BBC: Formula 1's Greatest Drivers of All Time (Top 20)

GV First full year of f1 was in 1978 and that year was a lotus cakewalk. 1979 he came behind Jody and had more podiums and more dnfs than jody did. The Monaco dnf (gearbox) really killed his chances of winning the wdc. 1980 the flat 12 prevented the development of a true ground effects car. 1981 was the first year of the turbo and the engine was strong and unreliable; the chassis was garbage. He still won twice and had a third place; his Spanish gp drive was BRILLIANT. The highly regarded pironi in the same car never podiumed once that season. Ferrari got the 126c2 right and there is little doubt amongst experts that GV would have won it that year but for his accident. Over-rated? Perhaps- but not by those who raced against him.

As for mansell, he won his sole championship in a car that was miles ahead of the competition. His teammate finished second in the wdc that year.

 

I can't believe they listed Schumacher as #4. Every year he won at Ferrari, F1 responded by major rule changes designed to hamper Ferrari. They still won.

I think he is #1, Senna #2, you can all argue the rest.

Just my opinion.

-dsd

 

Did you watch MS in 1994 to 1998? They were his best years of driving. Winning doesn't necessarily mean you are the best driver, it simply means the car and driver pairing was the best. In 1994 to 1998 MS was absolutely amazing in a not very good car. I honestly don't believe he ever drove as well again.

From 2000 until 2005 MS had the best car ... even Barichello would have won the WDC those years if MS was not there.
Pete

 

This is probably why he should finish first- he won in different cars. JMF was also a real gentleman on the track as was Clark; AS and MS had their share of dcik moves.

 

They do? Not me!..... Not even *close* IMO.

He won in cars that you or I could have won in! Outside of when the car was *perfect* for him he was a whining *****. Not fit to carry many of these guys jocks IMO.

Wouldn't make my top 25 FWIW.

As with everyone else's, "just my 02c"

Cheers,
Ian

 

Ian-give boy Nige some credit:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2g1yrGputA[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n5LIIYo0ts[/ame]

Came from 12th on the grid to win in Hungary, on a track that is difficult to pass on, and had the "holy sh!ite" moment with Senna.

PS-no wanker DRS necessary lol!!!!

 

Give credit to the man who introduced whinging to F1.

Might be the greatest influence on racing as we know it.

 

Nope, sorry!.....

I'll concede that when the stars aligned, the car was perfect and it wasn't "that time of the month" he was damn quick. He also had some significant attachments when needed.

Still doesn't put him close to the top 25 IMO.

Indeed. However, and I haven't checked, wasn't he only back in 12th due to problems in qualy? When your car is 2-3 seconds quicker than anyone else's passing gets a little easier. I suspect we could all find "woo-hoo" videos of our favorites...... Even Jos the Boss made the occasional pass.

"Can't please all the people all the time...." "We" wanted more overtaking, and they've given "us" that.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Agreed, sometimes even in 1992, Nigel's whine was louder than the cars! The only teammate he dominated was Patrese, Prost Piquet beat him and he was only on par with DeAngelis. A strong driver, but certainly flattered by having far and away the best car in 1986-1987 and 1990-1992. His return in 1995 to Mclaren makes Schumacher's recent results look positively successful.

 

Ohh, he was whining *long* before he got to F1...... I've related my experiences with him in F3 before - No need to do it again - Just know that unless he was on pole *something* (and never, ever, him) was at fault.

IMESHO, one of, if not the most, undeserving WDC's of all time.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Ian:

Everyone here needs to know you are spot on in your assessment of Mansell. There's a funny and illustrative story about his leaving do when he departed Williams at the end of 1988, but I'll give you have the first go at telling it if you want.

However, it is worth noting that his ability to control or conceal the prima donna aspects of his persona in public did make him a real hero to the fans. And his 'attachments' (more like annexes!) did allow him to pull off some astounding passes...

 

Thankyou Sir!

I think I know of what you speak, but please go ahead and tell the story!

+1

"The British Lion!"...... "The British *****" IMO.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Tell that to Senna and Ratzenberger...

 

Yes. But he brought it to the big leagues.

 

When Stewart raced more than 2 drivers died every season.
Pete

 

Racing will never be a safe sport. We're safer than we were during the Senna years which in turn were much safer than the sixties and seventies.
The best metric may be the change in the sport between when Stewart started racing and when his safety lobbying took effect.

 

Mansell is f.1 most overrated driver iIMO....just think of it, no one will put De Angelis in the top 20 but in 80 they where team mates
-Elio finished 7º with13 points
Mansell-0 points

81
Elio - 8º with 14 points
Mansell-14º with 8 points

82
Elio - 9º with 23 points
Mansell-14º with 7 points

83
Elio - 18º with 2points
Mansell-13º with 10 points

84
Elio - 3º with 34points
Mansell-13º with 10 points

So, in 5 years he was clearly beaten 4 times by a guy that no one considers one of the great ones.....how the hell can he be one of the all time greats?????

 

I don´t like Stewart, he´s a peacock and full of it.
he was very, very good, but his Tyrrel was also streets ahead of the competition.....in equal cars i would put my money on Ickx over him anyday.....and let´s not forget, he´s biggest competition was emerson who was not such a great driver. Ickx and Ronnie were a lot better but Ickx almost never had the car, and Ronnie´s cars broke a lot.

 

I agree with someone who said Gilles being in 11 it´s ridiculous...od course it is, he is simply nº1.....anyone who ever saw him race knows this, i don´t care if he won 6 or 7 races, that is miningless, he won 2 races in a row while driving the worst chassis on the grid, and this is something no one, i repeat no one ever did and probably will never do again....(and he did it in company of the best f.1 field ever assembled).....i anyone still has any doubts, just look at 1980 Monaco g.p (there are plenty of pieces of it on youtube)...watch and try to remenber when you saw anyone drive like that or even remotly near that!!!

 

It is obvious that Senna and Fangio are going to be listed #1 and #2. It is a shame that the person that many feel is the greatest of all time isn't considered for the list. Nuvolari.

 

Not really so... Tyrrell was ok in 71 and 72 really only dominant in 73... and only towards the end of the season. the only time Stewart has a dominant car was the Matra MS80 in 69. Ickx was very good, but not as sympathetic to the car, he broke a lot of cars in his younger days, in 70 his best chance of WDC he broke cars in the beginning of the year - missed shifts, over revvs... and he had poor set up ability.... where as Stewart was able to set the car up for each track, and could conserve tires, car etc... 7 Min lead at the Nurburgring in 68! ... in the fog and rain... you dont do that by being average..

Fittipaldi was an excelent driver - naturally gifted, and had he stayed with a top team he would have been a dominant figure thru the 70-s and into the 80's ... but his Nationalism and desire to have an all Brazillian F-1 team was a dismal failure and waste of his natrual talent... such a shame.. dont forget he won Indy 2x and was Indy champion as well... way after his F-1 time had ended...

In sports cars Ickx has no parrallel... he could nurse the bigger cars, and coax them faster and faster - he was alwas the hare to Bell's turtle when driving Porsche in the mid 80's but it worked... the good news is he is around to tell the story. had Ickx stayed at Ferrari for 1974 i think he could have been WDC... but in F-1 he had a terrible habit of choosing the wrong team at the wrong time.... Brabham, Ferrari, Lotus, Ensign etc...

 

From 1960 to 1976 F-1 Lost an average of 4 drivers each year:

Tripps, Clark, Bandini, Parks, Siffert, Courage, Cevert, Koenig,Rindt... and list goes on.. from 1975 to 1982 F-1 did not have any driver fatalities except Peterson but that was a blood clot from surgery, indirectly from the accident.

most of the current safety standard in place are due to Jackie Stewart, constantly beating the safety drum... today's drivers owe him a huge debt of gratitude... even Grosjean.

 

Particularly Rogro.

 

Exactly when drivers can walk out of crashes like this, it speaks volumes. The problem being the young guns, Mald and Grosjean know it as well.
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