Poll Worst Driver Currently in F1

[siffert_fan]

C_A_T

Don't forget Hesketh, the only team willing to give Hunt "the shunt" a shot at F1.

The huge difference between then and now is that back then, there were so many entrants that pre-qualifying was frequently needed to thin the herd prior to real qualifying. Today, everyone is guaranteed a starting position, which assures a lower-quality field than before. Remember, in 1981, Mansell failed to qualify at least once.

 

[Olivier]

Pedro Lamy was generally considered one of the very best drivers of his generation.

a fine pay driver but one of the very best? of his generation? Schumacher, Hakkinen, Hill, ..., Lamy?

 

[Clay]

especially if you look at actually results rather than pace as it was Stroll who landed those. I do see your point though.

You're cherry picking and he didn't have many good results either. Looking at his pace in comparison to another driver over a whole season presents a clearer picture of a driver's abilities. Massa was consistently slower than Alonso and Bottas, he was a race winning driver in 2008, but didn't show much of his talent since 2010.
Stroll was destroyed by Massa, an average driver in the last 7 years of his career, in terms of pace, even for a rookie it was disastrous.

 

[Angel]

Is character another word for dick?

He was that too a not small part of the time

 

[RasputinLives]

Clay You're generalising to fit your point. "Destroyed", "average driver" opinions not facts.

Facts:

Did Stroll get Williams two best qualifying results in 2017 including a front row? Yes

Did Stroll get Williams only podium in 2017? Yes.

My 'cherry picking' as you call it seems to be good enough for other rookies such as your Leclerc and your Gaslys this year but not good enough for Stroll. I don't see anyone calling out Carlos Sainz despite him getting a similar dribbling from a driver of similar status this season. No one is saying Verstappen was 'destroyed' by Ricciardo last year.

There is no question that Massa beat him but I would have been stunned if he didn't.

I'll echo Greenlantern101 above. I understand a dislike for a rich dad and buying places through sponsorship but try looking at a driver not an individual.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Remember, in 1981, Mansell failed to qualify at least once.

Indeed.

And if you look at John Watson's start to the 1983 seasosn it reads:

Retired
First
Retired
5th
Did Not Qualify
Retired
Third.

Imagine that level of unpredictability today?

 

[Clay]

Clay Facts:

Did Stroll get Williams two best qualifying results in 2017 including a front row? Yes

Did Stroll get Williams only podium in 2017? Yes.

Yes.

Also fact:
- Qualifying gap of 1 second on average.
- Race pace 0.4 to 0.6 seconds per lap slower than Massa.

 

[RasputinLives]

They are indeed facts. I never suggested they weren't. Results in F1 are everything though and Stroll brought them home. Hence why the 'cherry picking' as you call it has to be taken into account.

Lap times always tell a part of the story but they are never the whole picture. In 2009 Kimi held the most fastest laps but there is no way anyone could argue he was the best driver that year.

 

[siffert_fan]

Indeed.

Imagine that level of unpredictability today?

IMO, that level of unpredictability would make F1 worth watching again, unlike now.

 

[Clay]

They are indeed facts. I never suggested they weren't. Results in F1 are everything though and Stroll brought them home. Hence why the 'cherry picking' as you call it has to be taken into account.

Lap times always tell a part of the story but they are never the whole picture. In 2009 Kimi held the most fastest laps but there is now way anyone could argue he was the best driver that year.

Results count but he achieved none of the under normal circumstances and in normal circumstances he hasn’t achieved anything worth mentioning in F1.

I’am not talking about single laps though, but about a series of laps in a single race. Taking all of the races into account they tell the story of unskilled F1 driver who would have been released were it not for his fathers money.

 

[Clay]

a fine pay driver but one of the very best? of his generation? Schumacher, Hakkinen, Hill, ..., Lamy?

Look at his achievements in other racing series. He’s more than a decent driver and in no way does he compare to the likes you mentioned in your list.

 

[RasputinLives]

Clay I think if he is judged as an 18 year old rookie F3 champion and not as a rich man's son there is no way anyone would have argued he should not have been given another year. Especially after his performances in the wet. If you applied the same logic to others debut season then F1 would have been a different landscape.

 

[Il_leone]

Izumi Verstappen will get off the hook until he causes a major accident and people ask for him to get banned for good . That is how I see it with what happened in Japan. This is where the 5 second penalty is absolutely rubbish. If anything the driver should be penalised with a drive through

 

[Il_leone]

F1 is suppose to be the pinnacle of motorsport and there must be something wrong with F1 if one of the greats like Alonso cannot be at the sharp end of the grid okay some of it is his fault

Then you look around the other drivers apart from Ocon and LeClerc who stand out from the midfield teams and back end teams you have to wonder if any of those teams have got the right drivers competing in F1

I'll admit 1994-1995 we did get some awful pay drivers like Delatraz who was not ready for F1 but today's crop when talented guys are being denied a shot at F1 and are jumping to Formula E that itself says it all
---------------------------

If Stroll beats Perez next year at Force India - then some of this criticism and judgement would be less severe but the fact the manner he got into F1 has not helped and the blame should be at Claire Williams door although I guess Stroll Snr would probably emotional blackmail her that the millions can go somewhere else . A lot of good it has done Williams with him behind the wheel

 

[RasputinLives]

See this is what confuses me. Stroll is by no means the first or worst driver to get into F1 through big money backing and someone basically taking over a team to get them there. In fact of you look at his junior record he is actually one of the better ones. Yet for some reason before he even turned a wheel the media and a large collection of F1 fans were already spitting vile at him. I don't remember the lynch mob being out for Will Stevens, Max Chilton, Pedro Deniz, Sergio Perez and many of the names mentioned earlier in this thread. Hell Niki Lauda even got into F1 in the exact same way. Max Verstappen got into F1 early due to his dad's connections and everyone loves him.

The only thing I can think as to why there is such an adverse reaction is that because he has actually won stuff with backing it upsets people more.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Max Chilton was bloody awful.

 

[Clay]

Clay I think if he is judged as an 18 year old rookie F3 champion and not as a rich man's son there is no way anyone would have argued he should not have been given another year. Especially after his performances in the wet. If you applied the same logic to others debut season then F1 would have been a different landscape.

Whose debut season was as bad as Strolls’ in the past 10 years?
Piquet, Bourdais, Nakajima, Grosjean, Chilton, van der Garde, Gutierrez, Haryanto, Palmer. They all remained in F1 for season or more mainly due to their money. All the other rookies we’ve seen actually performed quite well given the material they were handed.
You say performances in the wet, I can only remember one qualifying session in Monza, and a good race in Baku which was in the dry. He was dreadfully slow and still is and the is no justifiable reason for him to be in F1.

Lauda actually took out a loan and lied to people to get himself into F1. That’s the difference to all the other drivers as he had no support from his family.

 

[cider_and_toast]

I'm slightly confused as to how scoring your teams only podium of the year and finishing only 3 points behind your hugely experienced, race winning and one time WDC runner up teammate, is now considered a poor debut season? Very odd.

 

[F1Brits_90]

a good race in Baku

thats like saying panis 1996 Monaco gp victory is irrelevant, stroll who outqualified Massa at that race, he kept his head in a crazy & took his opportunity when quite a few drivers who are superior & far more expierence didnt. Bottas Vettel, Perez, Ocon, Hulkenberg
same at Monza when other better drivers where aquaplaning off. Stroll delivered a brilliant lap not once but in all 3 sessions

 

[RasputinLives]

Lauda actually took out a loan and lied to people to get himself into F1. That’s the difference to all the other drivers as he had no support from his family.

So it's ok to buy your way into F1 if it's your own money then?

Silly Lance. Should have gone out and got a job!