123 replies to this topic

[Marklar]

I often come across on this board in several driver vs. driver threads on the discussion about which driver could be the best qualifier in the current field/in this era. I often read the names Hamilton and Vettel, mainly I think because they had the most poles in the last couple of years. As Ricciardo beat Vettel convincingly a few years ago and is since his rookie season unbeaten he is also often mentioned of course. Rosberg running Hamilton close is another one. But is it really just between them? Sometimes I believe that nothing is more flattered by an dominant car than the perceiption of the quali pace. Alonso dominated every single of his team mates except of Hamilton and the infamous one lap monster Trulli. Bottas and Hulkenberg have quite amazing records too, just a battle against a bigger name is missing here.
 
So what do you think? Which drivers are the quickest guys over one lap? Rank them in this topic and vote your top 3 in the poll.

 
For a bit of extra info I also have the whole qualifying record of all current drivers listed (this years rookies not included on the overview) here. For what it's worth of course!

              Qualis                Seasons       vs. current drivers
Hamilton      121-67  (64.36 %)      9-1          ROS: 3-1 (42-36), BUT: 3-0 (43-15), ALO: 1-0 (10-7)
Rosberg       126-80  (61.17 %)      6-4 (1 tie)  HAM: 1-3 (36-42)
Ricciardo      73-35  (67.59 %)      5-1          VES: 1-0 (11-6), KVY: 2-0 (16-7), VET: 1-0 (11-7)  
Verstappen     18-22  (45.00 %)      0-2          RIC: 0-1 (6-11), SAI: 1-1 (12-11)
Vettel        119-59  (66.85 %)      7-3          RAI: 1-1 (25-15), RIC: 0-1 (7-11)
Raikkonen     129-124 (50.99 %)      8-5 (1 tie)  VET: 1-1 (15-25), ALO: 0-1 (3-16), MAS: 1-2 (20-25), GRO: 1-1 (19-17)
Perez          56-60  (48.28 %)      3-3          HUL: 0-3 (24-35), BUT: 1-0 (10-9)
Hulkenberg     71-46  (60.68 %)      5-1          PER: 3-0 (35-24), GUT: 1-0 (18-1)
Massa          88-162 (35.20 %)      3-11         BOT: 0-3 (18-41), ALO: 0-4 (19-58), RAI: 2-1 (25-20)
Bottas         53-25  (67.95 %)      4-0          MAS: 3-0 (41-18)
Alonso        200-74  (72.99 %)     12-1 (2 tie)  BUT: 2-0 (25-13), RAI: 1-0 (16-3), MAS: 4-0 (58-19), GRO: 1-0 (7-0), HAM: 0-1 (7-10)
Button        132-176 (42-86 %)      5-11(1 tie)  VAN: 0-1 (0-1), ALO: 0-2 (13-25), MAG: 2-0 (11-9), PER: 0-1 (9-10), HAM: 0-3 (15-43)
Sainz          22-18  (55.00 %)      2-0          KVY: 1-0 (11-6), VES: 1-1 (11-12)
Kvyat          25-34  (42.37 %)      1-2          SAI: 0-1 (6-11), RIC: 0-2 (7-16)
Grosjean       62-41  (60.19 %)      4-2          GUT: 1-0 (11-9), RAI: 1-1 (17-19), ALO: 0-1 (0-7)
Gutierrez      19-39  (32.76 %)      0-3          GRO: 0-1 (9-11), HUL: 0-1 (1-18)
Magnussen      21-20  (52.59 %)      1-2          PAL: 1-0 (12-9), BUT: 0-2 (9-11)
Ericsson       28-28  (50.00 %)      2-1          NAS: 2-0 (23-17)
Nasr           17-23  (42.50 %)      0-2          ERI: 0-2 (17-23)

Spoiler

Lewis Hamilton 

Spoiler

2007 Fernando Alonso      10-7
2008 Heikki Kovalainen    14-4
2009 Heikki Kovalainen    12-5
2010 Jenson Button        14-5
2011 Jenson Button        13-6
2012 Jenson Button        16-4
2013 Nico Rosberg         11-8
2014 Nico Rosberg          7-12
2015 Nico Rosberg         12-7
2016 Nico Rosberg         12-9

Nico Rosberg

Spoiler

2006 Mark Webber           6-12
2007 Alexander Wurz       15-1
     Kazuki Nakajima       1-0
2008 Kazuki Nakajima      14-4
2009 Kazuki Nakajima      14-3
2010 Michael Schumacher   14-5
2011 Michael Schumacher   16-3
2012 Michael Schumacher   10-10
2013 Lewis Hamilton        8-11
2014 Lewis Hamilton       12-7
2015 Lewis Hamilton        7-12
2016 Lewis Hamilton        9-12

Daniel Ricciardo

Spoiler

2011 Vitantonio Liuzzi    4-6
     Narain Karthikeyan   1-0
2012 Jean-Eric Vergne    15-5
2013 Jean-Eric Vergne    15-4
2014 Sebastian Vettel    11-7
2015 Daniil Kvyat        12-7
2016 Daniil Kvyat         4-0
     Max Verstappen      11-6

Max Verstappen

Spoiler

 

2015 Carlos Sainz jr.     9-10
2016 Carlos Sainz jr.     3-1
     Daniel Ricciardo     6-11

Sebastian Vettel

Spoiler

2007 Nick Heidfeld       0-1
     Vitantonio Liuzzi   3-4
2008 Sebastien Bourdais 13-5
2009 Mark Webber        15-2
2010 Mark Webber        12-7
2011 Mark Webber        16-3
2012 Mark Webber        11-9
2013 Mark Webber        17-2
2014 Daniel Ricciardo    7-11
2015 Kimi Raikkonen     15-4
2016 Kimi Raikkonen     10-11

Kimi Raikkonen

Spoiler

2001 Nick Heidfeld        7-10
2002 David Coulthard     10-7
2003 David Coulthard     10-6
2004 David Coulthard     12-6
2005 Juan Pablo Montoya   9-8 
     Pedro de la Rosa     0-1 
     Alexander Wurz       1-0 
2006 Juan Pablo Montoya   7-3
     Pedro de la Rosa     8-0
2007 Felipe Massa         8-9
2008 Felipe Massa         6-12
2009 Felipe Massa         6-4
     Luca Badoer          2-0
     Giancarlo Fisichella 5-0
2012 Romain Grosjean      9-10
     Jerome D'Ambrosio    1-0
2013 Romain Grosjean     10-7
2014 Fernando Alonso      3-16
2015 Sebastian Vettel     4-15
2016 Sebastian Vettel    11-10

Sergio Perez

Spoiler

2011 Kamui Kobayashi   11-7
2012 Kamui Kobayashi   11-9
2013 Jenson Button     10-9
2014 Nico Hulkenberg    7-12
2015 Nico Hulkenberg    8-11
2016 Nico Hulkenberg    9-12

Nico Hulkenberg

Spoiler

2010 Rubens Barrichello  6-13
2012 Paul di Resta      12-8
2013 Esteban Gutierrez  18-1
2014 Sergio Perez       12-7
2015 Sergio Perez       11-8
2016 Sergio Perez       12-9

Felipe Massa

Spoiler

2002 Nick Heidfeld         5-11
2004 Giancarlo Fisichella  7-11
2005 Jacques Villeneuve   12-7
2006 Michael Schumacher    4-14
2007 Kimi Raikkonen        9-8
2008 Kimi Raikkonen       12-6
2009 Kimi Raikkonen        4-6
2010 Fernando Alonso       4-15
2011 Fernando Alonso       4-15
2012 Fernando Alonso       3-17
2013 Fernando Alonso       8-11
2014 Valtteri Bottas       6-13
2015 Valtteri Bottas       8-11
2016 Valtteri Bottas       4-17

Valtteri Bottas

Spoiler

2013 Pastor Maldonado    12-7
2014 Felipe Massa        13-6
2015 Felipe Massa        11-8
2016 Felipe Massa        17-4

Fernando Alonso

Spoiler

2001 Tarso Marques        12-2
     Alex Yoong            3-0
2003 Jarno Trulli          8-8
2004 Jarno Trulli          7-8
     Jacques Villeneuve    2-1
2005 Giancarlo Fisichella 15-4
2006 Giancarlo Fisichella 13-5
2007 Lewis Hamilton        7-10
2008 Nelson Piquet jr.    18-0
2009 Nelson Piquet jr.     9-1
     Romain Grosjean       7-0
2010 Felipe Massa         15-4
2011 Felipe Massa         15-4
2012 Felipe Massa         17-3
2013 Felipe Massa         11-8
2014 Kimi Raikkonen       16-3
2015 Jenson Button        10-8
2016 Jenson Button        15-5 

Jenson Button

Spoiler

2000 Ralf Schumacher      6-11
2001 Giancarlo Fisichella 4-13
2002 Jarno Trulli         5-12
2003 Jacques Villeneuve   8-7
     Takuma Sato          1-0
2004 Takuma Sato         11-7
2005 Takuma Sato         15-1
     Anthony Davidson     1-0
2006 Rubens Barrichello   9-9
2007 Rubens Barrichello   9-8
2008 Rubens Barrichello   8-10
2009 Rubens Barrichello   7-10
2010 Lewis Hamilton       5-14
2011 Lewis Hamilton       6-13
2012 Lewis Hamilton       4-16
2013 Sergio Perez         9-10
2014 Kevin Magnussen     10-9
2015 Kevin Magnussen      1-0
     Fernando Alonso      8-10
2016 Fernando Alonso      5-15
     Stoffel Vandoorne    0-1 

 

Stoffel Vandoorne

Spoiler

2016 Jenson Button      1-0

 

Carlos Sainz jr.

Spoiler

2015 Max Verstappen      10-9
2016 Max Verstappen       1-3
     Daniil Kvyat        11-6

Daniil Kvyat

Spoiler

2014 Jean-Eric Vergne    12-7
2015 Daniel Ricciardo     7-12
2016 Daniel Ricciardo     0-4
     Carlos Sainz jr.     6-11

Romain Grosjean

Spoiler

2009 Fernando Alonso       0-7
2012 Kimi Raikkonen       10-9
2013 Kimi Raikkonen        7-10
     Heikki Kovalainen     2-0
2014 Pastor Maldonado     15-4
2015 Pastor Maldonado     17-2
2016 Esteban Gutierrez    11-9

Esteban Guttierrez

Spoiler

2013 Nico Hulkenberg       1-18
2014 Adrian Sutil          9-10
2016 Romain Grosjean       9-11

Kevin Magnussen

Spoiler

[b][b]2014 Jenson Button          9-10
2015 Jenson Button          0-1
2016 Jolyon Palmer         12-9

Jolyon Palmer

Spoiler

2016 Kevin Magnussen       9-12

Marcus Ericsson

Spoiler

2014 Kamui Kobayashi        5-10
     Andre Lotterer         0-1
2015 Felipe Nasr           10-9
2016 Felipe Nasr           13-8

Felipe Nasr

Spoiler

2015 Marcus Ericsson        9-10
2016 Marcus Ericsson        8-13

Pascal Wehrlein

Spoiler

2016 Rio Haryanto           7-5
     Esteban Ocon           7-2

Rio Haryanto

Spoiler

2016 Pascal Wehrlein        5-7

Esteban Ocon

Spoiler

2016 Pascal Wehrlein        2-7

Edited by Marklar, 13 December 2016 - 21:42.

[Kev00]

1. Ricciardo
2. Hamilton
3. Alonso
4. Vettel
5. Verstappen
6. Rosberg
7. Bottas
8. Hulkenberg
9. Sainz
10. Perez

[Mercstar]

1) Hamilton - His peak speed is beyond anyone on the grid imho; 

2) DR - Super consistent and has an uncanny ability of pulling it out of the hat come Q3.

3) NR - Gave Hamilton a run for his money, excellent at chipping away and bringing out his best for quali. 

Edited by Mercstar, 13 December 2016 - 22:07.

[TomNokoe]

I am struggling to elevate Hamilton above Ricciardo but maybe I'm just trying to be left-field on purpose.

I think Hamilton has the fastest ultimate pace in the field when he decides to buckle in (see: end of 2016) but I am always terrified he is about to bin it. He stuffed Baku this year and was nearly out in Hungary Q2. As well as his first Q3 runs in: Bahrain, Spain and Silverstone. However he seems to be fast in all cars, any setup window, all weather, any opponent.

I think Ricciardo is just as capable of Hamilton at producing superstar laps, but I think his average is ever so slightly lower in qualifying. But he rarely makes errors.

Vettel has mesmerising speed but is susceptible to overdriving and is more reliant than others on producing time with a car, rather than dragging time from one.

--

You have drivers like Ricciardo, Alonso and (had) Rosberg who were of a similar breed.

And then you have your Hamilton and Vettels, who seem to drive with slightly more emotion on any one given lap.

Honestly it's a very interesting topic. Hamilton has every one of his laps analysed to the tenth in the last 3 years, whilst Ricciardo can make mistakes and we won't even know they happened. It's very possible Rosberg was the fastest and was dethroned by Hamilton. Who knows?

Good idea to choose 3 drivers.

Edited by TomNokoe, 13 December 2016 - 21:56.

[RECKLESS]

Räikkönen, beat the best this season. Top dog still got it.

[Dan333SP]

Räikkönen, beat the best this season. Top dog still got it.

 

I'm happy he showed good form and topped Seb this year, but you can't just erase the previous 2 years of getting trounced. I'd say it was more an aberration on the part of Seb than Kimi suddenly returning to the elite qualifier form of 2003-2007.

 

I ranked them:

 

1. LH

2. DR

3. MV

 

I feel like Lewis has something special that none of them can touch, although I'd literally eat one of my fingers to see him in the same car as Danny Ric as I think DR could surprise us. Max to me is 3rd because he was much closer to DR than many of us expected, and although he lost out overall he was usually within a tenth of DR. I think their average gap was one of the closest on the grid, so if I consider DR a top 2 qualifier, MV has to be right behind him.

[messy]

Ricciardo and Hamilton. Beyond that, its highly debatable. Grosjean might have been up there, but his rep as a top qualifier took a kicking this year. So did Vettel's. So even though he's not considered the most mighty over a single lap, after that I'd say Alonso or even Hulkenberg. Rosberg too, he beats Hamilton regularly enough to be up there, if we're rating Lewis as number one here.

[HoldenRT]

Räikkönen, beat the best this season. Top dog still got it.

 

In 2005 maybe.  I was going to say 2007 as well but look at who he was against, and look at where Massa ranks in these stats.

 

Pretty much agree with the poll and good job to the OP for compiling it in an easy to read and understand format.

 

The only one I don't really agree with is Alonso.  You can see by this data that years of being against Fisi and Massa flattered his average.  Sundays are where Alonso excels and shows his class above the others.

 

It's pretty clear IMO that Lewis and Ric are the top 2.  It's a hard pick for 3rd between quite a few drivers.  Seb, Max, Nico, Alonso etc.

[GoldenColt]

1. LH

2. DR

3. NR

[scheivlak]

Anybody mentioning Hamilton has to mention Rosberg as well. And Ricciardo is an automatic choice. Simple stuff really.

Indications are that next year we can swap Nico's name for Max.

 

Votes for Alonso only tell us something about the people that vote for him, that's all.

Edited by scheivlak, 13 December 2016 - 22:17.

[apoka]

Looking beyond the last few races, I still think Vettel is the fastest over a lap. The main weakness is to overdrive in some cases.

 

Hamilton is certainly up there, Ricciardo and soon (or already) Verstappen, Rosberg and then Hulkenberg from the midfield drivers. Alonso has a great record although he said himself at some point that consistency is more a strength rather than one lap pace iirc. Pretty good quality in the field currently.

[Ricardo F1]

Ham > Ric > Alonso/Vettel tie

[motorhead]

^So Rosberg must be a top qualifyer if Hamilton gets credit for beating him?

[Ricardo F1]

I'd rank Rosberg 5th or 6th.

[RekF1]

During the Redbull dominance, Lewis was constantly splitting them for pole.

[PlatenGlass]

I don't think I'd include Vettel in this conversation since the post-Webber days.

[senna da silva]

Ham / Ric / Alo or Ros.

[Ellios]

Hamilton has the pole positions, he'll become all time best pole position of all time almost certainly next year, that's clearly far from easy and it's never been just handed to him. I'm happy to accept the results as a given that Hamilton is the best qualifier especially as it's taken him a decade just to get close to it

 

Ricciardo has it as well, the boy can qualify ! I think he'll give Hamilton a close run !

 

Vettel needs specific car circumstances to be the absolute quickest  

 

Verstappen is not as fast over one lap, probably never will be, his talents are in the races 

Edited by Ellios, 13 December 2016 - 23:11.

[Slowersofterdumber]

Right now??

Ricciardo
Hamilton
Grosjean
Rosberg
Hulkenberg

Mid term?

Vettel/Hamilton
Ricciardo/Rosberg
Alonso

Edited by Slowersofterdumber, 13 December 2016 - 23:15.

[McLaren]

1. LH

2. DR

3. NR / FA

[PlatenGlass]

With Hamilton, he's definitely a contender for top spot but I don't think he's always a brilliant practitioner of qualifying. There's a difference between being fast and consistently nailing your fast lap. I think Ricciardo is arguably better at executing his laps but he's not necessarily faster when they both get it right.

Hamilton normally seems to get it right these days but there have definitely been off periods.

[DrivenF1]

Hamilton, Ricciardo and Alonso.

I think Alonso is severely underrated on one lap pace. He's still the closest teammate to Hamilton on average difference although H2H was 10-7. Apart from Hamilton and Trulli he's been well clear of all teammates.

Max is clearly close too. Rosberg's form was disappointing this year as he was often 0.25+ seconds away from Hamilton but that still puts him in the top half of the grid. Bottas is overlooked too.

My order: Hamilton, Ricciardo, Alonso, Verstappen, (Rosberg), Vettel, Bottas.

[Topsu]

 

 

Vettel needs specific car circumstances to be the absolute quickest  

That's ronspeak if I've ever heard it. 

[HP]

Ric Ham Alo

 

Looking beyond the last few races, I still think Vettel is the fastest over a lap. The main weakness is to overdrive in some cases.

 

Hamilton is certainly up there, Ricciardo and soon (or already) Verstappen, Rosberg and then Hulkenberg from the midfield drivers. Alonso has a great record although he said himself at some point that consistency is more a strength rather than one lap pace iirc. Pretty good quality in the field currently.

There is an interesting piece from Gary Anderson ( http://www.autosport...dict-on-f1-2016 ), where he also talked about the Ferrari and its weakness. The first place he would look is the diffuser stalling depending on temperature. That would explain a lot to me, Both Ferrari drivers seemed to have similar issues with the car.

 

Still, I wouldn't rank Vettel in the top three qualifiers.

[lbennie]

Lewis = Dan

Nico = Fernando = Max = Seb (can we include Nico still?)

Valteri = Hulk

[LuluBerlu]

And Sainz ?

It seems, with the head-to-head, that he is underestimated. .

[HillHamiltonButton]

1. Lewis Hamilton (rarely has a bad weekend in qualifying on pure pace terms, consistent and extremely fast)
2. Daniel Ricciardo (same as Lewis though slightly less consistent over one lap is the only reason I put him 2nd, next year he has a great chance of poles in some races imo)
3. Sebastian Vettel (had an off year in many ways but imho when he is on form he is a very very good qualifier, if Ferrari manage to sort their car out, he is a definite pole contender)

[HillHamiltonButton]

During the Redbull dominance, Lewis was constantly splitting them for pole.

 

 

exactly, people seem to forget this; 

 

he and Alonso were the only drivers to beat the Red Bulls to pole in 2010

 

he was the only guy to beat Red Bull to pole in 2011

 

7 poles to Vettel's 6 in 2012 despite the crazy tyres at the start of the year and the dominance of Seb toward the end of it...

 

[Dan333SP]

exactly, people seem to forget this;

he and Alonso were the only drivers to beat the Red Bulls to pole in 2010

he was the only guy to beat Red Bull to pole in 2011

7 poles to Vettel's 6 in 2012 despite the crazy tyres at the start of the year and the dominance of Seb toward the end of it...

I don't think any one is forgetting that, we've virtually all ranked Lewis first with some 2nds. I'd say he's pretty highly esteemed...

[RPM40]

Räikkönen, beat the best this season. Top dog still got it.

 

Out qualified by Massa all three seasons, out qualified by Alonso 16-2, out qualified by the rookie Grosjean, trounced by Vettel in their first season and equal in their second.

 

Yeah no. Raikkonen has one of the worst qualifying records of drivers in top teams.

[RPM40]

I give Hamilton and Ricciardo equal first.

 

Second tier would be Rosberg, Vettel, Bottas, Alonso and Verstappen currently, although Max's qualifying has really improved in the second half of 2016, if that continues he will join the top group.

[Vesuvius]

Out qualified by Massa all three seasons, out qualified by Alonso 16-2, out qualified by the rookie Grosjean, trounced by Vettel in their first season and equal in their second.

Yeah no. Raikkonen has one of the worst qualifying records of drivers in top teams.

Kimi beat Massa in qualifying 2009 6-3.
Kimi wasn't outqualified by Grosjean, the stats on the opening post are a bit wrong.The 2012 qualibattle Kimi vs Grosjean went actually for Kimi 10-9 but Kimi had -5 grid penalty at Malaysia. In 2013 Kimi beat Romain 10-7. Kimi won Vettel this season 11-10.

When the car is to Kimi's liking and he can suit his driving style to the tyres, he is very fast over one lap but when not he struggles big time.

[PlayboyRacer]

Kimi had his peak back in 05/06. Back then yes he was very, very quick over 1 lap. In 2005 think he took 10 poles, was phenomenal.

Long time ago now though. Not been quite the same since, even through his title winning days at Ferrari.

[Vesuvius]

Kimi had his peak back in 05/06. Back then yes he was very, very quick over 1 lap. In 2005 think he took 10 poles, was phenomenal.

Long time ago now though. Not been quite the same since, even through his title winning days at Ferrari.

True.
But then again this year Kimi showed he can still do it, he beated Sebastian, in the last 10 qualifyings, it was 8-2 for Kimi some say Vettel drove badly but that's not true, he did drove well but Kimi was a bit faster of the two over one lap this season.

[RPM40]

Kimi beat Massa in qualifying 2009 6-3.
Kimi wasn't outqualified by Grosjean, the stats on the opening post are a bit wrong.The 2012 qualibattle Kimi vs Grosjean went actually for Kimi 10-9 but Kimi had -5 grid penalty at Malaysia. In 2013 Kimi beat Romain 10-7. Kimi won Vettel this season 11-10.

When the car is to Kimi's liking and he can suit his driving style to the tyres, he is very fast over one lap but when not he struggles big time.

 

 

My mistake with 2009, even taking that into account he was out qualified 25 - 20 by Massa, who himself was never a strong qualifier, he got absolutely humiliated by Schumacher and Alonso. 

 

I've heard the "Kimi needs this and that" garbage before a million times over, but the reality is if he can't perform in a variety of conditions then he isn't a good qualifier. Maybe when the stars align on the 5th of January when there is a partial lunar eclipse he can do a good lap. But whats the point of that? Conditions aren't always perfectly suited to how you drive. 

[Vesuvius]

Best qualifiers for me are:
Hamilton
Ricciardo
Vettel
Bottas
Rosberg

Edited by Vesuvius, 14 December 2016 - 04:02.

[RPM40]

Kimi had his peak back in 05/06. Back then yes he was very, very quick over 1 lap. In 2005 think he took 10 poles, was phenomenal.

Long time ago now though. Not been quite the same since, even through his title winning days at Ferrari.

 

I mean, the 2005 McLaren was by far the fastest car. If he didn't get lots of poles something would be wrong. 

[Vesuvius]

I mean, the 2005 McLaren was by far the fastest car. If he didn't get lots of poles something would be wrong.

Not by far, Renault was very fast too. Kimi also beated clearly Montoya, who was considered as one lap specialist at that time.

[RPM40]

Not by far, Renault was very fast too. Kimi also beated clearly Montoya, who was considered as one lap specialist at that time.

 

I have never considered Montoya an anything specialist. 

 

The drivers Kimi has out qualified during their time together: Montoya, Coulthard, Grosjean

 

The drivers who have out qualified Kimi during their time together: Heidfeld, Massa, Alonso, Vettel (so far).

 

That isn't the record of an elite qualifier. I would give that kind of a middle of the road qualifier.  

[travbrad]

And Sainz ?

It seems, with the head-to-head, that he is underestimated. .

He seems to be underrated in general IMO.  There was almost nothing to choose between him and F1's new golden boy (Verstappen) in their time at STR, at least when his engine didn't have problems.  He has also completely outclassed Kvyat.  For me he is he most impressive young driver in F1 right now other than the aforementioned Verstappen.

[MastaKink]

Hamilton - Proven over a number of years against top quality opposition

Ricciardo - Looks the most likely to give Hamilton a run for his money and has beaten Vettel fairly comfortably. Some stunning Qualies this year including China and Monaco

Alonso - Got close to Hamilton and has dominated everyone else except another Saturday specialist Trulli. Beat Button as convincingly as Lewis did so no signs of slipping

 

 

I think there are a few candidates for 3rd spot, namely Nico and Seb, but I'm pretty stubbornly sure about the first two. Max and Carlos are tricky to place but if the last half dozen Saturdays of the season are anything to go by then I wouldn't fall off my chair if they filled 2 of my 3 spots next year.

[Clrnc]

Hamilton - Proven over a number of years against top quality opposition

Ricciardo - Looks the most likely to give Hamilton a run for his money and has beaten Vettel fairly comfortably. Some stunning Qualies this year including China and Monaco

Alonso - Got close to Hamilton and has dominated everyone else except another Saturday specialist Trulli. Beat Button as convincingly as Lewis did so no signs of slipping

 

 

I think there are a few candidates for 3rd spot, namely Nico and Seb, but I'm pretty stubbornly sure about the first two. Max and Carlos are tricky to place but if the last half dozen Saturdays of the season are anything to go by then I wouldn't fall off my chair if they filled 2 of my 3 spots next year.

Agree with this. 

 

In terms of overall, I think Trulli is the real one lap specialist over the years. Amazing qualifier. 

[Vesuvius]

I have never considered Montoya an anything specialist. 

 

The drivers Kimi has out qualified during their time together: Montoya, Coulthard, Grosjean

 

The drivers who have out qualified Kimi during their time together: Heidfeld, Massa, Alonso, Vettel (so far).

 

That isn't the record of an elite qualifier. I would give that kind of a middle of the road qualifier.  

 

most of the world did.

 

little correction to the lists:

the drivers The drivers Kimi has out qualified during their time together: Montoya, Coulthard, Grosjean, De La Rosa, Wurz, D'Ambrosio, Fisischella,Badoer

[Nitropower]

This is a stupid threat. So first will be the ones with dominant cars and world champions. You can't prove how good the others really are they have much worse material and you can't judge by what happened years ago

[messy]

One name that's not been mentioned much if at all is Valtteri Bottas, but actually - 

 

beat Maldonado 12-7 in 2013

beat Massa 13-6 in 2014

beat Massa 11-8 in 2015

beat Massa 17-4 in 2016

 

so actually, I'd put him right up there. Is there another driver on the grid (thinking maybe Ricciardo?) who has a 100% career record of beating his team-mate in qualifying over every season? And Massa's no slouch - he beat Kimi at Ferrari and outqualified Alonso a handful of times every season too. 

[P123]

This is a stupid threat. So first will be the ones with dominant cars and world champions. You can't prove how good the others really are they have much worse material and you can't judge by what happened years ago

It looks at their head-to-head records against teammates, so it's not solely based on one season. It's the best way of getting to a best guess...

[RPM40]

most of the world did.

 

little correction to the lists:

the drivers The drivers Kimi has out qualified during their time together: Montoya, Coulthard, Grosjean, De La Rosa, Wurz, D'Ambrosio, Fisischella,Badoer

 

I only counted seasons, throwing in names he spent a few races with is meaningless. 

[P123]

One name that's not been mentioned much if at all is Valtteri Bottas, but actually - 
 
beat Maldonado 12-7 in 2013
beat Massa 13-6 in 2014
beat Massa 11-8 in 2015
beat Massa 17-4 in 2016
 
so actually, I'd put him right up there. Is there another driver on the grid (thinking maybe Ricciardo?) who has a 100% career record of beating his team-mate in qualifying over every season? And Massa's no slouch - he beat Kimi at Ferrari and outqualified Alonso a handful of times every season too.

The Bottas stats surprised me. Clearly has a good turn of pace, which I'd only noticed/ paid attention to a handful of times. I've always thought he and Massa were neck and neck on pace, but seems he's had a handy Saturday advantage over their time together, and not too dissimilar to what Alonso handed out to Felipe on a Saturday.

[barzini]

I only counted seasons, throwing in names he spent a few races with is meaningless. 

 

Seriously, what is it with you and Kimi? 

[MJB5990]

Lewis and Dan are easily the top two.

 

I think Bottas is flattered by the fact that he's been against Massa. Third place is hard to figure out, probably Seb on his day but the car has to be to his liking.