Yeah- I will never forget getting up at 3 am watching him with my dad. I just never seen a car dance like this and that speed ever again. There are certain folks when u see them u just know how good they are and it’s very hard to put anyone in their categories. Senna is one, Michael Jordan is an obvious other, Leo Messi, Carl Lewis, Ussain Bolt, Tiger woods, Christiano Ronaldo, Valentino Rossi, Schumacher ... It’s hard to be part of that group. As much as I respect Hamilton and think of him as an all time great ; I can’t personally put him in that category although his numbers are definitely worthy & the talent is undeniable... I think he just had it a bit too easy and, even if some disagree, I think overall the cars have become maybe a bit too easy too drive to my liking. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
100% and therefore for me Senna will always be the GOAT....Agree about MJ, Carl Lewis, Ali, and Rossi as well.
In a few years we will exactly know what human and financial investment Mercedes has put in the hybrid project and everything will finally be put in its proper perspective.
I agree with you on most of this. But you have 5 of Schumachers ex teammates say otherwise. And Sennas ex team mate say otherwise. These are respected racers who went on public record saying Hamilton likely surpasses Schumi in certain areas and equal Senna. For me it wouldn't be logicall to accept none F1 racers opinion on this matter. Others may say those racers are wrong, but i just can't. Having said that, it's cool we all have our different views. Senna, Schumi Hamilton among others are all a step above in my opinion.
Absolutey fair. That's what makes rivalry fun man. I'm sure their team mates can care less about your opinion.
Rivalry? What rivalry. They are not even from the same era. No rivalry here Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I may live in the past, but that's for 2 reasons, first i was there, i saw it, unlike many the come and spit garbage without knowing what they are talking about, second, because i still haven't seen any better! Many people rave about Senna, sure, he was amazing, but i have seen better before and after....and no, elton was not one of them, not even close! I would never put him in top 10, and probably not on a top 15.
Well it’s great to have seen better. I haven’t That being said, say you put HAM #20 on YOUR list, given you likely have seen at least 200+ F1 driver in your time well that would still make him elite. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I agree with you. Todays cars are so reliable that most drivers are shocked that there is a fault that stops them on track. in the 80's it was not at all unusual fo see half the field fall out due to mechanical issues, and if the weather was bad - you could have only 6 - 8 finishers.
And the engines, back them, still made good noise--not as good as the V10 era, but still good. AND you could put a new engine in the car for each session, and the sum total of all the engines used in 5 races was significantly less than the cost of 1 modern hybrid engine.
I think the issue is the vast amount of races that we have today vs. the 60's 70's and 80's. & 90's its so hard to compare. Senna only had 16 annual times to show his skill... Hamilton has over 20. per year. so even when something goes wrong, you have a lot more time to recover. also the points system to day is way too easy... when it was 9,6,4,3,2,1... you had to be super consistent to win a championship.... For me I think the best driver ever was / is Jackie Stewart. considering his win ratio he was very good, but considering his impact on F-1 as a whole - nobody comes close. As a driver he was ( just like Senna and Schumacher) Fast a s rookie, and immediately up to speed with al the #1 drivers. from 1965 to 1973 He was always at the front of the field 3 world championships and two runner up and 2 more 3rd places is not too bad = considering when finishing rates were 20-40% of the field. Not to mention almost dying at Spa. Almost win first attempt at Indy, and racing in Can Am, Sports Cars ( Helped Ferrari win the constructors championship in a 330p4 ) ... that is something that today only Alonso is working on.... the other thing is the accident ratio is exceptionally low.. and almost no collisions etc... compared to today's drivers & the legend Senna... Stewart was uber clean as a driver. Jim Clark was similar - but his impact on F-1 overall far smaller. but RAW natural talent - he's probably the best. and the best of all time is Fangio... his win rate is still the highest.
Yes, also if you had a red flag situation like this past weekend - they could have used the T car. the rules now are so restrictive its not interesting ...
possibly... but I think trying to shift gears in a 1200 HP would be interesting to say the least. I think the paddle shifts are good... but with the formula frozen everyone's been able to perfect reliability.. in the name of cost. if you alow testing, and t Cars etc... but say that all testing has to be done at the race weekend .. it makes it more interesting for everyone ...
Of course i do, They're the 2 most spectacular drivers i ever saw (i was bit young for Ronnie). I don't watch to see how many points they grab, i just watch for the show, the result comes as a bonus. Gilles was the most talented driver ever to sat on an f.1 (I could say Tazio was as good but he never drove an f.1), and he was by a long margin, Alesi was not the best, even in his days i must admit Michael was better, but on given circunstances Jean was the man to watch, he was such a gifed driver, the fact that he only won one race just goes to show how insignificant statistics are when you try to order drivers on a rank...One thing i'm sure, Jean would trash Crapilton every day in the same car, and twice a day if it was raining! And Charles is becoming my third crush, not bad i guess, to find 3 drivers i really like in 40, so years.
Absolutely, no question about that, he's a super talent, and has become a very complete driver, he's just not as good as the 10 or 15 best
But they used to do it! How do you think they drove the Porsche 917 CanAm? Braking necessitated double declutching with heel-and-toe whilst changing gears leaving you controling the car with only one hand on the steering wheel. Just one slight mistake, a simple bad syncronisation would result in a missed gear, probably over-revving the engine and bending the valves. If you didn't completely miss the corner, the damaged engine would start losing power, and burning oil. Good drivers could change gears to perfection lap after lap, but even some of the greats made mistakes at time.
I agree, BUT they did not change gears at the speeds we have today. The 917 /30 only had 4 gears and the torque got you through all the shifting needed. so I guess if they go back to a 5 - 6 speed box, with dog clutch etc... you can do it... but its hard to put that back in the bottle. it's an art - I get it, but its a lost art to say the most. driving the 599 - I could not imagine changing gears quick enough compared to how quick it can accelerage.
Hmmm Alesi i wonder about. He was too undisciplined and too emotional. I don't think he really had it in him to be a champion...I don't think he really knew how he drove so fast. ... great guy for sure. but not sure he really had it. and then Ferrari took what ever he did have and spent it. BTW I was there when he won in Canada... Ferrari were shocked they had won, and I remember seeing schumachers pit stop with the half shaft come bouncing out of the car. Schumacher was way ahead that day. it was a boring race till that happend.
