69 replies to this topic

[sopa]

An idea for a positive thread. Name one season for each driver, when you think he left his greatest impression on you?

 

Just as random examples:

Prost - 1986

Alonso - 2012

Irvine - 1999

Heidfeld - 2007

etc, etc.

 

It could be any driver past or present.

 

You can also give your explanation as to why that season stands out for that particular driver.

 

Have fun.

[GrumpyYoungMan]

You have to say:

Hamilton - 2018 - is probably the best season he has had to date, is proving he has learnt from all the past bad experiences!

Edited by GrumpyYoungMan, 23 September 2018 - 07:21.

[Will]

Off the top of my head

Alonso-2012
Hamilton-2018
Vettel-2013
Ricciardo-2014
Bottas-2014?
Verstappen-2015?
Raikkonen-2005

[RECKLESS]

It is still too early to judge this year, and while I agree that especially from France onwards Lewis has been in the form of his life, he was not as awe inspiring in the early parts of the season.

Still races to go, but if Lewis keeps this form up till the end, this could well be his best season.

[PlayboyRacer]

Ayrton Senna - 1993
Michael Schumacher - 1998
Alain Prost - 1986/1990
Mika Hakkinen - 2000
Jacques Villeneuve - 2000
Gilles Villeneuve - 1981
Damon Hill - 1994
Nigel Mansell - 1986
Kimi Raikkonen - 2005
Juan Pablo Montoya - 2003
Heinz Harald Frentzen - 1999
Sebastien Vettel - 2015
Lewis Hamilton - 2015

Quite a few drivers could have more than one year, however I marked out two for Prost because he was seriously brilliant both those years. Couldn't split it.

[gillesfan76]

People saying Hamilton 2018    Lewis has been good, very good even but the only reason it is seemingly his best season is because he's been consistent and error free so far, coupled with a few superlative performances but main reason is because Vettel has made some large errors which has highlighted in relative terms Lewis' class, given that both are considered top drivers and both 4 x WDC. So while his current season is a good one, he started slow in terms of pace and was out qualified by Bottas in the first half of the season. In fact had it not been for DNFs, Bottas would have been leading him on points in the first half.

 

Lewis' best season is 2015. 2012 was superb as well, albeit with a couple of errors. But yeah 2015 is standout and the only reason it's not entering people's minds is because his only competition was Rosberg in the same car. But rather than that fact detracting from his performance, it should add to it. Why should 2018, where the only competition is Vettel in a different car be more valuable than 2015 where his competitor had the same equipment yet was totally outclassed by Lewis?

 

In 2015 Lewis kept his scintillating race pace from 2014, but fixed his qualifying deficit to Rosberg from the season before. Until he won the championship he was unrelentingly dominant and completely outclassed Nico. In qualifying and race, on the majority of weekends.

[JonnyJ]

People saying Hamilton 2018 Lewis has been good, very good even but the only reason it is seemingly his best season is because he's been consistent and error free so far, coupled with a few superlative performances but main reason is because Vettel has made some large errors which has highlighted in relative terms Lewis' class, given that both are considered top drivers and both 4 x WDC. So while his current season is a good one, he started slow in terms of pace and was out qualified by Bottas in the first half of the season. In fact had it not been for DNFs, Bottas would have been leading him on points in the first half.

Sorry mate but that's a bit off.

Points tally up to and including Silverstone was

Lewis: 163
Bottas: 104

Even if we take dnfs out *just* for VB (Inc Austria and give him the win there but still a no finish for Lewis) its:

Lewis: 156
Bottas: 154

So Lewis was leading anyway, even if he had one extra no finish and we give VB the benefit of the doubt that Merc wouldn't have screwed up with him too in Austria (unlikely). And if we say VB was unlucky in China then Lewis also lost a race win in Australia and had a gearbox pen in Bahrain where he was quicker than VB in the race.

As for qualifying it was:

Lewis 6-4 Bottas

I do think that Baku race (coming just after China) skewed the view of VBs luck. Let's not forget he only inherited that lead thanks to the safety car which was lucky in itself.

This whole Lewis off the pace at the start was massively overblown. China he was out qualified by 0.050 and then a bit off in the race. Canada was a poor weekend (out qualified by a huge 0.139) but other than that he was quicker than VB in every race.

 

As for Lewis' best season i funnily enough dont rate 2015 in the top 3 at least, not if this season continues the way it is. As it stands I'd put 2017, 2012 and 2018 above 2015. For me 2015 showed that Rosberg really struggled if he didnt get an early hold over Lewis like in 2014/2016. He struggled mentally when behind on points and i think he was beaten very early on. Hungary was also, probably, Lewis's worst race since 2011, very lucky to leave there gaining on Nico. I put quite a high premium on "race ruining mistakes" and for me Lewis was better in the other 3 seasons mentioned

 

For the rest:

 

ALO - 2012 (mention to 2006)

VET - 2013

RIC - 2014

ROS - 2016

MAS - 2008

RAI - 2005

BUT - 2009 (mention to 2011)

VER - 2017

HIL - 1996

HAK - 1998

SCH - 1998

Edited by JonnyJ, 23 September 2018 - 10:33.

[AlexPrime]

Vet - 2013. Divine
Ham - 2015. Brutal
Rai - 2007. Never give up.
Alo - 2006, sadly.
Ric - 2014, very impressive
Ros - 2016
But - 2009
Hak - 1998
Damon - 1996
and Michael - 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 

Edited by AlexPrime, 23 September 2018 - 10:07.

[FirstnameLastname]

Villeneuve - 1996
Takagi - 1999

[DutchQuicksilver]

Vettel - 2013
Raikkonen - 2005
Hamilton - 2015
Bottas - 2014
Ricciardo - 2014
Verstappen - 2016
Alonso - 2012, though his 2005 and 2006 were great as well.
Rosberg - 2016
Heidfeld - 2007
Kubica - 2010, though 2008 was good too.
Montoya - 2003
Webber - 2010
Massa - 2008

Edited by DutchQuicksilver, 23 September 2018 - 10:12.

[RECKLESS]

Alonso - current season. Always the current season.

[apoka]

Alonso - current season. Always the current season.

So true. I think this will be valid even after retirement.

[sopa]

Sometimes surrounding circumstances play a role in magnifying a driver's season. So if forced to pick one from a list of seemingly equally good seasons, that starts to play a role.

 

For that reason I think I'd choose 1995 for M.Schumacher, because this is the year in which his advantage over the field seemed the greatest, driving-wise. But you could say that's rather a knock on his competition.

 

Also 1999 had unusual circumstances, because that's the year I'd say quite a number of drivers seemed to have their career best season - Irvine, Frentzen, R.Schumacher, Barrichello.

[NixxxoN]

Sometimes surrounding circumstances play a role in magnifying a driver's season. So if forced to pick one from a list of seemingly equally good seasons, that starts to play a role.

 

For that reason I think I'd choose 1995 for M.Schumacher, because this is the year in which his advantage over the field seemed the greatest, driving-wise. But you could say that's rather a knock on his competition.

 

Also 1999 had unusual circumstances, because that's the year I'd say quite a number of drivers seemed to have their career best season - Irvine, Frentzen, R.Schumacher, Barrichello.

 

About Schumacher not sure if 1995 or 1996 was better. He had amazing results in that garbage Ferrari, look Irvine what he got.

[Kalmake]

Alex Yoong 2001. No DNQs and only 3 rounds so there was less embarrassment than 2002.

[Marklar]

Just doing current top drivers

Hamilton: 2012 (this year is in contention if he keeps it up). I disagree with those who say 2015: he was outpaced in the last third of the season. Something which didnt really happen before.2010 would have gotten my vote if he had keep it clean in Monza/Singapore. It's other than that similar to his current season.
Bottas: 2016 - only season where he truly dominated Massa. Many would say 2014 because of the results, but Williams was a better car back then and when Massa got it together he was often better.
Vettel: 2011 - unlike to 2010 he made the car seem more dominant than it was. 2013 and 2015 were very good as well.
Kimi: 2003 - championship contender in a inferior car, nothing to add. Generally every season between 2003-2006 could be picked.
Ricciardo: 2014 - it's either that or 2016. He was very impressive during that time.
Verstappen: 2017 - was for me the best driver that year and appeared to have morphed into a more complete driver, I was proven wrong earlier this year, but this isnt going to change the fact that he was extremely impressive, albeit unlucky that year.
Alonso: 2012 - cause everyone knows why

[MortenF1]

Coulthard - 2001 and 2005
R. Schumacher - 2005 (or was it ‘06? Was one of his Toyota-years atleast)
Fisichella - 2004 (people were in awe of him. I never was but felt this was his best season)
Räikkönen - 2003

[Kalmake]

Stoffel Vandoorne 2017. Alonso didn't destroy him and his career hopes as much as in 2018.

[Atreiu]

Senna 1991

Barrichello 2002

Schumacher 2000

[Atreiu]

Hamilton 2010, maybe?

Barcelona and Hungroring ruined what would have been comparable to Prost in 1986.

[BUFFY]

Sorry mate but that's a bit off.

Points tally up to and including Silverstone was

Lewis: 163
Bottas: 104

Even if we take dnfs out *just* for VB (Inc Austria and give him the win there but still a no finish for Lewis) its:

Lewis: 156
Bottas: 154

So Lewis was leading anyway, even if he had one extra no finish and we give VB the benefit of the doubt that Merc wouldn't have screwed up with him too in Austria (unlikely). And if we say VB was unlucky in China then Lewis also lost a race win in Australia and had a gearbox pen in Bahrain where he was quicker than VB in the race.

As for qualifying it was:

Lewis 6-4 Bottas

I do think that Baku race (coming just after China) skewed the view of VBs luck. Let's not forget he only inherited that lead thanks to the safety car which was lucky in itself.

This whole Lewis off the pace at the start was massively overblown. China he was out qualified by 0.050 and then a bit off in the race. Canada was a poor weekend (out qualified by a huge 0.139) but other than that he was quicker than VB in every race.

 

As for Lewis' best season i funnily enough dont rate 2015 in the top 3 at least, not if this season continues the way it is. As it stands I'd put 2017, 2012 and 2018 above 2015. For me 2015 showed that Rosberg really struggled if he didnt get an early hold over Lewis like in 2014/2016. He struggled mentally when behind on points and i think he was beaten very early on. Hungary was also, probably, Lewis's worst race since 2011, very lucky to leave there gaining on Nico. I put quite a high premium on "race ruining mistakes" and for me Lewis was better in the other 3 seasons mentioned

 

For the rest:

 

ALO - 2012 (mention to 2006)

VET - 2013

RIC - 2014

ROS - 2016

MAS - 2008

RAI - 2005

BUT - 2009 (mention to 2011)

VER - 2017

HIL - 1996

HAK - 1998

SCH - 1998

 

I agree with all of this. The choice of seasons too.

 

This whole Hamilton "off-pace" mantra is so far removed from the truth.  China is the only race, so far, where Hamilton's been categorically outpaced by Bottas. People look at Baku, and see how a puncture deprived Bottas of a win, but then forget that Hamilton was quicker in qualy and quicker for large periods of the race - particularly in the first stint where Bottas was struggling on his tyres. Hamilton was so much quicker he opened up a 10s gap over Bottas.  As for Canada, people tend to forget that Hamilton's race pace was reduced because he had an issue with his car. But once Merc stabilized those issues  at the pitstops, Hamilton was now able to pick up his pace  https://www.pitpass....-Montreal-issue

 

Vettel was "off-pace" in Australia.  Alonso, slightly subpar in France, yet strangely, it's only Hamilton that ever gets called-out for being "off-pace".

 

 

I'd rate 2012 as his best season. He was consistent, quick, and almost error free. To produce a performance like that, in the face of McLaren team operations imploding, it demonstrated Hamilton's resilience. It tends to get overlooked because, understandably, Alonso's 2012 steals the limelight. Other than a mistake by Alonso in Japan, and dropping pace relative to Massa in the latter stages of the season, Alonso drove extremely well.

Edited by BUFFY, 24 September 2018 - 10:52.

[Spillage]

Good game. Of the current crop:

Hamilton - 2017
Vettel - 2013
Alonso - 2012
Raikkonen - 2005

And a few other legends:

Schumacher - 2002
Senna - 1993
Prost - 1986
Fangio - 1957
Clark - 1965.

[CountDooku]

IMO Hamilton’s equal best seasons are 2012 and 2017. Both year she was absolutely flawless from beginning to end in Q and Race pace. 2018 is reaching that level but not there yet.

Another season I’ve seen which compares to those is Seb in 2013. He was unbelievable in the second half and Singapore 2013 will remain in my mind as one of the most dominant races by a driver I’ve seen. He was just magical that day.

[noriaki]

Hamilton - Lewis obviously has plenty of brilliant seasons under his belt, and his clean 2015 deserves a mention too, but I feel his 2017 with a difficult Mercedes is criminally underrated. Lewis went wheel to wheel with his main rival Vettel three or four times, and came out the winner each one of them. Masterful at avoiding incidents, I feel he wasn't as complete a driver in 2012 or 2010. 

Bottas - For me his 2014 pips 2016 and 2017. His mid-season cool-headedness and podium streak was something to behold. 

Vettel - 2011 and 2015 deserve a honourable mention, but Seb's 2013 was absolutely relentless. Say whatever you like about Newey-mobiles and blah blah, but people forget Webber was absolutely nowhere near Seb that year. 

Raikkonen - 2005 slightly pips out 2003 and 2007 because of his team-mate; especially in quali-trim, Kimi was the scary monster I was expecting JPM to be. Who can forget those quali laps at Monaco and Monza?

Ricciardo - it's often overlooked how good his 2016 was, but 2014 he was a revelation. Whenever Mercedes dropped the ball, Danny Ric was there to collect it. Not to mention his exciting overtaking form. 

Verstappen - 2017 was ridden with unluck, yet it didn't impact Max's form and he truly got rewarded end-season, remembering especially the great drive at Sepang. 

Hulkenberg - the German's got a tendency to put together brilliant half-seasons and be a bit inconsistent on the other half; end of 2012 and 2013, start of 2014, end of 2016, versus the less impressive other halves... But I would rate Nico's 2017 the best overall: entering the year, I think Renault was complete shambles (as demonstrated by Palmer's struggles) and it looked like it was the Hulk himself that was carrying the team from the bottom of the midfield back to the top of it. 

Sainz - been relatively consistent over his career really, but for me 2016 would stand out of the bunch

Grosjean - Romain has always been an up and down driver depending on his brakes - sometimes producing amazing drives into top places with cars that don't belong, sometimes looking like a complete idiot. 2015 was probably the season with the biggest ratio for the former instead of the latter, with the Spa podium as a particular highlight. 

Magnussen - similarly to his team-mate, Kevin is a bit of an up-and-down driver, sometimes truly struggling with a Jolyon Palmer. But his 2018 has been more of the former. 

Ocon - he's beating Perez with more of a regularity than last year. So, 2018.

Perez - hard to choose between the surprisingly mature, high-peaking 2012, and the clean and consistent 2016 that saw his team-mate Hulk leave Force India with his stock well lower than it had been - but I would lean for the latter if pressed. 

Alonso - I'm not as convinced about 2012 as everybody else seems to be (for me it had something to do with Massa being in the wrong place mentally as well); for me Fred's 2006 was even more impressive; going into a true one on one battle with the beast still relatively fresh-faced, and coming out as the winner. But you still have to honourably mention his giant-punching 2008 and 2009 with terrible cars, 2013 and 2014, 2016...

Vandoorne - I mean, 2017 was not that bad. About what you'd have expected from a rookie entering a McLaren team, with Alonso having had a bit of time to build it around himself.

Gasly and Hartley - well duhh... They are both driving better in 2018 than last year, no?   

Ericsson - has looked like he gets a little bit better every year, up until around Baku this year that is. So I'm going with 2017 and potentially ending Wehrlein's prospective F1 career by looking essentially not significantly weaker than him. 

Stroll - had streaks of form in 2017 where he looked like he truly belongs, especially at the end of the European tour. However, when he couldn't find the pace then he truly could not find the pace - hence, it's hard to assess whether him not performing this year is entirely due to the car, or due to him and Sirotkin being unable to hook it up without the experience of Felipe...

[boillot]

If both Alonso and Hamilton had their best seasons in 2012 (and I don’t disagree), what does it say about RBR’s superiority?

[Sterzo]

1907 for Felice Nazzaro. He performed the feat of winning all three major races in 1907. He won the Grand Prix (yes, there was only one), the Kaiserpreis and the Targa Florio, on three completely different circuits and in FIATs built to three different sets of rules, at a time when getting to the finish while travelling on rough roads at 70mph was an achievement in itself.

 

(I'm happy to discuss this by myself).

[Whatisvalis]

People saying Hamilton 2018    Lewis has been good, very good even but the only reason it is seemingly his best season is because he's been consistent and error free so far, coupled with a few superlative performances but main reason is because Vettel has made some large errors which has highlighted in relative terms Lewis' class, given that both are considered top drivers and both 4 x WDC. So while his current season is a good one, he started slow in terms of pace and was out qualified by Bottas in the first half of the season. In fact had it not been for DNFs, Bottas would have been leading him on points in the first half.

 

Lewis' best season is 2015. 2012 was superb as well, albeit with a couple of errors. But yeah 2015 is standout and the only reason it's not entering people's minds is because his only competition was Rosberg in the same car. But rather than that fact detracting from his performance, it should add to it. Why should 2018, where the only competition is Vettel in a different car be more valuable than 2015 where his competitor had the same equipment yet was totally outclassed by Lewis?

 

In 2015 Lewis kept his scintillating race pace from 2014, but fixed his qualifying deficit to Rosberg from the season before. Until he won the championship he was unrelentingly dominant and completely outclassed Nico. In qualifying and race, on the majority of weekends.

 

Surely the definition of a great season. And you can argue Vet and Ferrari's errors have come about because Hamilton is outperforming and applying pressure.

 

I'd say his 2012 is underrated.

[HeadFirst]

For me, 2008 was Hamilton's best season. In the aftermath of 2007, Lewis had to over come the restrictions of the FIA on McLaren, Max's interference, and the pressures involved at being the great British hope, a man of colour in a white sport, and being chosen over a 2x WDC. He did all of this in only his second season in F1. 

[sopa]

If both Alonso and Hamilton had their best seasons in 2012 (and I don’t disagree), what does it say about RBR’s superiority?

 

Well, Vettel's season wasn't that bad either, though not his best. But it does look like the driving standard set that year was high.

 

However, we are talking about tiny margins here. Alonso's 2012 may be considered his best, but his 2006, 2011, 2014 are also about in the same ballpark I'd say.

 

Red Bull car package overall I think was indeed superior to Ferrari in 2012. But the season in general was still somewhat closish and exciting with lots of teams taking turns in being competitive and you never knew, what would be the pecking order in the next race. And crucially - Vettel had to race in the pack in a lot of races that year and didn't crash! So he needed some better racecraft than he has shown in 2018 to pull the championship off. 

[sopa]

Bottas - For me his 2014 pips 2016 and 2017. His mid-season cool-headedness and podium streak was something to behold. 

---

Perez - hard to choose between the surprisingly mature, high-peaking 2012, and the clean and consistent 2016 that saw his team-mate Hulk leave Force India with his stock well lower than it had been - but I would lean for the latter if pressed. 

---

Stroll - had streaks of form in 2017 where he looked like he truly belongs, especially at the end of the European tour. However, when he couldn't find the pace then he truly could not find the pace - hence, it's hard to assess whether him not performing this year is entirely due to the car, or due to him and Sirotkin being unable to hook it up without the experience of Felipe...

 

Great post.

 

Some details I'd like to comment on though.

 

Like Marklar, I'm not convinced 2014 was Bottas' best season, as he was helped by circumstances a bit. On the other hand I'm not entirely sold on 2016 either, because Massa might have been past his best by that time. And I remember in early 2016 Massa actually had an edge on Bottas. It's a tough call.

 

Regarding Perez I'd easily choose his Force India season rather than 2012. His peaks in 2012 were impressive, but he was still an inconsistent driver. I remember he crashed in a number of races back then. No such stuff later on - he beat Hulk by sheer consistency!

 

Regarding Stroll I think his 2018 is actually better than 2017. The car was much better in 2017, and though Sirotkin is not the same benchmark as Massa, Stroll's qualifying doesn't look so hopelessly out-of-depth next to him. Well, I guess we will see against Perez, how much Stroll really has improved.

[Dr. Austin]

Jackie Stewart 69, 71, 73.

[SonGoku]

Sorry, but Hamilton 2018 is pretty undebatable for me if he wins the championship. Ferrari should lead this championship and probably with a 30/40 points margin. Only Germany was already a 25+7= 32 points swing. He had no business winning Hungary without the rain, Monza starting only P3 (a win from P3 in Monza didn't happen since 2009). He has won races and poles he shouldn't. That's totally different compared to 2015 and 2017 were the Mercedes car was the best car on most circuits.

[gillesfan76]

Just doing current top drivers

Hamilton: 2012 (this year is in contention if he keeps it up). I disagree with those who say 2015: he was outpaced in the last third of the season. Something which didnt really happen before.2010 would have gotten my vote if he had keep it clean in Monza/Singapore. It's other than that similar to his current season.
Bottas: 2016 - only season where he truly dominated Massa. Many would say 2014 because of the results, but Williams was a better car back then and when Massa got it together he was often better.
Vettel: 2011 - unlike to 2010 he made the car seem more dominant than it was. 2013 and 2015 were very good as well.
Kimi: 2003 - championship contender in a inferior car, nothing to add. Generally every season between 2003-2006 could be picked.
Ricciardo: 2014 - it's either that or 2016. He was very impressive during that time.
Verstappen: 2017 - was for me the best driver that year and appeared to have morphed into a more complete driver, I was proven wrong earlier this year, but this isnt going to change the fact that he was extremely impressive, albeit unlucky that year.
Alonso: 2012 - cause everyone knows why

 

Lewis seemed to just step off the gas after winning the title in 2015. I guess fair enough if that detracts from his overall season, but he was dominant when it counted.

[PayasYouRace]

I can certainly see why someone would name 1994 as Damon Hill's best season. At least, it was after Monaco. Even in the first races he was doing a good job given you'd never expect him to be as fast as Ayrton. He didn't really make any mistakes and at times drove magnificently. His win in Japan was probably his best drive of his career.

 

Not like 1995, which was by his own admission, a poor season on his part. 1996 was generally good though, but I'd agree with 1994 being his best.

[BUFFY]

Hamilton - Lewis obviously has plenty of brilliant seasons under his belt, and his clean 2015 deserves a mention too, but I feel his 2017 with a difficult Mercedes is criminally underrated. Lewis went wheel to wheel with his main rival Vettel three or four times, and came out the winner each one of them. Masterful at avoiding incidents, I feel he wasn't as complete a driver in 2012 or 2010. 

Bottas - For me his 2014 pips 2016 and 2017. His mid-season cool-headedness and podium streak was something to behold. 

Vettel - 2011 and 2015 deserve a honourable mention, but Seb's 2013 was absolutely relentless. Say whatever you like about Newey-mobiles and blah blah, but people forget Webber was absolutely nowhere near Seb that year. 

Raikkonen - 2005 slightly pips out 2003 and 2007 because of his team-mate; especially in quali-trim, Kimi was the scary monster I was expecting JPM to be. Who can forget those quali laps at Monaco and Monza?

Ricciardo - it's often overlooked how good his 2016 was, but 2014 he was a revelation. Whenever Mercedes dropped the ball, Danny Ric was there to collect it. Not to mention his exciting overtaking form. 

Verstappen - 2017 was ridden with unluck, yet it didn't impact Max's form and he truly got rewarded end-season, remembering especially the great drive at Sepang. 

Hulkenberg - the German's got a tendency to put together brilliant half-seasons and be a bit inconsistent on the other half; end of 2012 and 2013, start of 2014, end of 2016, versus the less impressive other halves... But I would rate Nico's 2017 the best overall: entering the year, I think Renault was complete shambles (as demonstrated by Palmer's struggles) and it looked like it was the Hulk himself that was carrying the team from the bottom of the midfield back to the top of it. 

Sainz - been relatively consistent over his career really, but for me 2016 would stand out of the bunch

Grosjean - Romain has always been an up and down driver depending on his brakes - sometimes producing amazing drives into top places with cars that don't belong, sometimes looking like a complete idiot. 2015 was probably the season with the biggest ratio for the former instead of the latter, with the Spa podium as a particular highlight. 

Magnussen - similarly to his team-mate, Kevin is a bit of an up-and-down driver, sometimes truly struggling with a Jolyon Palmer. But his 2018 has been more of the former. 

Ocon - he's beating Perez with more of a regularity than last year. So, 2018.

Perez - hard to choose between the surprisingly mature, high-peaking 2012, and the clean and consistent 2016 that saw his team-mate Hulk leave Force India with his stock well lower than it had been - but I would lean for the latter if pressed. 

Alonso - I'm not as convinced about 2012 as everybody else seems to be (for me it had something to do with Massa being in the wrong place mentally as well); for me Fred's 2006 was even more impressive; going into a true one on one battle with the beast still relatively fresh-faced, and coming out as the winner. But you still have to honourably mention his giant-punching 2008 and 2009 with terrible cars, 2013 and 2014, 2016...

Vandoorne - I mean, 2017 was not that bad. About what you'd have expected from a rookie entering a McLaren team, with Alonso having had a bit of time to build it around himself.

Gasly and Hartley - well duhh... They are both driving better in 2018 than last year, no? 

Ericsson - has looked like he gets a little bit better every year, up until around Baku this year that is. So I'm going with 2017 and potentially ending Wehrlein's prospective F1 career by looking essentially not significantly weaker than him. 

Stroll - had streaks of form in 2017 where he looked like he truly belongs, especially at the end of the European tour. However, when he couldn't find the pace then he truly could not find the pace - hence, it's hard to assess whether him not performing this year is entirely due to the car, or due to him and Sirotkin being unable to hook it up without the experience of Felipe...

Just a couple of things i'd like to touch on:

 

(1) "I feel he wasn't as complete a driver in 2012 or 2010"

 

Irrespective of how "complete" or "incomplete" one considers Hamilton in 2012,  his on track performance was near flawless. Perhaps "twittergate" was the only real blot against him that year.  Otherwise, with a car  that was often breaking down, combined with a pitwall in total chaos, he maintained a high level.

 

(2) "I feel his 2017 with a difficult Mercedes is criminally underrated".

 

 

Agreed.

 

While W08 was often fastest over 1 lap, higher top speed, the SF70H  was often  more "stable" in race trim. I'm gonna say it, but there is even a large body of professional opinion that think Ferrari had the better car in 2017.

 

 Hamilton, again, was largely error free & consistent ( he had a couple of subpar weekends, like Russia, but to be fair,so did everyone else).

 

I think it tends to get overlooked because of the perception that, with Ferrari's implosion, it all came too "easily" for Hamilton in the end. People overlook  Vettel controlling the championship & leading until the later stages. They overlook that the cars were comparable.  Overall, it was by no means a "wallk in the park" for Hamilton.

 

(3) "Seb's 2013 was absolutely relentless. Say whatever you like about Newey-mobiles and blah blah, but people forget Webber was absolutely nowhere near Seb that year."

 

The only caveat here is that Webber was past his peak years..  This is something that Webber himself has stated.  Webber concedes his thoughts had been on retirement. Taking nothing away from Vettel, but one does wonder what a hungrier,more motivated driver in Mark's seat could have achieved. 

Edited by BUFFY, 23 September 2018 - 17:50.

[sopa]

Coulthard - 2001 and 2005
R. Schumacher - 2005 (or was it ‘06? Was one of his Toyota-years atleast)
Fisichella - 2004 (people were in awe of him. I never was but felt this was his best season)
Räikkönen - 2003

 

For Ralf you probably mean 2006, because this is the year in which he actually outqualified Trulli. A feat, which very rarely happened.

 

With Fisichella I see your point. He seemed consistent that year, and beat the promising Massa. While in Benettons and Jordans Fisichella had some impressive podiums and high peaks, he usually seemed prone to inconsistency as well. So maybe the Sauber season was his most consistent.

[Vesuvius]

Alonso 2012
Vettel 2013
Kimi 2005
Hamilton 2015
Ricciardo 2014
Bottas 2017
Montoya 2003
M.Schumacher 2004
R.Schumacher 2001
Barrichello 2004
Häkkinen 1998
Coulthard 2001
Button 2009
Massa 2008
Webber 2010
Fisischella 2006
Nico Rosberg 2016
Villeneuve 1997
Damon Hill 1996
Irvine 1999
Frentzen 1999
Kubica 2008
Heidfeld 2007
Trulli 2004

[sopa]

For Button I personally choose 2011. He seemed more consistent that year than in 2009, when he struggled against Barrichello later on. And compared to, say, 2004, his benchmark was better than a Sato. Beating Hamilton over a season is Button's ultimate feat.

[garoidb]

Coulthard - 2001 and 2005
R. Schumacher - 2005 (or was it ‘06? Was one of his Toyota-years atleast)
Fisichella - 2004 (people were in awe of him. I never was but felt this was his best season)
Räikkönen - 2003

 

Can anyone remember the name of the poster who was such a huge Fisichella fan? There were several who thought he would emerge as a top top talent once he ended up in the right team and car. Many other drivers commented very favourably on him too.

Edited by garoidb, 23 September 2018 - 17:36.

[messy]

Michael Schumacher - 1998. This was the ultimate year of the Schumacher legend for me.
Mika Hakkinen - 2000. Oddly even though he lost the title, this is the season I think he came the closest to Schumacher.
David Coulthard - 1997. The last time he looked like a number one driver, his win at a Monza over Alesi was great.
Jenson Button - 2009. I'd rate 2004 very close behind, then 2011 where he was great but outqualified heavily by Hamilton.
Ralf Schumacher - 2001. The year he burst out of his big brother's shadow, always remember his inch perfect Imola victory.
Giancarlo Fisichella - 1998. Two second places, a pole, a near-win in Canada, looked the most exciting young talent around
Rubens Barrichello - 2003. The year he came closest on merit to Schumi, a couple of strong wins, Silverstone being the pick.
Heinz-Hartley Frentzen - 1999. Out of Damon Hill's shadow, the ultimate redemption story for an exciting, popular racer
Juan Pablo Montoya - 2002. The only guy capable of taking the fight to Ferrari, some of his pole laps were a thing of beauty
Kimi Raikkonen - 2005. The year of foot to the floor through a walk of smoke, the year he was the fastest in the world.
Fernando Alonso - 2006. The year he took on prime Schumacher, went eyeball to eyeball to him and won

Etc etc could go on forever. Nice thread.

[TomNokoe]

Hamilton 2007 (magical) and 2012 (seminal)

[RacingGreen]

Jackie Stewart 69, 71, 73.

 

 can't pick one ?

 

....and while we are discussing Scottish drivers having a good year, Jim Clark's 1965 season was one to remember, world champion and Indy 500 winner.

[noikeee]

For Button I personally choose 2011. He seemed more consistent that year than in 2009, when he struggled against Barrichello later on. And compared to, say, 2004, his benchmark was better than a Sato. Beating Hamilton over a season is Button's ultimate feat.

Agreed on Button there. The season with the best results isn't necessarily the season where the driver performed better relative to the machinery...

For example some also mentioned 99 for Irvine which seems obvious, but Irvine also beat Barrichello as team-mate I think in 95?, and Herbert in the Jaguar? (2001?) And both those drivers are generally seen as closer teammates to Michael Schumacher than Irvine was...

[MortenF1]

Can anyone remember the name of the poster who was such a huge Fisichella fan? There were several who thought he would emerge as a top top talent once he ended up in the right team and car. Many other drivers commented very favourably on him too.

Ghostrider? Still here every now and then if he's the one you have in mind then. I had several discussion around Fisichella with him.

[garoidb]

Ghostrider? Still here every now and then if he's the one you have in mind then. I had several discussion around Fisichella with him.

 

Yes, that's who I was thinking of. A great fan.

[pitlanepalpatine]

IMO Hamilton’s equal best seasons are 2012 and 2017. Both year she was absolutely flawless from beginning to end in Q and Race pace. 2018 is reaching that level but not there yet.

Another season I’ve seen which compares to those is Seb in 2013. He was unbelievable in the second half and Singapore 2013 will remain in my mind as one of the most dominant races by a driver I’ve seen. He was just magical that day.

 

Ya, uhuh, that Louise Hamilton, first ever female world champion...she's brilliant   (sorry couldn't resist)

 

On topic, can't really pick any as I'm too critical. Every year there's performance dips that could have gone better. As far as calling this Hamiltons best season, how about we let him finish it first. This season keeps doing turn about so I wouldn't get too excited predicting the outcome yet.

[GTA]

Just doing the WDCs since I started watching :

 

MSC - 1998

Hakkinen - 1998

Fernando - 2012

Kimi - 2003

Lewis - 2018

Seb - 2011

Nico - 2016

[Fatgadget]

 I am torn between 1988 and 2007

 

1988. Prost and Senna all but nearly whitewashing the season.Talk about fascinating domination! ..I nearly smashed my telly after Jean Lous Shchlesser spoiled it all!

 

2007. Hamilton on his debut season. Boy was that electric! I remember when the announcement was made this  site achieving meltdown.New members being temporarily refused to join!..The rest is history!

[Fatgadget]

Can anyone remember the name of the poster who was such a huge Fisichella fan? There were several who thought he would emerge as a top top talent once he ended up in the right team and car. Many other drivers commented very favourably on him too.

Arrow!

[lustigson]

You know what would be a nice idea for a thread: name the best driver of each season. 

 

(There was a post just a minute ago, but it disappeared.)