The most complete driver on the grid?

[airshifter]

Just opening this up for discussion. Though common sense dictates that it takes experience to be such a driver, and that the car does play a large part on our decisions, I think for some the jury is still out. We have several world championship title winning drivers on the current grid that contains a lot of talent. IMO the current grid is above or at least equal to the talent pool in any given year in Formula 1.



For me, there is little question. I think Alonso is without doubt the most complete current driver on the grid. Like most drivers I could find some flaws if I look, but they are few and trivial for the most part. And though he did run into the back of Vettel at Spa (Taz Kimi punked Fred at Spa!) it was a very rare mistake.

Regardless of the car, I think Fernando pushes hard 99.99% of the time. He knows how to drive hard, and IMO won his titles in a car not the best on the grid at the time. And though he has been dealt a bad hand with the car the Ferrari has been since he has been with them, he remains near the front of the grid and often hounding drivers in better cars. Wet, dry, changing conditions, good car or bad, I think he almost always makes the best of the situation.


This season I've seen something else that it seems he does more often than in the past. I'm not quite sure why, but maybe others will see it differently. But it seems to me that in the past, he was a little more "patient" and would often pressure drivers into a mistake. In that sense he reminds me of others that could do the same, such as Schumacher (#keepfightingmicheal) and Mika.

But it appears to me, and especially this year, that he is often in full "hunt and attack mode". He puts the Ferrari all over the track, trying new lines, and keeping the car in front wondering when and where he is going to attempt a move. And he's so good at it that he has made some really hard passes look easy. Even when at a car or strategy disadvantage, once he gets a wheel in there chances are that the move is going to be hard won regardless of who comes out on top. Though as Spa he probably cost himself a position or two, he remained in full attack mode to the end. And right now, I don't think anyone else on the grid can even come close to how he does it.



What do the rest of you think?

[Doc Austin]

Hamilton might be the fastest, and Button seems to be the best in changing wet/dry conditions. I also think that Nico has always been way underrated, and he is proving that now.

It's a little early to characterize Ricciardo, though he does seem to get the best out of the car every single time. I can't really remember, but I don't believe he has made a single mistake all year long.

Also too early to characterize Bottas, though it looks like he is at least as solid as Massa, and getting better. If Williams can step it up, he could contend next year.

Vettel is a bit of a mystery right now. there is no way he is as bad as he is showing. I think the work and pressure to perform at the level to win four consecutive championships probably burned him out and throwing a totally new type of car into the mix was too much for him to deal with. You don't forget how to drive over a single winter, and remember, this is the guy who effortlessly made Mark Webber look ordinary. I believe Marko said Vettel is tired, and I believe it.

Alonso is definitely the most well rounded and complete driver. It is a good thing the Ferrari is no good because in the best car Fred would walk away with it.

[steveaki13]

No driver can be complete all the time, but I don't think many F1 fans would go against Alonso and I think its been that way ever since 2007 when Schumi was no longer around.

He has enough of every quality to be better than most. It is such a shame IMO that Alonso has been for so long in a Renault or Ferrari which have not been good enough.

I hope he somehow gets his 3rd title so he fully becomes a legend.

We see in each race, very rarely does he loose positions, he nearly always gains positions or holds an unlikely position. He is tough, fast and consistent. He never seems to give up.

After him I would probably go for Vettel then maybe Hamilton

[donKey jote]

Like I'm going to join in on an Alo love fest...

[airshifter]

Like I'm going to join in on an Alo love fest...

No pressure. But if you admit it in PM we won't tell Tazio.

And if you don't agree, by all means state so. There are some other very good drivers on the grid and I'm not trying to create a lovefest for anyone.

[donKey jote]

I rate Him and Ham highly, as you all probably know by now

[Koz]

Hamilton might be the fastest, and Button seems to be the best in changing wet/dry conditions.

Where does this come from?
I simply don't understand. Is this simply because he picked the right tyres a couple of times?

Without any doubt it is Alonso.
That said, Hamilton isn't far behind. He is probably the fastest over a single lap, but sometimes his head just isn't in it, and that's what let's him down.

[Tazio]

All of them are very talented and likable young men, even Slash.

[The Black Knight]

I regard Michael Schumacher as the most complete driver of all time but, of the current crop of drivers, Alonso gets my vote, without doubt, to be the most complete driver on the grid. He has it all, skill, intelligence, speed.

Who I would put in second spot is a much tougher call. I'd regard Hamilton as the fastest but I feel he has more maturing to do before being regarded as a wholly complete driver. He has all the skill in the world but he needs to work on his mental strength and become smarter about how he approaches things. For example, I think he gives too much away to Nico on Friday's. There has been a trend this year of Hamilton being much faster than Nico on a Friday and Nico catching up on the Saturday after studying Hamilton's telemetry. He is showing his cards too early and should really hold back a little and just pulverize Nico when it matters, not on the Friday when it doesn't matter. I feel he has handed advantage to Nico on a couple of weekends by not playing it smarter on the Friday.

Rosberg, is quite a complete driver, but his cheating over the course of this season leads me to believe that he realizes the thread posed by a stronger teammate so I couldn't regard him up there with the cream of the crop, plus he's clearly not the fastest either.

Vettel - I think this year we've seen that he is quite a way from being the most complete driver on the grid or even close to being the fastest one. A four time WDC should never be embarrassed like he's being this year and I think it shows that he needs the car to get the job done.

Ricciardo, he has a bit to prove yet, but he's certainly looking to me like he might very well become the next Schumacher - time will tell. But his having won 3 races in the car he has reminds me of Schumacher in 96 though Schumacher's car that year was a pure dog.

No matter what you say though, we have massive talent in F1 at the moment and it's great

[AndyL]

Where does this come from?
I simply don't understand. Is this simply because he picked the right tyres a couple of times?

I think it's 6 times at the last count. At some point you have to stop calling it luck!

I'm not going to buck the trend on the original question - Alonso is the most complete driver. It's going to take some rhetorical skills to argue for anyone else on this question.