[Driver] The GOAT - Round Three - Lauda vs Stewart

[crmalcolm]

The sixth match-up in Round Three sees Lauda vs Stewart.

Lauda was victorious 13-0 in the second round, whilst Stewart took a 15-0 victory.

So who do you vote for as the greater driver?

Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda has the impressive distinction of winning world titles nine years apart, despite an intervening two-year retirement. He proved himself one of the top drivers of the 1970s and then came back to narrowly clinch a title against Alain Prost, the top-rated driver of the 1980s.

Starting his career as a pay-driver, Lauda took some time to get on terms with an F1 car, not being rated inside the top 10 by the model until his third season. In 1972, his rookie season, he was beaten by Ronnie Peterson (in his third season) 1-6 in counting races, 2-10 in qualifying, and 0-12 in points. In 1973, he raced alongside both Clay Regazzoni and Jean-Pierre Beltoise. Against Regazzoni, he scored 2-3 in counting races, 5-8 in qualifying, and 2-1 in points. Against Beltoise, he scored 2-1 in counting races, 4-10 in qualifying, and 2-7 in points.

Beyond 1973, Lauda rapidly improved. Ferrari (who were in a rebuilding phase, having failed to even score a podium in 1973) saw enough promise to sign him for 1974. By 1976 he was the best driver on the grid and Ferrari’s investment paid dividends. Since Regazzoni and Lauda moved to Ferrari together, Lauda’s improvement can be tracked across this time period by comparing his pace to Regazzoni.

In 1973, Regazzoni was clearly the quicker driver over one lap, with a median advantage of 0.71% of lap-time over Lauda. By 1974, Lauda had completely turned the tables, leading Regazzoni by 0.43%. This advantage increased to 0.57% in 1975 and 0.54% in 1976. Notably, there was no apparent dip in Lauda’s performance following his horrific accident in 1976.

By the model’s estimation, Lauda reached his absolute best in the period 1977-1978. In the 1977 season, he was paired with Carlos Reutemann at Ferrari. Lauda emerged as the clear team leader, winning the championship despite missing three races, while Reutemann, in full attendance, finished 4th in the championship. In 1978, Lauda moved to Brabham. The car was not quite competitive or reliable enough to make Lauda’s attempt at a championship defense viable, but he was still clearly driving at a very high level. He beat teammate John Watson 6-1 in counting races, 10-6 in qualifying, and 44-25 in points (despite 7 mechanical DNFs for Lauda vs. 3 for Watson).

Lauda was paired with the promising rookie Nelson Piquet from the last race of 1978 into 1979, beating him by the relatively narrow margin of 2-1 in counting races, 8-6 in qualifying, and 4-3 in points. Neither driver was helped by a hopelessly unreliable car, making a direct comparison difficult. As a highly pragmatic driver, Lauda was always focused on achieving ultimate goals, with little interest in individual qualifying sessions or races if they did not serve that purpose. As an example, he simply did not turn up for the last two races of 1977, having already won the championship. Demotivated by fighting for a paltry amount of points at Brabham in 1979, Lauda shocked the team by abruptly retiring from F1 in the middle of practice for the Canadian GP, aged 30.

Lured out of retirement by a $3 million contract (equivalent to $8 million today, and among the top driver salaries at the time), Lauda returned to race for McLaren in 1982. Initially, the contract was on a three-race basis, as Marlboro were reticent to commit to a full contract until Lauda could demonstrate his abilities. He won the third race and the contract was immediately extended.

Against teammate John Watson across 1982-1983, Lauda’s advantage in qualifying was actually more convincing than it had been in 1978, with a 23-6 lead. But in races, Lauda was not as competitive as he had been before his retirement, leading 7-6 in counting races, and trailing 42-57 in points.

In the final few races of 1983, under pressure from Lauda, McLaren experimented with their new turbo TAG engine developed by Porsche, which formed the basis for their 1984 championship campaign. In 1984, Lauda was joined at McLaren by Alain Prost. What became immediately clear was that Lauda could not compete with Prost in qualifying, when the turbo engines were dialed up. Across the season, Lauda was outqualified 1-15 by Prost and never qualified on the front row. He won the title despite an average grid position of 8th.

“You had for one lap you have 1,200 horsepower and for the race you have 600. I hated this system, so I didn’t really like these stupid engines. And therefore Alain outqualified me all the time. At the first race he was five tenths quicker. Then when I improved my speed he was three tenths quicker. And this went on through the whole season.”

“I realised I wasn’t going to beat him in qualifying and decided I had to try something else. So from Friday I worked on race set-ups and on Sunday I was generally in better shape, could look after the tyres and so on.” – Niki Lauda

Switching his focus purely to races, Lauda very narrowly won the championship, scoring 4-5 in counting races and 72-71.5 points.

In 1985, Lauda was again dominated by Prost in qualifying, 1-14. In races, he was completely derailed by 10 mechanical DNFs in 14 starts. With little left to prove, Lauda retired for a second and final time.

Jackie Stewart
The clear best driver of the 1970s, Jackie Stewart scored three drivers’ titles and then retired, still at the height of his powers, acutely aware of the sport’s dangers. The fact that he is as much remembered today for his safety campaigning as for the quality of his driving is testament to how profoundly his influence shaped the sport, saving countless future drivers. But make no mistake, Stewart was as good as any driver in history behind the wheel.

In his rookie season, Stewart went head-to-head with Graham Hill at his peak, scoring an impressive 5-5 in counting races and 7-11 in qualifying, and 34-47 in points. What followed was a difficult two seasons at BRM, where the car was highly unreliable and generally uncompetitive. The 1966 season started well with a win at Monaco, but was followed by a crash at Spa in treacherous conditions, which broke Stewart’s collar bone, causing him to miss the next race.

In 1968, Stewart moved to Matra, setting his results on a clear upward trajectory, as he won three races and finished 2nd in the championship, despite missing two races due to a wrist injury sustained in an F2 accident. Stewart’s victory in the 1968 German GP is one of the all-time legendary drives, winning by over four minutes in wet, foggy conditions. The model rates Stewart the year’s strongest performer, as it does in 1969 and 1971-1973 during his golden years with Tyrrell. The only year in this period where Stewart is not rated the top performer is 1970, where Jochen Rindt claims the honor due to his perfect win record in counting races.

As a racer, Stewart was incredibly consistent, rarely taking unnecessary risks. In 99 starts, he retired from a crash on only four occasions, twice by himself in wet conditions (Spa 1966, Spain 1972), once due to a collision (Jacky Ickx at Canada 1969) and once from being rammed by a competitor (Clay Regazzoni at Germany 1972). His crash rate of only 2.4% in dry races is among the lowest in history.

Stewart was the first truly global motorsports star, traveling around the world not only for races but also for frequent media appearances and product endorsements. In parallel, he was still heavily promoting the improvement of racing safety standards. In 1971, he crossed the Atlantic 87 times. This punishing schedule began to take a physical toll. In 1972, he missed a race with a stomach ulcer.

Tales of Stewart’s unbelievable talents are myriad and extend well beyond his F1 career. Even into his fifties, long retired from racing, Stewart was several times shown to be competitive with upcoming or current F1 drivers in F1 or roadcar tests.

[FIRE]

Stewart

[Racing Harz]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Stewart

For me too.
But i´m surprised, that Stewart has so much lead.

[Aysedasi]

I confess I'm not. It has to be Stewart really. I don't pretend to like him all that much but although Niki continued to be something of a legend long after his driving career ended, Jackie was a top driver and has some impressive stats to go with it.

[Adam43]

Lauda was ace. And, of course, has the story - the accident, the comeback, retiring, the comeback!

But Stewart was, while relatively boring with it, the man. He’s an overall contender.

[S griffin]

Both great drivers. Both were the standouts of their era. Both were known for being smooth and mistake free. Overall though it is Stewart for me

[morninggents]

This one was the hardest so far for me. I almost decided not to vote as they are so well matched but ultimately went for Niki for his bravery. Both great men besides their racing abilities.