Another list

[Neil.P]

I found another top driver list here This has got some great pictures. But does seem to have first and second place in the wrong order, but hey, never mind

http://f1greatestdrivers.autosport.com/

Neil.P

[John S]

Good list Neil  , but as you say there is always going to be dispute about the order of the top five or even 10 drivers. Personally Jimmy Clark still holds number one slot for me and probably always will. I also think John Surtees rates a bit higher, but then I guess I'm just a bit predjudiced on that one.

[Neil.P]

83% of people agree with me that Graham Hill should be higher than 21st on the list. 58% also agree that Fernando Alonso is too high up the list in 9th. I reckon they should swap them around

Neil.P

[Ian]

It is a good list Neil, but as John said, there will always be a dispute because it's a personal feeling, I'm well known as an MS fan, but is he a better driver than Fangio was, I've watched some of Fangio's races on history and boy, could he handle a car. Personally I think the top two are about right. An extremely hard list for someone to compile on their own though.

[david1275]

Nice find Neil Brilliant list with some fantastic photo's to look at.

Being of the younger generation I don't know all the drivers and didn't get the chance to see some of them race, but looking at the stats the places seem to be fair. The argument about the top ten could go on forever and the argument for the top two even longer, but I tend to agree they might have got them the wrong way round. You can't argue with Schumi's stats, plus he gave me my happiest times in F1 winning for my team. Then again Senna was pretty good too.

[Neil.P]

I guess you can't really put them in any order, it's all down to personal preference isn't it!!

Cheers

Neil.P

[Neil.P]

Apparently this list was compiled by ex-F1 drivers Ian.

Neil.P

[Ian]

And F1 drivers all agree don't they, especially Prost and Senna. 

[Andy B]

Fantastic pictures bring back some great memories I too believe that 1 and 2 are the wrong way round but people seem to favor Senna as he is no longer here. Its also very difficult to compare drivers of different generations with differnt specification equipment running under different rules.

[lkjohnson1950]

Clark won a higher percentage of his races than any other driver, and probably retired while leading more than any other driver. He won in cars with 200 hp and in cars with 400 hp. He once won 4 consecutive races on the same set of tires. He won once despite switching the engine off in the corners, then bump starting it at the exit because he noticed the oil pressure dropped in the corners. He never had to run another driver off the road to win.  Senna couldn't carry his helmet bag. Schumacher had no competition. Aside from that, G. Hill is definitely too low. Jochen Rindt is also too low. His fastest race lap at Monaco in '70 was quicker than pole time!

Lonny

[cosworth151]

I'm a Clark fan, too, but I have to disagree with you on one point.

Clark: 25 wins in 72 Grands Prix = 34.7%

Fangio: 24 wins in 51 Grands Prix = 47.1%

Remember, there were only about 6 races per season in the 50's.

Fangio also had what was, in my opinion, the most impressive drive in history: His win at the Nurburgring in 1957.

[Ian]

I always think this is one of the best discussions on F1, who was or is the best.

[Dare]

Fangio also had what was, in my opinion, the most impressive drive in history: His win at the Nurburgring in 1957.


I'd have to go with Stewart at Germany in the rain[68 wasn't it?]

[lkjohnson1950]

If you include non-championship F1 races, which they had a lot of back in the day, Clark's % goes up. Though maybe not as high as Fangio. They only had 8-10 races a year for most of Clark,s career. And just to keep the pot boiling, in '67, no one ever pitted, a pitstop was a sure loss. At the Italian GP Clark had a puncture, changed tires and went down a lap, then came back to take the lead. He then had another puncture, pitted again, went down another lap, and came back to finish 2ND. His response to people congratulating him on a great drive: "If the car had been worth a damn, I would have won."

Lonny

[cosworth151]

That was very similar to what happened to Fangio at the Nurburgring in 57. The race was on the Nordschleife, at a little over 14 miles per lap.