Driver or Vehicle: which has more significance?

The relationship between the driver and the car needs to be strong in order for the team to get the most out of races and score the most points, however there is much debate over whether the car or the driver is more important when analysing a competitor.

Esteban Ocon's pit engineers during the race at Portimão

It is obvious that the car needs to be strong in order to win championships and that the power of the engine, the chassis and the aerodynamics are all durable and stable enough to provide the teams with wins and enough points to make them a big contender in the races. Mercedes know this well as, along with Red Bull, they spend the most amount of money (around $400 million per year) on Formula One and building their car in order to put it at the top of the grid most races. On the other hand, this can damage the views of the integrity of the driver's talent and more often than not fans believe other drivers could achieve what Hamilton has if they had a Mercedes car.

The clarity of Hamilton's talent is like looking through a window in summer: undeniable, and his ability to work with his cars, with them being such a high level of engineering, plays to Mercedes's strength. He has 7 world titles and has achieved a total of 98 race wins - the highest number in Formula One history. Surely that says something about his driving? He hasn't raced with Mercedes all of his career either; he spent his rookie season and 5 more with McLaren where he also won a world title, therefore showing that it is not just the championship-winning car that allows him to succeed.

Lewis Hamilton celebrating a second place podium in 2008

Whilst it could be said that the car is more important, the driver is definitely the more important party here. It is the driver's job to to rise to the challenges of a new car every season and adapt to the difficulties and set-backs that the model could have. A good example of this is Fernando Alonso. As a world champion, the motorsport community knows that he has the talent, though the car he is driving this year, the Alpine, isn't exactly a strong contender for a podium finish in races. They've also had issues with their wind tunnel which set them back tenths in the development of the car and the aerodynamics, yet Alonso still managed to pull out a respectable 6th place in Baku on the 6th June.

It is also clear that Mick Schumacher has potential; he might not be the sensation that his father was - after all that's a big legacy to carry - but he still has the power of a strong competitor, beating his teammate Nikita Mazepin in every race but Monaco. Schumacher is in a very weak car with very low funding, yet has the capability to achieve possible successes in the future, which shows that he is working with what he has to place the car where it deserves to be, thus showing that the drivers are vitally important to the success of the team.

Mick Schumacher flying around Baku last week

However, it is also evidential that the cars play a considerable role in the placing of the teams and the drivers themselves. For example, in the 2020 season last year when Lewis Hamilton caught Covid-19, George Russell filled his place and drove incredibly well in Sakhir until, Mercedes messed up his pit stop. Whilst in the Williams, Russell is at the back of the grid the majority of the time, whilst in the Mercedes he was onto a first win, therefore the debate stands that the car is more vital to the team that the driver and Russell only came close to a win because he was in the better car. However, Russell is a young driver hungry for success and that is exposed in his driving, especially at Sakhir; his car is just letting him down.

To Red Bull, the driver is everything, leading to now where they have adopted a 'one driver rules them all' policy. When Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were signed together in 2009, Vettel outshone Webber and so he [Webber] was fired and replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. Vettel was then outshone by Ricciardo leading to the more recent and well-known duo of Max Verstappen and Ricciardo, until Ricciardo left for Renault in 2020. This proves, that to Red Bull Racing, the driver is critical to winning Grands Prix and that in some respects, is more important than the car itself.

The catchy Australian smile was certainly broken out at Red Bull Racing in 2018

It is very clear that both the car and the driver are important in maintaining the place of the team in both the overall Driver's Standings, but also the Constructor's Standings and allowing the team to succeed. Despite this, it is clear that the driver has a more significant role within the team; they drive the car, they work with the car's strengths to win and they also feed back anything that does not feel correct - they are fully in control of how the car performs and as a result, are more important.