Ed Doe said:
Watch the Schumacher documentary if you want to know how important the ability of the driver to inspire and build the team around him (as well as the skill in the car, albeit not without some controversial moments).
Look at Merc's last period of dominance with Hamilton as the driver.
Look at Vettel's dominance before that
Ayerton Senna.
etc. etc. etc.
By contrast look at Aston Martin & Lance Stroll. Money can buy you a lot of things (including an actual talented driver if so chosen), but it can't buy you championship victories - that's what a talented drivers will provide.
Bottom line, yes you do need an awful lot of money, but you also need the right technical team to provide the right car to the right driver in the right circumstances. When the stars align, then you get the periods of dominance that we've seen recently in the sport, until the regs shake up the order again.
FWIW the only problem I have with F1 is the fact that the reg changes only mean the teams with the most money can develop their way to the front much more easily than others, which perpetuates the monopoly at the top of the sport. It's a difficult sport to police that way though, because if you standardise too many parts then it stifles innovation (which ultimately trickles down into the technology we use in road cars) - which is why the major manufacturers enter the sport in the first place.
Anyway I digress...! Thank f**k Mclaren are shaking things up !!
I agree largely with this, having been an F1 fan for decades.
It is easy to forget that the margins in performance are very, very fine in F1. More so in the last couple of seasons than I can ever remember.
Even Lance Stroll can drive very, very well. Would he ever have been an F1 driver without his billionaire father buying a team for him? I doubt it but he is still very talented, just 0.1% less talented than others.
Modern F1 cars are developed around a driver, with massive input from the driver. Problem is, they are usually developed around one driver. So the number 2 team-mate gets 'sloppy seconds'.
I believe that is why Lewis is struggling lately. Because he is leaving, the car is being developed by and around George not Lewis. So Lewis has become the number 2 and gets 'sloppy seconds'. Same with Perez, and with Stroll as Alonso was brought into the team to develop the car and team. Same with Piastri, although he has done a sterling job so far.
I understood the main reason for Hamilton going to Ferrari was the fact that he wants to work with Fred Vasseur, as he is one of the most respected, liked and experienced people in F1. Lewis and him go back a long way.
As said, it is very fine margins, so a driver who gels with the team, the manager, everyone and everything is as important as the car to being up there near the front IMO.