Who is the greatest driver of all time? It’s one of the most commonly asked questions by F1 fans, particularly in recent times since Lewis Hamilton matched Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 world titles. If you’re anything like me, the answer to that question can change from day to day. I have a fixed top 5, which I seemingly rotate depending on my mood.
Surely the first question to be asked though is what constitutes greatness? Is it natural ability, is it race wins, is it the ability to overtake, is it to do with car control, is it to do with the number of titles won in different cars, or something else which stirs up the emotions?
Take Pedro Rodriguez for example. His 2 F1 wins, 1 Le Mans win and 4 Daytona 24 hour wins demonstrate that he was a very good driver, but not the greatest of all time. However, if you were to ask me who my favourite driver of all time was I would unhesitatingly say Pedro. I have an emotional connection to his story, as many people do with other drivers, and that can cloud the judgement, particularly with drivers that have sadly left us.
To really answer the GOAT question you need to be subjective and consider all of the factors. Take natural ability for example. Those drivers who were born with a gift to make car go quickly. Clearly Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Juan Manuel Fangio, Jim Clark and Lewis Hamilton oozed natural ability. But so did the likes of Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Peterson and Gilles Villeneuve. Interestingly these three arguably didn’t achieve what they should have in their careers. Perhaps it’s not enough to have natural ability, you need to be a hard worker too.
In the modern era all drivers have to be hard workers. Even Kimi Raikkonen puts in the hours, despite his reputation, a driver simply can’t stay in F1 without it. The benchmark over the past 30 years was Michael Schumacher, who not only pulled the team around him, but was always the first driver into the paddock and last to leave, always willing to test the car. Who else was like that? Alain Prost, Graham Hill, Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet spring to mind.
They were also great at developing their cars. Nigel Mansell once refused to fly from the Isle of Man to Silverstone to test the Williams, so the team asked Nelson Piquet instead, who promptly jumped on a flight from Rio. They were fully committed and almost as good as test drivers as they were race drivers.
What about race drivers though? Having that innate ability to race hard? Nigel Mansell was nicknamed ‘the lion’ by the Italian tifosi, due to his never give up attitude. I recently compiled a list of the top 10 F1 overtakes of all time and Mansell featured 4 times. He could make the difference where others couldn’t. Other contenders would be Gilles Villeneuve, Juan Pablo Montoya, Max Verstappen and John Watson. ‘Wattie’ holds the honour of winning a race from the lowest starting position (22nd) at Long Beach in 1983. They were and are hard chargers. That’s what racing should be about. Wet or dry and these guys would have a go.
Wet weather driving is a greatest test of a driver. The ability to read the conditions and know how much grip you’ll have before you arrive at a corner, not finding it out during the corner. Jacky Ickx, Pedro Rodriguez, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton all spring to mind. They all delivered sublime performances in wet conditions and made their competitors look ordinary. Arguably Michael Schumacher was the biggest proponent of the art, even introducing the ‘karting line’ into F1. This has been universally adopted now as the de rigueur approach to wet weather driving in all categories.
Statistics, particularly race wins, have to play a part in the debate. That’s the whole point of the sport isn’t it, to win more than anyone else? This is a really simple list. It goes Lewis Hamilton (95), Michael Schumacher (91), Sebastien Vettel (53), Alain Prost (51) and Ayrton Senna (41). How about factoring in drivers that excelled in both F1 and other disciplines? Jacky Ickx would feature again (winning Le Mans 6 times), so too would Sir Stirling Moss (Mille Miglia and Targa Florio winner), Mario Andretti (too much to mention) and even Vic Elford! You may not have heard of ‘Quick Vic’, but during a 7 month period in 1968 he won the Monte Carlo Rally, the Daytona 24 hours, the Targa Florio (possibly the greatest Targa win ever), then entered the French Grand Prix and finished 4th on his debut. He was a very underrated driver.
Do underrated drivers feature in the equation? They should do. Look at Tony Brooks, the current oldest living Grand Prix winner. He raced and often beat Sir Stirling Moss in the same car (Vanwall), he even drove and won for Ferrari. But he was understated, reserved and retired early, perhaps because so many of his contemporaries unfortunately never got a chance to retire.
I’ll go out on a limb and also say Nico Rosberg. Taking on Lewis Hamilton in the same car and beating him was impressive, even if it did take him 4 seasons. It broke him however and led him to walk away from the sport without ever really getting the recognition he deserved.
Alberto Ascari who, believe it or not, was Italy’s last world champion in 1952 and 1953 dominated the sport for 2 years. The great motorsport journalist Denis Jenkinson rated Ascari above Fangio, but he’s never mentioned in the list of the greats, only as one of two drivers to ever crash into Monaco’s harbour!
Speaking of Fangio, many people cite his achievement of winning 5 titles in 4 different makes of car as the mark of a true great. Surely that should be considered, although clearly Fangio moved teams to make sure he was in the best car the following season. In that regard is it any different to Lewis Hamilton, who has achieved 6 titles for Mercedes? It’s a fact that all the F1 champions in the history of the sport have won their titles in the best or second best car. The greats have the ability to be in the best car at the right time. The exception being Fernando Alonso, who should have really been a 3 or 4 time world champion by now.
There is a final category which looks at the characters and their persona. Ayrton Senna had an almost other worldly quality, who was deeply religious and felt he had a God-given right to win. Juan Manuel Fangio was the ultimate gentleman. When he walked into a room a silence fell, but he managed to dominate F1 for so long in its most dangerous era. Jim Clark was the shy sheep farmer that was loved by everyone but also happened to be the greatest driver of the 1960s, in any category. James Hunt was the party-going playboy that starred in perhaps the most famous season of F1 (1976) and won the title.
Then there is Lewis Hamilton. He’s different in that he polarises opinion more than any other driver in the history of the sport. He voices his opinion on controversial subjects and isn’t afraid to do so. He has a life outside of the sport and for whatever reason that doesn’t sit well with some people. Whether you agree with him or not, he transcends the sport in a way not seen since Ayrton Senna.
So what is my top 5? In this order, Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna, Juan Manuel Fangio, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher. Ask me again tomorrow and I’ll probably put them in a different order. Or I might bring in Alain Prost or Jackie Stewart and what about Jack Brabham? It’s a hard question to answer.
motorsportmuse 
What about The Flying Mantuan ? . little Tazio himself surely get a mention. ? I agree Jimmy Clark best ever driver , Making a lap back at Monza astonishing , also Jacky Ickx in 67 Ring in F2 Matra astonishing , as Stewart winning by 4 mins in wet Ring 68 . 1935 German GP, Nuvolari ground down the German factory might.
LikeLike
I stuck to F1, but pre-war I’d throw Moll, Caracciola and Rosemeyer into the mix too
LikeLike