Stewart: The best grid ever
Sir Jackie Stewart has labelled the current crop of F1 drivers the best in the history of the sport, calling them "a group of extraordinarily skilled people."
After an enthralling 2010 season in which the Drivers' title was decided at the final race of the season, with four competitors still in contention to win the Championship heading into the finale.
Many have hailed the standard of the competition this year, and Stewart has added his voice to the chorus.
"I think it's the best field ever," Stewart told Autotsport.
"Red Bull had a good car this year but right down to the last race there were four drivers battling for the championship, and there were five for most of the season really in contention.
"Up there was a Red Bull, a Ferrari and a McLaren, and a Renault pushing and shoving, so you cannot ask for much better than that. It was a long season and it came down to the very last race. It was close racing too."
The Scot believes that 2011 will be any even better season, with so many drivers possessing the potential to challenge for the World title, especially as the younger members of the grid continue to mature.
"[Vettel] is a young driver. He is 23 years of age," said Stewart. "I remember when I was 23 that was the age when I started to race racing cars. I was 23, and he is World Champion at 23," said Stewart.
"Mark Webber is 34. I know when I was 34, I was a better man than when I was 23, so therefore I think there is a lot more to come from Sebastian.
"Webber is still in there, and Kubica could one day be World Champion. You also have Jenson driving in the smoothest and cleanest way of any driver, and Lewis is probably the best racer of the whole lot - and the best equipped is still Alonso. You have such a group of extraordinarily skilled people.
"And 2010 was a great year, but 2011, because the same people are there with even more experience, I think it is going to be another great year."
So impressed with the current crop, Stewart rates them as being in the same class as the legends of the sport that he raced with.
"Absolutely [the field is as strong]. I think the animal is exactly the same. I don't think Sebastian Vettel is any different from what Jim Clark was, or Graham Hill was, or Jack Brabham was, or people who have won the world championship more than once.
"These drivers are the same - all the same desire, want, focus, commitment and God-given talent that has been developed to the highest level.
"So they are not different as individuals, but we have a crop of them just now and we have got a little closer unification of the quality of the performance of the cars, so it is going to give us better racing - and I see 2010 was as good as the late 1960s/early 1970s," he added.
Credit: PlanetF1.com (www.planetf1.com)
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