The saying 'It's easier to make a fast driver consistent, than a consistent driver fast...' came from the days of McRae I believe. I'm not exactly sure who said it, but it was one of the team bosses or ex-drivers.

They were arguing that if you have a super-fast driver going at 110% of the ideal speed, it's easier to get him to knock off 10% off his speed, than it was to add the final 10% of the driver who was always at 90%...

Like a lot of things in life, real speed is something you either have or you dont, it's not something that can be learned...