The Strengths and Weaknesses Thread

[woody2goody]

Keyzersoze made a post about Button that got me thinking:

What do the esteemed forum members think are the strengths and weaknesses of the 20 men currently on the Formula One grid???

I'll start:

Hamilton: Strengths: Blistering Raw Pace, Great Performer over a race weekend, excellent in the wet, great fitness. Weaknesses: Persistent locking of the brakes, sometimes gets a bit rash on the track.

Kovalainen: S: Great qualifying pace, tries hard, makes fewer mistakes than LH W: Race pace can't match Hamilton's, never seems to get the most out of the car over a weekend.

Raikkonen: S: Possibly the fastest guy over one lap on the grid, fearless. W: Sometimes loses interest in races, slow starter to the season.

Fisichella: S: Can make a mediocre car look great, makes few mistakes. W: Sensitive to changes around him, sometimes struggles in qualifying

Heidfeld: S: Virtually mistake-free, Great passer, Excellent race craft W: Lacks blistering raw pace, sometimes isn't ruthless enough, too easy on the tyres :O

Kubica: S: Very talented, good qualifier. W: A known complainer, possibly a tad overrated, doesn't always race that well.

Alonso: S: Consistent, aggressive, great overtaking, extremely intelligent, Championship winning experience, always gets the best out of a car. W: Doesn't like having strong teammates.

Grosjean: S: Good natural talent, adapts well to new situations. W: Seemingly error and crash-prone.

Vettel: S: Great front-runner, great intelligence for his age, unlimited potential, usually gets the best out of the car. W: Quite mistake-prone.

Webber: S: Great qualifier, hard worker, very consistent in races, never gives up. W: Maybe lacks raw pace to be a top driver in F1.

Trulli: S: Fantastic qualifier, veteran knowledge, great fitness. W: Sometimes slow in races, not great in the wet, lacks self-confidence.

Glock: S: Hard worker, Good racer. W: Never seems to push the car to it's limits.

Alguersuari: S: Good potential, impressive consistency for his experience level. W: Inexperienced.

Buemi: S: Excellent potential, very quick at times. W: Makes too many mistakes.

Sutil: S: Great in the wet. W: Accident-prone, doesn't get the most out of the car in the dry.

Liuzzi: S: Consistent, Quick, proven winner in junior series'. W: Not raced for a while in F1, and not always got the most out of the package given to him.

Button: S: Extremely smooth, great fitness, great on a damp/drying track, good overtaking ability. W: Doesn't get the most out of a bad car, sometimes doesn't have the aggression needed, questionable set-up ability.

Barrichello: S: Veteran, Consistent, hard working, wet weather specialist. W: Sometimes lets emotion get the better of him, sometimes struggles when car isn't perfect.

Rosberg: S: Extremely intelligent, good qualifier, consistent. W: Struggles in the wet sometimes, unsure about his race craft.

Nakajima: S: Good talent, decent potential, consistent driver. W: Mediocre qualifier, not aggressive with his opponents, goes missing in races.

What does everyone think the strengths and weaknesses are of the current F1 crop?

[Roamy]

no sense in re-writing the book so I will just agree with YoU!

[Sonic]

I'm with Fousto. You've kinda covered everybody quite well.

The list does point towards Alonso being "the best" as his stated weakness could be viewed as a strength (a la Shumi).

[F1boat]

Keyzersoze made a post about Button that got me thinking:

What do the esteemed forum members think are the strengths and weaknesses of the 20 men currently on the Formula One grid???

I'll start:

Hamilton: Strengths: Blistering Raw Pace, Great Performer over a race weekend, excellent in the wet, great fitness. Weaknesses: Persistent locking of the brakes, sometimes gets a bit rash on the track.

Kovalainen: S: Great qualifying pace, tries hard, makes fewer mistakes than LH W: Race pace can't match Hamilton's, never seems to get the most out of the car over a weekend.

Raikkonen: S: Possibly the fastest guy over one lap on the grid, fearless. W: Sometimes loses interest in races, slow starter to the season.

Fisichella: S: Can make a mediocre car look great, makes few mistakes. W: Sensitive to changes around him, sometimes struggles in qualifying

Heidfeld: S: Virtually mistake-free, Great passer, Excellent race craft W: Lacks blistering raw pace, sometimes isn't ruthless enough, too easy on the tyres :O

Kubica: S: Very talented, good qualifier. W: A known complainer, possibly a tad overrated, doesn't always race that well.

Alonso: S: Consistent, aggressive, great overtaking, extremely intelligent, Championship winning experience, always gets the best out of a car. W: Doesn't like having strong teammates.

Grosjean: S: Good natural talent, adapts well to new situations. W: Seemingly error and crash-prone.

Vettel: S: Great front-runner, great intelligence for his age, unlimited potential, usually gets the best out of the car. W: Quite mistake-prone.

Webber: S: Great qualifier, hard worker, very consistent in races, never gives up. W: Maybe lacks raw pace to be a top driver in F1.

Trulli: S: Fantastic qualifier, veteran knowledge, great fitness. W: Sometimes slow in races, not great in the wet, lacks self-confidence.

Glock: S: Hard worker, Good racer. W: Never seems to push the car to it's limits.

Alguersuari: S: Good potential, impressive consistency for his experience level. W: Inexperienced.

Buemi: S: Excellent potential, very quick at times. W: Makes too many mistakes.

Sutil: S: Great in the wet. W: Accident-prone, doesn't get the most out of the car in the dry.

Liuzzi: S: Consistent, Quick, proven winner in junior series'. W: Not raced for a while in F1, and not always got the most out of the package given to him.

Button: S: Extremely smooth, great fitness, great on a damp/drying track, good overtaking ability. W: Doesn't get the most out of a bad car, sometimes doesn't have the aggression needed, questionable set-up ability.

Barrichello: S: Veteran, Consistent, hard working, wet weather specialist. W: Sometimes lets emotion get the better of him, sometimes struggles when car isn't perfect.

Rosberg: S: Extremely intelligent, good qualifier, consistent. W: Struggles in the wet sometimes, unsure about his race craft.

Nakajima: S: Good talent, decent potential, consistent driver. W: Mediocre qualifier, not aggressive with his opponents, goes missing in races.

What does everyone think the strengths and weaknesses are of the current F1 crop?

Your list is great.

[Big Ben]

I agree. he didn't left too much space for comments, did he? . I would only add that I think they all struggle with a bad car.

[Big Ben]

You are an awful thread starter woody. You should be a bit more vague so we could have opportunities to start fighting .... just kidding

[wedge]

Hamilton: Strengths: Blistering Raw Pace, Great Performer over a race weekend, excellent in the wet, great fitness. Weaknesses: Persistent locking of the brakes, sometimes gets a bit rash on the track.

The brake locking thing, that's part of his driving style and natural talent.

If you remember Brazil GP all weekend he kept locking the wheels in a McLaren with the wrong package ie. low downforce but got away with damaging his wheels time and again.

Yes it does look worrying on the outside and the textbook approach AKA JYS lecture is to be smooth but Hamilton is of the very few like Schumi, Senna et al who drive aggressively and get away with it because of their fantastic feel of the car on the limit.

BTW, you obviously have too much time on your hands to analyse all the drivers!

[keysersoze]

I have no proof other than observing their respective careers, but it seems like Alonso and Barrichello are the most technically gifted of the bunch, with Fisi a bit behind these two.

Having said that, I'm not by any means saying that the rest of them fly by the seat of their pants.

I recall Glock used to spin a LOT. At a recent Monaco he spun about four times.

Where's Massa? I guess since he's not "current" you left him off. Anyway, I think he's very good all-around, and clearly benefited under Schumacher's tutelage. He looked totally inept in the wet at Silverstone last year. Early in his career (while at Sauber), he made some stunning passes while generally starting near the back. Now, he's an exceptional front-runner, but tends to struggle if he starts mid-pack, whereas his teammate has shown he can rocket up the order.

[ioan]

Now, he's an exceptional front-runner, but tends to struggle if he starts mid-pack, whereas his teammate has shown he can rocket up the order.

Not in the same car, or did I miss Kimi storm from the back to the front o the grid in a Ferrari?
Also you should remember that Felipe did do well from the back of the grid too on quite a few occasions (Malaysia 2006, Silverstone 2007, Silverstone 2009, China 2009 where he went near the back of the grid to 3rd in the wet, and there were other such occasions).

[Wasted Talent]

Why is Alonso rated so highly? Couldn't cope at all with a rookie Hamilton....

Okay Lewis is McLaren's child, but Alonso was no faster

WT