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Whether he’s team says he’s the hardest working driver or not is subjective, since I’m sure every team says that of their number 1. They’re not going to say he’s a lazy slacker any more than Ferrari would say the same about Alonso. Kimi on the other hand….
But I have to say this a weak field. Not in terms of driver quality, but in terms of overall team performance. You have a Mercedes team who can’t decide who’s running the show, a Ferrari team that’s fallen into it’s pre-Schumacher dysfunction, a Lotus team that can barely afford to show up, a McLaren team that’s built a dog of car, a Sauber team that can afford to pay its’ drivers, a Williams team that is a sad shadow of its former self, and the rest made up of Force India, Caterham, and Marussia.
Frankly, every story and drama needs it’s villain, and Vettel fits the bill. For some people, things like the 2010 Trukish Grand Prix, Multi-21, and the general sense that he hasn’t had to work for it give people a sour taste in their mouths. I also think the hyperbole about him being a legend is a little overblown. He’s a good driver in the best car designed by the best designer F1 has ever seen driving against a weakened field.
A pretty relevant topic given today’s events and Vettel clinching the Championship. I’m not sure if I can truly say I’m ready to give up on F1. A little bit of background. I’ve been a fan since 1987, when I saw highlights of the 1987 British GP on Wide World of Sports on ABC (F1 wouldn’t be shown live here in the States until 1989). I saw Mansell fake a blocking Piquet to pass going into Stowe at over 200 mph after putting in qualifying laps to just catch him. For a 14 year old raised in a NASCAR household, this exotic brew of sparks, speed, and courage had me hooked. Looking back on it, it makes me wonder if F1 will ever see anything like that ever again. My fear is that we won’t. Which gets to my first point, and that is that F1 has become to a certain exten to “wussified”. That is to say, that with so many sporting regs outlining what kind of driving is acceptable on the track, there’s no way that that amazing pass by Mansell would not have resulted in both drivers being hauled to the stewards office and Piquet being sanctioned. All too often, actions on the track that should be chalked up to racing incidents are now worthy of inquiry and sanctions. Mario Andretti, always considered one of the toughest drivers to complete a pass on who gave no quarter, would probable have his super license stripped under today’s standards. Driver’s nowadays are too coddled, not just by the FIA, but by their teams as well. Could you imagine Vettel complaining to Patrick Head about being held up by Webber?
Secondly, and the thing that really grinds my gears, is the total lack of innovation currently in F1. Formula 1 loves to bill itself as the most technically advanced form of motorsport, but I just don’t see it. From spec floors, spec ECU’s, rev-limited engines, and to relying on gimmicks to produce racing, F1 has lost any sense of being on the cutting edge of racing technology. Frankly, it’s a duplicity I can’t stand, because to a man, everybody in the paddock will tell you that F1 IS the most advanced form of racing in the world. Yet when truly innovative thinking crops up, there’s a mad scramble to have it banned immediately (see the double diffuser). And while I have nothing against KERS, the ideal would have been that it be introduced by the teams rather than mandated by the governing body. I would argue that F-1 was at it’s technical peak in 1992-93, with 2001 to 2007 a close second. I would also argue that LMP-1 racing is more technically advance that it’s open wheel brethren.
Say what you will about Max Mosley, but a budget capped F1 with technical freedom would have been brilliant. I’ve always been a believer that true innovation comes from having to deal with limited resources than being hobbled by restrictive regulations and unlimited budgets.
Lastly, I want t touch on Vettel and the current atmosphere in F1. Whether you like or dislike him (and count me among the latter), he’s a product of the current F1. Those who boo him do so, I believe, not just as a reflection of their dislike of him, but of their dislike and frustration with the product being presented to them every other Sunday.
