Underrated drivers past and present

[timbo]

He came in F1 with the Tyrrell, and impressed back then. But from that on he never truly evolved, you see lots of drivers impressing at their debut, they then grow out to be something big. Take an exampe to Vettel, Schumacher, Alonso or Raikkonen. They all came into F1 and impressed, and so did Alesi. However the improvement those guys I named made, Alesi never did so. Some drivers 'evolve' rather quickly, like Schumacher or Vettel, some take a lot more time, like Frentzen or Button, and Alesi was just one of those that never grew.

It is unfair to compare Alesi with likes of Vettel, Schuey or Alonso. Even Button.
When his big break supposed to come he was alongside Prost and had 21 point compared to Prost's 34. Pretty respectful. Next came '92 and '93 -- nuff said. Then '94, where he had a big crash, but also some solid performances marred by car's unreliability. Then '95 -- probably his best year, and he had some good drives. Next he went to Benetton -- and the team was declining. Next Sauber, Prost and Jordan -- how could he "grow" in a teams like that?
You mention Button -- when exactly did you see his growth, when he got a best car on the grid?
All the drivers you mention had their time in best cars on the grid.
Alesi surely had his problems -- most of all he couldn't control his temper at times, outdriving himself. But there's a good chance he could be calmer in a car that is both fast and reliable.
My point, with the cars he had we just don't know.

[JimClarkFan]

-Maldonardo
-Rosberg
-Button
-Hulkenburg (underrated by the top teams, how does this man not have a drive yet)

I don't have the depth of knowledge or memory to comment on past drivers

[xpensive]

I think Carlos Reutemann was immensly underrated, remember him winning four races against the Lotus 79 in 1978,
while easily fending off his teammate, what was his name again...one Gilles Villeneuve?

[FoxHound]

Alex Zanardi?
Pedro De LaRosa?
Lorenzo Bandini?

In an alternate universe, maybe these guys would be called champions of F1?

[Trailer23]

Christian Klien & Jaime Alguersuari

Both drivers raced less than 50 GPs, but never had competitive cars.

If Klien had the RBR today & if Alguersuari would've continued with STR, they'd be better than most.

[mnmracer]

Agree with Klien and Alguersuari. I still hope Jaime gets a chance, but I am afraid not.

I would have personally liked to see more of Robert Doornbos. The things he showed as a test driver, how he held himself against DC, and what he did in CART, I would have loved to see what he could have done with more time in F1. I think he could have been a very solid midfield driver, but now he's remembered as just a part-time rear of the grid driver.

[wesley123]

He came in F1 with the Tyrrell, and impressed back then. But from that on he never truly evolved, you see lots of drivers impressing at their debut, they then grow out to be something big. Take an exampe to Vettel, Schumacher, Alonso or Raikkonen. They all came into F1 and impressed, and so did Alesi. However the improvement those guys I named made, Alesi never did so. Some drivers 'evolve' rather quickly, like Schumacher or Vettel, some take a lot more time, like Frentzen or Button, and Alesi was just one of those that never grew.

It is unfair to compare Alesi with likes of Vettel, Schuey or Alonso. Even Button.
When his big break supposed to come he was alongside Prost and had 21 point compared to Prost's 34. Pretty respectful. Next came '92 and '93 -- nuff said. Then '94, where he had a big crash, but also some solid performances marred by car's unreliability.

Sure he has solid performances, he just never was really good or exceptional, he just did the job, nothing more, nothing less.

Then '95 -- probably his best year, and he had some good drives. Next he went to Benetton -- and the team was declining. Next Sauber, Prost and Jordan -- how could he "grow" in a teams like that?

He could for example outdrive the cars, yet he wasnt really any better than his teammates, and he didnt really drive above the cars potential or anything. He was a solid driver, just not good or great.

You mention Button -- when exactly did you see his growth, when he got a best car on the grid?

Since 2009 I personally have seen a massive improvement, he's a bit of a late bloomer.

All the drivers you mention had their time in best cars on the grid.

And they all drove lesser cars to bigger levels. Vettel won a race in the STR for example.

Alesi surely had his problems -- most of all he couldn't control his temper at times, outdriving himself. But there's a good chance he could be calmer in a car that is both fast and reliable.

True, but I dont feel he was exceptional, he did what was expected and nothing more or less.

[timbo]

He could for example outdrive the cars, yet he wasnt really any better than his teammates, and he didnt really drive above the cars potential or anything.

He wasn't better than teammates? Like Prost? And Berger was not shabby too!

He was a solid driver, just not good or great.

Maybe he wasn't great (like Senna great, or Prost great), but not good??? Come on!

Since 2009 I personally have seen a massive improvement, he's a bit of a late bloomer.

How do you know it's his improvement, and not car's improvement? His first win came in 2006, and it was in style that he later shown -- capitalizing on changing conditions.

And they all drove lesser cars to bigger levels. Vettel won a race in the STR for example.

Vettel's STR that year was not a bad car, and the team gambled on wet weather, that race Bourdais was not too far behind.
And Alesi had two podiums in a close fight with Senna on severely underpowered Tyrrell.

True, but I dont feel he was exceptional, he did what was expected and nothing more or less.

It is unfair to say that, his best car was probably that 1990 Tyrrell, of course a driver in a Ferrari is expected to fight for the victory, but the Ferrari's he got were just not there.

[lebesset]

I think Damon Hill deserves a lot of credit in recent years. He was up to a serious task debuting alongside Prost. He was in even harder situation having to lead the team when Senna perished. Yeah, he was outshined by Schumacher, but IMO the Williams team just couldn't bring out best in drivers. He also gave very respectable performance in Jordan and that 1997th Hungarian GP is classic.

+1
due to the family finances being wiped out he had to claw his way into racing , didn't buy his way like so many , got a pay job as a test driver where he showed he was good enough for a race seat

[rich1701]

Martin Brundle's performance in 1992 in retrospect always impresses me. The most challenging team mate Schumacher had until Massa and Rosberg. He certainly deserved a lot more success that he got. He drove for williams, benetton and mclaren, but alas he was Never in the right place at the right time!

[sennafan24]

Jenson Button is the most underrated driver so far this year. If you compare what he has done achieved next to Perez, he is indeed doing very well.

Silverstone and Germany were both great drives from J.B

[mnmracer]

Jenson Button is the most underrated driver so far this year. If you compare what he has done achieved next to Perez, he is indeed doing very well.

Silverstone and Germany were both great drives from J.B

He started out kinda of lustless, but he has certainly picked up the pace!

[sennafan24]

I think he is not as bad in qualifying as some make out also. I know Perez was never a super qualifier in the Sauber last year, but Jenson has outperformed him in qualifying to such a degree that I think his lack of qualifying pace is overstated. Lewis on form can make anyone look bad in qualifying.

Race craft will always be Jenson's strong point, but he is stronger in other areas than people make out.

[dren]

Yeah, Button is one of the cleanest, most calculated passers on the grid.

[Jonnycraig]

Vettel's STR that year was not a bad car, and the team gambled on wet weather, that race Bourdais was not too far behind.

The STR was not a bad car in the same way that this years Force India isn't a bad car.

As for Bourdais, Vettel was a second faster than him in qualifying and he finished a lap down after stalling on the grid.