There seems to be a confusion over fact and opinion. A fact is an indisputable, an opinion is subjective. That a person finds one opinion more acceptable then another does not turn it into a fact.
Let's look at some facts from Monaco 2016 that affected the races of Ricciardo and Hamilton.
- Hamilton had an issue with fuel pressure in q3 which compromised his qualifying
- Hamilton lost 14 secs to Ricciardo after the start bring stuck behind Rosberg
- Rosberg was unable to challenge Ricciardo and was asked to let Hamilton past
- Hamilton pulled immediately away from Rosberg and made inroads into Ricciardo
- On lap 23 Ricciardo pitted for inters, he emerged 9 secs behind Hamilton
- Ricciardo cut that gap to 6.6 in one and a half laps
- Hamilton in consultation with his pits decided to stay out on wets
- By lap 28 Ricciardo caught Hamilton but couldn't pass
- Hamilton stayed out on wets until lap 31 when he switched to ultrasofts
- Ricciardo, once released put in a fast time on his warmed inters
- Ricciardo was called into the pits in response to Hamilton's move a lap later
- On his in-lap Ricciardo was over two seconds quicker than Hamilton in the middle sector
- When Ricciardo arrived at his pit, his tyres were not ready and he was delayed
- He rejoined the track behind Hamilton
- The Mercedes cars were struggling to heat up the tyres ( a problem which affected Rosberg more than Hamilton) this left Hamilton vulnerable to Ricciardo after VSC restarts.
- Ricciardo challenged Hamilton on lap 37 following a VSC restart
- Hamilton, in tyres not up to temp, cut the chicane after the tunnel and lost momentum
- Ricciardo attempted a pass but on the wet lost his back end
- The incident was investigated , no further action taken
- Photographic evidence shows that Hamilton left a cars width
- RIcciardo got close and looked at passing opportunities but couldn't make them stick.
- Both cars marginal on tyres, and Hamilton on ultrasofts that hadn't been raced on before, it was unknown if either or neither, would hold out till the end of the race
- Ultimately Hamilton's tyres lasted better and he finished 7.2 seconds ahead.
- Ultrasofts are new tyres that haven't been raced on before
Those were some facts about the race. I'm sure there are more. How you interpret those facts...that is an opinion.
Some people are of the opinion that Ricciardo was the better driver.
Some people are of the opinion that Hamilton was the better driver.
Some people are of the opinion that both drivers were equally good .
The latter as it happens is my opinion. But whatever the opinion, it doesn't alter the facts.
Just wanted to clear that up.
