Debating The Top Drivers On The Grid

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Wednesday 18th June 2008

PF1ers have a mouthful to say about Bernie Ecclestone's top five Formula One drivers currently on the grid, and, lo and behold, several readers agree with his comments...

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Alonso Vs Hamilton Vs Kubica
Yep, it happens (sometimes) that Bernie says something that not only holds truth to it but also makes sense.

Lewis have proven himself capable of being fast and win races rather dominantly. He has also proved himself to be a little less consistent compared to last year. He isn't leading the Championship at the moment and his boastful claims (as well as Mr Whitemarsh) that this year's McLaren is far superior to its rivals have been snubbed by the majority of teams and fans.

Ferrari's bad luck have seen the scarlet team struggle to keep their winning performances going. BMW struggled to keep up with Ferrari and McLaren after the first set of improvements were made.

But, Robert Kubica is rising to fame. The least attractive driver on the grid, the young Pole have simply done what all drivers are supposed to do. He kept himself out of trouble and appeared on almost all of the podiums we've had thus far.

For those believing he'll fade in the latter half of the season, consider the fact that he is getting faster as the season progresses.

Kubica could become the Champion this year. Boy, things are getting quite interesting.
Chris van Wyk - South Africa

...Makes perfect sense, I guess that's why Hamilton beat Alonso so badly that Alonso ended up having to leave McLaren. As for Kubica, he's obviously good, but only time will tell how good. While he showed what he was made of in Canada, he still only won by default. Bernie should try to be less transparent the next time he wants to stir things up.
Willard Nicholson - USA

...And who, exactly, was Hamilton's team-mate last year? Hamilton clearly and inarguably outdrove Ferdie for the better part of the 07 season and, yet, el supremo manages to reach this driver rating.
Greg Fey - California, USA

...Well, they are ganging up on poor Lewis aren't they? From Kubica turning on his "mate", to Alonso's constant sniping, to Kimi's never-ending whinging about the Montreal prang, I wouldn't blame Lewis if he left F1 altogether. I personally think Lewis would blow Kubica out of the water, and pretty much blew Alonso out of the water last year considering he was a rookie. But these constant attacks on Lewis are obviously designed to play with his mind. I know that being an F1 driver has always been his dream, and I hope Lewis ignores these nasty bitter idiots and just blows them all out of the water for years to come.
A Parker - London

...Of course Kubica would beat Hamilton if he was in a better car! But needless to say, for me BMW is on its way to becoming one of the big teams, and I believe this is the reason for their success, they know they have to keep improving and pushing, so that's what keeps the whole team humble and grounded.

The same happens with Robert, he doesn't think he's the best driver ever, or that he has been "touched by Senna", he does what he does best, to drive the best he can and to adjust to the changing circumstances on track.

I've always liked him, but he's strongly becoming my second favourite driver (first is Kimi of course!), and I have no doubt that he'll win many Championships, even before Hamilton does.

I just hope he doesn't switch teams anytime soon, he and BMW work in perfect harmony together.
Soledad - Montevideo, Uruguay

...Bernie's quote, "If you saw him in a McLaren or a Ferrari, I think I'd put my money on him blowing away Hamilton."

Really Bernie? "I think I'd put my money," really? He's blowing Lewis away in the Championship in a BMW, let alone a silver or red car. I'll say it again in case anyone from 2006 warped to the future and thinks I mean the once-bright-future Honda. HE'S LEADING THE CHAMPIONSHIP IN A B-M-W. Of course he could blow them away on the track when he is not in a car with the word Sauber on it. (Let us also remember for the sake of history the best year Sauber (pre-BMW) ever had was with his current team-mate and the World Champion.)

Personally I think Kubica should choose the red pill, err, suit. The silver chaps seem to have a thing for pushing away great drivers this decade, or at least not giving them the opportunity to succeed; Alonso, Raikkonen, Montoya, some could make an argument for a Coulthard of his prime.

We shall call his Ferrari era - Pol-Tali Ita-land. Go Kubi!
Donny - Hershey

A Proposed Rule Change
F1 drivers have been trained to come in and out of the pits as fast as they could within the pit speed limit. It is counter intuitive for them to be looking out for red lights and then slowing down at the end of the pit lane. This totally goes against what the F1 drivers were trained to do. The red light rule is not only silly but is quite dangerous as we have seen. Perhaps the responsibility should lie on the team. No F1 car should leave the pits when the pit lane light is red. Cars that do so can then be penalised. So all the driver needs to do is to watch the lollipop drop.
Gino R. Punsalan - Manila, Philippines

On The Subject Of Red Lights
Kimi said that there was no way Hamilton did not see the light. I would like to postulate a theory.

Is it possible that Hamilton was betting that the light would turn green by the time he got to pit end, and thereby, having all this speed, he would just swerve and pass both Kimi and Robert?

I believe that he is arrogant enough to attempt such a move, and he would have become an instant hero in the UK (and all the bias media there) if he succeeded. As it happened, it just showed him for what he is, an immature driver who was trying to play and illegal or unfair move and, oops! Missed!
Ed Garrido - USA

...How is it that the Safety Car can determine the winner in the most prestigious racing series on the planet. The point of racing is to determine the fastest and most reliable car. If the Safety Car is deployed on the lap prior to the leader pitting, and the pits are closed, then the leader either brakes the rules and pits or runs out of gas on track. This has to be the most idiotic rule ever. How can you go from leading the race to last place based on the unfortunate luck of some other racer wrecking his car.
Jim

The Montreal Penalty
I'm totally for it. Every incident concerning one driver hitting another in the back and eliminating him from further competition should result in consequences for that driver - just as in civil driving regulations.

Especially when it comes to reckless driving in the pit lane, which is supposed to be kind of a safe zone, isn't it? Apparently Hamilton wasn't paying enough attention to what was happening in the pit lane in front of his car. What if some reckless person suddenly invaded the driving lane crossing between garages? Should the driver make excuses that he hasn't sighted the man?

This also refers to Raikkonen in Monaco. It's almost always fault of the driver who drives into the back of another car.
Lukas

...Hamilton, yep he messed up again. He does this frequently when under real pressure and be assured this will separate him from the truly great drivers. Sorry he has got a penalty, but it is deserved.
Rob Collinge

...The penalty is a bit generous. One can see clearly that Hamilton had plenty of time to choose his victim, certainly his bad judgment did not allow him to maintain the points leadership so not only a bad driver (I can only say that for this particular event because I respect his driving skills) also a bad mathematician.

For these kind of unfortunate events the penalties have to be balanced not only for the mistake of the rule breaker but the consequences for the racer affected.

Kimi lost a possibility of podium (10 points) and certainly a leader for the world championship. The accident also took ten points away from Ferrari and that is just a double looser for something that happen on a control environment "PITS".

I guess my final line should point to the consequences of record for the history of each driver so penalties get more rigorous as more mistakes are made (This rule could hurt Sato very badly!). VIVA F1.
Juan Ramirez