Let's look at Korea 2010. How many drivers were moaning it was too wet to race? Which driver wanted to get the party started?
Which driver got overtook by a Mercedes the lap after the race restarted. I would say Monaco 08 was also a great race by Seb in the wet, went from 19th on the grid to 5th.
And then drove brilliantly to win. Sometime you have to take that piece of luck and make the most of it. Senna at Monaco in 1984 nearly had a huge accident at the chicane when he rode over the kerbs (it was then a much faster kink than todays harbour chicance), but got away with it and nearly won the race.
Alonso did pretty much the same thing at Massenet. Unfortunately for him it didn't give him the same luck
Michael Schumacher, the greatest wet whether of his era and was still at his best in Canada 2011 , from 8th on the grid he went for the win-20 years on after his debut. That is skill. Nothing less, nothing more.
Which driver needed a freak result to get back into the title race? If Lewis was 40 points clear in the championship, 14th on the grid with his rivals at the front he wouldn't have wanted that race started. Lewis and Seb are excellent in the rain though. IMO most of Button's successes have come on a drying track when he's gambled on tyres, often because Lewis is showing him up on the full wets. Everyone raves when it comes off (Canada 2011, Australia 2010) but people gloss over it when he makes a hash of it (Korea 2010 for example). Also in Australia Button stuck it in the gravel immediately after pitting, if he'd got beached in there everyone would've been saying what a mug he was. Basically I feel he has to take massive risks to be successful in the rain. Lewis and Seb are the current rain masters, personally I think Seb is slightly ahead but I don't want to get drawn into digging up old results to prove or disprove that, they're both top drawer and I'll leave it there. Also I think you can have more than one in an era. Senna and Schumacher were mentioned in the OP, what if they'd raced in the same era? Or raced in the current era with Seb and Lewis? I don't think they'd dominate in the way they did in their own eras. Seb and Lewis are up there with them. Honourable mention for Sutil as well, who's also very good in the wet.
Monaco 2008 Lucky Win? I don't think so. Yes it was lucky in some way but he drove well to win it in the end.
No problem, my opinion is there for the OP. When Michael was flying past Webber-Button-Hamilton-Kobayashi-Massa-Rosberg and the other drivers on the grid whilst they were spinning around and making contact on the wet track, I knew from then on - he would always be the greatest wet weather driver ever. No matter his age. It might be overstated in your eyes, but what I saw that day in the 4th best car, was a man driving with his experience in his gloves. It takes talent to do what he did in a crap car.
When did he pass/fly past Hamilton? All I saw was him running Lewis out of road. Good drive but not the greatest ever.
He got run off the road by many people then, out of sorts just as in Monaco.. :s Strong drive, but the greatest ever lie way back in the past.
Lewis is handy in the wet, Fuji 07, Monaco 08, Silverstone 08, Spa 08, Spa 10 stand out as great drives. Vettel and Button are also great in the wet.
Those 2008 races, the mclaren was known for its high grip so the rain didnt faze them. Manual Traction control!
Donington 93, Monaco 96, Belguim 98 to name a few where he wasn't so great in the wet (and Japan 94 when Damon showed him how it was done )
I think the issue is, as ever, the OP set out to do a thread that specifically excluded the mention of a driver who is clearly the equal of any of the others in wet conditions.
High Grip? Didn't Ferrari eclipse them at Spain, Malaysia and France where downforce is key? As for TCS everyone had it didn't they? or did McLaren have some extra special system ? Still maybe so, still takes a good driver to win the races. Ask Heikki he only won 1 race that year and it wasn't in the wet and he got gifted it! So that clearly shows Hamilton is better than Heikki!
Vettel hasn't won a wet race all year, whether or not this is the mclaren's pace in the wet, but if he can be considered the best driver by having the best car then he can also be considered as not a rain master for not having the car best suited to the wet
There's more of a tendency to suspend a race or safety car it when conditions get really hairy these days for safety reasons, so it makes it a little more difficult to really pick out the wet talent. Considering that Schumacher is racing in this era, I'd say that he still holds the rain master crown.
