How do you determine Rosberg to be a champion in the making? As I noted, Webber (as he should have) comprehensively beat Rosberg in 2006, and in 2007 Rosberg was teamed with undoubtedly the slowest driver (given equipment disparities) of 2007. He looked REAL good against Wurz, but would he have looked so good against anyone else that was a little more awake? Now Rosberg’s teamed with a rookie, and he’ll undoubtedly look a worldbeater. But is he? Perception is unfortunately seen as reality in F1, and there’s an excellent article (involving Mark Webber’s trials and tribultions) in this week’s Autosport.

Webber has not convinced you under race conditions? To me, that’s a big surprise. It’s always been rather tough going for Mark given he ‘over-qualifys’ the cars he drives.

In a nutshell: Webber continues to get his car higher up the grid than it should be, whilst DC a little lower than it should be. Then on race pace around the same and therefore DC is more likely to overtake the slower cars while Webber is more likely to be overtaken by faster cars that he outqualified.

Jarno Trulli also has this problem, however in Jarno’s case I think this is compounded by the fact that he often seems to fall asleep at the wheel when he isn’t fighting for anything.

There are two great equallers in F1, where a car advantage is largely nullified - rain, and Monaco. I draw your attention to the fact that Webber excels in both rainy conditions (for example, Euro ‘07 and Fuji ‘07) and at Monaco (’02, ‘03, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07). You cannot ignore that form - on pure driver’s circuits, and under difficult conditions, Webber is an absolute star. Where was Rosberg when Webber was challenging Raikkonen for the lead at Monaco in 2006?

I also feel that RBR offer the most techically gifted pairing on the grid. Note, I said pairing. I would agree that Alonso (and probably Rosberg) are probably the most talented at setting up a car and maximising it, however it’s likely they’ll be doing some of the setup work for their teammates this year given their inexperience.

No, I dont rate Heidfeld/Kubica better than Webber/Coulthard. At the least, they are a comparable combination talent-wise. A 2 point gap is somewhat overstating the talent divide.

I also think ‘getting on a bit’ isn’t a solid factor to be used in determining quality. Webber is 31, DC 36. In current F1 terms, yes that’s ‘old’. However, only 15 years ago mnay drivers were racing well into their early 40’s and Mansell won the 1992 World Championship at age 39! It’s not like Webber and Coulthard are going to be getting a pension anytime soon…

Again, thanks for the reply.

JT/TG worse than AS/GF?

I think you’ve looked at pointscores, not analysed driver ability.

I take full responsibility for the rankings; it was an entirely subjective process. Personally I don’t rate DC and Webber that highly. They are both quick but they are getting on a bit. Webber has yet to fully impress me under race conditions.

The ratings are all geared to 2008; how I felt the driver combination would help in the team this year.

You don’t think the Heidfeld and Kubica pairing should be ranked higher than DC and Webber? I thought that was reasonable.

I do agree with you to some extents though. There is a big flaw with Alonso/Piquet and Rosberg/Najajima. I was giving them a score based on one driver rather than as a combination.

Leaving Piquet and Nakajima aside Alonso and Rosberg deserve high scores. Again, entirely subjective reasons. I think Alonso is the biggest driver asset out there.

Unlike the rookies, he has the technical understanding and experience to develop the car. As I argue HERE the new regulations put a much greater onus on mechanical setup and being able to tailor it to each track. I think Alonso is one of the most technically developed drivers on the grid and will be a huge asset to Renault.

Rosberg too is a champion in the making.

However, I did not fiddle the scores to fit a pre-determined order.

For example when I had completed it I realised that Force India were way to far up the list. I think Toyota should probably be further up the list as well. I could have changed this to fit but order but elected not to.

As I say, it is a personal list and it would be really great for the site if people like yourself could provide your own ranking list.

How does FA/NP rate a 10! NP is a rookie for crying out loud!

To a layman, it might appear that you’ve tried to be scientific in compiling the rankings, but I strongly suspect you guys had pre-determined the order and the points just had to be made to fit that order.

How you come up with that one….

Webber schooled Rosberg in 2006, and Nakajima isn’t fit to shine DC’s boots.

Even putting Heidfeld/Kubica a full 2 points above MW/DC is ludicrous - what the hell has Kubica achieved in F1?

Shall I go on? Bourdais/Vettel above MW/DC?

There’s a pattern here - a pattern of having to adjust the points to suit a pre-determined outcome.