planetf1.com

Well the question popped in my mind after reading Vettel saying that pressure builds up after each championship and another article Hamilton favoring him for 2013.

If he does go on for a 4th (or even not!) tittle how will this era be remembered? he is in a decent position with RBR proving to be an excellent team and usually produce cars with excellent aerodynamics and general handling. I think only Mclaren can produce a fast enough car at the current stage, but can they keep it together like RBR do?

It would be a shame really as we recently we have had a magnificent field including Hamilton, Button, Alonso and Kimi (5 WDCs!) and an excellent group of youngsters coming through, as well as other very good drivers (Rosberg, Kovalainen,,,etc.)

Ofcourse most of the current watchers will remember that Vettel has usually had a better car than most and his wins don't take away much from the opposition (as why Lewis and Alonso are highly rated for their 2012 seasons). Don't get me wrong Vettel is a GREAT driver and has earned his 3x WDCs, but the other WDCs are just as good (IMO) and it would be a shame if their achievements in perhaps worse cars are forgotten.

Dont worry , others will also be remembered but just a shade behind Vettel.

It happens with stats like that. Doesnt matter if you think Hakkinen was better than Schumi , everyone remembers Schumi and Hakkinen is an afterthought as the guy who gave Schumi the toughest fight. Unfair but true!

That depends. I think you need to have a period where you are either first (mostly) or second for a prolonged period of time.

Schumi pretty much had 1994-2006, with some blips (94-95 winning, 96 he was third, 97 as a DSQ but he was effectively second, 98 second, 99 injury year, 2000-2004 wins, 2005 he was a distant 3rd, 2006 second). A record strong enough I don't think it much of a stretch to call 1994-2006 the Schumacher era. He was the standard for that time, especially after the death of Senna.

Vettel has got 4 solid years now. 3 WDCs and a runner up. If he keeps up like this, the era I thought would be named without a driver's name might be known as the Vettel era. I thought given Alonso, Hamilton, Kimi and Vettel we'd have a proper 4 way split on the go. Instead it might be Vettel all the way. Who knows.




Anyway, I've rambled and not really said anything insightful. Basically, I think Vettel needs to be top dog for a while longer before this could be looked back on as the Vettel era. He's made a good start though...

I think it all depends on who you are. A casual headline follower will probably think of this as the Vettel era. Those who study the sport and it's multiple layers more closely will recognise all performances and have their own considerations of the best talents. For me, as a Lewis Hamilton supporter, this is the.... Alonso era.

I'm not so sure. Yes, Vettel is likely to pick up more titles, but to the people who know, he hasn't yet delivered that box office status. 3 world titles later and people are still on the fence about him. For some reason his achievements just don't sit right with certain people. Maybe because of his luck with cars, or maybe because people just don't like him.

I think he will go on to win 5 or so titles, but at some point there will come that defining season. At some point he will have to face off against a top rated driver, or former WDC. A Hamilton or Alonso. You get the feeling Hamilton would go to any team and race anyone. Vettel needs that same mind set. People say that whilst he is winning, he doesn't care what people think. And you might be right. But if I were him, the longer he goes on avoiding the Hamilton's and Alonso's, picking up WDC's in a superior car/team, the bigger the fall if he ever races Hamilton for example in the same car, and gets owned. That will be what people remember. That season when he got trumped by a quicker driver. Then you'll see the multiple WDC achievements fade into history, only to be replaced by that moment of rivalry.

F1 remembers box office. Schumacher's will to win dirty, Prost and Senna's rivalry, Mansell's aggression, Hamilton's outright speed, Alonso's magic, Raikonnen tearing through that cloud of smoke at Spa...

To the people who know, he's got a bit more to prove yet. The Vettel era? Not quite yet. Not whilst he's not even considered the best driver on the grid.

No.

Like it or not, rightly or wrongly, Newey and the car are given too much credit for Vettel to define this era in a traditional sense, and Vettel isn't fully enough accepted as a great driver.

During the Schumi era even those who didn't like the man wouldn't, on the whole, disagree that he was the best driver and had built the best environment for himself. Few credit Vettel with being the best driver of today, or with playing a significant role in the team with which he's dominating (outside the cockpit of course).

Things could well change. But if he continues in a car so universally recognised as the best, with a teammate who isn't quite top drawer, and with his top competitors serially hampered by whatever issue they're having that year... I think he'll be remembered as lucky. Which is probably hugely unfair. The chance to excel in equal or inferior machinery could be the making of his reputation, whether he won the title or not. In a way it would be very unfair if he keeps being given great cars and doesn't get the opportunity to prove what he can do without an advantage.

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Klaus Kinski: making me question my heroes since January 2013

Maybe in the future those that are new to the sport will read over the record books and record these years as "Vettel's era". But not many watching today will recall it as such.

We're in a bit of a golden period of (front running) driving talent right now. People's memories will be split between the various top drivers we have today.

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"I am a believer, but I start each Grand Prix with 195 liters of fuel behind me," he explains. "I don't rely entirely on God, I rely on Prost."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/20669262

This BBC article today hits the nail on the head.

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F1 fan since 97...
Kimi Raikkonen World Champion 2007
Gotta love this guy!!!!
....Just leave me Alone!!!!
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Thought that was an interesting read myself.

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F1 fan since 97...
Kimi Raikkonen World Champion 2007
Gotta love this guy!!!!
....Just leave me Alone!!!!
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Please God no...

If the post-Schumi period is to be a defined era attributed to one driver, it has to be him.

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Klaus Kinski: making me question my heroes since January 2013

IMO: Schumacher era --> Golden era (Alonso, Kimi, Lewis, Button all belong here) --> Vettel era
Depends of course how long an era is. If the current era is defined as the time after Schumi's domination, I don't think it's an era of a particular driver.

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Räikkönen - Vettel - Rosberg - Bottas

It's the Red Bull era.

Exactly. 3 years first and second in the WDC standings.

Oh wait.

I'm not saying the car doesn't have anything to do with it. Just saying it takes lots more than just the car. As has been evidenced these past 3 years.

I think will be more remembered as the "RedBull" Era.

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Driver Instructor & Test Driver

Newey- aera.

No, because there are drivers that are just as good as Vettel still on the grid. Even with four titles, the general consensus would still be that Alonso and Hamilton are still able to match Sebastian with competitive machinery. The so-called 'Schumacher era' existed only because Michael Schumacher was the clear #1. There was simply nobody out there who could say "I am able to beat Mich. Provide reason to suggest they could. There was no "Senna era", nor a "Prost era". No Piquet; no Lauda. If Fernando and Lewis were abducted by aliens before the first Grand Prix of next year, and nobody filled their shoes for the next 5, then what we are witnessing right now may well be considered the "Vettel era" - but when there are two notable drivers just waiting to de-throne him, it surely cannot be considered "his" era.

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I also have one of these.

Oh, I see what you did there!
Didn't catch that the first time

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"I am a believer, but I start each Grand Prix with 195 liters of fuel behind me," he explains. "I don't rely entirely on God, I rely on Prost."

Which drivers actually have an era? When you stop and think about there are very few.

I'd say Schumi, Fangio and probably Stewart. Maybe you could add Prost, Clark and Lauda...?

For me greats and/or multiple champs like Senna, Brabham, Piquet, G. Hill, Ascari and others never had their own era, largely due to the standard of competition at the time. When you consider that it seems like a very tough job for Vettel to stamp his seal on a whole era.

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Klaus Kinski: making me question my heroes since January 2013

I hope so. I hope he can win a few more titles in a row too!

Drinks company(s) aera

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"Everything you can imagine is real." Pablo Picasso

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Get your facts right first, then you can distort them as you please. Mark Twain.

Nope. Just the era of DRS and lots of WDC's/

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1994 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

More like the Newey Era, it's all the about the car for me still even though i rate Vettel highly.

I was going to say, this will be remembered as the Red Bull era (although I'm not sure three seasons is enough for an era).

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We want heroes, but there are few, mainly it's cars - Pedro De La Rosa

Sums up my views on the matter