I don't get you people.. All I've argued is that Vettel hasn't proven it YET. I'm sure he can, but until he proves it, people won't believe it and won't regard him a great.
It's not only fans who think Alonso is a great, people involved in F1 and know a hell of a lot more than us regard him as a great and the most complete driver on the grid.
Vettel can be, his results show it. But he hasn't proven it.

dan. you have it bad, dont you? i believe that vettel has easily proved his ability. he has been able to come from tail end several times. catching and passing his teammate who is driving the same car.

clearly you have an issue with those who recognise his ability, but i am sure that we all have our opinion, and dont need to be told time and time again, by you that "seb has not proven it yet".

and as for wanting him to be like lulu? god forbid! we dont need another driver who lies, crashes etc etc.

@ richard You conveniently forget that "finger" was known as a crash kid back in 2010. I remember Whitmarsh branding him that name.

A man who keeps proudly declaring that when he decided to retire, that was that, all passion for racing was gone and he'd never do it again ... shouldn't have so much to say about what it takes to be a legend.

But on Vettel, Stewart is correct. Have we seen Seb spend two, three, four seasons in an uncompetitive car? Have we been able to see how he handles that mentally? What his development ability is? His team leadership ability? No. Not yet.

Vettel is obviously brilliant. But to be a great you have to be exhibit qualities other than brilliance.

One thing in common to all the undisputed greats is that their careers did not fade out. Vettel's career is far from over so pure logic dictates we cannot assess him against drivers whose careers have ended.

That said, I have no doubt at all that when Vettel calls it quits it will be as an undisputed great. But until he stops, we can sensibibly compare him only with his current rivals.

polo. yes maybe. yet he still managed to beat lulu and others to become wdc. further whitmarsh had egg on his face when he realised that lulu crashed a lot more!

@Pole Position - given all of the criticism of Whitmarsh by you I am suprised that you would use his statement to back up your argument. Clearly that statement was about mind games in an effort rattle Vettel. How did that work out for him?

I agree totally with Dan and Marty.

@ Richard - How can you say he has proven his ability when he hasn't moved to a lesser team and "proved" himself. That's the real test that defines a driver if he can raise himself to the next level which the "greats" have all done. What we are saying is Sebs turn is coming up if he and his fanboys and critics regard him to become a "great". Like I said somewhere, I will call Seb a great IF he achieves it. Schu went to the Fez in 1996 and did some amazing things in that crap box. Seb has to prove he is on that or close to that level to become great, not just cause his fanboys say so.
Also i agree to an extent you cant judge diff era drivers, but the fanboys are doing it with Sebs statistics and F1 is always the same in 1 car is the best and others can be crap...... That's how you know when the next superstar comes along because they do excellent in a crapbox which hasn't happened since Schumi.

How is it that Stewart considered Prost among the greatest, yet Vettel is not? Prost won Championships only when in the best car, FACT. Prost had his greatest season in an Adrian Newey designed masterpiece, yet people aren't discounting his achievement. The bottom line is that Vettel has raced for three teams in F1 and has scored points for each, none of which were the best upon his debut. He has exceeded all reasonable expectations and delivered results. I can see the underlying motivation for Stewart, who sees a driver easily eclipsing his personal achievements. But then again, Stewart has often been critical of nearly every driver who displays a skill set that is beyond his own. It must be difficult to get old and bitter.

uncle sam. there are many drers who are called great, and legends, long after they hae retired, but very few, if any have been given this accollade when they are starting their career. so to many, the fact that seb has achieved so much by the age of 25, that does not make him a great. i remember when schumi was winning, nobody called him a great. in fact, all that was said about him was abuse. but now he is taken as the yardstick.

matt. changing cars does not have to be a requisite for "proving oneself" . there are many greats who did not change teams. take jim clark for example....

apart from that, each year the red bull is different, so seb is in effect driving a different car each year. this year, he was not driving the best car, yet still drove it better than anyone else.

Sam are you suggesting that Prost should not be considered great?
Yes he won a championship in a dominant Williams, he also won 3 others and every team mate he had during his championship seasons were or would be world champions, Lauda, Rosberg, Senna and Dhill. He was also a very close second in 4 other championships 2 points in 83, half a point in 84, 3 points in 88 (even though he scored more than Senna over the season) and 7 points in 90 (thanks to common assault)
And you don't think he was one of the greats? There have been very few better.