Hard to say. For those the top 3 it’s both. They know how to drive and get the most of their cars and dialed in just right for each track.
The veterans that are in the back don’t have the cars to compete. Not sure what’s going on with Vettel. I think he just wants out of Ferrari. Hard to tell about the Williams boys as clearly the car isn’t doing it for them but do they have the talent that if they drove the Mercedes or Red Bull to win races?
I remember when Piquet Jr was Alonso’s teammate and Flavio complained they had the same car but Piquet was always at the back. Clearly someone had talent and the other didn’t.
I setup my Civic Si to my comfort level. Front wheels had just enough camber to grip around corners but not so much as to destroy the front the tires when driving straight. Rear camber setup for good rotation around corners and some slight oversteer. Had Koni Oranges as for a street car I didn’t care for adjustable dampening. Tein springs. Factory sway bars were fine. Aftermarket CMC and SMC so you could slam every gear and shift as fast you want. Had a 3” extension on the gear leaver and a 3” cylindrical shift knob so that’s 6” higher than what it should be. It was a great setup.
So maybe some of the drivers don’t know how to setup their car for each track.