Formula 1 Rolex British Grand PrixFormula 1

[TheElbows]

I'm curious to see if Hamilton could win a race in a Toro Rosso.

Considering Hamilton is almost without question a better driver than Vettel? Yes, put in the same position/conditions its very likely he would.

 

[mustafur]

Did you even watch the first half of that season? He finished 13th in Turkey, 16th in Britain and 18th in Germany, all on pure (lack of) pace before turning it around and winning in Hungary in the next race. If you think the McLaren that year wasn't an awful car for half a season you're sorely wrong.

Alot of which was Kovalenien on a bad strategy then he couldn't overtake because it was 2008.

 

[Lewis_Hamilton_]

I'm curious to see if Hamilton could win a race in a Toro Rosso.

A lot of people reference Vettel's win that weekend as a landmark. All credit to him, but then people also forget that the Toro Rosso was clearly a fast car that weekend (Bourdais qualified 4th as well). So yes, I imagine had Hamilton been in Vettel's seat, you'd see the same result. The Toro Rosso wasn't some back marker dog of a car.

 

[mustafur]

A lot of people reference Vettel's win that weekend as a landmark. All credit to him, but then people also forget that the Toro Rosso was clearly a fast car that weekend (Bourdais qualified 4th as well). So yes, I imagine had Hamilton been in Vettel's seat, you'd see the same result. The Toro Rosso wasn't some back marker dog of a car.

Webber also qualified 3rd in that race as well who had the exact same chassis just with a slightly inferior Renault engine.

It's safe to say in those conditions it was the best car on the grid.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

If I recall correctly, Toro Rosso were the only real to get some decent running in the rain during Friday practice that weekend too.

 

[Peter.]

Was it a championship winning car? No. But was it a race winning car after the mid season updates? Absolutely. Kovaleinen finisehd 5th in Hungary. The car was competitive after they made that update. He won when the car was a race-winning car.

It's not a race winning car until someone drives it well enough to win. He still wiped the floor with Kovaleinen, once the car became fast enough to actually compete for wins. He was wiping the floor with him before, too. We aren't trying to say it was still a terrible car when he won, but it's hard to believe it was the best or second best, either. Hamilton was the best driver on the grid once the car stopped being useless.

 

[baldgye]

My counter to that is that Lewis has never spent time at a team that is incapable of winning.

There is a good reason why this is the case.
His talent and ability have been visible from day 1 and as he progressed through the jr categories he only ever got better and better. The fact Lewis never had to bother with a mid-tier team is a testament to his sheer jaw dropping skill and ability to perform from day 1.