GitanesBlondes wrote:None of the Mercedes drives were memorable as the W05 simply outclassed every other car on the grid quite easily. Hamilton driving from the rear would have been far more impressive if Mercedes hadn't built such a strong power unit.
The sad thing is; if the Mercedes hadn't had such a power advantage; the odds that we'd be impressed by anyones driving from the back is greatly reduced to the point we wouldn't be talking about it at all. When cars are coming through the field, it's usually because we are seeing a faster car pitted against a slower one - because the biggest factor will always be the car. Having that said - being out of position in a fast(er) car isn't without any merit or skill; Which is why I still rate Hamiltons drive or even championship this year as extremely impressive. Just because the Mercedes is quicker per lap than any other car on the grid, doesn't mean that overtaking isn't risky or requires skill - especially given that in a straight line, the cars Hamilton overtook weren't
*always slower [as in topspeed]. Yes, DRS helps, but many passes weren't done in DRS zones alone - and DRS hasn't always been a guaranteed overtake, even in a faster car. What makes Hungary impressive IMO is that Hamilton precisely got the overtake(s) done when he needed to which effectively made him finish where he did - that being in front of his team-mate who started on pole in an identical car, but failed to do the same. That kind of puts it into perspective that despite all the power advantage the Mercedes had - it's not always easy to overtake.
Take Button in Canada, 2012? or was it 2011? He only got from effectively last on the grid to take win, not because he as a driver was on a different planet - but because the car offered a huge advantage that day in the way it was set-up and how the wet track brilliantly played into their hands. That doesn't mean his drive to grab the win wasn't anything but impressive - he made it happen and it was a stelar drive.
I certainly rate Hungary 2014 as a good example on what constitutes an impressive drive despite having a dominant car. What IMO also makes Hungary impressive is that it was a wet and unpredictable race - and a wet track always narrows the gap between faster and slower cars.
EDIT: forgot a word, for clarification sake