Who Is The Next Formula 1 Legend?

"Sudman" (sudmanmurshed) 08/07/2013 at 14:21 • Filed to: None

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I don't know how it was watching the greats like Nikki Lauda or Ayrton Senna do their magic around the racetrack but I can't help thinking that while people were watching them, they didn't realize just how amazing those drivers were and how they would go down in history.

I feel that it took a couple years for it to hit everyone that these are legends. Then again, I'm 18 years young so I have no idea. Which brings me to the question.

In the current roster of drivers, who is (are) the next great F1 drivers?

I mean legend status like Senna. I have a feeling that it could be Vettel and although I don't like him, he has done some extraordinary driving.

Michael Schumacher is definitely one of the legends but it just doesn't feel like it yet.

Nerd-Vol > Sudman 08/07/2013 at 14:25

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This man:

Sudman > Nerd-Vol 08/07/2013 at 14:27

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I sure hope so. Lewis is my favorite.

Nerd-Vol > Sudman 08/07/2013 at 14:32

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He is the most exciting driver of his generation. A lot more flash and style to his driving that the others. Always the most talked about, for better or worse. The sport is so much better with him in it. I think one more championship gets him in a category of legend.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > Sudman 08/07/2013 at 14:38

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As much as I don't want to admit it, it's Vettel. What he's done has been extraordinary, and his pace relative to Webber's just cements that. Yes, he may have the best car on the grid, but so did Schumacher (both Benneton and at Ferrari).

McLarry > Sudman 08/07/2013 at 15:03

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Certainly Vettel. You don't win 3 consecutive world championships without getting your name in some record books... Really, though, there's hardly ever a single 'standalone' legend because a champion is only as good as his competition. Schumacher comes to mind as an exception for dominating the sport for so long (and Vettel seems to be following his example rather closely), and I think that may be part of why people find him less interesting. For the most part anyway, it seems to me that real 'legends' often happen in pairs (like Senna/Prost, Hunt/Lauda, Fangio/Moss). Who would be the other half of Vettel's pair? I don't know... Raikkonen and Hamilton are strong contenders, or perhaps Alonso can pull himself together and dethrone Vettel like he dethroned Schumacher. So far, though, Vettel is in a league of his own, which makes him...boring.

Similarly, outside the drivers seat, Ross Brawn and Adrian Newey have made legends of themselves. I'd say Christian Horner is doing his best to join them.

CKeffer > Nerd-Vol 08/07/2013 at 15:06

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2 championships gets you labeled a legend? Wow then Vettel must be a god by that logic! Seriously though, his 1st 2 seasons were absolutely amazing, 2nd place in your first season, followed by 1st in the second!?! That's amazing! However after that he hasn't finished in the top 3 in points. He's a damn good driver, but I'm not sure I'd label him a legend, other than possibly in his own mind.

Nerd-Vol > CKeffer 08/07/2013 at 15:14

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Hell, people consider Gilles Villeneuve a legend and he didn't win one WDC, same with Moss. People put Senna in the same class as Schumacher even though Schumi put up more than double the WDC's.

This is all subjective.

JEM > McLarry 08/07/2013 at 15:31

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Agreed. And if Vettel stays at Red Bull and Red Bull stays this competitive, for the next 10 years there may not be another "legendary" driver simply because they will be vastly overshadowed. At some point, he (or the team) will slip but mostly not likely by more than a season. Hardly enough time for someone else to rise to "legend" status.

CKeffer > Sudman 08/07/2013 at 15:32

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Like him or not, you can't argue with Vettel's performance. He's got 3 world championships under his belt, a tie with Lauda, and is currently poised to make it 4, that would tie him up with Prost. He's got damn good pace and consistency, and work his ass off with the engineers to make sure his car is set up as well as it possibly can be for each race.

I also have the feeling that Raikonen could wind up being remembered as one of the greats as well for the performances he is able to wring out of the cars he drives. Hamilton is damn good, and has potential to be one of the greats, but unless he can work on being more consistent and picking up more points, I think he'll be remembered as just good instead of great.

CKeffer > Nerd-Vol 08/07/2013 at 15:34

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True enough. I just feel like he's someone that got off to a great start and then just kinda fizzled. He'd a damn good driver, as much as I dislike the guy, I just can't classify his over all performance as great. But as you said, greatness is in the eye of the beholder.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 08/07/2013 at 15:48

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I may be wrong as it was a long time ago, but weren't both the Benneton and Ferrari cars pretty marginal when Schumacher first started with those teams?

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 08/07/2013 at 15:52

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Benetton was in pretty good shape by the time he arrived, although he did push them over the top.

Ferrari had not be good, but most of the integral figures at Benetton moved to Ferrari with him (Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, etc.). They weren't exactly hurting for design/engineering talent, and it showed.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 08/07/2013 at 16:03

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I didn't know that most of the engineering guys went from Benetton to Ferrari with Schumacher. But I did seem to remember the car right before he went there was terrible. Am I remembering correctly that he really struggled the first year with Ferrari because they were using the old car?

McLarry > JEM 08/07/2013 at 16:09

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Perhaps! I'm sure people thought the same of Ferrari 10 years ago, but look how well that's worked out for them...

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 08/07/2013 at 16:12

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It was a pretty massive exodus.

And you are indeed correct, I believe. The first two or three years were a bit rough, I think.

cliveperry > CKeffer 08/07/2013 at 16:57

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Another measure is to see what the drivers think about each other. Fernando Alonso, who has been on the same team as Hamilton and isn't his biggest fan, remarked that Lewis was on another level above Vettel.

cliveperry > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 08/07/2013 at 16:59

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Pretending that he and Mark have been on anything resembling a level playing field is hilariously off the mark.

cliveperry > CKeffer 08/07/2013 at 17:01

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If you look at last season Hamilton was pretty damn consistent. His car, on the other hand, had the reliability of a clapped out yugo and his pit crew made major mistakes several times.

cliveperry > Sudman 08/07/2013 at 17:09

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Does anyone believe that if you swapped Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, or Lewis Hamilton into Vettel's car that they wouldn't be dominating everyone else? All three have shown they can wring amazing performance out of less than stellar rides.

Remember when so many fans thought Jenson Button was the ne plus ultra shiznit when Brawn GP was g-stomping everyone else? Button and Vettel are remarkably similar in that they look godlike in a good car because of their ability to preserve tires and consistency throughout a race. Put them in a less than flaming hot car or let the rest of the teams catch up in development, and they disappear to the middle of the pack.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > cliveperry 08/07/2013 at 17:37

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Level it certainly isn't. But I don't think it's nearly as slanted as the difference in points suggests.

cliveperry > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 08/07/2013 at 17:44

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Obama Voice: Let me be clear. I don't think Mark is as good as Seb. However, if all else was equal or close to it we'd have to surmise that Webber is either a complete fuckup or under some sort of biblical plague of bad luck.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > cliveperry 08/07/2013 at 17:52

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I'll give you that Webber has had an unbelievably bad stretch of luck.

Agrajag > Sudman 08/07/2013 at 22:01

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I'm placing bets on Jules Bianchi.