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#55113
Definitely so. I'd love to see all 22 drivers (yes, that includes the Super Aguri lads) in identical cars with identical setups. I think there'd be some surprises in there, especially from those older drivers who people don't seem to rate much anymore. I think the front would definitely consist of the five mentioned, with Heidfeld possibly having a look-in as long as the identical car isn't the BMW :)

Throw in some rain or a track that Massa doesn't like and you'd see him towards the back of the field. :hehe:
#55192
You could make a pretty strong argument for Webber and Trulli being 2 of, if not the 2 quickest drivers (over a lap obviously)...

Of those 3 though... hmm... it's a tough one, i'd probably go for Raikkonen but some of Hamilton's pole laps have been pretty brilliant.
#55193
at the momment id have to say Raikkonen, Hamilton probablly has more raw speed but isnt consistant enough to be quicker than Raikkonen at the momment.
Alonso is good but IMO he doesnt have the raw speed that Raikkonen and Hamilton have
#55208
I'll probably get shot down for this, but I think Jarno Trulli is pretty fast when it comes to a single lap.


id agree, has been a bit better in races too


i think kimi might be fastest but if i had one seat spare in my team id have alonso, then hamilton then kimi
#55209
I'll probably get shot down for this, but I think Jarno Trulli is pretty fast when it comes to a single lap.

I actually think that most people will agree with you. Trulli is brilliant over a single lap. Sadly, he never seems to be able to produce quite the same pace on Sundays.
#55210
I'll probably get shot down for this, but I think Jarno Trulli is pretty fast when it comes to a single lap.

I actually think that most people will agree with you. Trulli is brilliant over a single lap. Sadly, he never seems to be able to produce quite the same pace on Sundays.


Well, I don't know. Right up until this season, I'd say that was true, but he's pulled out some really good races this year. Not entirely sure what could have brought that about, though.
#55212
I think either can be fastest when the following circumstances apply;

Alonso when he gets his car set up perfectly - something he is good at.

Hamilton when he gets every apex hooked up nicely.

Raikkonen when he's in the right frame of mind and in good form.

Also I'd add Massa to the list when he's at one of his "favourite tracks" or is totally happy with the car.
#55233
I've got an idea to help us come to a conclusion:

S'pose we get the race completion time by every driver and divide it by the nymber of laps that they completed in the race. Then we could average them out and do some comparisons between teammates to add handicaps to drivers in the crappier cars.

For example: Hamilton finished Monaco in 2:00:42.742

I had to work this out in thousandths of a second so after many hours of trying to work out how you do this.

1 second = 1000
1 minute = 60 x 1000 = 60,000
1 hour = 60 x 60 x 1000 = 3, 600, 000

Therefore Hamilton's time was 2(3, 600, 000)+ 42,742 = 7, 242, 742 thousandths of a second.

Average laptimes:

7, 242, 742/1, 000 = 7,242.742 seconds (like 'duh there was a much easier way to do this by... argh - who cares? :) )

/76 laps = 95.299236842105263157894736842105 seconds on average per lap.
/60 = 1.5883206140350877192982456140351 minutes per lap. But this would include him hitting the baracades and puncturing his tyre, as well as pit stops. So it probably not all that accurate.

Kubica got 1.5889785087719298245614035087719 per lap.

And the rest... well I can't be bothered working it out, and I need to find the total time for Coulthard's first 6 laps, because he had a crash on lap 7. But, of course, his tyres would be cold and his car would heavier as it would have a higher average fuel load, since he crashed near the start of the race.

This method also wouldn't factor in the driver familiarity with the circuit, their car different car models, and experience, and whatever.

So, on average, Kubica was only 0.3 seconds slower per lap than Hamilton in a less powerful car, and also we would have to account for the fact that there was a reason why he was coming first and slipped to second, although I can't remember what it was. So I will give him a 0.1 second handicap for that reason. For car performance, I would give him a 0.5 second handicap at the least. But for this handicap I would have to compare the practice session quickest times, etc.

Therefore, in my opinion, if Kubica was in the same car as Hamilton, or Hamilton was in the same car as Kubica, Kubica would gain 0.2 seconds on Hamilton per lap... At the very least. Is everyone happy with this conclusion? I should I factor in Hamiltons mistake? If I did then I would only give him a 2 thousandths of a second handicap, because his mistake happened so close to the pit lane.... :D
#55242
I'll probably get shot down for this, but I think Jarno Trulli is pretty fast when it comes to a single lap.

I actually think that most people will agree with you. Trulli is brilliant over a single lap. Sadly, he never seems to be able to produce quite the same pace on Sundays.


Thats true, but he's been putting in some great drives this season like Malaysia and France. Perhaps Toyota is finally starting to get the hang of F1?
#55245
At this stage I say Raikkonen by a nose over Hamilton.

He uses the grip better than anyone else - you can see he is more on rails than Hamilton or Alonso, who "chuck" the car a lot more. It's not as spectacular, but ultimately faster.

I think you have to pick Hamilton over Alonso given he almost beat him in the same car in his rookie year. So in my mind it comes down to Hamilton or Raikkonen. I think Raikkonen has the purer technique with less slip angle whilst still being at the limit, maximising the grip and also the life of the tyre, making him generally faster over a stint and hence a race distance. Having said that I was very surprised that Kimi wasn't able to keep Lewis behind him in Turkey this year, so we'll see.

Also, Lewis is a major talent but I wonder about his mental fragility. C.f. throwing the title away at the 3rd corner of Brazil last year. And he still looks like such a kid with his omni-present father. A much more sensitive soul than Kimi. I think Kimi is much more able to shrug off the slings and arrows of the F1 circus and just get on with it. Time will tell whether I'm right.
#55249
Well if the proof is in the eating it must be Kimi

Fastest laps 2008

Australia : Heikki Kovalainen
Malaysia: Nick Heidfeld
Bahrain: Heikki Kovalainen
Spain: Kimi Raikkonen
Turkey: Kimi Raikkonen
Monaco: Kimi Raikkonen
Canada: Kimi Raikkonen
France: Kimi Raikkonen
Britain: Kimi Raikkonen



Go Heikki, Kimi only has 4 more than you :clap:
#55253
Well if the proof is in the eating it must be Kimi

Fastest laps 2008

Australia : Heikki Kovalainen
Malaysia: Nick Heidfeld
Bahrain: Heikki Kovalainen
Spain: Kimi Raikkonen
Turkey: Kimi Raikkonen
Monaco: Kimi Raikkonen
Canada: Kimi Raikkonen
France: Kimi Raikkonen
Britain: Kimi Raikkonen



Go Heikki, Kimi only has 4 more than you :clap:


Oh? Kimi not only has the most fastest laps this season but also the fastest laps on those 2 wet races, Monaco and Britain. That is pretty good stuff considering I have almost been lead to believe that Hamilton is the best in the wet. Ok so why not give extra points for the driver who gets the fastest lap time in a race? It would make for a more interesting championship and it would also mean that Kimi Raikkonen who apperently has been the quickest in most races so far this season can get more of a reward for his efforts.

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