One Lap -- which driver--your life depends on it.

nonsense

 

For Me, it's got to be Gilles!

He may not end up being the fastest on the day, an error on his part may cost Me My life under the circumstances of this thread, but I'd die knowing that whatever car he was driving, He would have driven the living crap out of it to try and do the fastest lap possible and I'd die with a smile on My face just hoping he had a fun lap!


GILLES VILLENEUVE: TOO YOUNG TO DIE - TOO FAST TO LIVE![/QUOTE]

And let´s not forget, In a road car Gilles was even more amazing!! BY the way, back in 81, they had a boat race set up in lake Cuomo, Gilles was there with Pironi, Patrese, Giacomelli and probably someone else....guess who won!!!....and if you prefer a lap on snowmobile!!!

 

Er no it is not, he makes some great points.

 

I've read a few reports about journeys shared with Gilles at the wheel of road cars, including these: http://www.f1rogues.com/2012/05/08/from-our-archive-gilles-villeneuve-on-the-roads/

I have somewhere, the recollections of a journalist who had a lift to Monaco with Gilles at the wheel of his 308 GTS.

The journey had already been fairly exciting and then Gilles approached one of the many hairpin bends on the way down to Monaco at far too higher speed and so the journalist braced for the inevitable crash and possible drop off the mountain.

Gilles had realised the speed was too fast for the bend so put the car into a series of 360° spins to scrub the speed off. With each spin he calmly down-shifted through the gearbox and when the car was facing the next straight after the hairpin, he simply accelerated down the road - all in one complete manoeuvre!

The journalist remembered that throughout it all, Gilles remained calm and emotionless.
When they finally arrived at their destination he said to Gilles how exciting the incident down the mountain had been - only for Gilles to calmly query: "What incident?"



(I know I've gone well off thread with this post but it is one of My favourite Villeneuve stories so please forgive Me! )

 

+1

As I read that post, the points made were totally valid!

 

Perhaps a John Wyer GT 40 in Gulf Livery (the livery would explain that you thought of it as a 917, as these replaced the GT 40 for Wyer in 1970, and they did have the same); he drove for Wyer in 1969...don't know if that time schedule matches?

Best

 

+1

 

True, but who said the lap had to be in a current car?

Also for fairness we would have to compare all drivers when at their peak in the cars THEY drove then. Just as Nuvolari would struggle with modern downforce, if he had just got out of an Alfa Romeo P3, Alonso would likely struggle on gravel roads driving a beam axle 30's Alfa Romeo ... but they both have that huge will to be the fastest so give them another time and the cream would rise to the top.

I though think that one lap on a gravel bumpy road, no armo, etc. with Nuvolari would be scarier than one lap on a modern circuit with Alonso.
Pete

 

Assuming the car is perfect then I'd choose Vettel. We saw how good he is when the car is running spot on last year.

 

If i recall correctly, the person involved in that story was John Lane, a close friend to Gilles.
aparently we had dinner with the Villeneuve´s and he had to catch a flight back home...they forgot the hour and so, Gilles had to take him to the aiport in a hurry...it seems that in one of the airpins Gilles hit a patch of ice and that made the car spin several times wich Gilles contrled as you described.....

 

If we are talking yesteryear I'd go with Senna.

Now I'd pick Hamilton no surprise..

Actually you could pick any of the top 5 in F1 today, same car and all that, it would be a lottery, I'd expect the driver to put his life on the line if it was to save mine..

BTW I love Alfas, I had a real nice one back in the day, the British weather ate it to bits

 

Thanks! - That sounds about right. The little report I found also said it rained late in the race, so that tallies too.

A *long* time ago......

Cheers,
Ian

 

It's been a few years since I read the article (it's somewhere in the attic!), so you're more likely to be right than I am.

The one thing that stood out whilst reading it was just how calmly Gilles dealt with the incident, and that at the end of the journey, the whole incident didn't even seem to register with Gilles as being worthy of remembering!

I loved watching him race! And I was absolutely devastated when he died! I never met him and yet it felt like I'd lost a friend! (The footage of his fatal crash still makes me want to cry, even after all these years!)

Forwards, sideways, hell! even backwards!, he was the fastest of them all!, and that's why I'd want him to do a fastest lap for Me!

 

I honestly think I would pass out in the first corner with any driver. I'm not a good passenger .

And yes being an Alfisti in England would be challenging!
Pete

 

I loved watching him race! And I was absolutely devastated when he died! I never met him and yet it felt like I'd lost a friend! (The footage of his fatal crash still makes me want to cry, even after all these years!)

Forwards, sideways, hell! even backwards!, he was the fastest of them all!, and that's why I'd want him to do a fastest lap for Me![/QUOTE]

I couldn´t agree more with you...and yes, i also get deeply sad when i watch that accident.

 

How about the greatest of them all, a sideways lap with tiff needell!

 

M. Schumacher from 2004 (age 35), in the F2004. With 2012 spec slicks.

The 2004 F1 cars hold most of the lap records, 8 years later.

Albert Park: 1:24.125 - M Schumacher (2004)
Sepang: 1:34.223 - JP Montoya (2004)
Monaco: 1:14.439 - M Schumacher (2004)
Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve: 1:13.622 - R Barrichello (2004)
Silverstone (Bridge Configuration, circuit changed after 2009): 1:18.739 - M Schumacher (2004)
Hockenheimring: 1:13.780 - K Raikkonen (2004)
Hungaroring: 1:19.071 - M Schumacher (2004)
Spa-Francorchamps: 1:45.108 - K Raikkonen (2004)
Monza: 1:21.046 - R Barrichello (2004)
Interlagos: 1:11.473 - JP Montoya (2004)
Magny-Cours (last F1 race 2008): 1:15.377 - M Schumacher (2004)
Imola (last F1 race 2006): 1:20.411 - M Schumacher (2004)
Bahrain: 1:30.252 - M Schumacher (2004)
Shanghai: 1:32.238 - M Schumacher (2004)
Indianapolis (last F1 race 2007): 1:10.399 - R Barrichello (2004)
Nurburgring: 1:29.468 - M Schumacher (2004)

 

You're all nuts.

Nuvolari, 1935, old underpowered Alfa. Beating Mercedes Benz and Auto Union. In Germany. In front of the Third Reich. Greatest. Drive. Ever.

I'd want him to run the lap in his prime, in his favorite Alfa.

Today? Got to be Alonso. Put him in the HRT and see what kind of lap time he can generate. No other driver on the modern grid can get more out of a car.

 

It would be really fun to see all of the grid do a few laps in the HRT. That would at least give us some comparative benchmark to judge from. I'd actually pay to see that...

If you had to choose driver/car combo, no doubt it would be MS in the 2004. If you had to choose driver only and have them drive whatever was there when they showed up, I think it's much more difficult to decide. Who shows the best car control under any setup/situation. Currently I think Alonso wins that hands down. Across time, wow, tough to judge.

 

Pathetic/sad, isn't it?

 

Probably already been asked, but which cars? Their current cars, or some chassis that is the same for everyone? Dry or wet? Which circuit?

If all were equal in cars, and the circuit was dry and new to all, Kimi. His rally experience would pay off on an unknown circuit. If wet, Alonso.

 

Beg to differ on the bolded part - I could be wrong (!), but don't see any useful knowledge "transfer" between the two.

Lets go with identical cars - May as well be the "fastest" too, so the F2004. In the dry. At Spa. They all get a day or so's testing ahead of the qualy.

My choice would *still* be Jimmy......

In the wet? (Hedges bet here ) Jimmy, Gilles or the Schu.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Maldonado for sure. We won't finish the lap but we will bump into somebody important!

 

i'll still take mr schumacher