Who is the greatest driver ... EVER?

[DNQ]

OK, fairly simple question. Who are the greatest Formula 1 drivers of alltime?

My vote goes for:

1. Jim Clark
2. Ayrton Senna
3. Niki Lauda (just think he won three titles, but If he had not crashed at in Germany 1976, it would have been four).

[F1FansClub]

This is one of the easiest questions to answer

1. Fangio
2. Senna
3. TGF (Even though I don't like him)

Ally

[Gt_R]

Who is the greatest? you cant name anyone in particular..its just to hard to compare...besides..i have not seen all the drivers in action....so.... =(

[Ralf's Girl]

For me that is too difficult a question. Perhaps I could find it easier if it was to pick the best driver of separate generations, but I find it quite difficult to judge who is the best driver ever when champions come from different eras. How can we accurately compare Fangio, from the fifties, with TGF, from the current era? IMO, F1 has changed too much since it began for us to really say who is the greatest ever driver.

[senna12]

Absolutely agree with Ralf's Girl on this. Its a very subjective thing, most people have not seen all the great drivers, and the F1 of today bears little resemblance to the early years. I have seen a thread like this one on several forums, and its a question that ends up getting people mad at each other but not answered. Perhaps it should be; Who are your favorite drivers of all time? In which case, my answer would be;
1. Gilles Villeneuve
2. Senna
3. Lauda

[BD]

I agree with senna12 that it has to be a subjective decision. Not all drivers had the same equipment, competition, etc. It has to be based on what they could do with a car.
IMO:
1)Senna
2)Fangio
3)M.Schumacher
4)Rosemeyer(1930's) He could do things that other drivers simply could not do. Such as lap Nurenburgring in the fog within seconds of his fastest time while everyone else pulled off the track due to poor visibility.

There are so many great ones though that it is hard to rank them.

[R]

IMO the three best:

1. Jim Clark
1. Ayrton Senna
3. Juan Manuel Fangio

No typing error, I have two drivers in 1st place.

[kuchi]

I will agree with some of you in this one. It is tough to pick a number 1 driver of all times, because "times" have
changed. If 60 years ago the technology, and everything was the same then these are my picks.

1. Juan Manuel Fangio
1. Ayrton Senna
3. Jim Clark(I don't know much about him, but everybody says he was great.)
4. JPM( you'll see)

[Marshal]

Choose from,

Nuovalari
Rosemeyer
Fangio
Moss
Clark
Stewart
Gilles
Prost
Senna
Schumacher

No particular order (other than chronological)

[Speed]

JPM is totally out of this !

I have no doubt about his driving skills, but has no F1 experience at all. Only F1 car testing experience, and that's not enough...

[Dino IV]

Virtualy impossible to do everyone's racing talents justice, so I'll name the guys which impressed me most.
Three extraordinary astonishing naturals, three different drivers still, three times out of everybody else's league, in no particular thus alphabetical order:

Stefan Bellof, Ronnie Peterson, Ayrton Senna

They must be having tons of fun on heaven's playground or wherever it is unreal people like that go beyond this life.

[MGF]

Only one I'm afraid

Nigel Mansell

[TimD]

Well, anyone who votes for Stefan Bellof automatically gets my support! Stefan was absolutely awesome, even if he was never fated to get the opportunity to shake off his youthful exuberance.

Had he lived, I doubt that certain 1980s McLaren drivers would have won quite so many championships, and a certain Benetton/Ferrari driver wouldn't have been his nation's first world champion.

Stefan Bellof was going to be that good. I'm convinced of it.

As for who is the greatest of all? Well, I'm not going to hedge my bets and say that different eras mask our ability to judge.

My vote is a Grand Prix driver, not a Formula 1 driver. And his name was Tazio Nuvolari.

Why? Because - like Rosemeyer (good call, BD) - he could tame a 700hp GP car, on race tracks almost prehistoric in comparison to todays, with chassis technology totally unlike that of the modern era, and on skinny narrow tyres. And although Rosemeyer I am sure would have applied himself to other driving disciplines, again if he had been given the chance, Nuvolari did. As well as his efforts in Grands Prix, he was a Mille Miglia virtuoso, and he could even handle a racing motorcycle.

For me, he was the one. And no one before or since has taken his crown.

[LYM]

I'm afraid I can only answer this when F1 decides to call it a day.

[robert2000]

For me, Tazio Nuvolari was the best ever.

[robert2000]

And Tony Brise had "World Champion" written all over him. He could have been a truly sensational champion had he lived.

[Martin de Miguel]

Senna was the only one that made me cry, but I would have loved to been able to see more of Tazio Nuvolari, Fangio, etc.

[DNQ]

I agree with TimD and Dino IV, Stefan Bellof was special. He would have been world champ.


Monaco 1984 - the day Stefan was in the same league as Senna and Prost, in a Tyrrell. He finished third.

[jarama]

...starting from the last grid position.

[Melbourne Park]

Jack Brabham deserves a mention. Not only did he win three world championships, he won two in his OWN car!!

Reosemeyer was a great, but Brabham was the first to win the campionship in a rear engined car. By straddling two eras, it seems many forget how fast he was. And he was the complete driver, getting his car home, testing it to perfection. Heck, he even built the thing.

He also lost one championship when he ran out of fuel at the last corner of the final race of the championship.

To some extent his driving was tempered by his desire to have a successfull team. His image was tempered by his humble attitude. And he always fostered his other drivers.

He also encouraged and employed other mechanics many of whom went onto to be greats. In many ways he built enormaously upon what Cooper had started. All this, and he drove the cars he built, ran the team and worked on the cars.

As we know the set up of the car is vital. Brabham would have no peers in that area. His dirt road buggy background made him unbelievable in slippery conditions.

Give us a break, he deserves at least a mention ...

[Yogi]

All those mentioned are all great racing drivers in their own right, whether they're from the fifties through to the current year. I know its early days yet, but Button wasn't mentioned. To achieve what he achieved in his first year in F1 was quite extraordinary, having to learn most of the circuits as well. But my favourite has to be Nigel Mansell, he gave 110% in what ever he drove. To be able to hold two different world titles at the same time is quite something.

[Toth]

I haven't seen most of the great drivers in action. But I once read something about Nuvolari that convinced me that he must be the greatest driver ever: he had over 200 "major" victories and only 17 second places.

[Interlagos]

1. Schumi
2. Senna
3. Prost

And who's this "great" driver you call Fangio? 4 race seasons? Come on. Not too hard to win 5 title with that many races a season. And besides, it is uncompariable. Look at the difference in cars and just about everything else. I'll give Fangio this though, he is the great Go-Cart driver of all time.

[EERO]

Welcome Interlagos. Sr. Fangio actually won 5 WDC's, four of them in a row. Considering that he was already well into hisforties when he arrived in Europe for his first Grand Prix, I think his accomplishments account for a lot. Considering his withering victory at the Nurburgring in his final season, I think he deserves consideration as an All-Time-Great.

Its tough to compare different eras, but names on my list fior consideration include, Nuvolari, Carracciola, Fangio, Moss, Clark, Dan Gurney, JYS, Mario Andretti, Senna and Prost. Please note the obvious ommission; its intentional.

[TimD]

EERO, you've done it again.

What have you got against Vittorio Brambilla?