Most overrated and underrated F1 drivers.

[dj_bytedisaster]

I know you're talking about Webber, but I would use that same logic to say that Bruno Senna was not overrated. I'm not aware that anyone was realistically expecting him to set the world on fire. Many of us Senna fans wanted to see him do well simply/mainly because we had great love for his uncle. I cheered for Christian Fittipaldi in both F1 and CART for the same reason.

There is slight difference though. Christian Fittipaldi came to F1 as the reigning F3000 champion and that was a much bigger achievement that GP2 appears today. Bruno was second in GP2 i think and had an Australian F3 title to his name. Not exactly the credentials of a hero. I also used to cheer for Christian, but I never cheered for Bruno, because I never had the feeling he made it to F1 on merit. Would have been nice to see the Senna name return to F1 glory, but Bruno wasn't it.

He did a heck of a lot better than Giancarlo Fisichella did when he went to Ferrari. That was actually painful to watch.

Apples and Oranges, Sir. In his last race for Force India Fisichella put the thing on pole and only ended up 2nd, because Kimi out-KERS'ed him. Back in the day they would have given him 3 or 4 days of testing at Fiorano and Fisichella would've done just fine, but with today's testing ban he had to jump into a car he knew absolutely nothing about and to be honest he still did 100 times better than Badoer.

As for overrated drivers, I'm beginning to question how good Hulkenberg really is. I like the kid. But it seems like there's a piece to the puzzle that's often missing with him. The same goes for di Resta. But at least we don't have to hear about how Heinz-Harald Frentzen is just as fast as Michael Schumacher anymore. Now that was one overrated (under performing) mope, right there.

Hulk is imho quite good, but not very consistent (yet?) He only has two seasons to his name. People went all oooh and aaah over how good Kimi was after two years away from F1, forgetting that Hulk also came back from the sidelines. We haven't seen much yet from him this year, but I have a feeling we will, although that Sauber doesn't strike me as great a car as people (me included) were believing after winter testing.
Frentzen was for some unexplainable reason woefully underwhelming at Williams,something that seems to happen to quite a few people (Mark or Alex Zanardi come to mind). People were expecting him to be the second coming, because he was on par with a certain M. Schumacher in junior formulae. In the end I think he wasn't that bad. He was in the championship hunt in a Jordan '99, put an ailing Prost 4th on the grid and delivered some good races in that hilarious Arrows, so I don't think he was so bad. But he probably wasn't championship material.

[jens]

This is a topic, which can often be interesting to think about.

To give a very broad answer, underrated are all those drivers, who were very good, but due to circumstances, luck and opportunities didn't have the chance to show it properly. Basically drivers, who we don't discuss about any more, because we have forgotten them and didn't recognize their skills. There is an endless list of them, so I am not going into it.

Several drivers can be overrated at a given time. Especially very famous drivers – the big stars, who have significant fanbases, who can blow things out of proportions and create a lot of hype. Not that the drivers in question weren't very good, but compared to their peers some things can easily get overblown. Usually we can reflect only after one's career, what was he like. After the dust has settled down.

It would be unfair to say at the moment if Hülkenberg is under- or overrated only after he has been in F1 for merely two seasons, while most likely his best days are yet to come. I believe he has the potential to be one of F1's frontrunners in 5 years' time. Several of current front-runners will have retired by that time, while in addition to Vettel and Hamilton, who we would still expect to be there, other drivers move to the spotlight. Which ones those are, who get the good opportunities, and whether Hulk is among them, remains to be seen.

More specifically about some drivers mentioned here.

Damon Hill was a very fast driver on his day, both in the dry and wet by the way. He gave a run for Prost's money already in his first full season, although arguably Alain was past his prime by that time. But he could struggle with consistency and racecraft in some situation. Perhaps related to his late start of open-wheel racing career. Even though he found speed, he couldn't really iron out some of the rough sides at such age any more. But I can't say Hill is overrated – you often get the feeling he gets very little apprecation.

Bruno Senna – at the moment after that disappointing Williams season he is hardly overrated. But I think in some moments there were certainly higher expectations on him than he delivered. His background contributed to this obviously – including the famous Ayrton quote „if you think I am fast, you haven't seen my nephew yet.“ A saying which some took seriously, probably.

I think you have a point in considering Adrian Sutil as underrated. I don't remember so exactly, but I guess several people reacted like „what has he done?“ on the news of him being considered for a comeback drive. While many felt that F1 had become poorer with the loss of Alguersuari or Kobayashi. Sutil is at least as good as these guys, if not with better consistency. Certainly warrants a competitive F1 drive.

I don't consider Frentzen overrated. Definitely not. Nobody lists him as an all-time great, so the „as fast as Schumacher“ talks are just related to his pre-F1 career. Slightly mercurial driver, but could still be very competitive in his prime. And I think even his Williams stint is slightly underrated. From what I remember, he had pretty bad luck in 1997 (for instance before Hill famously dominated in Hungary, Frentzen was leading it with his 1-stop strategy and was on firm course to win) and ran Villeneuve closer than the points show. And in 1998 Villeneuve and Frentzen were indeed very close in performance – after HHF had already settled into the team.

But everyone has their own point of view. What or who might be overrated for one, is underrated for the other. And vice versa. And that's how we discuss.

[steveaki13]

Currant drivers:

Vettel - Underrated. I dont mind saying it. He has won three titles and despite having a great car surely he deserves more credit.

Webber - Underrated. People compare him to Seb, but thats unbalanced. Seb is a 3 times Champion, and I think Webber is a good Grand Prix winning driver, but many laugh him off as rubbish. (Cue a comment about a car 8 seconds faster than anyone else)

Alonso - Is what he is.

Massa - Underrated. He is a grand prix winner, who matched Schumi in 2006, and could have won the title in 2008. The 2009 accident ruined his career. Only now is he getting going again.

Button - Underrated - Gets stick for his championship in 2009, but it was still a title and gave Lewis more of a run than many thought and has won alot of Grand Prix.

Perez - Overrated - He had a couple of OK seasons at Sauber, with a couple of exceptional tyre related podiums. Although he has done a decent job in the 2 races so far.

Hamitlon - Is what he is. A driver like Alonso who can drive a car above its rank.

Rosberg - ? Not sure. This season may tell us. After Williams time against poor team mates and an old Shoe.

Raikkonen - See Hamilton & Alonso.

Grosjean - ? Not sure again. He crashes too much but is fast.

Sutil - Underrated. He often does a good job but had a reputation as a driver with promise but no substance for a while.

di Resta - Overrated. Hate to say it, but hasn't really impressed much after his debut season.

Hulkenberg - About where he is rated. I think many believe he is race winning material if he can get a decent car.

Gutierrez - To early

Maldonado - Overrated. Won that Race, but really I see occasional speed, but poor judgement and consistancy.

Bottas - To early.

Ricciardo - Overrated- Billed as a future Red Bull driver. At the moment though I dont see it.

Vergne - ? No sure. He looks slightly brighter than Daniel but who can tell.

Bianchi - Underrated. He is looking like he has massive promise that maybe hasn't been realised.

Chilton - Hard to say. We all know he had some money, but lets wait.

Pic - Neither.

VD Garde - To early.

[jens]

Interesting, SteveAki. In many ways I can feel similarly to you. But I am not sure, how to rate Pérez yet. In fact, I am not even sure, how is he generally rated, so I do not know if he is under- or overrated. But I have considered Hülkenberg as a more complete driver of the two, so I am pondering whether McLaren might have overrated Pérez or not. But this is always a tricky one and something only time can answer. Obviously Kovalainen was also a driver with potential, who McLaren trusted, but it didn't work out.

Vettel and Webber are certainly interesting. I remember pre-2009. Vettel and Webber were going to be team-mates for the first time, but RBR was still considered as a midfield team. From what I remember, this line-up was largely regarded as one of the very best on the grid at the time, despite neither driver having proven himself properly yet! And many people felt that it would be sad if such a good driver pairing would get stuck in a midfield car. Well, luckily they didn't, but it looks like by now people have got tired of seeing them having good cars. :

Regarding Grosjean I have to say that as a fan I am having flashbacks to my previous favourite Trulli. Perhaps it is not surprising that I like them both - they share some similarities. Both "sunny" characters with a very good smile, but as top drivers a little bit flawed. Looking at Romain I can't help but feel that he is another driver, who is going to fit into the "mercurial" category, after whose career it will be concluded that he "did not fulfill his potential". Though I have to say Romain still has work to do to even reach Trulli's level. He was crashing a bit too much last year. But perhaps he can have a solid career with some (more) podiums and perhaps an odd win here and there too.

[henners88]

Prost to me was a better driver than Senna. And should have been a 5X WDC winner if not of some ridiculous points systems back in the day. Losing a championship despite scoring more points and having a better season. People like to hail Senna too much IMO and I think (oh the blasphemy) is slightly overrated in comparison to his peers. Was he an excellent driver, yes, was he the best, not in my book. I think the Senna lore comes from an incredible PR machine, combined with his young death and his larger than life character, while he was alive. For those of us old enough to remember him as a driver, and watched his entire career, There were a few other guys on the track that were more than a match for him. Mansell and Piquet, and of course Prost. Piquet was lightning quick, and was more like the kimi of his time. Was a 3X WDC champ and on his day pretty untouchable. Mansell was a bit of an enigma but no denying his racecraft. and if not for a blown tire could have been a 2x WDC winner.

I think Senna's personality and openness with his feelings added to his legacy. I'm not old enough to have seen the whole of Senna's career but I did witness him live at Silverstone in 1993 which coincidently was the first GP I ever attended. I was a fan of Senna but not because I had any really opinion on his character, I was too young to put that much thought in to things. I liked his helmet design, the fact he was a World Champion and most of the people I knew at the time disliked him and were Mansell fans. Senna was like a black sheep and something different I suppose. I've warmed to him more in later years now I have learnt more about him. Watching him get killed on TV was something I will never forget and as a child you become curious as to why a man who you've spent time drawing and staring at on a poster on your bedroom wall, is suddenly the focus everywhere because he has died. I don't believe Senna was the best ever, but he will always be one of the greats. A flawed genius just like Schumacher and one of the best of their generation. I don't think either are overrated. I do agree many other drivers are overlooked during their periods though. Prost is a perfect example of that, but anyone with any knowledge of the sport knows how good Prost was IMO.

[Tazio]

Depending on whom you listened to, Nick Heidfeld was simultaneously the most overrated, and underrated driver during his time in F1

[AndyL]

Depending on whom you listened to, Nick Heidfeld was simultaneously the most overrated, and underrated driver during his time in F1

I was just going to mention Nick Heidfeld Surely he must be underrated because no-one can remember a single thing he did in his entire career, yet somehow he racked up enough results to compare favourably against Kubica, who it's generally acknowledged was a great talent.

[steveaki13]

I always thought highly of Nick.

A driver who would always bring you points. One of the best drivers never to win a GP

[Tazio]

I always thought highly of Nick.

A driver who would always bring you points. One of the best drivers never to win a GP

I also always held Nick in high regard but his detractors were many, and his protractors could be way over the top effusive. At least that is my recollection of his racing days.
I guess that is probably true of all respectable F1 drivers’ public perception however

[anthonyvop]

Currant drivers:

Vettel - Underrated. I dont mind saying it. He has won three titles and despite having a great car surely he deserves more credit.

Webber - Underrated. People compare him to Seb, but thats unbalanced. Seb is a 3 times Champion, and I think Webber is a good Grand Prix winning driver, but many laugh him off as rubbish. (Cue a comment about a car 8 seconds faster than anyone else)

How can you not compare the two?

They are on the same team and drive the same car.........the Numbers don't lie. Vettel is head and shoulders above Webber.