Ross Brawn was asked why he paid Michael Schumacher £20m a year to drive for Ferrari. Brawn said that the only other way he could find half-a-second a lap would be to spend £200m on the car. Drivers are not the same, and that's why some get paid more than others. Yes, Di Resta's had a good season, but as fast a Vettel? Pigs might fly...
Not all drivers are the same. Webber has the same kit as Vettel, and the same opportunity to develop it, but look what's happened... three seasons on the trot...
I can't remember how many people said that Hamilton would hand Button his arse on a plate, including me. Yet Button is on the brink of being the first team mate Hamilton has ever raced with to beat him over a season. Now that is class - even Alonso couldn't do that.
If you want to see drivers compete against each other in the same cars, go watch Formula Ford. F1 is about technology and drivers, not who is the best wheelman alone.
The Rules are stable, we have the same set for the third season in a row. That works against Newey and Red Bull, because Newey is the world's best at being fast out of the box when the Rules change. Additionally, no one has the blown diffuser next season, and that might make Red Bull less competitive. When Ferrari dominated they were spending huge amounts more than the others, but now we have the Resource Restriction in place, people can't do that any more.
I don't think Vettel will dominate the way Schumacher did, the conditions are different now. Nonetheless, at the age of 24, he has at least 10 years left to race, so it would be difficult to bet against him giving Schumacher's numbers a challenge.
And talking of the seven-time champion, isn't it time he gave up the unequal struggle against time and left before he ruins what's left of his reputation? Great? Hardly even good by the time he's finished wrecking what aura he had left.
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