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That is what Jenson looked like after Suzuka. All while thinking "Next year I will destroy you Sebastian for making me get grass on my tires at the 2011 Japanese GP"
Vettels championship celebrating antics contrast with those of Kimi Raikkonen who went on a 48 hour bender with two friends, consuming over 750 litres of vodka and five tonnes of ice cream in the process. Quite why Raikkonen felt the need to celebrate Vettels second F1 championship remains a mystery.
I think you're forgetting that in that season he also had a couple of stellar drives that had him in the top six six times as well as three more top tens. In a Toro Rosso, that is an extremely good effort if you ask me. In Monaco of 08 he came from 17th to finish 5th and in Brazil he nearly spoiled Hamiltons title hopes before they both got past Glock. All of this is particularly impressive when you consider that his team mate, four time ChampCar champion Sebastien Bourdais only came in the top ten once and scored only four points.
I feel people just like to make up excuses for themselves why they don't rate drivers like Vettel. Its complete rubbish - he's clearly, undeniably one of the all time greats.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to devalue what Vettel has done so far
As good as Senna? Why not? He isn't Senna of course. And he doesn't quite have the same records yet. But no one can ever apparently be as good as Senna due to his ridiculous mythical status. Again, "arbitrary measuring sticks".
I think you're simplifying things a bit. (...)
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Re: Senna
Yes, I agree it's an arbitrary measurement, but I'd hardly say Senna's "mythical" status is "ridiculous".
Anyone who actually watched him race wouldn't deny him an ounce of what people claim of him, regardless of his misdemeanours (and few drivers get off scot free on that one - Vettel pulled some blindingly stupid stunts in 2010). Call it "je ne sais quoi" if you like (yes it's arbitrary, yes it's subjective - I don't give a toss - everything in F1 apart from the bare statistics is entirely subjective) but I've not seen that from Vettel. I'm not saying Vettel isn't capable of achieving that because as a double world champ you can't really deny him that, but he just lacks the sparkle that made people like Senna "great".
Edit: I guess it comes down to whether you get a kick from watching someone race or not. I've nothing against Vettel as an individual or as a machine built for speed, but save for very few instances I don't get a buzz from watching him race. That's not a mark against the man himself - I quite like Schumacher but most of his wins were pretty tedious. Ditto Prost. Button in a Brawn wasn't that special to watch for the most part (his early season wins thrashing people were no different from Vettel's wins this year) but Button in the McLaren this year has been thrilling to watch as he's really having to fight for it.
As I said: It's subjective really. I watch F1 for the excitement first, and for the drivers second. Vettel isn't really an exciting driver. As quick as Senna? Perhaps. But without the "spark".
F1 is more than mere numbers.
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Yes, I agree it's an arbitrary measurement, but I'd hardly say Senna's "mythical" status is "ridiculous".
Anyone who actually watched him race wouldn't deny him an ounce of what people claim of him, regardless of his misdemeanours (and few drivers get off scot free on that one - Vettel pulled some blindingly stupid stunts in 2010). Call it "je ne sais quoi" if you like (yes it's arbitrary, yes it's subjective - I don't give a toss - everything in F1 apart from the bare statistics is entirely subjective) but I've not seen that from Vettel. I'm not saying Vettel isn't capable of achieving that because as a double world champ you can't really deny him that, but he just lacks the sparkle that made people like Senna "great".
Edit: I guess it comes down to whether you get a kick from watching someone race or not. I've nothing against Vettel as an individual or as a machine built for speed, but save for very few instances I don't get a buzz from watching him race. That's not a mark against the man himself - I quite like Schumacher but most of his wins were pretty tedious. Ditto Prost. Button in a Brawn wasn't that special to watch for the most part (his early season wins thrashing people were no different from Vettel's wins this year) but Button in the McLaren this year has been thrilling to watch as he's really having to fight for it.
As I said: It's subjective really. I watch F1 for the excitement first, and for the drivers second. Vettel isn't really an exciting driver. As quick as Senna? Perhaps. But without the "spark".
F1 is more than mere numbers.
I hate this ideal that to consider a driver one of the "greats" he automatically has to have everything Senna, Clark, Schumacher..whoever had. Why can't Vettel be considered a great without the "spark"?
Gilles Villenueve is regularly considered a "great" and Vettel is far more a successful driver and arguably just as likable and exciting.
To me, I consider Alonso, Hamilton, Button and Vettel all "F1 greats". Without a doubt they are the modern equivelants of any othe era's top drivers and all have various strengths and weaknesses that make them stand out.
Why I consider each driver great is mostly different reasons. The reasons Vettel is great are not the same as the reasons as why Senna was great.
homeforsummerHe's also undeniably fantastic to watch race.
Yeah, especially when a Red Bull passes him.
I wouldn't say any of the above are "the new Senna" just yet, even Vettel. Two championships, dominant or not, does not a legend make.
Only if he tries to push the Red Bull off the track
I have absolutely no trouble believing drivers could be faster than Senna, but this "mythical" status you keep describing (which I don't subscribe to incidentally - again, you only need to watch some of his racing to see why he's considered in such high regard. It's nothing to do with his talent being blown out of proportion to his actual results and to imply so is ridiculous) is based on a lifetime of getting more from a car than anyone else and being more spectacular to watch than anybody else.
Unless you didn't quite understand my response above, you already know how I feel on this: F1 is so much more than just numbers. That "spark" is why F1 fans - and indeed motorsport fans in general - love some drivers and hate others. If you reduce the sport to a bunch of numbers then really there should be a list of the greatest drivers ever and it should really go like this:
1. Michael Schumacher
2. Juan Manuel Fangio
3. Alain Prost
4. Jack Brabham
5. Jackie Stewart
6. Niki Lauda...
See where I'm going with this? If success is all that made F1 drivers great then Senna would be less "great" than Prost, Mansell equally "great" to Jacques Villeneuve.
I do understand your previous response - my point is that why does Vettel have to be compared to just Senna to be considered great?
Let me put it another way - Alain Prost is considered an F1 great. But he certainly didn't/doesn't have the spark Senna did.
why people have to keep coming up with ridiculous reasons.
his talents and achievements do get exaggerated to the extreme.
But judging by how Schumacher has become an exaggerated legend and from I remember of his early career, I can only come to the same conclusion that people's memories become a little rosey with time.
At the end of the day, Vettel is world champion and fully deserves it. I guess we should all focus on that, rather than dis-respecting or de-valuing Vettel's achievements by instead referring to other people.
So I guess the big question is, with such small differences in lap times, braking distances, and potential speed today, what can Vettel possibly do to awe us and and herald him as a "great"? (besides winning every race from pole to finish, of course )
So I guess the big question is, with such small differences in lap times, braking distances, and potential speed today, what can Vettel possibly do to awe us and and herald him as a "great"? (besides winning every race from pole to finish, of course )
Yes, I think Button has been exciting to watch this season and surprised he is hardly mentioned as one of the great drivers in F1 today.
Button's career has been quite different from the other stars on the grid. He spent most of it in average cars with average results, and then finally showed what he could do with Brawn and now McLaren. Most others didn't have to wait 10 years or so the show off their true abilities.
Plus, he's a rubbish qualifier.