thestaggy
Honorary Master
Well, if a driver and his engineer can't setup a car to be 100% competitive on any track they should be kicked to the curb. I can never understand when drivers complain about the car setup wasn't right for them, thus they sucked. It really shouldn't (isn't) be that difficult to setup your car to be competitive on any track, with all the data they accumulate each year from the same tracks, they should have good base setups, and then the driver should know where to make changes to improve, irrespective of the actual car design, then that's where the setup comes in to make it suit the driver.
Of course the setup will have compromises, but make it suit you as best possible.
If after a few laps you can't figure out where you will need to make changes...rather join a different sport, like curling.
At the moment Perez sucks balls, since last year in fact.
Not all drivers are equal.
Every driver can come up with a base setup. The really good ones will find that extra tenth or two that separates them from the rest.
And some cars, by design are better suited to certain types of circuits. As an example, during their Renault-powered days, Red Bull had to optimise downforce and cornering performance to account for a weaker power unit. They sacrificed speed to be faster through and on the exit of corners. For a period, Red Bull were noted for being one of the best cars on the track in terms of cornering performance but were not that great when it came to straight line performance.
Wind the clock back to the early 2000s when BMW had the most powerful engine on the grid. Williams, using the BMW engines, were absolute monsters in a straight line. Not even Ferrari could live with them in terms of outright speed. But, the Ferrari was overall a better rounded car, so while at tracks like Monza and old Hockenheim the Williams would blow Ferrari's doors off, everywhere else Ferrari was better.

