It’s the German Grand Prix next weekend – and fans at the Hockenheimring have never had it so good.
They have six local drivers to cheer on – one-quarter of the F1 grid.
But are any of them ready to take on the mantle of heir to herr Schumacher?
Michael Schumacher
On results alone, the argument over which of Germany’s F1 drivers is best is a short one. Schumacher’s seven world championships and 91 Grand Prix victories sees to that.
But, ten races in, his F1 comeback has not gone according to plan. He’s been frequently out-qualified and out-raced by his team mate in a way we seldom saw during his first 16 years in the sport.
Just as worrying for Schumacher is that he doesn’t seem to be reducing the gap to Nico Rosberg. His junior team mate was on the podium in Silverstone while Schumacher slipped to ninth.
His struggles have fed rumours he might cut his return short.
Nico Rosberg
Expected by many to be a lamb to the slaughter this year, the score line tells a different story: Rosberg 90 – 36 Schumacher.
He briefly held second place in the championship after podium finishes in Sepang and Shanghai earlier this year.
If Mercedes are going to win a race this year, Rosberg looks most likely to be the man to do it.
Sebastian Vettel
Germany’s highest-placed drivers in the world championship is fourth – and would be a lot higher if his car didn’t keep breaking down.
But Red Bull unreliability has been only half the story of Vettel’s 2010 season. The worsening political situation at the team has cast Vettel’s efforts in an increasingly negative light.
Vettel made a desperate mistake in Istanbul, veering towards his team mate and causing a collision that ruined both their races. And he lucked out at Silverstone, picking up a puncture following the slightest of contact with Lewis Hamilton, though sympathy was in short supply after it became known the team had given him a new front wing that had been taken off Webber’s car.
Adrian Sutil
Sutil is having his best season to date – the Force India driver is just a single point behind Schumacher in the championship.
As well as being far too quick for his team mate, Sutil has distinguished himself with some excellent passes, muscling past Sebastien Buemi at Valencia and squeezing past Schumacher at Silverstone.
Timo Glock
Glock’s F1 career has been something of a messy affair so far. After starting a few races for Jordan in 2004 it took him four years to get back into the sport, going on a detour that took him through Champ Car and GP2 and finally back to F1 with Toyota.
With the Japanese manufacturer axing its under-performing team, Glock has gone from resource-rich Toyota to Virgin, whose budget is a fraction of what his previous team were spending.
He’s had few opportunities to show his potential this year, except on occasions when the Virgin has been fast enough to take on the Lotuses, as happened at Silverstone.
Nico Hulkenberg
Schumacher’s former manager Willi Weber is now touting Hulkenberg as the next big thing. It’s not been readily apparent so far this year but Hulkenberg has done a good job for a rookie given how tightly testing is restricted these days.
He’s out-qualified Rubens Barrichello on occasions and seems to be getting steadily faster. It’s early days, though.
Nick Heidfeld
Out-scored team mate Robert Kubica last year but his hopes of landing a race seat with Mercedes were dashed when Schumacher confirmed his return.
With Schumacher’s comeback not going quite according to plan just yet, perhaps Heidfeld isn’t in such a bad position. He’s likely to be the of the list to take over should Schumacher decide to go back to retirement.
Who do you think is the best German driver in F1 right now? Which of them will stil be in the sport one, five or ten years from now? Have your say in the comments.
Who is Germany's best F1 driver at the moment?
- Nick Heidfeld (5%)
- Nico H?�??lkenberg (1%)
- Timo Glock (1%)
- Adrian Sutil (9%)
- Sebastian Vettel (36%)
- Nico Rosberg (29%)
- Michael Schumacher (18%)
Total Voters: 2,535
2010 German Grand Prix
Image (C) Mercedes
GeeMac
18th July 2010, 9:12
Obviously Germany’s best “ever” driver is Michael Schumacher, but solely based on 2010 form I picked Rosberg. He has done a far better job than I had expected, and is Mercedes best hope of a result at Hockenheim.
miguelF1O (@)
18th July 2010, 10:55
my opinion was based in 2006 07 08 and 09 guess who rosberg he could have won 2 races with the non competitive williams
BasCB
18th July 2010, 17:25
I would have picked Rosberg, before remembering Vettel is German as well (not Austrian :-) ).
So i voted Vettel, but Rosberg is doing pretty well. He outscores his teammate, makes regular good finishes and seems to take the most the car has to offer.
bosyber
18th July 2010, 9:23
Rosberg has impressed me, and has done good things in a lesser car than Vettel, but I still think that at the moment Vettel is better. Rosberg needs to prove he can hang on to a win (unlike Singapore last year where he made mistakes when it counted).
Schumacher might yet return to form, but right now he does not have it.
Sutil has impressed me. It seems that he, together with his close friend Hamilton, has learned to be a bi more patient and less reckless. But it is too early to know if he is a winner, I think.
Glock clearly works hard, but with this car, it is hard to tell, and last year he was a bit erratic, not always in sync with the equally erratic Toyota.
Heidfeld deserves better than a reserve role, I think, but he does not have the charisma to be seen as a top driver, it seems.
f1yankee
18th July 2010, 9:36
vettel has the pace, but sometimes he has his head in the clouds. i vote for rosberg
GeeMac
18th July 2010, 9:54
Couldn’t agree more.
Gravity
18th July 2010, 16:40
Yeah ill agree aswell, Vettel at times considers himself to be some hero… I voted for the all time greatness, Schumi.
Electrolite
18th July 2010, 20:06
Yeah I voted for Rosberg as well. Seems like a solid, reliable trusty racer, who i’m sure will see his wins in the near future.
rob
20th July 2010, 18:47
Ive read every Vettel interview I’ve seen and never heard that one. Projecting much?
SD
18th July 2010, 9:44
Best driver currently: Adrian Sutil
Best ever driver: MSC, hands down!
Ady
18th July 2010, 10:19
I too voted for Sutil, if he were in a better car he would be in with a shout of the WDC. Calm and collected, and a nice guy.
Some great defensive driving all season long.
Fixy
18th July 2010, 9:48
He’s likely to be the of the list to take over should Schumacher decide to go back to retirement.
Maybe: He’s likely to be the first of the list to take over
Tango
18th July 2010, 10:00
Sutil has changed from being this guy who could to this guy who does, so unless Luizzi is really bad and Force India is actually as quick as a Mc Laren, I think he is doing a great job.
Ed
18th July 2010, 10:28
It would be nice to see Glock in a Renault, because not only would that be another fast car on the grid, it could get even more out of Kubica.
BasCB
18th July 2010, 17:28
I think that would be a pretty nice line up for Renault as well. Glock might get the car up to the podium behind Kubica or win it when the Pole has an off day (if Renault make the car to go there).
Sush Meerkat
18th July 2010, 10:52
My pick is Sutil, almost every race he’s finished higher than his quali position or has clawed back positions from the start, some excellent passes and some outstanding defensive driving against drivers in faster cars.
Mike
18th July 2010, 11:08
I went with Heidfeld.
Schumacher is struggling.
Vettel as a complete package, isn’t complete.
Sutil hasn’t really had a chance to prove himself in a top car.
And although I think Rosberg is good, I don’t think he has that special spark that top drivers have, like Hammy or Grumpy. (Hamilton and Alonso).
Matt G (lotus fan)
18th July 2010, 21:12
I thought about Heildfeld but setteled on Rosberg in the end. I would like to see Heildfeld in a racing seat again not just beeing a test driver, Kubica’s performance this year highlights how good Heildfeld was when they were both at BMW.
Scribe (@scribe)
18th July 2010, 11:24
As was said the truth of the matter is that Schumacher, who must be right at the sharp end of any all time greatest list, is without peer amongst German drivers, obviously The MSC we all remember is beyond any of the others.
However, right now, I’d say it’s a tie between Sutil and Rosberg. Vettle there most front running driver isn’t really impressing in the fastest car on the grid.
Rosberg seems to be making hay in the Mercedes, 3 podiums, briefly second in the championship, some astute drives, assisted by big bear, still I give it to Sutil. Sutil certainly deserves a top class car to prove himself in, he’s shown magnificent defensive skills, twice this year against far superior cars, he’s made some great overtakes, an seems to be comfortably outperforming the car.
Hamish
18th July 2010, 11:37
Scribe you have a dirty habit – its “and” not “an”.
Wordsmith at your service.
Scribe (@scribe)
18th July 2010, 12:55
It is disgusting yes, not sure why I’ve taken to doing it, starting to loose marks in essays.
Ady
18th July 2010, 17:56
The irony (i.e. your name) lol
leon
19th July 2010, 15:28
Yep.
But we could get really paranoid here…
lose….to lose something.
loose…something not quite tight enough.
their…belonging to them.
there…a place where they race.
define.
definitely !
Trouble is, the quality of what people write about here, on this site, is simply the best there is in F1. So spelling and grammar don’t really matter unless what the guy is trying to tell us ( and it usually is a guy !)is completely lost.
Ads21 (@ads21)
18th July 2010, 14:10
I agree with you apart from I think Rosberg has been doing better than Sutil, but you do wonder if Rosberg was in a Red Bull he’d probably be doing better than Vettel is.
Also I think Rosberg is in a bit of a no win situation vs Schumi. If he beats him every says Schumacher is past it and if he’d got beaten then he would’ve been forgotten.
leon
19th July 2010, 15:34
Rosberg is the coolest driver in F1. Doesn’t lose it too often. Doesn’t complain constantly ( unlike some prima donna’s driving certain brightly coloured cars ! )
Gets on with a car that’s definitely not the hottest on the grid.
And most of all, at the moment he’s showing the biggest Daddy F1 has ever seen just how to do it.
Oli
18th July 2010, 11:31
I have to say this but vettel can’t overtake. You might say “what about silverstone then??” but the drivers (apart from sutil) harldy put up a fight. I voted rosberg. All he needs now is a competitive car and he will be fighting for championships
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
18th July 2010, 11:34
I think this is a difficult poll to answer!
Of all time= Schumacher
Best current prospect= Vettel
On current form= Rosberg
One for the future= Hulkenberg
Interesting that it took Germany about 15 years from Schumi’s first championship to dominate the F1 field like this. I wonder if in 5-10 years we might get a similar influx of Spaniards/ Brits because of Alonso/ Hamilton respectively
adam mason
18th July 2010, 12:05
or how about an aussie invasion,Webber,Power,Brisco
James
18th July 2010, 12:13
Not likely. I’d say Australia is more interested in the V8 series, like the USA is more interested in NASCAR and Indy.
adam mason
18th July 2010, 12:27
not really,some aussies want to go overseas,and some are happy in V8s
dragon
18th July 2010, 15:30
The great thing about Webber’s 2009 success is the new life it’s sparked into f1 here. I know, it’s a bit pathetic to need a front-runner to wake most of the country up, but all of a sudden the V8s aren’t as big a spectacle and now each F1 race weekend is awaited with anticipation. That’s been my observation of the last two years, anyway!
We need an all-Aussie team that Webber and Ricciardo can drive for :)
BasCB
18th July 2010, 17:31
Look at the Motorsport SA interview Keith posted in the runup.
They officially state, that they would want a South African on the grid to be interested in running a GP. India is more or less the same, so don’t feel embarresed if it needs a local to spring interest.
Also think back about interest in F1 in Germany before Schumi and Spain before Alonso – near nil.
US_Peter
18th July 2010, 18:55
BasCB, I think that’s true for most countries that don’t currently have dominant drivers. It would be great for F1 in the US to have an American on the grid period, but they’d have to at least show some promise for that to translate to grown interest in the sport here.
David BR
18th July 2010, 17:23
Excellent job Ned, +1.
SchumacherFan
18th July 2010, 11:36
I voted Schumacher because statistics say it all and this year, he may be struggling but he has had some good races and I think he just needs to work at it and he will be winning races again.
I think Rosberg is a good driver and a nice guy but I don;t think he’s got what it takes to be a title contender even though this year has been pretty good for him so far because had someone like Hamilton or Alonso been in the Williams he was driving, I reckon Williams would have more than 113 race wins.
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
18th July 2010, 11:37
As much as I admire Vettel, I would just LOVE to see how well Nico would go inside Luscious Liz, instead.
Patrickl
18th July 2010, 12:53
Indeed. Rosberg in the fastest car of the field would be hard to beat.
Even with his crappy Merc he gets on the podium regularly. Let alone in a purebred racer like the Red Bull.
Einar AI
18th July 2010, 13:19
which nico is that :)
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
18th July 2010, 14:17
Whoops!
I mean Rosberg.
Hulkenberg is more deserving of being known as ‘Niconspicuous’ than Nico, in my opinion.
dragon
18th July 2010, 15:32
gold!
But a bit harsh. More often now when Williams is on the pace, he is too.
Scott Joslin
18th July 2010, 11:38
I have gone for Schumacher. Why? I simply asked myself what he would be like if he had been in the Red Bull from the start of the season. Answer would be – probably higher than Vettel is in the Championship now.
David BR
18th July 2010, 18:47
Yes, but then Rosberg would presumably be higher still! And Sutil. And Glock maybe.
David-A (@david-a)
18th July 2010, 20:30
Glock? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves!
David BR
19th July 2010, 16:58
Okay, that was a little bit of a wind-up!
Todfod
19th July 2010, 9:33
@Scott. Probably higher that Vettel in the championship?!? Half the drivers in the field right now would do a better job than what Schumacher is doing at Mercedes. If there was a poll for the worst german driver on the grid .. Schumi would get my vote for sure.
Haku
18th July 2010, 11:41
Rosberg is the best German driver, because he is half Finnish. Though he hasn’t learned the art of Finnish conversation yet. He talks to much…
Mike
18th July 2010, 19:58
Hahahahaha! Fins tend to be pretty quick eh?
leon
19th July 2010, 15:45
Brilliant !
How do you say monosyllabic in Finnish ?
Rits
20th July 2010, 18:09
@Leon
Ans: Kimi.
sato113
18th July 2010, 12:02
i think you should change the name of the article because I went to the poll and selected Schumacher and then realised it said ‘at the moment’. easily done when the article name is ‘who is germany’s best f1 driver?’…
at present i think Rosberg is the most complete.
Xalum
18th July 2010, 12:13
Vettel has the most points, but the best car. However Rosberg is more mature than Vettel and would beat him in an equal car “for sure.”
Answer: Nico Rosberg
adam mason
18th July 2010, 12:15
yeah rosberg sutil shumi vettle glock hulk heidfeld vettle seems quick in Qualy, and when on pole seems be able drive quite well,error free etc
sumedh
18th July 2010, 12:27
Vettel without doubt.
I think people misdirect their ill-feelings for Horner and Helmut Marko towards Vettel. Poor fellow is getting more stick than he deserves for only 1 mistake he has done in this season so far: Running into Webber at Turkey.
Phenomenally quick and can dominate races like no other driver can. Had the Red Bull been reliable, I am sure 2010 would have been another 2004.
Patrickl
18th July 2010, 12:54
In a car that’s almost second faster than the rest he can dominate yes. Well actually even then he’s struggling.
dj
18th July 2010, 15:00
I agree ,Webber has done way more bone head moves this year.
BasCB
18th July 2010, 17:37
But is Vettel that much better? He is pretty even on qualli with his team mate, has less wins and that’s in the fastest car around (look at Williams when they were so far ahead). I voted for him as well in the end, but that’s because being in the right car is also part of being good in F1.
Rosberg has done probably more with the equipment he has, Sutil had some nice driving this year, Hülkenberg had several races where he was pretty competative and Glock just did not have much chance to show anything in the Virgin.
Schumacher has been struggling with the tyres, but you have to hand it to him, he does not give up easy. And he was often cought out by bad strategy as well.
sumedh
18th July 2010, 18:50
Rosberg has had inferior equipment no doubt. He has comfortably aced Schumacher but he isn’t doing magic with his car like say Kubica is doing with the Renault.
Rosberg has had some anonymous weekends like Spain, Turkey Monaco where he just couldn’t get to grips with the Mercedez upgrades.
Vettel on the other hand has still finished immediately behind his team-mate when his team-mate was untouchable (Spain, Monaco).
Sutil has been very good. But pressures of running in the mid-field are nothing compared to running at the front. While Vettel battles with the likes of Alonso-Hamilton-Button, Sutil has been trumping over the mid-field drivers like Liuzzi, Petrov, Hulkenburg, Kobayashi.
Electrolite
18th July 2010, 21:44
Vettel just loves it doesn’t he. As long as he can drive a car round a track time-trial style, then drive to the finish without mistakes then yes, he dominates and it’s index fingers galore. But I’ve yet to be remotely impressed by him in any other situation i’m afraid. And that’s team politics aside.
And I think we all saw how much ‘stick’ he deserves during his gestural performance after the collision with Webber in Istanbul, no? Not to do with how quick he is, but if we’re including being a good sportman in the ‘overall package’ then yes, i’ll hold it against him.
David BR
20th July 2010, 1:45
I agree. Vettel is routinely described as ‘phenomenally fast’ as though that alone answers the question of him being a good driver. And eve that’s questionable. Since Webber is now beating him for pace, then either Webber is even more phenomenally fast, or Vettel is a tad over-rated. Then there’s his race craft, overtaking etc. which now seems to consist of barging into people and seeing what happens. Not very convincing either. When all that fails, it’s his great personality, which he may well have, maybe, but even if so, entirely irrelevant.
BasCB (@bascb)
18th July 2010, 21:54
Yea, that’s why i voted Vettel in the poll, although it was pretty close between him, Rosberg and Sutil, with Glock out of the equation for the car he’s driving.
umar
18th July 2010, 12:31
vettel cannot be the best driver of 2010 if he did not try to take the lead in turkey and let webber take the lead in silverstone he would have led the championship. by far
best driver of 2010 is nico rosberg who cannot be competitive becuase mercedes is not a rival this season. and is stil getting podiums.
Mike
18th July 2010, 21:22
Is that really fair?
I mean, name a driver who doesn’t want to be leading a race if they get a chance to overtake for the lead.
And also, don’t you want drivers to try and fight for the lead?
He buggered it up, yes. But I don’t think it’s fair to use that, as a reason why he isn’t a great driver.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
19th July 2010, 7:52
Every driver race hard on track & their team mates becomes their worst enemy on track so anyone will try to pass other driver.
Darren
18th July 2010, 12:36
I agree with some comments, I think Rosberg is a smarter driver than Vettel similar to Button is a smarter ‘bigger picture’ driver than Hamilton. I voted for Sutil, I think in a faster car he could really impress.
Spud (@)
18th July 2010, 12:58
Obviously Schumachers record speaks for itself, but this year I think Rosberg has been the best and most consistent in a car that is not as quick as he would have liked.
Darth Raiden
18th July 2010, 12:59
Best ever German is Michael Schumacher, but his time has passed. Now its Vettal. Can’t wait until German GP now. Gonna be a good one.
Chippie
18th July 2010, 13:08
Rosberg, Rosberg, a thousand times: Rosberg!
Setroc
18th July 2010, 13:23
I voted Heidfeld. He was able to keep Kubica honest at BMW, and actually beat Kubica on points for two out of the three seasons they had together.
I don’t know if Heidfeld really is the best German at the moment, but he has proven that he is a good quality driver, which is something that all the other current candidates have yet to do (except for Schumi – but he is underperforming right now).
It’s a real shame that Heidfeld wasn’t picked up by any team this year, but I’m sure that he won’t be kept on the sidelines for long.
F1silverarrows
18th July 2010, 13:30
Not sure tbh, put Rosberg in a Red Bull and lets see how well he does compared to vettel.
Rosberg takes it by a nose for me with vettel second and Sutil third.
Paige
18th July 2010, 13:38
At this point, Vettel. Easily.
Steph90 (@steph90)
18th July 2010, 13:51
The good thing about Schumi is unusually we know his potential and the levels he can get too while the others we can only speculate. The best ever? Schumi without a doubt. He’s won in poor cars, he’s been smart, he’s been quick, he can overtake, he can defend. In the past he’s had no real weakness.
Right now? Well Schumi’s had three years out and is dealing with a very new F1 world to him and isn’t a spring chicken so that effectively rules him out.
I haven’t seen anything in Sutil bar some not bad wet weather driving when the mood takes him but he is a very good defensive driver. He really should have forced Fisi into retirement though but he didn’t or made him look bad but he couldn’t. It’s good to see he’s worked on his consistency so he should really be happy this season.
Rosberg again his teammates have been all over the place so it’s hard to judge him. We can’t really tell if he is getting the most out of the car. He’s solid not stellar so far.
Heidfeld isn’t even on the grid so if noone wants him he shouldn’t be on the list as much as I do love him.
I think Glock could do better than the car he’s got. His career has been up and down but I think from 08-09 he’s demonstrated fine form. He also had Trulli the quali master on his back for a while and on a Saturday it’s hard to beta him on pace when he’s happy.
There’s no point even thinking about Hulkenberg right now. It’s not his fault just the circumstances, he has the potential to be the best one day mind.
Vettel probably gets it. He won in an STR but he never really blew Bourdais away and who expected Mark to be so close to him this year? He makes mistakes and needs to work on his race craft as he can’t always just rely on speed and right now his speed isn’t blowing Mark away either although it seems Mark could just be better than most including me, anticpated.
I think while all the Germans on the grid (and even in the paddock) are very talented and very good drivers none of them are at that exceptional level just yet. The Alonso (not that you would perhaps think it this year) and Hamilton level.
F1silverarrows
18th July 2010, 14:16
yer I agree with you steph.
BasCB (@bascb)
18th July 2010, 21:56
That’s right Steph, no guy just wowing the crowds like Hamilton, Alonso, Schumacher, Senna etc.
Steph90
18th July 2010, 22:21
Yep BasCB and ironically none of them are like Schumacher either…
US_Peter (@us_peter)
18th July 2010, 23:06
Very sound reasoning Steph. I agree on all points.
stephen
18th July 2010, 14:24
schumi is undisputedly the best german driver, in the last decade. but today, i’d go for sebastian vettel. he is a very skilled driver, and was the first to give red bull their first pole position and grand prix victory (2009 Chinese Grand Prix), even though they were still on the midfielders. the only thing that shadows him are the issues on internal politics inside red bull racing
Tango
18th July 2010, 14:46
The annoying fact is to have so many talented germans on the grid, all very good, and not a single French driver.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
18th July 2010, 23:08
That is a bit strange, given that they invented the Grand Prix…
Tango
19th July 2010, 8:19
Well in all honesty, we had our “French period” in the 70’s-80’s… Same as with the germans today : all very good, quite capable of winning, but no world champs (if you consider Schumacher’s championships asbeing from another era)
dragon
18th July 2010, 15:43
Taking away the cars they drive, I still vote for Vettel (currently, that is – all time is pure madness not to say Schuey).
Sutil – a good deal of talent, however some messy incidents (often a coming together with Kovy in some way) in early years tarnished his racecraft reputation slightly. Has matured this year wonderfully into an agressive and quick driver.
Rosberg – always enjoyed this man’s style, both in and outside the car. Smooth, unruffled, yet quick and has a great knack for overtaking. Continuously underrated, I can’t wait to see him notch up his first win, once Merc give him a winning car.
Vettel – Unlike the others, 2010 has seen his reputation take an almighty hit. Turned STR into a David vs Goliath story, and has proved again and again that he’s just ridiculously fast. His racing craft, pace and passing skills leave much to be desired, but he’s probably the best qualifier on the grid, capable of pulling out scorching single laps. I think we all enjoyed the onboard footage of the sub 1:24 at Albert Park. Unfortunately, I can’t stand him, and being a staunch Aussie patriot firmly behind Mark has only deepened my dislike for the German. But I can’t deny his talent, and the fact that even though you all say he has the best car on the grid, a reliable one would have seen him leading the championship by some way.
Lamag
18th July 2010, 15:46
Not only the best the germany driver, Rosberg is the best driver of 2010 season.
Calum
18th July 2010, 17:31
The best driver of 2010 is a Pole…
Daniel
18th July 2010, 15:56
Vettel is the most talented driver with a long future to work for, but has made too many mistakes already this year. Rosberg is currently the one making the most of his car. That’s with i picked him.
As for Hulkenberg, he was unlucky to come to Formula 1 after Hamilton raised too high the expectations on a rookie driver arriving the sport with consecutive F3 and GP2 titles. Unlike Lewis, that matched Alonso’s pace from day 1, Nico has been dominated by Rubens Barrichello so far this year, with an embarassing record: BAR 29 x 2 HUL.
I think he might get better and start shining soon, but currently he’s just not there yet…
James Brickles
18th July 2010, 16:29
Even though he isn’t racing in F1 at the moment and even though he isn’t the fastest driver, Heidfeld is easily the best German racer, probably because he is not too German on the track ;) i.e. he can actually overtake without too much of a problem. 4 double overtakes in 2008, thats pretty good. He definitely deserved a seat this year.
Alexi
18th July 2010, 16:44
I’m going with Rosberg.
Mike "the bike" Schumacher
18th July 2010, 16:45
Best German driver ever: Markus Winkelhook.
Led every race he ever competed in.
BasCB
18th July 2010, 17:40
Thats a statistic even Schumi can’t beat!
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
19th July 2010, 7:49
Where on earth did Markus Winkelhock got lost?
I got this information about him that he is the only driver in Formula One history to start last on the grid and lead the race in his first Grand Prix, and due to the red flag and restart, is also the only driver in Formula One history to start both last and first on the grid in the same Grand Prix. Even that wasn’t enough for any team to look for him even Spyker F1 Team didn’t raced him in any race in the future due to MONEY!
James
18th July 2010, 18:00
If Schumi had a redbull he would win
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
19th July 2010, 7:49
Give him wings.
djdaveyp
18th July 2010, 18:34
I voted Nico Rosberg. He is the most consistant of the German drivers. He doesn’t seem to make many mistakes. I can only recall the one he made in singapore that had any significance.
He seems a nice guy on the TV as well and you see some ballsy moves from him sometimes, but he also knows a lost cause and is sensible too.
All around a very balanced driver.
Dennoow
18th July 2010, 18:58
I think Vettel is the best German driver at the moment. He did make some mistakes (in particular when he ended his own race by crashing into his teammate), but overall he’s the fastest guy at the moment. He’s always qualifying well, doesn’t make too much mistakes in races and he showed us in the last race that he does have the ability to pass.
Rosberg is good, he’s been very quick and consistent but I too miss that extra spark in him. He does beat Schumacher regularly but Schumacher is definetly not on his best form now. He’s not making too many errors but he just lacks pace.
Not a big Sutilfan, he’s fast but he’s also a little bit reckless (although he did show improvement).
Heidfeld is a great driver, very good racer IMO. He does lack a little pace in qualifying though.
Hülkenberg is doing well. He’s learning and it seems to me that he’s learning pretty fast. The Williams was a horrible car and obviously Barrichello is beating him more often than not. But on occasions Nico did beat Rubens, even under hard circumstances in Maleysia he was better than the most experienced driver of them all. But he’s still in the learning process. perhaps he’s a little too much “second driver” at the moment. I don’t think Williams will actively deny him advantages but I do think it’s Rubens who calls the shots as far as development etc goes. It’s logical it’s that way of course, but we’ll wait and see next year, when he’s learned all there is to know!
Rich
18th July 2010, 20:00
My favourite German driver is Nick. As he is not driving in 2010 I decided to look at those that were. Timo has no real option to show any potential but his team mate has recently got the better of him. Adrian is driving incredibly well this year, making fewer mistakes and generally impresses. The Hulk has made little impression on me – in fact I am slightly underwhelmed by his performance. Michael is really struggling with tyres and has been thrashed by Nico who is regularly 0.7 secs faster in an identical car (one of the largest discrepancies between team mates). Finally Sebastian has the most points but is in a car that is close to a second faster than any other team and is being bettered by his team mate.
Taking into account equipment and performance relative to ones team mate it becomes an Adrian versus Nico contest. Nico’s consistency in car that is really somewhat second-rate together with three podiums is especially impressive so I gave him my vote.
David-A (@david-a)
18th July 2010, 20:32
Without a shadow of a doubt, the best German driver “ever” would be Schumacher, for the many achievements and memories (good and bad) he has provided. But the key words in the poll are “at the moment”, to which I say Vettel.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
19th July 2010, 2:30
Totally agree with you.
Gusto
18th July 2010, 22:32
I dont know if it`s been pointed out Keith, but the header says ” Who is Germany`s best F1 driver “, while the results say ” Who is Germany`s best F1 driver at the moment “. I would vote MSC as all time but VET at the moment.
Daniel
18th July 2010, 23:17
Missing option: Wolfgang von Trips.
He’s performed just as well as Nick Hiedfeld this year!
Sure, he’s been dead for decades, but I tell you, that’s the only thing stopping him from getting a drive.
Klon
18th July 2010, 23:51
And it’s only the FIA’s fault that Ralf Schumacher is not driving in F1 today (Stefan GP), so he should be a choice as well.
*/sarcasm*
Aside from that, even in DTM he performs better than Michael in F1 currently
Mike
19th July 2010, 0:58
Mosley: *reading*
“My God! Why didn’t I think of that!”
Krosh
18th July 2010, 23:36
Well, I think a German can give a better answer, but there is a trend in Germany to love cars. In Germany there are some of most known car brand like BMW and Mercedes, in other words a plenty of Germans are encouraged to like cars and to run.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
19th July 2010, 2:25
My list
1.Schumacher
2.Vettel
3.Roseberg
4.Sutil
5.Hülkenberg
6.Glock
I think no matter what ever happens Schumacher will always be in the heart of every German F1 fan not in the future they got to choose whom to support from Vettel,Roseberg & Sutil.
As Keith mentioned “Schumacher’s former manager Willi Weber” then who is Schumi’s manager now?
BasCB
19th July 2010, 6:19
As far as i understand, he has no Manager right now, although his Press officer started to do some of the jobs of a manager for him, he probably negotiates for himself now.
Gerdoner
19th July 2010, 9:18
“I think no matter what ever happens Schumacher will always be in the heart of every German F1 fan not in the future they got to choose whom to support from Vettel,Roseberg & Sutil.”
Wrong, never liked Schumacher (both of them actually) and I’m German :P
Can’t really choose between Sutil, Glock or Hülkenberg :S
wasiF1
19th July 2010, 11:20
I made a mistake in my writing it will be “now in the future” rather than “not in the future”
Typo mistake sorry.
Cube
19th July 2010, 2:43
Based on 2010 form, Nico Rosberg.
mfDB
19th July 2010, 4:27
Really…….really……for real
Dev
19th July 2010, 6:06
if you at car to performance ratio, it’s Sutil… and also Rosberg… Schumi needs more time to come in terms with the car/tires and Vettel has the car that could easily put him in the top of the championship… but he has made few mistakes this year…. clash with Webber & British GP opening lap.
Casanova
19th July 2010, 15:35
All a driver can do is get the best out of the car. So in assessing how a driver is doing, that’s all we should go on, not simply race results. I think Rosberg is getting the absolute maximum the Mercedes is capable of at the moment – when was his last mistake? It’s why I voted him top driver of the British GP for his excellent (if anonymous) drive to 3rd place, and it’s why he gets my vote over Vettel and Sutil here.
theRoswellite
19th July 2010, 17:32
Vettel has the pure speed, but we need to see Rosberg and Suttil in a top car for a definitive answer.
Dianna
19th July 2010, 19:05
The best driver of all time of any country has to be Michael Schumacher,he has won more GP’s than the total of all the current F1 drivers put together.Apart from his 7 definite Championship wins,and the 3 near misses,his record may never be broken.That is some mighty staggering achievement.
However his present love seems to be more in racing bikes.Eddie Irvine said only last week,he is crackers to race at such speed with riders half his age.BUT,MSC is a speedahiloc,he will never change.
Vettel has been tipped by Schumacher to be the next one to watch,and I think he is correct.He is the right age,has a hunger for speed,and a bit of class too.
Racer
20th July 2010, 0:48
Rosberg is doing a great job all season. I think he is the best german driver so far. Of course, Vettel scored more points but not enough considering that he has the fastest car.
Will
20th July 2010, 15:21
“a lamb to the slaughter” kekekekeke!!! A lamb in wolfskin!
Harry
20th July 2010, 19:04
For me it’s between Rosberg and Sutil. I only voted Sutil because I had to choose one!
Vettel is nowhere near either based on this years form. Just look at the battle between Sutil and Vettel at Silverstone. In a much slower car, he put the car in all the right places. Vettel had no answer, and resorted to barging Sutil out of the way. It was an absolute miracle both finished, and crazy that Vettel wasn’t even investigated. Add to this the Turkey incident, and his strange ability to break cars…
Rosberg has done really well, his performances against a 7 time world champion speak for themselves.
Charles Carroll
21st July 2010, 4:52
Put Michael Schumacher in Jensen Button’s McLaren, and he is in second place in the championship standings at this point.
I’m just sayin’…
Lutz
21st July 2010, 8:48
In my opinion the best is suffering by the comeback of Schumacher. Put Nick Heidfeld in a competitive car and I am sure, that his mission will be accomplished.
David-A (@david-a)
21st July 2010, 22:28
Like it was accomplished in 2008…
gideon
21st July 2010, 18:13
vettel is best driver now in germany
alex
22nd July 2010, 19:05
He’s likely to be the of the list to take over should Schumacher decide to go back to retirement.
Maybe: He’s likely to be the first of the list to take over