Everyone knows that if Jenson Button or Mark Webber were driving a McLaren or a Ferrari they'd be able to match the pace of Hamilton and Raikkonen, right?
People make these kinds of claims all the time, often with great confidence. But, evidence suggests that we should be a little more cautious about this kind of prediction.
Do you remember what we used to think of Giancarlo Fisichella?
Prior to 2005, Giancarlo had to put up with driving all sorts of horrendous cars (recall the 2001 Benetton and the 2003 Jordan). Yet his incredible performances in this sub-standard machinery led many to tout him as the "second-best driver in Formula One" (no prizes for guessing who was number one).
In 2005, when he won a seat with the up-and-coming Renault team, many expected him to mount a serious championship challenge and to put his fast but erratic teammate, Fernando Alonso, in his place. But, as we know, things went very differently.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Over the two years that Fisichella and Alonso spent together at Renault, Fisi rarely looked quicker than Fernando, and was indeed regularly half-a-second per lap slower.
Yet, now that Giancarlo is back driving sub-standard machinery, he's impressing us all over again with his drives—which punch above the weight of the Force India car.
Let this be a cautionary tale to all of us who would claim that since a driver seems to be fast in his midfield car, he would definitely be a championship challenger if placed in a fast car.
It may well be that if Mark Webber had received Kovalainen's McLaren seat this year, he would be challenging Hamilton for the status of number one driver. I like to think that is the case.
But the fact is that unless we put each driver in the same car, we have very little idea who is the quickest and who are the also-rans.
Sure, we have a pretty good idea that the likes of Raikkonen and Alonso are special, but do we really know how Sutil would fare against Rosberg? Or whether Vettel can be as fast as Massa?
No—and by now, we should know better than to claim that we do.
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8 months ago
Simply put - a Great Article! I wonder if it's a mental thing as well, where when you have nothing to lose you put 110% in it. When you have the best car, your slightly cautious with it going only about 95-105%.
All we know is the Greats show promise in both like Senna (toleman then McLaren) and Schumi (Jordan then Benetton and Ferrari)
8 months ago
I think you might be right, Cory: it seems to me that Fisichella, for example, simply performs better when he's in a substandard car. He put in a few great performances when the Renault was off the pace last year, for example.
On the other hand, perhaps he just looked better on those occasions because he wasn't being compared to Alonso in the sister car...
8 months ago
Absolutly brilliant article! It left me in debate with myself...
Calum
8 months ago
good article. It highlights the importance of mentality in sport - seems like Fisichella doesn't deal with pressure well, in a good car he has everything to lose, in an average car the opposite. Ideally drivers who show promise like he did, such as currently Button, Webber and Sutil, will eventually get a go in a top car, however time is running out for Button and Webber.
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