A question to people who know about Formula 1

[BIG H]

OK so I pretty much don't like F1 at all, becuase I find it really boring, but I watched yesterday's race and have to admit it was really good viewing. Now Hamilton is obviously driving a far superior car to nearly every other driver, so realistically did he just win a a world championship with 4 competitors, i,e the other McClaren driver and the two Ferrari drivers? If all 18, or however many drivers there are, were driving the same car, how good do you think Hamilton would be? who do you think would be say the top 5 at the end of the season?

[Salty]

It's hard to say, I've watched nearly every race this season and I couldn't give you a top 5 simply because the difference in quality of the cars is so vast. It's nearly impossible to get the same level of speed without driving with half the fuel in the qualifiers and then they are screwed for the race. That's my only hatred of the sport is huge range of quality.

I much prefer to watch the middle of the field most times, the winner is usually decided by pit stops and fuel load rather than overtaking. Personally I wouldn't say hamilton is the best, but he deffently does enough. I wonder how Alonso is going to do next season.

[Dizaster]

That's a real hard one to say.. It's always kind of been like that where there were really only 3 or maybe 4 manufacturers that are capable of actually winning a race. It was probably a little more even 10 to 15 years back, and I think drivers did play a little more of a part in it.
Now I do believe that the cars do play a huge part. You could put Hamilton in one of the mid range cars, and he probably wouldn't win a race. Same if you put a mid range driver in one of the top cars, then they'd have a very good shot at placing in a lot of the racers..

They were considering standardizing it a little more by having all the teams running the same engine. This would cut down on costs for a lot of the other teams, and allow them to catch up with technology in other area's. And may also even out the power potential of each car and even up the field... From a racing perspective I think it would be great, and would put a lot more emphasis on the drivers winning. BUT, a lot of the diehard fans think it's insane to standardize the engines, and believe that the manufacturers is what F1 is all about...

As I said in another F1 thread, it is kind of boring when before the race you can pick between about 4 or 5 guys who's going to win, barring an accident or car failure.. Then once the race is about 10 laps in, that's pretty much how the field stays until the end (at least for the first 5 or 6 cars). Back in the day 2nd place could be 10 seconds down, and can slowly get that back each lap and make a great race. These days a 10 second lead is almost a gaurantee'd victory.. It takes a lot out of the enjoyment of watching it.. And something may indeed need to be done one day if interest starts to fade in the competitive side of it, and they may need to even up the cars a little bit.

On your question though, I think the guys that drive for the big teams are also a cut above the rest in regards to driving.. They can shave that extra bit off their lap times and there are things like driving the best on certain tyres and conditions etc. And when it comes to things like that, those top few drivers always make the best of the circumstances.. So given all the cars were the same, I think it would be a lot more competitive and the placings would be a lot different, but you'd still have those 3 or 4 guys who you would put your money on as the favourites.. Like with any sport where they really attempt to make competition as even as possible, there are always just humans that are gifted at being that big better than everyone else.. Unless "for fun" they run a bunch of races where all the drivers swap cars, it's almost impossible to tell just how much is about the car, and how much is about the driver.... But right now there is absolutely no doubt the car plays a much much much bigger part between 1st and last than does the driver..

As it stands though, I 100% get where you're coming from with it being boring.. It can be enjoyable to watch if there is some added drama.. But that excitement of who and what is going to happen every race just isn't there as much as other sports, and as much as F1 was back years ago.. Still worth watching though, especially if you follow the season like Mr Salty does... I admit i've watched more of it this year than I have over the last couple..

[Conrad]

It's a good hyperthetical question which was answered with the inception of A1 GP racing. This was created a couple years back as a competitor to F1. Basically every car is the same, you nominate a driver for each nation and they all compete equally. This way there's no what ifs or buts, the best man wins.

But, and it's big but; A1 will never rival F1 or get the same coverage, F1 is just too established.

Personally I think Hamilton is easily one of the top 3 drivers in the world. Sure he has a superior car to pretty much everyone else out there but the evidence of his ability is still there for all to see. The obvious evidence is Fernando Alonso. He was a two time world champion with an inferior team in Renault. He won the championship two years running in a car that shouldn't be capable of beating a Ferrari yet he did. That goes to show how talented Alonso really is.

He then moves to Mclaren where his new team mate is the rookie Hamilton. They have the same car, same team, same tactics yet Hamilton still continually beats him in qualifying and in the actual races.

Hamiltons current team mate Kovalienen(sp) was tipped to be the next big thing so Mclaren signed him. Again he has the same car as Hamilton but week in week out Hamilton has totally eclpised him, Hamilton really is that good.

The current best drivers in the world today imo are Hamilton, Alonso and Massa/Raikkonen. Kubica is also a driver that punches way above his weight, so to speak...

[BIG H]

It's a good hyperthetical question which was answered with the inception of A1 GP racing. This was created a couple years back as a competitor to F1. Basically every car is the same, you nominate a driver for each nation and they all compete equally. This way there's no what ifs or buts, the best man wins.

But, and it's big but; A1 will never rival F1 or get the same coverage, F1 is just too established.

Personally I think Hamilton is easily one of the top 3 drivers in the world. Sure he has a superior car to pretty much everyone else out there but the evidence of his ability is still there for all to see. The obvious evidence is Fernando Alonso. He was a two time world champion with an inferior team in Renault. He won the championship two years running in a car that shouldn't be capable of beating a Ferrari yet he did. That goes to show how talented Alonso really is.

He then moves to Mclaren where his new team mate is the rookie Hamilton. They have the same car, same team, same tactics yet Hamilton still continually beats him in qualifying and in the actual races.

Hamiltons current team mate Kovalienen(sp) was tipped to be the next big thing so Mclaren signed him. Again he has the same car as Hamilton but week in week out Hamilton has totally eclpised him, Hamilton really is that good.

The current best drivers in the world today imo are Hamilton, Alonso and Massa/Raikkonen. Kubica is also a driver that punches way above his weight, so to speak...

Cheers for the info mate

I suppose it figures that the best teams employ the best drivers, in the same way that Titus Bramble aint ever gonna play for Chelsea or United. Hamilton MUST be that good to get a drive for McClaren. A lot of people are talking about Vettel being as good as Hamilton ??