Basic Question: Is it the Driver or is it the Car?

[G30M]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Full disclosure: I tune in to F1 very infrequently. That's because, I think, and as one who does tune-in only rarely, most of what I've observed have been processions. That is, little in the way of what I think of as racing.

Having observed from afar the vagaries of total studs' results after changing teams, a total noob like myself feels compelled to ask the experts: is it more about the driver, the car, or some identifiable and communicable combination of the two?

My purpose in asking is that I'm a very technically oriented person, and I'd like to get enthused about F1 if there's space in there for me to do so.

All replies gratefully accepted!

so why is the answer both?

well let's look at Max, he can't win without a good car, he's even said he needs a new car or he won't show up at the paddock!

let's also look at Lando and Oscar in Monza, they both have the best car (see quali results) and last race neither of them could win. 2 races ago when Lando was P1 Oscar was a lap down or nearly a lap down.

definitely need both

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by G30M

so why is the answer both?

well let's look at Max, he can't win without a good car, he's even said he needs a new car or he won't show up at the paddock!

let's also look at Lando and Oscar in Monza, they both have the best car (see quali results) and last race neither of them could win. 2 races ago when Lando was P1 Oscar was a lap down or nearly a lap down.

definitely need both

Agreed.

Having the best car doesn't mean having the best results without the skill to do so.

To be fair, having a car that is 30-50 seconds faster makes the driver less relevant (See Max and Sergio Perez last 2 seasons) but if the field is close enough the driver absolutely matters.

Lando is barely a top 10 talent in a car that is 10 seconds faster than field and he can barely win a race.

[wizardofOz]

To me both, when you are on an F1 racing simulator game and you have the full driving kit at home like the paddles, steering, seat etc etc, you know its going to benefit you to accumulate the skill(experience) to understand the car/game before anything if you want to drive anything remotely like an F1.

The car also adds into this with all the technology and upgrades you now get for F1 each year, so both imho.