Who's currently the best driver in F1?

[wedge]

Fernando Alonso

[rublazar2]

Fernando Alonso

+1

[MrJan]

Why would you start a thread like this? It's doomed because you will get certain people slating opinions because there are no facts to back them up.

Don't think that there is much to choose between the top boys but you're looking at it being out of Kimi, Massa, Lewis, Alonso and Kubica IMO. Of those I think that Kubica and Lewis are something pretty special but not necessarily the best at this time. Kimi is struggling a bit at the moment and I've never really rated Massa so I'm left with Fernando, but then Hamilton beat him last year in equal car so maybe not but I rate Kubica just as high as those 2, and for that matter Kimi on his day can beat the world.

Ahh f*** it, I'll pick Nelson Piquet Jr ;) :p :

[Kevincal]

At this exact moment... Felipe Massa & Lewis Hamilton. Overall, I'd say Felipe, Lewis, Kimi & Fernando are equally great drivers. Then there are drivers like Kubica who aren't far behind.

[F1boat]

In my opinion it is Fernando Alonso. Raikkonen is also very good, but not as consistent.

[Corny]

Alonso or Hamilton.. I don't like them, but they are the best drivers now

[pino]

I am a Ferrari fan but must say Lewis Hamilton :)

[Mikeall]

Alonso or Kubica mainly because they've been the most consistent, but it really is impossible to say. They rest all seem to be more obviously flawed in terms of driving.

[Zico]

Alonso, - Craft & experience
Hamilton- Best braker & rainmeister
Kubica- Consistancy

Each have their own individual qualities.. hard to pick one over the other.

[yodasarmpit]

Alonso, - Craft & experience
Hamilton- Best braker & rainmeister
Kubica- Consistancy

Each have their own individual qualities.. hard to pick one over the other.
I have to go along with Zico's comments

[elinagr]

Best of the rest is Alonso..he prove this for 2 years.. ( i am a Schumacher fun).

[Sleeper]

I'm going to say Alonso too, but I reckon in a couple of years Hamilton would have ironed out the mistakes and surpassed him.

[futuretiger9]

As a complete package, I would say Alonso, although Kimi is quicker and Lewis is probably a superior pure racer.

[weeflyonthewall]

Fernando Alonso

If the true comparison is same car, same team, I'd say young Lewis proved himself against Alonso last year.

[Storm]

Overall, Fernando Alonso IMO

I am not a Lewis fan, but on current form and pure passing/wet-weather ability LH is the best at the moment.

[Cozzie]

Alonso without a doubt. Kimi is faster but Fernando is a better all round racer

[PolePosition_1]

If the true comparison is same car, same team, I'd say young Lewis proved himself against Alonso last year.

I dunno see, I wouldn't really say last year gave a true reflection. If you take into account penalties such as Hungary etc, and the psychological advantage Hamilton had within the team.

I'd go with Alonso.

[MrJan]

I dunno see, I wouldn't really say last year gave a true reflection. If you take into account penalties such as Hungary etc, and the psychological advantage Hamilton had within the team.

I'd go with Alonso.

I think that's probably right but in a few years I think that Fernando will be a bit out of the picture and we'll be talking about Kubica and Hamilton.

[ioan]

I'll say Vettel.

[PolePosition_1]

I think that's probably right but in a few years I think that Fernando will be a bit out of the picture and we'll be talking about Kubica and Hamilton.

I'm slightly worried in that I agree with you.

Of the present crop, Alonso is the best in my opinion. However as you say, while Alonso has peaked and is still at the top level, this will undoubtable drop down, while Hamilton and Kubica will reach their peaks (I don't believe either have peaked), and will be the top guys.

Though I think Vettel could be an interesting prospect. With age on his side, he could well limit the amount of success Hamilton and Kubica get if he gets a decent car sooner rather than later. As he could well out do these guys when he has peaked, and limit their winning time when they're peaked.

[MrJan]

Though I think Vettel could be an interesting prospect. With age on his side, he could well limit the amount of success Hamilton and Kubica get if he gets a decent car sooner rather than later. As he could well out do these guys when he has peaked, and limit their winning time when they're peaked.

I was going to mention Vettel but wanted to be careful not just jump on the bandwagon after his Monza performance. F1 is littered with drivers who promised a lot but never really came through, Button and Webber are two in my mind which either never got the breaks or have just never been good enough. Therfore I'll hold judgement on Vettel for the minute :)

I would actually like to see Kovy do well too but it doesn't seem to be clicking at the minute and I think that he's the next David Coulthard, a guy to put in solid performances and win GPs but ultimately never a real threat to the WDC.

Back on the Alonso point I think that he has 2, 3 years tops to get back in a decent car and have another shot at the title. The Renault is heading in the right direction again but those Beemers are turning out to be a real pain in the a*** :D Shame really because Fernando stood out to me from the moment I saw him dominate F3000 in a wet race years back. I think Minardi had that yellow car and Gene was driving for them IIRC.

[ChickenMcNugget]

Alonso this second, but possibly Hamilton very shortly I'd say. I'm still too eager to see how Vettel follows up on his Monza performance for the rest of '08 and in the first half of '09, never mind judging whether he could be the outright best.

[555-04Q2]

Takumo Sato...no wait, that aint right.

[wedge]

If the true comparison is same car, same team, I'd say young Lewis proved himself against Alonso last year.

I'd say Alonso was the better driver of the two. Alonso is the near perfect package. What Hamilton lacked was brains in Brazil. Hamilton thinks with his balls.

Most drivers are concentrating on driving close to the limit but at the very top its not necessarily how quick you are that separates you from others its brains, the extra mental capacity to think about other things like strategy. That's why some people will say Prost was better than Senna.


I think that's probably right but in a few years I think that Fernando will be a bit out of the picture and we'll be talking about Kubica and Hamilton.

Alonso has another 5/6 years at the very least.

Depends on how the other drivers develop in F1. I'm wondering whether Hamilton will use head more rather than thinking with his balls. With Kubica he needs to progress in fighting in WDC, the pressures of racecraft required to win or settle for points.

[MrJan]

Alonso has another 5/6 years at the very least.


Really?!! I just don't see that. I know that he will still be about and still competetive but I don't see him as a WDC contender. Kimi, Massa, LH and Kubica are all coming on very well and after the debacle at McLaren I think that a lot of people are scared of Alonso's personality in the garage as you have to run him as a No 1 driver. That rules him out of McLaren and I can't see him being team mates with either Kimi or Felipe so he either tries to get a BMW drive (although they've stuck with Heidfeld for years and Kubica is a big talent) or he hopes that the Renault gets a little quicker.

That said the downforce rules should see the real overtakers come into their own so Kubica, Hamilton and Alonso will definately be a force next season. Other drivers will be decent but I'm holding my cards at the minute :D

[wedge]

Really?!! I just don't see that. I know that he will still be about and still competetive but I don't see him as a WDC contender. Kimi, Massa, LH and Kubica are all coming on very well and after the debacle at McLaren I think that a lot of people are scared of Alonso's personality in the garage as you have to run him as a No 1 driver. That rules him out of McLaren and I can't see him being team mates with either Kimi or Felipe so he either tries to get a BMW drive (although they've stuck with Heidfeld for years and Kubica is a big talent) or he hopes that the Renault gets a little quicker.

That said the downforce rules should see the real overtakers come into their own so Kubica, Hamilton and Alonso will definately be a force next season. Other drivers will be decent but I'm holding my cards at the minute :D

Unrealistic WDC contender? Errr he's a double WDC and beat Schumi (who was still at his peak) in arguably in inferior cars. He's now the benchmark so what makes you think he's not up for it? He's just desperate for better car to fight in WDC.

BMW and Honda want him. Paddock gossip is regardless at what he did at McLaren you'll still have him in your team because he gets results.

[ioan]

Errr he's a double WDC and beat Schumi (who was still at his peak) in arguably in inferior cars.

I wouldn't say that the 2005 Ferrari was superior to the 2005 Renault. Would you?!

As for 2006, the Renault was best at the start of the season, and the ferrari was faster at the end of the season (but also less reliable than the 2007 Renault).

[MrJan]

Unrealistic WDC contender? Errr he's a double WDC and beat Schumi (who was still at his peak) in arguably in inferior cars. He's now the benchmark so what makes you think he's not up for it? He's just desperate for better car to fight in WDC.

BMW and Honda want him. Paddock gossip is regardless at what he did at McLaren you'll still have him in your team because he gets results.

IMO he will only be a contender for the next 2-3 years and only if he has the car under him. I disagree that the Renault he won in was inferior. The aero package was obviously spot on and the thing handled superbly. I'm not saying it was better, just that it wasn't worse :)

He's not the benchmark because he has spent all season not really doing anything, the current benchmark is the current WDC and whoever is leading the Championship. IMO Alonso only has a very slight edge over the other top boys and they will soon catch him up. Alonso is lying 7th at the minute and that doesn't make a very goof benchmark, regardless of it being down to the car. Yes he's outperforming his team mate but so could half the field.

[wedge]

I wouldn't say that the 2005 Ferrari was superior to the 2005 Renault. Would you?!

As for 2006, the Renault was best at the start of the season, and the ferrari was faster at the end of the season (but also less reliable than the 2007 Renault).

I never said that. I did quick summary of his achievements.

Schumi is one of the greatest of all time and yet Alonso beat him fair and square without blatant cheating and Ferrari Internatial Aid intervention. IMO that is a huge accolade to have on your CV.

Also could've been 3 times champ if the stewards hadn't intervened at Hungary - wrongly IMHO, should've let McLaren dealt with it.

Alonso rarely makes mistakes. Can't remember if he ever made a significant/stupid mistake in a quest for WDC apart from Hungary last year.

[jens]

Best driver at the moment? I think at the moment the answer isn't quite clear-cut as there are several candidates for this spot.

Hamilton has at times praised like the new benchmark after Schumi and at times it has seemed to go that way, but he still has some flaws and hasn't quite established in that way yet.
Alonso is up there too. About the "complete package" - well, no-one is flawless and if FA faces a strong team-mate, he has seemed to be a bit more nervous and underperforms more often, but as a clear No.1 he is fantastic.
Kubica has been very consistent this year and the way he has been beating Heidfeld, has been impressive. Still driver of the year IMO.
Vettel is also catching up. After a troubled start into the season, he has been very consistent and quick. Like Hamilton, he has often been compared to Schumacher, but unlike Hamilton he doesn't seem so reckless, seeming more like a "nice guy". :) Whether that'll be a distraction, I don't know.

Besides them - what about Webber, who nobody has mentioned? :D Massa has been blindingly quick and despite his earlier career troubles is very good in adapting and learning and as a result has established himself as a worthy title contender. Räikkönen and Heidfeld were performing well in the past years, but interestingly both drivers have hit trouble in 2008 and probably don't perform like top drawers any more - unlike Massa, they don't seem to excel in adapting.

[donKey jote]

If the true comparison is same car, same team, I'd say young Lewis proved himself against Alonso last year.
same "we're racing against Alonso" team, yes :p :
young Lewis sure proved himself in mindgames, but ended up chucking the WDC away against all odds :dozey:

I tend to agree with those who say Alonso just about, soon to be replaced by Lewis, Kubica and eventually Vettel :)

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_3_166.gif

[keysersoze]

Alonso is the only one who has convinced me that he can:

1) elevate the performance of the team, like a Prost, Senna, or Schumacher
2) can get more out of the car than it is apparently capable of.

Lewis can do #2, not sure about #1
Throughout their careers, Kimi and Massa haven't proven they can do either.
Vettel LOOKS like he may be the next driver who can do both.

[Priorat]

Alonso is the best in making people think that when he wins is because of him and when he doesn't win is because of the car or the team.

[Miatanut]

I think Alonso is the most inspiring driver and definitely wrings the car's neck most of the time, but I think his style ends up giving up some speed. Hamilton is less showy (on the track), but faster, so my vote goes to Hamilton.