Perfectly stated, in addition, I think he was the bravest driver of all time. He had legendary skill, anybody who saw him practice at Watkins Glen in 1979 in the rain can attest to his talent. He was 11 seconds faster than the guy in second place, Jody Scheckter in the same car. He had guys like Jacques Laffite commenting on how Gilles was in a different league. Oh by the way the reason he didn't win the title in 1979 was that he was honorable guy, and all he had to do was pass Jody at Monza and he would have been champion. But Gilles word mean't more to him than titles.
Sure - I saw him live. There's no doubt he had talent, but since his death he's become this untouchable deity...the greatest dead driver never to win a World Championship. Gilles certainly played the media better than Scheckter (who openly despised the press) and that's probably why people have made Gilles the darling and forget that Jody beat him to the title. Maybe I dislike the legend that people have created around the man, rather than the man himself. Later, MARK
Agreed on both counts. I don't recall the exact circumstances of the accident that killed him (as I was in the army at the time and posted to some godforsaken hell-hole without contact with the outside world) - could someone refresh my memory? MARK
Forza Ferrari! Great laps from Schumi. I don't think Ferrari were expecting a 1-2. Too bad about Raikkonen...
Don't hate anyone. But dislike, disappointment, etc ? Yup... JPM - never liked him very much for some reason. Can be reckless and arrogant. Sato - just plain crazy sometimes. JV - again, one of the most overrated, has-beens, has no place on the track now. NK (Karthikeyan) - overrated newcomer, everyone was raving about him and how he should've been let into F1 earlier. I admit I was one of these former fans, yet after he came in all he could do was establish himself firmly as a No.2 driver to Monteiro, himself not great or anything. MS - needs some big lessons in sportsmanship. KR - great driver, but needs to work on humility and speaking intelligible (even recognisable) English
Don't hate any of them. JPM is my favorite driver, though, lol. Seems to be the talk of the town in this thread. On the other hand, I don't like JV. Please just leave F1, you're wasting a seat. You're old, you won a DC, just leave. You don't have to stop all involvement with F1, just don't race (not even test drive). Stand behind in the pits and give technical advice, that's it.
It happens in all areas of life. Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn are the "best" guitarists... but you know Clapton or Satriani or others would be considered so, had they died too. Senna and Gilles are the best F1 drivers - even though Schumacher is better than both combined (flame suit on). Was Mansell or Prost to have died racing, they would be the "best driver ever" When someone dies they get elevated by the fans and placed on a pedestal and since they are dead, people remember the good things and forget the bad.
Edit (because I can't edit my original post in this thread for some reason): Re: Alonso... after reading some of the other posts here, I think a better way of describing how I feel about him is 'competitive dislike'. I admire his driving, but I gotta be loyal and hope that whenever he gets in Michael's way his engine 'goes Mercedes'.
It is also important to remember that Schumi never got a pole until Senna died. It's is easily arguable that Schumi's achievements would be less if Senna had stayed alive.
I agree to disagree. Senna is hands down the best f1 drivers. If Senna was still around Schumacher would just be another driver. Senna was untouchable, and at a higher level that seperated him from the other drivers. It doesn't take death to be deemed the best..just look at Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. Both are still alive and well.
IMHO Button is overrated and doesn't have the stuff of true greats. Those who can drive through problems and deliver.
You are dead right. It also happens int the case of who is better between John Lennon and Paul McCartney.
How can you say that Senna is the greatest F1 driver ? Your profile says you were born in 1984. It means you can never have seen Gilles Villeneuve, Jim Clark, Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari or others from before 1984. I'm not trying to be confrontational and am not denying that Senna could have been the greatest ever but in all fairness we cant comment on drivers we never even seen drive. And " Senna was untouchable, on another level ", well Alain Prost frequently outraced him, and he won 4 WDC's but how much does he get talked about today? Wouldn't you say that Senna's tragic death had some role to play in building his legend?
Why didn't you just name this thread........."It's been a while since we bashed Montoya, so time to do it again..........."
