“Max Verstappen is Not Going to Win in a Sauber”: James Vowles’ Take on the Car vs Driver Debate

The car vs driver debate has been a big bone of contention in F1 with different perspectives often arising for what makes the difference on track. Every top driver and world champion like Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen has faced this question when they have dominated. Williams’ team principal James Vowles is the most recent to give his take on this debate.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Vowles gave a detailed explanation of how the top drivers can push a team’s performance, but can only do so much if a side is at the back of the grid. He said, “In reality, the answer is both [the car and the driver make the difference].”

“Max [Verstappen] is not gonna win a championship in a Stake [Sauber] car, which is at the back of the grid. Simple as that. And nor would Lewis for that matter. It’s more complicated answer to that”, he said.

Vowles also explained the gaps between the best and worst teams, and how drivers on the grid play a major role in who wins races and championships. The Williams boss said that roughly eight-tenths to one second per lap is the average field spread in F1 nowadays.

Q1 CLASSIFICATION: Look how close the times are?!

Just 0.798s between P1 and P20! #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/zV0Xp8hF7B

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 29, 2024

So, amid this close field, the teams at the top end of this spectrum will naturally take the glory unless their car’s reliability falters. The top drivers make the difference to push their team to gain performance and extract the maximum out of their car relative to a rival.

Lando Norris is the perfect case in point to demonstrate both sides of the car vs driver debate. The McLaren man commented back in 2021 that Hamilton having the best car was the reason for him winning races every weekend.

However, Norris has ironically faltered to maximize the performance of his car — the MCL38 — which has now become the fastest car on the grid since May this season. The McLaren driver is currently second in the championship, 59 points behind Verstappen. Norris simply hasn’t consistently won races despite having the best car.