If it was 100% the car, then it should be an even fight every race between both drivers with the best car. But it hasn't been that way since Prost and Senna at McLaren in 1988. One of the two drivers always rises above and that driver goes on to win the WDC and many times the second driver does not even finish 2nd in the WDC even though they are in the best car.
And then you have years like 1996 where Villeneuve's FW19 was clearly much better than Schumacher's F310B, yet he and Schumacher fought over the WDC lead all the way to that fateful lap at Jerez where Michael threw it all away - literally and figuratively.
Number of wins is hardly a "useless" metric, but I do agree it should not be the only metric a driver is graded on. Lewis and Michael raced in an era where the cars were at their safest and most reliable so both drivers were able to compete for far longer than drivers in the 1960s and 1970s could. F1 season lengths have also doubled today from the 1960s.
When Senna died in 1994, it was widely believed his record of 65 poles would never be eclipsed. Schumacher eventually did it (by 3), but he was an active driver for 50% longer (15 years compared to Senna's 10) with many more Grand Prix per year to have a shot at pole.
And then you have years like 1996 where Villeneuve's FW19 was clearly much better than Schumacher's F310B, yet he and Schumacher fought over the WDC lead all the way to that fateful lap at Jerez where Michael threw it all away - literally and figuratively.
Number of wins is hardly a "useless" metric, but I do agree it should not be the only metric a driver is graded on. Lewis and Michael raced in an era where the cars were at their safest and most reliable so both drivers were able to compete for far longer than drivers in the 1960s and 1970s could. F1 season lengths have also doubled today from the 1960s.
When Senna died in 1994, it was widely believed his record of 65 poles would never be eclipsed. Schumacher eventually did it (by 3), but he was an active driver for 50% longer (15 years compared to Senna's 10) with many more Grand Prix per year to have a shot at pole.