driver soiling his undies.

If you want to see the most advanced cars, attend a WEC race. They were hybrids when F1 had never even heard the term!
 
They are worth the money if they deliver week in week out everytime they jump into the car and get the maximum

Unfortunately that cannot be said of Kimi
 
And, no doubt, the marketing people would claim that the Kardashians are worth the millions that they are being paid! Does that mean that they have the talent to truly justify their income?
 
NO the Kardashians have no talent.. they earn their money by selling their life ... utterly sad but people buy into it which has made them very rich and at the same time pretty much made people forget about the original socialite Paris Hilton

Kimi does not justify the money he earns but then Ferrari are the only team crazy and stupid enough to flush money down the toilet
 
I think there are 3 super talents - Hamilton, Alonso and Verstappen. Ferrari should take Alonso back.

Bottas will be a good one to keep an eye on. He's not at level of Hamilton, but like Nico, he's close enough that when reliability and luck become an issue, he can win.
 
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