Saw a version of this at Autosport, thought I would do one here to pass the time until Friday... + Who you believed did better than previously in your last opinion and why... - Who you believed did worse than previously in your last opinion and why... O Who you believed did not change to your last opinion... Example: + Lewis has got rid of the crash kid slogan put to his name last season and has stepped out of Jensons shadow and royally thumped him irregardless of the points gap. - Jenson was given a very strong car from the start to fight for the WDC and he was lost for almost half of the season. He only won at Australia and Belgium when the car was utterly in a league of it's own. O Schumacher followed up his last years performance and has out driven Rosberg on most occasions, but somehow I feel Rosberg just didn't bother anymore as he knew the car couldn't fight for podiums anymore. You can do this to all the drivers if you wish and don't be afraid to put in a good paragraph if you feel the need to. Hopefully we can get a few good opinions around here
+ Kimi, it can be debated that he should have won more than one race but to be 3rd in the WDC is an excellent achievement and he has silenced the doubters who questioned his motivation, he has got his head down and got on with it. + Hamilton, take out Spa and he has been superb and let down by his team. Also dispelled the myth that he cannot keep his tyres in good condition (Has actually worked the tyres a lot better than his teammate who most think is the king of tyre management). Also been impressed with his reactions to retiring from the lead in Singapore and Abu Dhabi remaining upbeat in the process. O Vettel: Impressed as ever with his blinding speed, one lap pace and general consistency. Not so impressed by his multiple outbursts, yes he is young but Malaysia, Germany, Hungary, Abu Dhabi were all races which proved that he needs to reign in his petulant side because if he does I seen no reason why he cannot continue to dominate the sport no matter what machinery Alonso and co are in. - Jenson: this time last year I would have put him along side Alonso and Vettel in terms of the quality of drivers. He had deservedly beaten Lewis and seemed in control. Unfortunately this year proved to me that Jenson is still as good as anyone when the car is working well but quite simply he is not able to work around problems that a car has, prime example being in Valencia when Lewis got the car on the second row and Jenson was way down on the fifth row. I think most people would now rank him a distant fifth in terms of the top drivers.
Don't have time to do a full rundown right now, but all of the top 4 have been in terrific form this season. They have provided some quality racing and been highly competitive with very few mistakes between all 4 of them. Not often you get so many drivers right on top of their game.
+ Who you believed did better than previously in your last opinion and why... Hamilton, I thought was a whiner and (as Silver said) a crashkid. But this year he really has mellowed out, and out-performed the car on many occasion. A move to Mercedes can be respected and also be ridiculed, but time will tell on that topic. To be honest if he did have the car behind him he could have been racing for the championship, another lost year. Lets see what the future brings. He is not one of my favourite drivers, but he sure is good at what he does when he puts his mind to it. - Who you believed did worse than previously in your last opinion and why... Nico Rosberg was seen as a wonder kid in 2010 which is understandable, in 2011 he was losing his shine and in 2012 he would have been smashed to pieces had Michael Schumacher had not have reliability issues in 5 races (25% of the calender). With Lewis going there next year, he can only get worse. O Who you believed did not change to your last opinion... Fernando Alonso, once a fighter always a fighter, for 3 years now he has somehow got himself to within an inch of that ominous title for Ferrari and himself.
+ Hamilton - I have never doubted his raw talent I just doubted what he had (or lack of?) between his ears. This season he has really impressed me with the way he has handled himself and he has had some absolutely superb drives, some with mechanical issues which has cost him big points this season. It's actually gotten to the point where I feel sorry for him leaving McLaren, as it looks more and more like they were trying to push him out. 2 drivers go in to my minus opinion - Button - I like Jenson. I think he is a great personality and that's good for the sport but you have to do your main talking on the track, and he has fallen way below the standard set by Lewis in that respect this season. He should have won more than the 2 races he has this season considering how strong McLaren has been for most of the season. He's spent way too much moaning about "balance" over the radio and not enough time getting on with racing. Perez - Mr Flap Your Hands Around Because That Will Make Things Better. Although still one of my favourites on the grid my opinion of him as a driver has plummeted the second half of the season. News flash, kid, it's not always the other drivers fault, you tool! Add to that his woeful run since signing for McLaren, already feeling the pressure kid? Well you better suit up then because in a few months time reality will be a dish served in Australia... Good luck next year, Whitmarsh. You're gonna need it! As for the O's...? Kimi - Just leave him alone, he knows what to do ok? Still a legend so my opinion of him cannot change. 2 years out? No problem. Vettel - **** OFF WITH THE FINGER YOU BASTARD! Now I've got that out of my system... This kid is a class act. He is a machine behind the wheel and can find that extra 10th of a second when no one else can. Although I think after 3 world titles, if it happens this year you've won enough for the time being, right? RIGHT???? I'm currently thinking about it and may post more opinion changes, but I'm eating ice cream at the moment and that is top of my priorities.
+ Who you believed did better than previously in your last opinion and why... Charles Pic - Glock had to google this guy, I thought he'd suck badly. He's actually done a great job. Pastor Maldonado - In 2011 this guy was a joke. He's proven his talent this year Michael Schumacher - At his age he should be slowing down, but I think this year he's done better than Rosberg. Mercedes replaced the wrong man! - Who you believed did worse than previously in your last opinion and why... Bruno Senna - It was difficult to know how good he was at HRT and Lotus, so this was his first proper test. He failed miserably. Jenson Button - With the way he drove last year, it looked like this year he'd have a serious chance of winning the championship. Such a disappointment. I don't think he'll ever be rated as highly as he was 12 months ago. Jean-Eric Vergne - "I would do no worse than Webber" he said last year. Surely someone this arrogant would be at least half decent!
+ Hamilton - Much better than last year and much better at dealing with failures. I'm sure many a 'fan' have waited for the outburst that never came. + Maldonado - His talent seemed to come out of nowhere. + Raikkonen - Used to be a fan of his but didn't expect him to come back so strong [HR][/HR] - Button - Really thought he'd cracked his setup issues last season, has just let me down - Grosjean - Had high hopes for him against a returning Kimi, ended up just crashing a lot [HR][/HR] 0 Vettel - Still got that special touch which is both annoying yet impressive. [HR][/HR]
+ Hamilton for the same reasons everyone has stated. + Raikkonen, I expected his comeback to be better than Schumachers for many reasons but nowhere near this good. I now place him ahead of Vettel with Hamilton and Alonso. + Perez, kind off. Post Monza has been bad. + Pic, he has done better than I expected given the task he faced. + Maldonado, is a lot faster than I thought he was. - Rosberg, I have always been a fan but post Monaco he has been annonamous. Can't remember anything he has done since. - Button, last year he looked ominous, this year he has looked embarrasing a lot of times. - Massa, until recently he was simply shocking - Kobayashi, looked awesome in 2009/2010, had an impressive if under the radar 2011. Has been soundly beaten this year. - Senna.
Can you imagine Hamilton and Schumacher at Mercedes? That could have been pretty good. (or bad imagine both their 2012 luck combined into 1 team)
This should be interesting for you Manny, if Lewis doesn't beat Rosberg or gives him a run for your money you would of proved your point that Schumacher never lost it at his age.
I know I'm veering this thread even more off topic but there's one thing Hamilton's always been able to do, drive around problems.
So who will you be rooting for Manny? If Lewis pounds him to a pulp you can prove Rosberg was never that good but lucky and get what you want (his head and career), or Lewis gets beaten by Rosberg and you get to prove why Schumacher would of done better if he was younger. Each way it looks like you win Manny! But then I could start doing this Seb > Webber > Rosberg > Schumacher* + Lewis > Button > *Rubens > Hulk > Di Resta Funny, I said the same thing in 2009 with Schumacher and I got the same reaction lol. Though 2009 Rosberg was in better form at that time...
I really don't know why so many people expected Schumacher to comeback and remind us of 2002, there were just so many good reasons why it wouldn't be the case.
+ Hulkenberg thought he was pretty average, but now i think he's pretty good (still overrated mind) + Schumacher Much improved pace, still it hasn't happened for him but this year its not his fault. found myself really supporting him for the first time. (bit late but still...) + Maldonado sure he's crashed a lot but he'smuch much quicker than i thought - Di Resta, failed to build on momentum - Kobayashi He's done OK but the excitement that started fading mid 2011 just isn't there anymore - Button, Look i am a huge fan, but sadly lack tradition fanboy blindness, This has been a dreadful season and its pained me to watch it unfold. Especially with my opinion after 2011 (or up to China 2012) was that he was a serious condenter. I dont really know what to think right now - Senna Opposite of Maldonado. I preferred him being quick and untidy in 2011 to slow but constant like this year. Like KK i no longer see the potential. For everyone else my opinion is pretty static (we already knew Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton were great) . As you can probably guess looking at my supported drivers list i've not loved this season to the same extent as the neutrals.
