[Driver] The GOAT - Round Two - Vettel vs Hunt

[crmalcolm]

The ninth match-up in Round Two sees Vettel vs Hunt.

Vettel was victorious 10-0 in the first round, whilst Hunt took a 11-2 victory.

So who do you vote for as the greater driver?

Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel’s career has been marked by considerable season-to-season variability. At his absolute best Vettel rates as one of the finest drivers in the history of the sport. Yet, there have been questionable periods too, such as his 2014 drubbing by Daniel Ricciardo (possibly influenced by a lack of mileage compared to his teammate) and his clumsy seasons at Ferrari.

Vettel began his F1 career at Toro Rosso, alongside the more experienced Vitantonio Liuzzi, against whom he scored 1-3 in counting races (after throwing away a strong result in Fuji), 3-4 in qualifying, and 6-3 in points. Although Vettel was still very rough around the edges, he had obvious potential. Toro Rosso retained Vettel for 2008, this time alongside the rookie Sebastien Bourdais, who was fresh off winning four consecutive Champ Car titles. Vettel dominated his new teammate 11-2 in counting races, 13-4 in qualifying, and 35-4 in points, earning a promotion to Red Bull.

In just his third season, aged 21, Vettel now found himself in a championship-contending car, alongside the 32-year-old Mark Webber. After narrowly losing the 2009 title to Jenson Button, Vettel proceeded to win the title four consecutive times, as Red Bull produced the clear best car four years running. While Webber offered a strong challenge in 2010, he was a distant competitor in following years. Overall, Vettel won the teammate duel 61-20 in counting races, 73-23 in qualifying, and 1410-947.5 in points.

In 2014, Vettel was thoroughly outclassed by Daniel Ricciardo — a result that some attribute to a poor season performance from Vettel, rather than a systematic performance advantage to Ricciardo.

Escaping Red Bull for a more comfortable number one driver role alongside Kimi Räikkönen at Ferrari, Vettel aimed to emulate his hero Michael Schumacher in taking Ferrari from a difficult position to championships. Overall, Vettel beat Räikkönen 48-19 in counting races, 56-22 in qualifying, and 1127-792 in points.

As a driver, Vettel is close to a complete package. He is a superb qualifier, able to deliver extremely fast and consistent race stints, a clever tactician, and capable in the wet although not particularly strong there. Yet, there is clearly one chink in the armor, which relates to Vettel’s race-craft and ability to handle direct pressure from another driver without making unforced errors. When able to control a race from the front, Vettel is indomitable. His run of 105 races (Turkey 2010 to Mexico 2015) without a crash-related DNF is the longest in F1 history, encompassing 44% of his starts. But it is a run that he has struggled to replicate in cars that infrequently compete for pole position and must battle wheel-to-wheel.

James Hunt
James Hunt captured the imagination of a generation of British teenagers in the summer of 1976, as he swash-buckled and partied his way to the Formula 1 world championship title. But despite the fun-loving playboy side to his nature, he saved a fierce and competitive racing force for his rivals on the track.

Known as Hunt-the-shunt in his reckless F3 days, when the mood took him, there was no one faster, as he proved at Hesketh from '73-'75. It needed McLaren to hone the champion potential though, and he continued to race on nerves that frequently made him vomit prior to the start of a race. He grew into a match for all of his rivals, save perhaps Niki Lauda.

That the '76 title provided the pinnacle of his career was fitting given the nature in which he fought against the odds in the pouring rain of Fuji, to third, overhauling Lauda's points total - the Austrian having dramatically pulled out because of the conditions.

[Racing Harz]

Hunt! I absolutly don´t like Vettel. And Hunt is an icon.

[Aysedasi]

I was never a fan of Vettel, for a variety of reasons, but his achievements are considerable greater than Hunt's, and if we're taking 'flaws' into account, James certainly had a few of those!

[FIRE]

Vettel

[Gerard C]

Hunt. Pure talent could drive almost any car even an under developed one. Yes an icon.

[morninggents]

Hunt was fortunate to win the 1976 title. Also, despite his iconic status, I'm not sure he was a nice person.