Ray S

I'm not so sure about that Larry. Clearly Vettel has a lot of talent, but he is also clearly displaying that talent in a chassis that is by far the best on the grid. Put Hamilton and Vettel in the same chassis, and Hamilton may very well beat him.

I like Hamilton, because it is a pleasure to watch him drive. At one point he was down as low as 17th (if memory serves) and it was fun watching him work back up to 4th. Granted, many of those passes were backmarkers, but a lot were not. He is certainly very aggressive, and takes some agressive risks but I don't think he drives in a dirty way. Like him or not he makes things happen. Personally, I like that in a driver.

Nizer

Saying the other guy lifted too early is owning up to your mistake? I've got to remember that next time I run over the back of somebody.

Maybe if he'd said that his depth perception, reaction time, and judgement isn't what it used to be....

Larry Herman

I took that as "he was lifting earlier than I was". How could MS know what too early was for the Sauber? The second part "and I could not anticipate that" seemed to me to be an admittance of blame; then again maybe not.

Larry Herman

That's what they said about Button in 2009. He seems to be getting along pretty quickly in the Mac as compared to Hamilton. Setting a flyer is only about raw speed, but that does not always equate to being fast over the long haul, which is IMHO the true test of talent.

Nizer

He has a lot more experience than I do but personally when come upon a driver that is "a lot slower than myself" I don't expect them to use the same brake points or line that I do. I will however concede that his comment on the incident was as close to an admission of guilt or apology as we'll ever get from him for a clearly avoidable crash.

multi21

So Larry, are you saying that Hamilton should take up Time Trialing vs. wheel to wheel racing?

Has A. Whine or Raj checked in yet? Awfully silent this morning.....

paradisenb

I interpreted MS's comment the same way, accepting responsibility. I heard him saying it and his attitude seems to confirm this. Also, he never bad mouthed or blamed the other driver. That seem to be the difference between his owning it and passing the buck. Subsequent comments may or may not support my interpretation, but I have not heard any.

My993C2

Most people will agree that Red Bull is the best car in qualifying, but there have been plenty of times this season when the McLaren appeared to have superior pace in the races. Unless Vettel was to team with Alonso, Hamilton or Button we just will never have an apples to apples drivers comparison. Right now all we can do is compare Hamilton to Button, compare Vettel to Webber and compare Alonso to Massa. All season long Vettel and Alonso have been the top drivers at their respective teams and now Button is emerging as the top driver at McLaren. Lewis has tons of speed, but he is his own worst enemy. Button, Vettel and Alonso all seem to drive fast but drive within their limits hardly making any mistakes. Some of Hamilton's mistakes are only small ones, but he is making them. Anyone see a pattern here? Vettel, Button and Alonso are not making very many mistakes while Hamilton, Webber and Massa are making mistakes.

Larry Herman

Ha ha, no but seriously, who would you rather have as the leader of your team? Love him or hate him, MS has shown what it is to be a true leader. I never heard him throw his team under the bus. Same goes for Vettel and Button.

Eifeler

....will continue to make mistakes and alienate his crew.

paradisenb

Alonsa was eliminated yesterday (just over half way through the season). They are in mourning. Men in black.

A Whine will show up and man up. He always does. Raj always has in the past. I hope that does not change or we will have a Luisa de Prat and Rajina MIA.

Come on guys liven things up. There is always next year or the next or the next.......

Ray S

Hamilton working all of those passes was a lot more than "setting a flyer". That was a lap after lap exhibition of racing skill.

Neither, McLaren or Ferrari have had the consistent qualifying or race pace that Red Bull has this season, period. A point illustrated last race (yet again with an exclaimation point) with Vettel dropping Button by 1 to 2 seconds a lap (for multiple laps) when they were both driving in traffic free conditions.

Ferarri and McLaren are left in the dust fighting for "first loser" status.

Larry Herman

Yes it is an exhibition of skill, but just for that moment. Seemed to me that those skills were not in evidence last race at Monza where he was stuck behind Schumacher and Button easily passed them both. There is no disagreement that when Hamilton is "on" he is unbelievably fast. I said that he was inconsistent over the long term and I stand by that.

multi21

No doubt there is a love or hate thing with MS. A lot of people hate him, but it's like the old saying, "I'd rather have him on my team than having to go against him".

Ask members of the Benneton or Ferrari team and they will only say positive things about him. Machett goes on and on how he was a fantastic team leader and MS challenged everyone in the team to be better.

Even when the Bridgestone tires were crap in 2005, he never threw them under the bus, only saying, "we need to work harder to get faster".

I think Vettel is taking a page out of the Schumacher book in this regard. And Button just continues to amaze on how well he is driving and picking his spots. Honestly, I didn't think Button could be this good in his career and he seems to fit very nicely in this all British team.

My993C2

When you compare Vettel in his 2011 Red Bull to Button and Hamilton, yes many times Vettel has run away. But Webber while still good has not run away as many times from the McLarens. In fact in Signapore yesterday only once in the race was Webber looking like he was making up time on Button. All other times in the race Button in his McLaren was the one running away from the other Red Bull. Yes Red Bull is the best car, but I think McLaren is much closer to Red Bull than some want to admit.