Thanks for starting this thread cowboy (Repped ). It's a simple question but a very good one that deserves a detailed answer. As a team boss the most important thing is the success of the team. For success to be achieved you can't afford to have one weak driver at the team unless the other driver was easily the best on the grid. Not only is there no way of measuring "driver skill" but no individual driver stands out as the best. Most F1 fans believe the best 3 drivers on the grid are Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton (in any order). It's a view shared by Stefano Domenicali and Sam Michael (which he stated in Germany FP2). I am in agreement with that view. Although the points are won on Sunday, I believe the best driver is the one who performs the best throughout the weekend. That doesn't mean setting the quickest lap times but doing the best job for a specific session (In practice, giving good technical feedback, completing the laps without crashing and most importantly using the time effectively to maximise chances of success in qualifying and the race). I understand there are plenty of desired driver "abilities" that I am missing out, but I have included the main ones which I feel are most important: - Raw pace - Coping with pressure - Overtaking - Defensive driving - Racecraft - Tyre management - Wet weather driving - Qualifying speed - Adapting driving style - Technical feedback - Driving around a problem It's also important to note that sometimes a driver is very strong in one particular area (e.g very strong in the wet, or qualifying) it may cause them to be a threat to your team by taking points from your drivers. They wouldn't be a threat if they were part of your team however I believe such a risk should only be taken if they are strong across several other areas. Another point which might be relevant is the financial side of things. Is it worth having a good driver that brings millions of pounds to the team through sponsorship, or is it better to have a slightly better driver but one without financial backing? Providing the driver bringing the sponsors with him is good enough, I don't see what the problem is in hiring a "pay driver". A strong driver partnership is needed but it could be a risk to pick the best two drivers (or two from the "top 3"). If the two top drivers are closely matched, the drivers may not work well with each other. This is a bit stereotypical, but most F1 drivers tend to be a bit arrogant and history has shown that two top drivers might not work well together in the same team (a classic example being Senna vs Prost). A different approach might be more successful for the team. I believe the strongest driver pairing would be one where you have one top driver and the other very good but not in the same league. My Choices For the one top driver (out of Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton) I would choose Fernando Alonso because he is very strong in all areas while others have weaknesses in certain areas. He is the most experienced (and most successful) of the three drivers and always performs well - you can rely on Alonso to extract the maximum from the car. Unlike the others, he is faultless under pressure. He's arguably the best all rounder, which is why so many pundits and ex-drivers describe him as "the most complete driver on the grid". As a teammate to Alonso, I think it's probably best to hire someone with experience, consistency, and racecraft - but most importantly someone who works well with other drivers and provides valuable input. Jenson Button would fit this role perfectly. He may not have the aggression or qualifying speed of Alonso, but he's still a very good overall driver who you can rely on to consistently score points for the team.
I would have a number 1 driver like an Alonso. And then I would have a driver who is very consistant but not as fast. My choices would probably be something along the lines of Alonso and Rosberg. Alonso is an obvious choice but some may think "why Rosberg" and I think its because he is a fast driver but not the fastest, he pretty much always gets where the car should be and very unlikely to retire by himself, the only problem is that he often doesnt out perform the car, which is why I would have Alonso. I also think Rosberg isnt a moany bastard who hates losing. So my choices are Alonso and Rosberg.
Some really good replies here, especially the long one from Forza (although my preferences would be slightly different: see below for my reasoning). I mentioned Hamilton and Button as an ideal pairing, based on personality as well as their driving; but I agree with Bhaji that Hamilton and Alonso would be another ideal and I'd love to see it happen again. Of course, it won't though… My opinion is that Alonso would find great difficulty coping with the psychological situation and that Hamilton is now much better than when they were previously together. This is entirely theoretical but my feeling is that Hamilton holds all the psychological advantages - particularly those concerned with the reality of an on-track battle - and Alonso would come off worse…
I would imagine that it would depend on which team there were in. If Hamilton were to join Ferrari, I think Alonso would have a psychological (and possible team favouritism) advantange, no?
It would be best to see them in aneutral team. Remember, Alonso was beating hamilton comfortably, before the whole favouritism row broke out.
The problem with them both going to a new team would be that I imagine there would be a bit of a power struggle.
Contrary to popular belief, my belief is that Alonso had (nearly) all the advantages at McLaren. He was a very popular double World Champion and was expected by most (although as I said before his first race, not me!) to beat Hamilton in his first season easily. Hamilton had other ideas. If he were to go to Ferrari (which I repeat: I doubt), I believe he would quickly overhaul Alonso's current privileged situation. Alonso is somewhat afraid of Hamilton, such that I believe his psychology would be negatively affected - and very quickly! P.S. It is not my intention to incite vitriol by stating my opinion on this folks! That's all it is; just an opinion.
This is probably the best argument for keeping Alonso and Hamilton apart. I completely agree that it would not be in Ferrari's interests to play with explosives…
I would have Alonso and Vettel or Alonso and Button. All proven winners and I believe Alonso to be the most complete driver out there at the moment. I think the partnerships would work on a professional and personal basis too with the Button combo providing a slightly smoother ride. Cheers all
i think in a team you don't want the two best drivers (senna and prost never worked), you want one of the top and one right below. for me, i would go with Hamilton as I think he is a World class racer. since he is aggressive all the time when driving, you want someone not like that to compliment him. sauber have Kobayashi (aggressive, overtakes a lot) and Perez (conserves tires, few pit stops). i would put either Button, like now, or Rosberg.
