[Driver] The GOAT - Round One - Senna vs Ginther

[crmalcolm]

The eighth match-up in Round One sees Senna vs Ginther.

So who do you vote for as the greater driver?

Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna is the driver who most often sits #1 in both fan and expert rankings of the greatest F1 drivers. Cynics attribute this to his tragic death at the height of his powers in 1994. He was arguably the greatest qualifier of all time and certainly one of the finest wet weather drivers. In total, 14.7% of races in F1 history have had wet conditions, but 14 of Senna’s 41 wins (34%) came in wet conditions.
Yet, as brilliant as Senna was in certain key areas, there were admittedly gaps in his skillset; gaps that are difficult to identify for a Jackie Stewart, a Lewis Hamilton, or a Michael Schumacher. Senna’s extremely aggressive racecraft led too often into flawed decisions or unforced errors. His race pace was also revealed as beatable by Alain Prost during their time together at McLaren.

Richie Ginther
A first drive at Le Mans in ’57 ended in retirement, but his talent hadn’t gone unnoticed. Two years later he was the most successful Ferrari driver in the US and was offered a works drive for 1960.

He made an immediate impression, Carlo Chiti and other Ferrari insiders recognising his technical brilliance and rewarding him with his maiden grand prix ride for Monaco, where he finished sixth in a 246P. But it would be his drive in the following year’s race that saw him truly arrive on the international stage. Armed with the new ‘Sharknose’ 156, Ginther placed himself on the front row. Once Louis Chiron dropped the flag on the Sunday he beat everyone to the hairpin, only for Stirling Moss to slip past in his Rob Walker Lotus 18 on the 14th tour. As the race stabilised Phil Hill led the Ferrari chase, but carburation problems meant Moss was getting away. On the 78th lap team manager Romolo Tavoni gave the word and Ginther was let past. He would close down Moss, both regularly dipping under their qualifying times, but neither made a mistake and the Brit ace won. Ginther’s performance in a virtually untested car (although Baghetti won at Naples on the same day in a similar one) was a revelation.

Honda courted him for 1965, his technical nous undoubtedly helping the fledgling marque rise to prominence. The transverse V12-powered RA272 became increasingly competitive as the season went on, culminating in Ginther’s only GP win, at Mexico City. It was also the first for Honda and Goodyear. It’s likely that had the 1.5-litre formula continued into 1966, he would have been a title favourite — the Honda was seriously quick — but the new 3-litre regulations marked the beginning of the end for the American.

[FIRE]

Senna

[Aysedasi]

Senna, out of sight on this one.

[VIVA GT]

For me it would have to be Senna

[chunterer]

No contest....