Far be it for us to come to the defence of wünderkind Sebastian Vettel, but recent comments from Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton have a certain stench about them.
After qualifying for the Indian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso said: “Clearly, finishing ahead of Red Bull is our aim, but today it was impossible to fight them, at least in qualifying: when we had a similar car, it was possible to fight with Vettel and we have even been ahead of them, but now we are fighting against Newey and, at the moment we cannot match him…
“I hope I can soon have a more competitive car to try and fight them on equal terms on Saturday and not just on Sunday.”
After the race Lewis Hamilton said: “Seeing Sebastian dominate the last few races doesn’t come as a surprise… They seem to have a great capacity to improve the car. Adrian is just a genius. I can’t even imagine what he’s doing. He is a one-off.
“I’ve seen their speed—there was no way I could compete with that. Even if I drive at 200 per cent and crash, I can’t match it.”
Mind games, sour grapes or miserable excuses? A combination of all three perhaps. Such comments aren’t exactly a ringing endorsement for Mark Webber, either.
It’s true, of course, that superior machinery is usually behind a champion driver. It’s been that way for almost every F1 world champion in recent memory.
But any F1 car, no matter how good or bad, still needs to be driven.
Still, let’s see if the FIA will break with tradition and award the drivers’ championship to the best engineer for a change. As, by their own admission, that’s what Alonso and Hamilton need to win a world title.
[Source: Ferrari, The Sun via Bleacher Report | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
4 replies on “Adrian Newey: 2012 F1 world drivers champion?”
Hamilton is a cock coddler at best, but he has a point. The RBR is a superior car.
And fanboys have to admit, Webber doesn’t possess the extra .0001% to win a title.
I dont know if I completely buy that hammy, I tend to think whatever it is about the balance or feel of the car when the blown rear is working as intended just seems to suit Vettel more than Mark for whatever reason. Remember Mark was out performing him and won 2 races this year before Vettel when the car was a bit rubbish, but most obviously in the last 4-5 races Neweys sorted out things out and Alonso will be pushing sh*t up hill
The only question in my mind that remains for the tail end of the season is engine usage as Ferrari were 1 unit ahead of those around them the last i heard around the mid point of the season and reliability might overcome all of Neweys brilliance. (at least i hope 😛 )
I absolutely agree that it is all about how good the car is and I’m glad the drivers realize they are just drivers of super machines and are all good drivers.
Clearly its everyone’s fault but their own, right?
The human is the weakest link in any man-machine interface. Sebastian wins because he is able to minimize his weaknesses when paired with his machine. In other words, he is simply a better driver. His attitude may leave some to be desired, but he is the better driver.