Damon had to beat a team with MS cheating. There isn;'t a way in the world that software in the ECU of the Benetton was just for testing
Then you have to consider how long they they used the fuel rig without the restriction of the filter to make fuel stops quicker.
If Bennetton were running an illegal car, the FIA wouldve sorted them out. But they didnt, hence, we have to assume that their car checked out OK. At the end of the day, what you are suggesting is a conspiracy theory.
Damon also had to beat his team mate fairly unlike so many others.
So does Hamilton.
So? How many cart drivers have actually become good F1 drivers. Next to none. I'd say hamiltons grooming at mclaren and GP2 career is much closer to being the finished article for F1 than any cart driver. Almost all struggle. JPM didnt because he had a full years testing at williams and F3000. Hamilton doesn't have a tenth of the race craft of a JV, Zinardi or a JPM. Those drivers can actually keep a much much faster car behind them.
Yep. Hamilton has much less experience, however, he has the raw tools to be one of the greats. Time will tell.
What? Villeneuve had a lot of bad luck in his first year, compared to lewis who had a great deal of luck. Villeneuve also had a lot more wet races, especially for a guy who hadn't raced in the wet. Villeneuve also took the battle to the last race of the season.
JV was a good driver, Ive never doubted that. But Hamilton just feels a bit more special, just as MS before him and Senna before him. JV faded badly and part of a drivers' skill is to get himself into a competitve car - Senna was brilliant and ruthless at this. He showed no loyalty and was totally focused on winning. JV insisted on driving for BAR, attempting to make it great (like MS did with Bennetton). It just didnt work out for him and he faded badly.
Oh and a driver makes his own luck. Senna was a very lucky driver, but thats just the way it is. When you hire a driver, you are hiring him to bring his good luck with him.
JV also out did his team mate at all the drivers circuits for pace, when pole actually meant being fastest and going round Eau rouge and the 130r was a choice between staying flat or bottling it. Not a flat throttle with traction control.
He beat D.Hill for pace, but when it counted D.Hill was the guy who won the championship. Also D.Hill wasnt a Schumacher-beater. Alonso is. Alonso and Hamilton went toe-to-toe and finished equal.
Senna won races in crap cars in a more competitive era. Hamilton won't win **** in modern f1 unless he's in the best car. You make mention of how he handled alonso. Well perhaps Alonso is over rated, he can't do squat now he's car isnt the best. He has to have team orders or he falls to pieces.
Alonso had no team-orders in 2007 and he finished 1 point away from the title, in his first season with a new team. I would say thats pretty impressive, especially when you consider that he was under immense mental pressure as most of his team/colleagues were not talking to him. They made him feel like an outsider and unwanted. Imagine if nobody at your place of work talked to you - how would you feel? Do you feel you would be able to perform you duties to the best of your abilities under those conditions? Well, Alonso did.
What Alonso is doing now in a poor renault is no better than JV in a poor williams in 98 or a totally useless BAR in 99/2000.
Well, JV had quite a few seasons with BAR before he got nowhere and finally got the boot. If Alonso stays with Renault for 3yrs, say and gets nowhere, then we can say that Alonso and JV have done a similar sort of thing.
People seem to forget that Alonso is the only guy to have won 2 world titles in the current F1 driver line-up. He is also the only guy who stopped MS/Ferrari in their tracks, when they were seemingly unstoppable. Hakkinen did beat MS but the MS/Ferrari gravy train hadnt kicked in until 2000. After 2000, even Hakkinen and Newey couldnt stop MS/Ferrari. Alonso/Renault did though.
I rate Alonso highly because he beat MS. And I rate Hamilton highly because he was Alonso's equal last year, though this year is very important for Hamilton, as 1 good season does not make a great driver/champion.
