Quote:
Originally Posted by MKSixer
Quote:
Originally Posted by e90335e36m3
Sure I have but given the confidentiality of the F1 team programs, and the steps they take to maintain a competitive advantage only those at the highest levels can truly speak intelligently on such issues, but then they're all subject to ironclad NDAs, so they won't.
If the fact that a rookie can jump into a seasoned veteran's car for the first time and annihilate the field doesn't speak to the superiority of the car, nothing will. Is Hamilton talented? Yes. Can a rookie with all of 3 points take his car and get to P1? Yes. Not taking anything away from HAM's accolades but let's give the car a lot more credit.
Put HAM in a Williams, let's see how many races he wins.
We can debate on what proportion of winning is car vs. driver, but the argument for the car just made a big leap forward. If you can't accept that, even in part well then I don't know what to say.
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No one is taking credit from the car. The car is amazing. It is probably the best car ever built but not the most successful over 1 year. The MP4/4 still has that title.
The rookie is jumping into a finished product and ALL current Formula One drivers are in the top 100 drivers in the world. Even GRO and ALB.
HAM may not win in the Williams but he would score points in it. Again, look at 2009 and look at his GP2 season.
And on your assertion with regard to those at the highest levels in F1: Paddy Lowe ticks all of your boxes. Why isn't his information valid?
You as well as many others are behaving as if HAM rolled out of bed in April, was called by Mercedes and given the W11. This is ridiculous in the extreme. He has been at Merc since 2013 and has been integral to the final product what we see before us.
Mercedes was a midfield team when he arrived with them having finished the 2012 season in 5th place. HAM deserves the same accolades that MSC has with regard to developing the team. When he arrived the car was a tire-eater that had good one-lap pace but went backwards in the races.
The car that you are seeing is the result of a team, lead by the best driver of this generation and probably of all time assisting in the development based on the feedback and experiences that he has accumulated over a quarter century of racing.
And if you want to see the difference in results...look where the Red Bull currently resides. They have the most successful designer in F1 on the payroll and can't build a car that is highly effective with respect to different driving styles. Only Max can extract maximum performance from the vehicle. It's operating window is narrow and very peaky because it is designed based on his feedback.
I suggest reading the last 3 or 4 articles regarding Lewis from Paddy Lowe, Pedro De La Rosa and a few others. They may provide a viewpoint that is a bit better than the inferences you are making from a single data point. |
Where we agree is that it takes a team to get to where HAM and McLaren have gotten. Regardless, my OPINION is that technology has far outpaced driver talent, largely eliminating the driver as variable compared to the technology itself, at least in McLaren's case. F1 is a technological showcase in every respect, and HAM has been an integral part of developing that technology. Perhaps, HAM is the reason why RB has not caught up to McLaren's technological success. Maybe Verstappen's input is just not good enough to get it over the top.
I would say HAM is the best strategist, he is able to translate driver feedback and apply it to technology. At some point he had to do less with more but not for the better part of the past decade. So to me, that doesn't make you the best driver. Best drivers do more with less. At some point HAM did more with less, but today his experience plus the best technology is what's winning it, not pure talent.