Do We Class Formula One Drivers as Something They Are Not?

What do we class as "successful"? What do we see as "good" or "a class apart"?

Formula One drivers are considered to be an elite class of race car drivers. This is a statement I totally agree with. To get that perfect lap must be so difficult, the exact line, go off an inch and not even luck will save you.

We've seen so many flawless races by Formula One drivers. Sebastian Vettel's win at Monza is probably the most recent that has been hailed as an outstanding drive.

Jenson Button's charge from 14th to first at the Hungaroring in 2006 was seen as something special.

But are those drives special? The ones that take place in extreme conditions, where the likes of Vettel and Button are the only ones who can keep it on the island, are they special drives and class as "The Drive of the Season"?

My answer is no, they are not special. They are, of course, special to the driver, but compare it with other wins in that season and you will see that the driver is better than the others.

Kubica won in Canada, and ITV said that "a star is well and truly born." For the rest of the season Kubica only had three more podiums, the same number he had before his win in Montreal.

He was, of course, consistently in the points and rarely outside the top ten in qualifying, but it is clear that Kubica was lucky.

He was lucky that Hamilton crashed into the back of Raikkonen and put him out the race because Kimi was about to win that race, not Hamilton.

He had leapfrogged both Lewis and Robert at the pit stops and had the car behind him to bring it home.

Vettel was compared to Michael Schumacher after his win in Monza, a win that only occurred because the heavens opened. Do you really think that a Toro Rosso could romp home in first place, at Monza, if it was a dry day?

Do you really think that Vettel could match the pace of Lewis Hamilton or Felipe Massa if qualifying had gone well for them? Now, I know what you're thinking right now.

Your thinking that Vettel won, not because Lewis and Co. made mistakes but that he didn't make any mistakes. If this is so true, why didn't Vettel win in Singapore or Brazil, both places where he didn't make any mistakes all weekend?

He didn't win because people like Felipe Massa didn't mess up.

Of course, a win is a win, but until Vettel can win a race or even get on the podium from his usual third/fourth-row gird position, he isn't a "star."

A star is a driver who wins, and then carries on winning. Lewis Hamilton liked the taste of the winner's champagne so much he went out a week later and earned himself some more.

Michael Schumacher realised at the 1994 Brazilian Grand Prix that he had the ability to win most of the season's races.

I want to see if Kubica, Vettel, and those alike can win consistently. If they can, my hat will go off to them, but until then, I will not get caught in the trap set by the media.

That trap means we will be disappointed by future performances.