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[racechick]

Ricciardo and Bottas do show promise...but it's just just promise. Mags showed promise, so did his dad, so did Perez , so did Kovelainen, so did Frentzen, so did many many drivers, but they didn't deliver, championships that is. So how can you rate those two as top drivers when they haven't yet proven themselves in the thick of a title battle?

Hamilton has delivered championships, and for two different teams, and he's fought against top team mates , one a double world champion . And he's never asked for , needed , or been given number one status, he's fought for what he's got.
You think Hamilton's overrated because his car's fast? Why do you think he's in that car? He's in it because he's rated.

Now qualifying...until last year Hamilton was rated throughout his career as the out and out one lap speed merchant. So what? you think he just forgot how to do it? You buy into the philosophy that Hamilton can't think? You dont wonder why all those Rosberg poles weren't converted, and that maybe that one lap speed was at the expense of race wins? Because Hamilton had a lot more of those race wins than Rosberg. So could it be that Hamilton sacrificed some of the qualifying glory in exchange for the bigger prize? A race win? A championshipip? Or ins Hamilton too thick to think things through like that? It would be a fool who believed that.

Hamilton beat Rosberg because he is better! Lauda recruited Hamilton to be the top driver at Mercedes and paid him as such so it was expected that Hamilton would be the #1 at Mercedes. Rosberg taking it to the last race was a bit of an eye opener though.

And I don't believe it for a minute that Hamilton isn't able to think or isn't smart enough for F1. He seems to do just fine.

ps. Yes Hamilton was recruited as he is a 'rated' driver and Merc needed one but keep in mind that he was also the only 'rated' driver available at the time.

ps. Having Ricciardo at the top is for 2014. If you are commenting based on a time frame over the last three years I can understand your view on DR and VB.

Yes Hamilton is better than Rosberg, and one lap speed has always been one of Hamiltons top assets, he beat Alonso in qualifying when he was only a rookie, so when you say . " his poor qualifying form that was exposed by rosberg" , I think you're missing what was actually going on.

And I disagree with your comment that Hamilton.........'didn't do anything really spectacular in 2014 to be suddenly at the top of the TP's list.'
I'd argue he did quite a few spectacular things in 2014.
Overtaking his team mate on a damp track round the outside (Suzuka) ,
keeping a faster team mate, due to strategies, behind him tontake the win ( Spain)
racing from last to a race challenging position ( Hokenheim) ,
starting 21st and finishing 3rd ahead of his pole sitting team mate (Hungary) .
Nailing it in the last race to secure the win whatever Rosberg did.
And there are others. He recovered from adversity time and time again and that is what I suspect lead to theTP's voting him overwhelmingly best driver.

And Rosberg didn't really "take it to the last race" did he.... The infamous double points did; that, and Hamilton having a larger proportion of mechanical issues and some ' misfortunes' . Eleven wins to five isn't even close which ever way you cut it.

[windowslasvegas369]

Bottas is a good pick for #4 based on his 2014 performance.

I agree Bottas is a good pick for #4

[Hammer278]

I pick Kyvat for #4.

Bottas was starting to get spanked by Massa towards the end.

[CookinFlat6]

Ricciardo and Bottas do show promise...but it's just just promise. Mags showed promise, so did his dad, so did Perez , so did Kovelainen, so did Frentzen, so did many many drivers, but they didn't deliver, championships that is. So how can you rate those two as top drivers when they haven't yet proven themselves in the thick of a title battle?

Hamilton has delivered championships, and for two different teams, and he's fought against top team mates , one a double world champion . And he's never asked for , needed , or been given number one status, he's fought for what he's got.
You think Hamilton's overrated because his car's fast? Why do you think he's in that car? He's in it because he's rated.

Now qualifying...until last year Hamilton was rated throughout his career as the out and out one lap speed merchant. So what? you think he just forgot how to do it? You buy into the philosophy that Hamilton can't think? You dont wonder why all those Rosberg poles weren't converted, and that maybe that one lap speed was at the expense of race wins? Because Hamilton had a lot more of those race wins than Rosberg. So could it be that Hamilton sacrificed some of the qualifying glory in exchange for the bigger prize? A race win? A championshipip? Or ins Hamilton too thick to think things through like that? It would be a fool who believed that.

Hamilton beat Rosberg because he is better! Lauda recruited Hamilton to be the top driver at Mercedes and paid him as such so it was expected that Hamilton would be the #1 at Mercedes. Rosberg taking it to the last race was a bit of an eye opener though.

And I don't believe it for a minute that Hamilton isn't able to think or isn't smart enough for F1. He seems to do just fine.

ps. Yes Hamilton was recruited as he is a 'rated' driver and Merc needed one but keep in mind that he was also the only 'rated' driver available at the time.

ps. Having Ricciardo at the top is for 2014. If you are commenting based on a time frame over the last three years I can understand your view on DR and VB.

Yes Hamilton is better than Rosberg, and one lap speed has always been one of Hamiltons top assets, he beat Alonso in qualifying when he was only a rookie, so when you say . " his poor qualifying form that was exposed by rosberg" , I think you're missing what was actually going on.

And I disagree with your comment that Hamilton.........'didn't do anything really spectacular in 2014 to be suddenly at the top of the TP's list.'
I'd argue he did quite a few spectacular things in 2014.
Overtaking his team mate on a damp track round the outside (Suzuka) ,
keeping a faster team mate, due to strategies, behind him tontake the win ( Spain)
racing from last to a race challenging position ( Hokenheim) ,
starting 21st and finishing 3rd ahead of his pole sitting team mate (Hungary) .
Nailing it in the last race to secure the win whatever Rosberg did.
And there are others. He recovered from adversity time and time again and that is what I suspect lead to theTP's voting him overwhelmingly best driver.

And Rosberg didn't really "take it to the last race" did he.... The infamous double points did; that, and Hamilton having a larger proportion of mechanical issues and some ' misfortunes' . Eleven wins to five isn't even close which ever way you cut it.

11 races to 5 would be enough to tell the story to a deaf dumb and blind 3 week old baby chimpanzee being weaned off LSD and crack cocaine embryonic dependency. Unless the baby primate decided that race wins were a meaningless metric and quali was as important because of the trophy.

And if this adolescent primate for some reason decided 'best out of 3' used to find winners everywhere was tougher than best out of 21 then you would have to suspect something wrong. If the pattern of dysfunctionaliyy stretched to actual serious comments that tiger woods was hated and had lost all endorsements and that Lewis was similarly unwanted by any sponsors and in less demand than Nascar drivers, you would turn around and listen closer

But when we hear that Lewis' poor qualifying was finally exposed last year and that Merc board made a statement that a Rosberg win was ten times better for the company - that's when you begin to grin and nod furiously when he is around, and dial the local experimental science labs

[sagi58]

Bottas is a good pick for #4 based on his 2014 performance.

I agree Bottas is a good pick for #4

windows!!

[CigarGuy]

IF Vettel is top 3 and the way Ricciardo beat him last season, I'd have to go with Daniel.
Plus, I just saw him on Top Gear. Hilarious!