The most complete driver on the grid?
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?