it is time now that we ask this question and not only the other way round, like it was done before! after all these races, why should anybody ask if vettel is in the same class as hamilton.

Yes, he is the only one to have the balls to actually have a go at racing during this precession!

Are they in his class?!

He is closer to Narain Karthikeyan than GOD Vettel.

Vettel and Alonso aren´t in the same class ;)

No but really, yes, yes he is.

Give the guy a break. He had a shit race and all of a sudden he is the worst out there?

Jeez... Watch him in Canada, he will be right back up there fighting Seb for the win.

Worlds apart

You're right, Vettel has more than twice as many points as Alonso.

hamilton for sure has more problems with button, than alonso has problems with massa and vettel has problems with webber. for me the stars of monaco 2011 are vettel, alonso and button. i was most impressed by vettel, as he managed the car with really bad tyres for so many laps and he made no mistaked also he had a lot of pressure, but alonso also did a great job.
hamilton was to blame for two crashes and a complete driver has to be able to collect points too, if he is not leading the race and causing two crashed is the opposite of that.

I know, right? Vettel is so much better. Already has as many pole positions as Alonso in so little time

One race doesn't change Lewis' place in the order of things. He's still a top dog, even if he is a bit of a prat.

I voted no. That was the option for "He's better than both of them" ?

I´m not a fan of Lewis, but after today´s race I´m beginning to like the guy.
He has made me laugh a lot today, in an after the race.
i

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't this the first time this year Lewis has being at fault for crashing with someone

No he isn't even close to Alonso and Vettel. He hasn't got the class that comes with being a world champion at the moment and first of all being a sport star! His driving skills, he showed today! Because this is a Brits forum and full of McLaren and Lewis fans, we all know how to alter the poll results.

why should hamilton be better than alonso and vettel. could you give some reasons to your statement.

And vetted and alonso do, I think people have short memories

Hamilton is a top class driver, capable of doing the fastest laps, but he is also a little bit problematic, he constantly goes to the limit of the rules and beyond with his driving.
He has good qualities and is a brute diamond, but there are some parts of his driving style that still need polish.

Anyone who judges a driver off of one race when the data pool is made up of approaching 100 deserves to have their opinion ignored. Hamilton isn't suddenly rubbish, he just had a terrible race, Vettel and Alonso have had them too, the best are capable of messing things up terribly as Lewis prove today.

vettel is only 23 years old and the last races in 2010 were brilliant and in 2011 he hasn´t done any mistake by now, although there was pressure, like in the last two races. hamilton is three years older and loses points like he did today.
senna was praised for the same thing that vettel does (leading races from the pole position) only that vettel gets bashed for it. beside that i am more impressed how vettel handles things, as he manages the races better than senna in the same age or even in an older age (he doesn´t throw a lead away like senna did sometimes, as for example monaco 88)

and don´t come up with things vettel did when he was 21 or 22..... we are comparing the drivers (vettel, alonso and hamilton) where they are now.

And when Alonso had them people questioned his quality as a driver and all that jazz involving certain ex-driver. Now it's time to do the same about Hamilton. Not that is completely fair but it's very understandable.

err... no, Hamilton is a bit better.

One thing is for sure: aspiration and reality slowly drift apart for Lewis. He likes to see himself as the new Senna but i'm not feeling it.

i am not basing this thread on monaco, it is just the counterpart to the thread people are discussing here everyday, namely if vettel was in the same class as hamilton and alonso. i think it should be allowed to aks the question the other way round too, after all vettel is winning every race and often both mclaren drivers are faster than the second red-bull. (ok webber had some bad luck, but hey vettel had a lot of bad luck last year too!)

That's true. When he said "Alonso is my Prost" he clearly wanted to keep that clear.

lol, yeah hamilton loves these senna comparisons.

lol, the whole interview was bulls*hit.

I think Vettel would be doing a better job in the McLaren than Lewis is at the moment

That doesn't mean Lewis is crap, it means he's having a poor season and he's making far too many mistakes

Spot on

Stupid thread, but I'd like to ask if anyone remembers the occasional race where Ayrton Senna had a similar sort of performance (Canada 1992 springs to mind). No-one would reasonably ask this question of Senna because he had the odd 'off' race.

I'm sure Vettel will have a poor race at some point this season as will Alonso.....

Not so long ago, Hamilton wouldn't have been penalised anyway, Panis won the 1996 Monaco GP by basically barging at least one other driver out of the way.

All three are world-class drivers who can beat eachother depending on the form of the day.

The difference between Alonso and the other two is that he is a double champion who has experienced the worst (during and after '07) and climbed out of the hole he found himself in. In that regard he is ahead of the other two, as they have yet to experience anything like that.

Most innovative idea I came accross today. Now, why I didn't think of that, hmm?

He won 6th place in 2nd best car on grid in one race and he is suddenly a bad driver? LOL @ some people, but I've seen it a lot with other top drivers, namely Schumacher used to recieve most of this when he would have an off race.

Vettel has matured faster than Hamilton from the start of their respective race careers.

Hamilton still has that maverick gung-ho attitude while Vettel has calmed down and learned to deal with adversity a whole lot better.

No just different drivers and different positions if Lewis had qualified okay then none of this would being discussed

LOL at the thread ... Well deserved for the Hami fanatics I have to say !

But seriously - today Vettel stepped a lil further from the Alonso/Hamilton class ! in the right direction. He was mega!

Since mid 2009 (almost 2 years ago), Vettel has enjoyed the class car of the field at his disposal.

I'm puzzled by the adversity he's faced that you mention. It must have been such a struggle since for poor Sebastien since he was promoted to the RedBull senior team.

??? I think it means you have no idea what you're talking about. He's barely made any mistakes all year and he got an okay amount of points today out of a terrible situation.

Judging by all the flak he is getting for finishing 6th in a disaster weekend - I'd say no. He is obviously in class above those two.

Only driver that I recall getting this amount of criticism for 6th place is Michael Schumacher.

More correctly to ask whether Alonso and Vettel in the same class of Hamilton

No he isn't........today it could be senn in the world.

Is he in the same class as Vettel? A class above if you ask me. If Hamilton would've had Vettels car with Webber as teammate: Which race would he have lost.... Taking pole and winning in outstanding an car. Is there any doubts Hamilton can? How about overtaking only one close to hamilton in that area is Alonso. Raindriving: again only Alonso matches him. Pushing a difficult car to the limit again only Alonso in the same league.

Is he in the same class as Alonso or rather who is the best? Thats the question.

Today he was a little bit to optimistic and might've deserved a penalty. On the other hand how many spectacular overtakes has he made. How many has Vettel made?

In the beginning I didnt like him(I'm a Alonsofan so...) but I start to like him more and more. Biggest problem is some of his fanboys in here though they are little bit to much.

Last year in korea was when he won me over completly:
"Come on its time for inters..." or something like that. Priseless!!

No, people who questioned Alonso after China were just as stupid and no-one will miss those posters when they leave.

Schumi overtook Lewis and Nico in Lowes.
BArrichello overtook Schumi in Mirabeau
Massa and Maldonado overtook Nico in Tabac
Koba overtook Sutil in Mirabeau
and Lewis overtook Schumi in St Devote

why is Lewis baby the only overtaker?

PS: Imo, Koba is the best overtaker of F1, Lewis second.



Karthikean is the best driver ever, the problem is that he drives for HRT

Speaking serious, it's all about the cars as top F1 drivers as very closely matched.

Put Alonso, Hamilton, Kubica(maybe Koba, DiResta,Perez) and some others in the Red Bull and they will be leading the championship.

Conversely, put Vettel in Ferrari 150th and he will do no better than Fernando baby.

you mean Seb would be struggling to hang on as Mclaren romp away 1,2?

Today Hamilton committed a lot of rookie-level mistakes. Perhaps this is not best of times then to ask such questions, whether he is better than a winner of the race. Tomorrow is another day.

This. Stupid question.

Where is th option "no, he is a class above"? Or is the first option also that? The poll is flawed.

where is the question in the poll-thread about vettel, if vettel is a class above. well vettel doesn´t give that much interviews as hamilton, he gives his answers on sundays in the races.