Why hamilton is so good at overtaking

[Just_a_fan]

Well, either Hamilton made 4 overtakes and was overtaken 30 times or vice versa.

I think I know which way round that goes...

[Mystery Steve]

Assuming the chart is correct, maybe the question that needs to be asked isn't "Why is Hamilton so good at overtaking?" but rather "Why are people obsessed over Hamilton, and not Massa, Alonso, and Barrichello?"

[andrew]

Partly the British media, partly there are a lot of hackneyed cliches bandied about concerning Hamilton but mostly marketing by McLaren.

I say stick him in another car then judge the quality of the driver. the true greats can win in a dog of car. Young pretenders can only manage in the best machine at that given time. Sadly, the fanboys don't see it like this.

[Just_a_fan]

Lots of guys in good cars can't overtake so the car bit is a bit of a red herring.

Hamilton is concentrated on over others because he's a balls out driver much like Mansell was. He makes a lot of attempts - not all of them are successful as we know. But this tends to focus attention on him.

Like him or loathe him (and your preference there is probably fairly obvious ) he is a driver who races all of the time (he doesn't often "drive for points") and thus is more likely to be in the thick of things.

[Rob01]

Andrew how does that equate to MS?? For sure in a dog but his team mate ripped him a new one. I am confused with your example as MS is surely a great one.

[Giblet]

Partly the British media, partly there are a lot of hackneyed cliches bandied about concerning Hamilton but mostly marketing by McLaren.

I say stick him in another car then judge the quality of the driver. the true greats can win in a dog of car. Young pretenders can only manage in the best machine at that given time. Sadly, the fanboys don't see it like this.

Your kidding right? You don't need to be a fan to see that he has made some amazing passes in F1, and was known as a great passer BEFORE he entered F1, in a series where everyone drives the EXACT SAME CAR.

[RacingManiac]

Chart seems off since I think Kobayashi passed either both STR or one of the STR twice in Japan alone....

[Florio]

Because he just goes for it. He's very good at reading the guys ahead, and good at placing his car in the right places. Except Monza.

[vall]

Because he just goes for it. He's very good at reading the guys ahead, and good at placing his car in the right places. Except Monza.

... and Singapore

[myurr]

Because he just goes for it. He's very good at reading the guys ahead, and good at placing his car in the right places. Except Monza.

... and Singapore

To be fair it was incredibly unlucky that he came off so badly and Webber could continue.

I still believe that Webber was never going to make that corner and just ploughed into him (shallower entry angle, off the racing line, and yet was braking later than Hamilton). But that is by the by.

[andrew]

Partly the British media, partly there are a lot of hackneyed cliches bandied about concerning Hamilton but mostly marketing by McLaren.

I say stick him in another car then judge the quality of the driver. the true greats can win in a dog of car. Young pretenders can only manage in the best machine at that given time. Sadly, the fanboys don't see it like this.

Your kidding right? You don't need to be a fan to see that he has made some amazing passes in F1, and was known as a great passer BEFORE he entered F1, in a series where everyone drives the EXACT SAME CAR.

No I'm not kidding. Hamilton won in the best car, big deal. Let's see him do it in the 2nd or 3rd best. Until then he is just someonewho was in the right place at the right time with the right team manager who picked him up at an early age.

There are plenty of drivers who were fantastic before F1 but only shone in the best car. GP2 means very little once a driver has made it into F1, unless you like to reminise about past glories.

[paipa]

Assuming the chart is correct, maybe the question that needs to be asked isn't "Why is Hamilton so good at overtaking?" but rather "Why are people obsessed over Hamilton, and not Massa, Alonso, and Barrichello?"

You should have a look at how many of their respective overtakes were on the three rookie teams:

Hamilton 5
Massa 17
Alonso 13
Barrichello 21

Hamilton not only completed the most overtakes in 2010 but his count wasn't doubled or tripled by helpless sitting ducks. 25 of his 30 overtakes were on proper cars, this is well ahead of anyone else for the season so I can see why there was more buzz around him.

[Giblet]

We're not talking about winning races and his cars dominance we're talking about his passing ability. Don't lose the plot here man. He has has been consistently great his whole career, even after gp2 into F1.

If you don't want to see as fact what the whole of F1 and it's writers think, then there is no point in talking about his proven passing ability with you in a thread about that exact subject.

Best passer? Very debatable so who knows, but to say he is not a good passer is quite simply wrong. It's like you were mistakenly watching a different series the last few years than I.

Maybe if the question was framed better, like "What makes a great passer in modern F1?"

Then what would be your opinion?

[PlatinumZealot]

Assuming the chart is correct, maybe the question that needs to be asked isn't "Why is Hamilton so good at overtaking?" but rather "Why are people obsessed over Hamilton, and not Massa, Alonso, and Barrichello?"

Because as paipa said, 25 of his overtakes are on proper cars.
whilst only 12 for massa, 16 for Alonso and 8 for Barichello were on proper cars. He has more than double the average overtakes of these three guys.

[luca]

the true greats can win in a dog of car.

Unfortunately, in modern F1 that is not possible anymore. It's mostly all about aerodynamics. That's also why it is so difficult to overtake, but that's another story.