As always, I appreciate the respectful discussion of a contested claim.
For what it's worth, my claim is not from my own making but simply regurgitating a statement that was made from one of those three names that I threw out there. I happened to have the opportunity to ride/drive a S2000 around a handling course with one of those experienced racers and the question was directly asked "can you brake faster than ABS?" The response was the statement I made... This was supported by another person who has written vehicle dynamics books and trained countless people on the theory of maximum handling.
Every formula 1 race I've ever seen (road course) has had numerous instances where a driver slid a wheel and ended up too far in a corner resulting in losing a place and many times wrecking the car. If anything they become conservative in braking because they can't afford to lock a wheel. This is where the driver skill comes in and separates the men from the boys...