Best motor racing drivers of all-time

[Wats-on]

Hey Stig, think you got a couple of WC's missing off of Michaels profile, personally I would say he was the best of all time!

Neil.P

Neil,

I think that you cannot say who is the best of all time. Simply because the times are different, the cars are different to each other through time, the mentallity is different. Had Nuvolari be racing against (for example) Schumacher in the '90s, who had been the better of the two? Don't know...

You simply can say who is the best of his time, and for that I think The Stig has made a wonderful list, although still arguable.

[cosworth151]

I agree about the problems with comparing drivers of different eras, Wats-on. No one can know what Schumi would have done in a front engined car with tall, skinny tires, or how Hawthorn would have down in a ground effects turbo. Still, it's fun to discuss in the evening over a couple of beers. 

[lkjohnson1950]

You can say that guys like Clark, Hill, Andretti and Foyt won in just about every type of racing available in their time. Something modern F1 drivers don't even try.

Lonny

[Ian]

Your right there Lonny, looking at it that respect Graham Hill is probably the best, the only man to win the F1 WDC, Indy 500 and Le Mans.

[Ian]

A quick point about Fangio, and this is NOT detracting from his skill, is that if his car broke down the number 2 driver had to give up his car for him, that would'nt happen now but it was the norm in those days.

[Jericoke]

You can say that guys like Clark, Hill, Andretti and Foyt won in just about every type of racing available in their time. Something modern F1 drivers don't even try.

Lonny

Kimi is in Rally Car.  He's not the champion, but he's giving it a shot.

Juan Montoya is respectable in NASCAR.

It's not that they don't try, but that the sports have become so specialised, it's tougher to jump around.  Also, there is so much more sponsor commitments at the top levels of all racing, it's hard to find the time.

I WOULD like to see a driver with ambition to win championships in different major series.

[cosworth151]

Something else to remember about Fangio - He was 40 years old when he started driving F1.

[lkjohnson1950]

You can say that guys like Clark, Hill, Andretti and Foyt won in just about every type of racing available in their time. Something modern F1 drivers don't even try.

Lonny

Kimi is in Rally Car.  He's not the champion, but he's giving it a shot.

Juan Montoya is respectable in NASCAR.

It's not that they don't try, but that the sports have become so specialised, it's tougher to jump around.  Also, there is so much more sponsor commitments at the top levels of all racing, it's hard to find the time.

I WOULD like to see a driver with ambition to win championships in different major series.

Both of those drivers started their current jobs after leaving F1. I suspect most current F1 drivers are contractually banned from other racing at least during the season.

Lonny

[Williamsfan]

I agree most F1 drivers probably have that sort of thing in their contract, but let's not think all of them do.  Robert Kubica has rallied during this season and also won an event in the Italian Championship in September.  I would like to see more drivers mix their disciplines, that is one of the positives of the Race of Champions event, even though it felt dull when I went to watch it.

[Neil.P]

Hey Stig, think you got a couple of WC's missing off of Michaels profile, personally I would say he was the best of all time!

Neil.P

Neil,

I think that you cannot say who is the best of all time. Simply because the times are different, the cars are different to each other through time, the mentallity is different. Had Nuvolari be racing against (for example) Schumacher in the '90s, who had been the better of the two? Don't know...

You simply can say who is the best of his time, and for that I think The Stig has made a wonderful list, although still arguable.

Hiya Wats-on, thanks for the reply. I agree, it is difficult to place a driver at the top of the all-time list, when considering the greats. Can't see many of the current crop challenging for the title any time soon, can you?

Neil.P

[cosworth151]

I'm not so sure, Neil. We've got one of the best crops of young drivers in a long time. Vettel, Kubica, Rossburg & co. show great promise. Who knows, someday I may be bragging about having talked with Vettel the Friday of his first race the way I do about having seen Prost and Mansell drive in person.

[John S]

I'm not so sure, Neil. We've got one of the best crops of young drivers in a long time. Vettel, Kubica, Rossburg & co. show great promise. Who knows, someday I may be bragging about having talked with Vettel the Friday of his first race the way I do about having seen Prost and Mansell drive in person.

I'll second those thoughts Cos. However I would also add Alonso, love or hate him you have to admire him, he is likely to end up with more WDCs & against the odds race wins. And of course Lewis who has the speed and skill to become one of the greats as long as his racecraft and peripheral vision improves.

[Monty]

Great list but I hate the tags of 'best' or 'greatest' when it comes to drivers.
There are factual issues such as number of wins, number of titles, etc. but these facts do not make a driver the 'best'. I might of mentioned it a couple of times but Schumacher cheating his way to several wins and at least two championships certainly doesn't rate him as a great driver in my opinion.
If Senna had survived he probably would have won even more races and championships so perhaps he would have been the most successful. I'm sure there are a lot of people that would rate him as the best irrespective of statistics.
If Damon Hill had started earlier, if Johnny Herbert hadn't smashed his feet, if James Hunt had kept off the booze, etc.
Mansell was a great racer, really entertaining to watch. Prost was so clever. We will all have our favourites

[Ian]

You certainly have "mentioned" Schumacher a couple of times Monty.