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[7UpJordan]

Hmm i think some people are missing the point with Sir Franks comment here's hes not saying LH is nearly as good as Jackie Stewart or Jim Clarke, hes just saying he could be.

and also upon reading the full article wich Mclaren fan posted he does say Nico is a good talent but accepts he's not been given the car to proove it.

but i would love moving more than to see Nico and Lewis racing for positon at the front in 2009.

Yes I would love to see that, and it would also be good to see a good old fashioned classic Williams vs McLaren battle.

[EwanM]

Hamilton could have been in a Williams now and Sir Frank could have had the number 1 on his cars had Dr Theissen not stood in the way in 2004 whilst the team was struggling with Ralf and also Montoya knowing he was off to McLaren for 2005.

I dunno about that. I think BMW would have still left Williams and maybe Hamilton would never have been able to realise his potential? Much like Rosberg has experienced over the past few years?

[7UpJordan]

Hamilton could have been in a Williams now and Sir Frank could have had the number 1 on his cars had Dr Theissen not stood in the way in 2004 whilst the team was struggling with Ralf and also Montoya knowing he was off to McLaren for 2005.

I dunno about that. I think BMW would have still left Williams and maybe Hamilton would never have been able to realise his potential? Much like Rosberg has experienced over the past few years?

If results had been better in 2005 I think they might have stayed on. If Hamilton had been taken on instead of Heidfeld or Webber he might have been able to drive around the faults of that year's FW27. It wasn't the best car but Heidfeld was able to stick it on pole at the Newburgring (as I like to call it), and Hamilton is one of the best drivers in F1 and better than Heidfeld and Webber - and obviously infinitely more capable than pizza-boy Pizzonia.

Of course, because Hamilton's not driven a "poor" car yet, we can't predict if he'd be as quick like say Alonso was in last year's Renault or Vettel in last year's Toro Rosso. When Nico came along in 2006 it was after BMW had left and he was given the FW28 which was an unreliable waste of potential.

[EwanM]

I dunno about that. I think BMW would have still left Williams and maybe Hamilton would never have been able to realise his potential? Much like Rosberg has experienced over the past few years?

If results had been better in 2005 I think they might have stayed on. If Hamilton had been taken on instead of Heidfeld or Webber he might have been able to drive around the faults of that year's FW27. It wasn't the best car but Heidfeld was able to stick it on pole at the Newburgring (as I like to call it), and Hamilton is one of the best drivers in F1 and better than Heidfeld and Webber - and obviously infinitely more capable than pizza-boy Pizzonia.

Of course, because Hamilton's not driven a "poor" car yet, we can't predict if he'd be as quick like say Alonso was in last year's Renault or Vettel in last year's Toro Rosso. When Nico came along in 2006 it was after BMW had left and he was given the FW28 which was an unreliable waste of potential.[/quote]

I think that is an interesting point that you indirectly raised man. I think Heidfeld's drives in the Williams were pretty special. Last year his stock went down somewhat, but It wouldn't surprise me this year if he actually fought for the world title!

I think the poor car situation needs to be explored. Yes Hamilton would have probably scored some fine results in 2005, but then again it may have turned out to be a failure. So many times we have seen promising young drivers never reach their potential due to circumstance. Sutil could be another at this present time, unless Force India make a massive performance leak. I'd love Williams to be competitive again, just as much as id like to see Nico fight for race victories, but time will tell. Here's hoping.

[cap-dude]

Speaking of Sutil, its hard to say where that guy is. Surely, in the wet in Monaco he is sublime. But the rest of the time his performances are up and down. But perhaps thats the car. I mean, de la Rose drove the Force India and said what a twitchy thing it was. Really, its hard to judge sutil in such a poor car. He was matched by Fisi this year, and thats not a good sign. But that could purely be down to experience and Fisi being able to make the most of a crap car.

One trend I am noticing here. The German invasion. We had Schuy, and now F1 is becoming german dominated. I mean, I can see any one of the current German drivers being world champion in the right car.

[7UpJordan]

Speaking of Sutil, its hard to say where that guy is. Surely, in the wet in Monaco he is sublime. But the rest of the time his performances are up and down. But perhaps thats the car. I mean, de la Rose drove the Force India and said what a twitchy thing it was. Really, its hard to judge sutil in such a poor car. He was matched by Fisi this year, and thats not a good sign. But that could purely be down to experience and Fisi being able to make the most of a crap car.

One trend I am noticing here. The German invasion. We had Schuy, and now F1 is becoming german dominated. I mean, I can see any one of the current German drivers being world champion in the right car.

Yes, I would agree, Sutil hasn't done himself any favours on occasions with his inconsistent form. I was gobsmacked when he qualified dead last at Monza - in wet conditions that we saw him totally sublime in at Monaco and the opening laps at Silverstone (he got up to about 12th place by the second lap if I remember rightly!) - whilst Fisichella qulified 12th ahead of both Kimi and Lewis!

There are sure a lot of Germans in F1 these days, it's quite a contrast to 20 years ago when there were just as many if not more French drivers on the grid, and today we have just one, Bourdais.

[Hanwombat]

Norbert wants a top German driver at McLaren within 3-4 years. I would like it to be Vettel

[Jabberwocky]

Hmm i think some people are missing the point with Sir Franks comment here's hes not saying LH is nearly as good as Jackie Stewart or Jim Clarke, hes just saying he could be.

and also upon reading the full article wich Mclaren fan posted he does say Nico is a good talent but accepts he's not been given the car to proove it.

but i would love moving more than to see Nico and Lewis racing for positon at the front in 2009.

but how much of the Nico bit is PR, and to calm internal waters?

[darwin dali]

Too much woulda and coulda for my taste

[EwanM]

Too much woulda and coulda for my taste

I agree.

[Gaz]

Too much woulda and coulda for my taste

I agree.

Yeh but its fun to speculate, as long as you dont' read too much into it.

[nudge1964]

anyone who dosnt think Hamilton is special really should go and see him at monaco. Frank was spot on...it really is something to behold...even if you dont happen to like the guy. Of course, that dosnt make him a great, but he is a rare talent.
on vettel...i dont see kovy being at mclaren beyond this year, but i'd still bet on ferrari snapping up vettel, maybe as they did ith KR, securing his services a season in advance

[EwanM]

anyone who dosnt think Hamilton is special really should go and see him at monaco. Frank was spot on...it really is something to behold...even if you dont happen to like the guy. Of course, that dosnt make him a great, but he is a rare talent.
on vettel...i dont see kovy being at mclaren beyond this year, but i'd still bet on ferrari snapping up vettel, maybe as they did ith KR, securing his services a season in advance

I never claimed that Hamilton wasn't a very good driver. I just don't believe you can measure greatness until potential has been fully reached.

[racechick]

Its what you can make a car do.

And Vettel made a midfield Torro Rosso win the Italian Grand Prix. That proves your own hypothesis.

Yes I said he was very very good, No doubt. But not in my opinion in Lewis's league. Ive seen great racing from him but not yet stunnigly sublime car control. Lets see how he fares against Webber and at the same time remember how Lewis fared againts a double world champion.

Ok, but if he gets the better of Mark (which I think he will) we'll see.
Norbert Haug has hinted at wanting to sign him. The guy is hot property and certainly not intimidated by the Hamster. His overtake at Brazil last year said as much.

Because the rain wasn't heavy enough for the intermediates to properly work, Hamilton's tires were overheating as we have seen happen before, for example China 07, not quite as bad, but he was fighting for grip nevertheless. Kubica managed unlap himself, which I think is a testament to how bad Hamilton's tires were at the time. Despite this, Vettel never pulled away, in fact, Hamilton finished the race only 9 tenths behind Vettel.

Honestly though, WHO knows how good Vettel is? He could be better than anyone else out there, but the thing is, no one really knows, including you.

I somehow can't help but think that the reason people glorify Vettel so much is exactly because Hamilton is possibly as good as what Sir Frank has said, and that those said people really do not like it at all for whatever reason (and by golly I bet there are alot of reasons ). I wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be true, or near it at least.

Just some things I really wanted to say.

Welcome Meddler Some spot on observations there! Lewis would have had that race had the weather gone his way. Be great to see those to up against each other in similar machinary, (we may do this year). But Lewis would win .

[nikon133]

They just recovered from FA vs. LH, so I doubt they want similar stuff going on in the near future. HK is probably exactly what the doctor prescribed, as boring as he is, he's providing a drama-free environment between the two drivers and the crews.

SV will be great in almost any team because I think not unlike MS he can be the team leader and make things happen.

I don't think FA vs LH could be repeated easily. Couple of reasons:

I can't see SV being alienated as (I believe) FA was. Mercedes part of the team would - likely - look after him.

FA came to the team as champion and suddenly was struggling to compete with rookie... SV would come in as underdog to LH and - much as I have been observing him - he would accept that role without much fuss (while trying to turn tables on track... well maybe off track as well ). After all, it is much better to be underdog to the champion, with great car and good money, than being underdog to half the drivers, with poor car and significantly less money.

RD is gone and I don't think the team will be that sentimental toward LH (presuming that RD did have almost parental relation with LH).

At the end of day, LV is also completely different character from FA. Even if he would find himself in position where the team is heavily biased toward the other driver, I don' think he would complain and loose his nerve easily. Question is, what would LH do if, after (say) 2-3 championships, his new teammate would start putting some real pressure on him?