Belgian GP: Hamilton takes 6th straight pole

[Joel]

Yeah it's weird people say Hamilton is by far the best driver in F1 and then say Rosberg is a B grade driver when he finishes 2nd. How can you be better than the best driver

Yeah, so I hold my point. Hamilton is faster, but that's not why we should bash Nico. After all, he hasn't done anything wrong. He's just not as good. But if you look at the difference. I mean, 4 seconds or so after dropping to 5th without neither having problems. I would call that an excellent drive, but Hamilton just nailed it right from the start.

 

[Tim.E]

Yes Lewis, get in there. Stellar job the whole weekend. Gotta say, Nico was faster over the whole race, but just had a worse start. For once I agree with @Joel

 

[Joel]

For once I agree with @Joel

Making history....

 

[Tim.E]

Making history....

I mean seriously, Hamilton is good, I loved him since he was at Mclaren, but put Fernando or Valtteri or Seb in that merc, and they'll be beating him for sure.

Not taking anything away from Lewis, imo he's just better than Nico

 

[Joel]

I think Fernando's time might be gone soon

Valtteri is the new star Unless they opt for the triple options single prime strat. He's not the greatest at that.

 

[Tim.E]

I think Fernando's time might be gone soon

Valtteri is the new star Unless they opt for the triple options single prime strat. He's not the greatest at that.

Yeah that one seems a weird one, guess that mechanic drunk a little bit too much Martini

 

[LacSlyer]

Absolutely. I'd say the car accounts for about 90% of the performance, maybe even more, but what I'm saying is that only a few drivers on the grid can extract the absolute maximum from their cars, and Hamilton is one of them. I would also put Vettel, Rosberg and Alonso in there as well.

Those four guys are the "Big 4" in F1 right now IMO.

This is exactly my point really. I'm not taking anything away from Hamilton but rather suggesting that any of the other top tier drivers (which imo are Hamilton, Vettel and Alonso) would be in a similar position given the performance of the Mercedes. Hamilton is great, but his dominance is obviously more dictated by the car than shear skill level. This is obvious when the Mercedes are finishing a second ahead of everyone else in qualifying.

As well, I will also point out that one of the biggest current problems in the sport is that the person in front has so much of an advantage in the race that it can very much exaggerates the driver skill level. We've seen examples of this with the Ferrari out in front dominating as much as the Mercedes, showing that the Mercedes advantage may not be quite as significant as it may seem.

 

[Chris]

I think it is clear that if Hamilton is squeezing the absolute maximum of the car, Rosberg isn't.

Rosberg is capable of getting the maximum, just not as consistently as Lewis. Austria and Spain this year he was clearly the quicker driver.

 

[Yapci]

Alonso is not beating his own team mate though isn´t that criteria nr one

Yep, thats funny.

 

[Milos]

just look at Hungary though who got the team's best result in the new era with Honda

but I agree they are quite evenly matched, despite that.

 

[Ejike Wodu]

Amazing......... I remember another dominant period of F1 whereas a certain German driver rompt home with 7 championships out of 11. Now that was truly yawn inspiring to the point where I binned watching F1 for a few years......pretty much like the Mercedes team are making me feel now. YAAAAAAAAWN.

1994 Michael Schumacher[24] 25 Benetton Ford G 6 8 10 8 92 Race 16 of 16 1
1995 Michael Schumacher[24] 26 Benetton Renault G 4 9 11 8 102 Race 15 of 17 33
2000 Michael Schumacher[24] 31 Ferrari Ferrari B 9 9 12 2 108 Race 16 of 17 19
2001 Michael Schumacher[24] 32 Ferrari Ferrari B 11 9 14 3 123 Race 13 of 17 58
2002 Michael Schumacher[24] 33 Ferrari Ferrari B 7 11 17 7 144 Race 11 of 17 67
2003 Michael Schumacher[24] 34 Ferrari Ferrari B 5 6 8 5 93 Race 16 of 16 2
2004 Michael Schumacher[24] 35 Ferrari Ferrari B 8 13 15 10 148 Race 14 of 18 34

It hasn't been 7 championships yet. It might change next season.
Did you get bored during the Red Bull era?

 

[Joel]

The problem is that we have boring overtaking, boring action and boring results In the early 2000's we had in my opinion the best cars F1 has ever seen, no ridiculous DRS, but yes, one driver was dominating.

 

[Ejike Wodu]

Since 2008 he hasn't had a competitive car capable of winning championships, yet he got close to winning 2 (2010 and 2012)
Lewis meanwhile has a car a full second faster than the others last season and maybe 7 tenths this season. I mean.. put Karthikeyan in a Mercedes and he'll finish 1st or 2nd overall.

You mentioned Hamilton as the best, but imo Alonso is the best. I don't want to start an argument due to that so I'll leave it there. Opinions only.

Karthikeyan 1st or 2nd?
I agree that this kind of argument is just based on opinion from us as observers. However, I have heard drivers such as Button and Alonso say that they were astounded at Hamilton's ability to drive a difficult car. Other drivers recognise his ability. The opinion of his peers should count for something.

There is also an individual that has trained some of the greatest F1 drivers (can't remember his name. I believe I posted a link some years ago on here. He said himself that of all the drivers he has coached, Hamilton was the most impressive and able do things with the car that many other world champions couldn't do.

I wonder if there is a list of criteria drawn up which if a driver meets, they can be considered 'great' or the 'best'.

There is no doubt that almost all of the drivers on the grid are fantastic but some are simply "fantasticer"

 

[Ejike Wodu]

It's silly to say that he's only winning simply because he's in the best car. That's almost an insult to Rosberg who's been out qualified 10-1 and only won 3 of the 10 races this year in a car that's supposedly a full second quicker than anything else, and Rosberg is no slouch (I don't like the guy, but I respect his immense speed and talent).

IMO Hamilton is in the form of his life and is currently the best driver on the grid. His race craft and qualifying speed this season has jumped up a gear, and as a result he's simply spanked Rosberg, despite Rosberg being pretty bloody handy behind the wheel of an F1 car, and having a strong season himself.

Would Karthikeyan win if he were put in a Mercedes? Simple answer... No.
Even by F1 standards, Karthikeyan was rubbish and would not compensate for the 1 second advantage that Mercedes has.

So nicely put!

 

[Ejike Wodu]

Well said. There's no doubt that he's got the best car but I can't stand it when people say he's only winning because of it. He's a superb driver but not my cup of tea (too much bling ) but his career results speak for themselves.

Racing highlights
2014 1st FIA Formula 1 World Championship
2008 1st FIA Formula 1 World Championship
2007 2nd FIA Formula 1 World Championship
2006 1st GP2 Series
2005 1st Formula 3 Euro Series
2005 1st Masters of Formula 3
2004 1st Bahrain F3 Superprix
2003 1st Formula Renault 2.0 UK
2002 3rd Formula Renault 2.0 UK

Karting highlights
2000 1st European Championship Formula A
2000 1st World Cup Formula A
1999 2nd European Championship ICA Junior
1999 1st 29° Torneo Industrie Open - ICA
1997 1st Super 1 National Formula Yamaha Championship
1996 1st Kartmasters British Grand Prix - Comer Cadet
1995 1st Super 1 National IAME Cadet Championship

I try not to get involved in the comments about individual's appearance and taste. I understand why people would be bothered by his bling but, it's so irrelevant. And from reading around forums, people dislike Hamilton for these sorts of reasons or use it as a reason justify why they already didn't like him.
I don't do the bling thing. I think there are many other celebrities that have 'distasteful' quirks, but how many of them are castigated for it buy observers and the media?

He's been labelled a play boy, childish, impetuous and all other things, but there are many other drivers past and present with the same traits.

 

[Milos]

Karthikeyan 1st or 2nd?

depends who is his teammate

 

[Yannick Van Broeck]

I'm one of those guys who doesn't like the bling but that doesn't mean he's a crap driver. On track he's the fastest guy around, pure and simple.

What I find hard to watch is that Mercedes, after a year and a half with the new regulations, are still 7 to 8 tenth's of a second faster compared to their nearest competitors. You know that it's going to be a Mercedes front row during Saturday and Sunday, if they don't mess up the start. Luckily there's still Pastor who can put a smile on my face from time to time

 

[Qazdar Karim]

I mean seriously, Hamilton is good, I loved him since he was at Mclaren, but put Fernando or Valtteri or Seb in that merc, and they'll be beating him for sure.

Not taking anything away from Lewis, imo he's just better than Nico

Fernando ? Yes! Vettel? Maybe! Valtteri NO! .... the guy is no where near those three for now and is a bit overrated ... Perez is much better than him if you ask me ...

 

[Dux]

Fernando YES Vettel MAYBE

LoL

PS. Im afraid of Lewis Hamilton reaching those 15 poles of Vettel. Because he has the most dominant car in the history of the sport and second he has a team mate that had no chance against Webber.

 

[Milos]

Because he has the most dominant car in the history of the sport

McLaren '88