Kingshark wrote: ↑15 Oct 2022, 18:55
He’s already comfortably above Surtees in the all time rankings.
Remind me, when did Verstappen become a motorcycle world champion?
Kingshark wrote: ↑15 Oct 2022, 18:55
When you resort to criticizing Max for seasons where he a teenager, you’ve already lost the argument. The supposed greats you listed above weren’t even good enough to be in F1 at that age.
It's a fact, not a criticism. Or did he beat Ricciardo? And there's not much of a bar to getting into F1 is there? Taki Inoue anyone? The point made earlier about Alonso and a struggling Schumacher was far more valid and could've sparked an interesting discussion over whether Alsono is a great or a product of good PR. Perhaps a topic for another time/thread.
Interesting that you class the list of names provided as 'supposed greats' though. So Verstappen is already greater than all of them? Or does your list of 'Greats' have completely different names?
Kingshark wrote: ↑15 Oct 2022, 18:55
Also funny how Perez is seen as not a teammate of any note, like he wasn’t consistently the best midfield driver for many years.
He's not though, is he? Wasn't good enough for McLaren. Beaten by Hulk over 1 of their three seasons together, barely edges out a young Ocon in their first season together. He had a great 2020, but finished 10th in 2019, 8th in 2018, a creditable 7th in 2017 and 2016 and 9th in 2015. He
is a pretty consistent
midfield performer and has good tyre-preservation. But no one has ever spoken about him as if he was WDC quality. I'd also be wary of dragging everything back to Hamilton (which is a weird fixation throughout your post). If Perez = Bottas, which one of Verstappen's RBR team mates is the peak-Alonso to rookie Hamilton equivalent? Albon? Gasly? And who would be the Button equivalent? Not Perez, as he was dumpstered so hard by Button that he was dropped (despite his sponsorship money).
Kingshark wrote: ↑15 Oct 2022, 18:55
You forgot to mention the most important part: he won the title with a car that was slower than his rival.
Debatable. But, even if true, it doesn't make him a Legend, yet.
Kingshark wrote: ↑15 Oct 2022, 18:55
Also, to argue that 2021 is Hamilton’s worst season is beyond laughable. 2011 and 2013 were both much worse, 2016 too with his moonwalk starts.
And yet the race threads were filled with people from this very Topic constantly (and accurately) pointing out how many mistakes he'd made and how poor his racecraft was. And this season started off with several of the same people pointing out that Hamilton is so bad he should retire.
Kingshark wrote: ↑15 Oct 2022, 18:55
His car isn’t half as dominant as the Mercedes cars from 2014-2020 and yet he’s won more races than Hamilton ever has in a season, with 4 races still remaining. Figure that one out.
Given the wide time period you listed, also debatable. Regardless, you can only beat what's in front of you, which was a point I thought I made quite clearly? And, if you have the best car and your team mate is only 'consistently best of the midfield' then... Or, to put it another way, how many races do you think the object of your fixation would have won if Perez was in the other Mercedes during its period of dominance? Fewer? or More?
There are valid criticisms of my original post and plenty to debate about it, such is the nature of subjective interpretation. Most/all of these points, aren't those.
However, if you (or others) wish to talk further, we should probably move to either a separate thread or PMs so as to keep this thread clear for more objective/2022-related posts.
"Supposed greats". Heh