'The Best Car' Debate Musings...

This is a bit different to the usual list of headlines from the world of F1 that seem interesting, because I’ve been pondering something that I can neither answer nor shake.

So, I am sharing the burden with you 🤣

Today I published an article where Alain Prost was talking about Max Verstappen, and in the interview he said ‘Max comes ahead of everyone else, not just because of his outstanding talent, which allows him to get more out of the car than his teammates. It’s also about character and mental attitude,’ and this of course makes absolute sense (Prost gives some great insights on being a multiple World Champion if you would like to read the article).

However, here’s the thing.

Nowhere in the article did it mention Verstappen having the ‘best car’ and that being the reason for him winning every weekend.

I’m definitely no Hamilton fan-boy, as a McLaren fan I was devastated when he left, and would have been happy if he never won another race. But I’m also old enough to remember that every.single.article about Hamilton from 2017 to 2020 would have multiple comments declaring he only won because he had the best car.

As luck would have it, we got one of these comments on a post we shared tonight 🤣

So why the difference?

The best I’ve been able to come up with, so far, is that Hamilton is ‘different’ whereas Verstappen doesn’t rock the boat.

Hamilton turns up to the track in flamboyant outfits, speaks his mind, and supports social justice causes - all things that make him somewhat unrelatable to the average sports fan.

On the other hand, Verstappen gets in the car, drives it like he has somewhere else to be, and we barely hear from him until the next race where he wheels out the usual sporting cliches (not that there’s anything wrong with that, unless you’re transcribing his interviews looking for something juicy 🤣).

Perhaps there was some tall poppy syndrome at work too, and we’ll see the ‘Max wins because he has the best car’ comments in the coming years. Who knows, but it does seem strange, and it will be on my mind for a while, so feel free to put me out of my misery with your theories!

Or to take your mind off it, here are some of today’s interesting headlines:

And of course, if I think of a better ‘best car’ theory, you will be the first to know.

Jarrod - Editor of F1 Chronicle