Controversial indeed. I don't believe the team of Button and Hamilton are the best driver pairing on the grid - a very good team they might be, but my own (slightly biased) opinion is that Ferrari have the best line up. I say this because I genuinely believe Alonso is the best driver on the grid, and Felipe Massa has shown in the past that he can deliver exceptional performances and drive at a level very close to his great teammate. Just recently in Canada (a track where Massa usually doesn't do well) he was better than Alonso on the wet tyres and almost outqualified him as well. Contrary to assumed belief, Massa and Alonso have a good working relationship and both have equal input into the car. They both have very strong relationships with their engineers and both are happy at Ferrari. Both drivers are very experienced and have essential driving skills, like good overtaking, defending, tyre management, race craft. It's possible that Massa might struggle in qualifying - in which case McLaren could benefit just as much him - but McLaren will not benefit as much as Alonso, who can get the most out of any car.
I have been saying that I think Button/Hamilton are the best pairing in F1 since last season, I think Alonso is the best driver on the grid but Massa lets the team down by being a broken pathetic shadow of a driver. The reason I think the Button/Hamilton pairing is the strongest is because they are both very very good drivers and they both complement each other very well so Mclaren have pretty much all their bases covered, there is a good article about this and the dynamic of the pairing here.
Ferrari and Red Bull have an excellent driver each. The other man lets them down. Its all personal opinion of how you think Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton shape up next to each other, but nobody can deny it is close. From there Button is (90% sure) better than Webber/Massa.
Mifune's link explains exactly what I have been getting at since Button first joined McLaren. Thankyou Mifune and a thankyou Mark Hughes: he is completely on the money here. No other team has a driver line-up remotely close and it is little wonder that at least two of the other top team principles have made noises clearly designed to undermine the Hamilton/Button relationship - and, it must be said - to no avail. Button and Hamilton is a complementary pair who have, in my opinion, been making a poor McLaren look like the second best car on the grid. N.B. My personal opinion is that had they been driving for Ferrari or a Mercedes, they would be in the same position they are now in; still sitting second behind the genius who puts the Red in Bull…
please log in to view this image Originally Posted by cosicave please log in to view this image Hey guys - Jacky and Cowboy… In the absence of effective moderation at this moment, can you guys try to be a little more respectful to one another? You both make good points but the interaction is becoming aggressive and doesn't help the debate, since personal conflict tends to get in the way. Take a chill pill and try to get along eh? Deep breath and all that? Totally agree Slightly off topic, but I think this site works perfectly well without moderation, the member's seem able to moderate themselves, eventually !!!!!. Selective moderation, and over political correctness was the cause of the demise of BBC606, we dont need that approach here I'm one for free speech, and arguement with or without FACTs, it make's life much more interesting, we lot, on the F1 forum are generally polite and tolerant, I went on the General forum discussing issues regarding the current fate of Scotland and very soon found myself amongst some extremely lively debate, for want of a better word, but nobody died. Most commentators soon learn by their mistakes and become more tolerant and less aggresive in their language, after all we all have to learn somehow. Setting example is the best form of moderation in my humble opinion !
I have found the best solution is to ignore contributions from those who cannot be reasoned with. They tend to wither on the vine with no attention.
Red Bull continue to fret, thrash about and vent spleen in response to the engine mapping controls with Helmut Marko agreeing with the OP of this thread that it's all a conspiracy to help Ferrari. Fortunately the not-a-ban will cause bigger problems for McLaren and Mercedes than Red Bull, says chief engineer Sebastian Vettel.
http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7002040/Red-Bull-Advisor-Cries-Foul Looks like some people who are actually in the know are thinking a similar thing to the OP.
