Vettel - luck or skill?

[RemarkLima]

So given the main thread is just Mercedes bashing...

Was Vettel just lucky to avoid hitting the pit wall in that spin? Or was it skill?

Given all 4 wheels were locked up, I'd have to say "he was very lucky indeed!" as he was just a passenger at that point.

[LDN]

I think it was 70% skill - you could see he unlocked the wheels at precisely the right point to allow the car to roll forwards and avoid the skid continuing.

[PhillipM]

Very lucky boy!

[CaptainMorgan]

There was an amount of skill involved but I reckon there was a big dollop of luck involved too. I loved how he just got it into gear and carried on though lol.

[DrDeAtH]

Either way, I bet he needed new pants....

[Wish]

It was skill .... You see the point he lets off the brake to come out of the skid.

[MG CHRIS]

It was more skill than luck considering the way perez hit the wall in the same place but a bit of luck as well.

[Tc24]

I'm going to say skill.

I can't for the life of me remember which race (or even year!) it was, but he done something very similar in a free practice session once, only with a couple more rotations.

[MGJohn]

There again, just maybe he is lucky ... to have the skill ..

[PhillipM]

Wish said:

It was skill .... You see the point he lets off the brake to come out of the skid.

Well, I won't say it was all luck, but when holding them just over the point of lockup the tyres themselves will naturally unlock as the the slip angle reduces, and secondly, all drivers are taught from a young age to take their feet off the pedals if they're about to hit a wall, which if you watch from the onboard, he does with both feet just before it grips again....

[MGJohn]

Was Hamilton lucky not to bin it on that first lap 'incident' ?

[stephen300o]

Reminds me of that Senna quote regarding one of his bosses praising him for the skill in collecting the car from a spin. Ayrton responding "Don't you believe it, that was pure luck!"


But you do have to have the steady head to remember to lift off the brake while the world is spinning towards a wall.

[RemarkLima]

Interesting thoughts on lifting at the right moment, I'll have to have another look... Saying that, a little more speed, a slightly damper track (potentially the case with perez) and less rotation there'd have been no choice for lifting... Still, it'll be those split second moments that count.

MGJohn said:

Was Hamilton lucky not to bin it on that first lap 'incident' ?

Who was talking about Hamilton? Pure luck if you're asking... With cold brakes, no modulation it's only luck I reckon.

Edited by RemarkLima on Monday 28th July 07:59

[Derek Smith]

If Vettel's miss of the wall was pure skill then I would assume that, being so talented, he would not have spun in the first place.

At that speed and in the time he had to act only automated responses would have been on any use. My feeling is that these are what saved him, or at least his car.

Was there much damage to his car?

[RemarkLima]

Derek Smith said:

Was there much damage to his car?

None, maybe a tap on the side of the wheel but the only real damage was 4 flat spotted tyres.

[Derek Smith]

RemarkLima said:

None, maybe a tap on the side of the wheel but the only real damage was 4 flat spotted tyres.

Thanks for that.

[jodypress]

Hamilton defintely said he was lucky not to have done more damage in his spin, not heard from Seb about his but it was pure luck. F1 drivers are good but they can't defy the laws of physics.

[Megaflow]

Both. Luck because the car spun in such a way he could use skill to let the brakes off at the right point and continue.

[Jasandjules]

I think it was 80% skill and 20% luck.

[John D.]

Megaflow said:

Both. Luck because the car spun in such a way he could use skill to let the brakes off at the right point and continue.

Yep.