[McLovin]

F1 has always been more about the car than the driver.
More so in the past than today, though.
It’s always been just about the furthest thing from a “spec” racing series.
Esp. in the old days (20 years or more ago). Very few rules compared to today. The cars on the grid were very different from each other (different tires, etc).
Today F1 does quite a bit to level the playing field and make a better “show.” Standardized tires, DRS, grid penalties, etc are a bit more “NASCAR” or IndyCar in philosophy.
I think back then it was easier to identify who the best drivers were.
People like Senna and Schumacher, they came onto teams with subpar cars and were very quick in them. They were able to make bad cars (and bad teams) into champions.
I only started watching F1 again a year ago. So I missed entirely the Vettel and Hamilton eras.