Poll: Who do You Rate as the Greatest World Champion of All Time?

[Bruce Banner]

I say Ayrton Senna in the same way I would say Ronnie O ' Sullivan in Snooker . In other words the record books will for the foreseeable future say the best were Schumacher in F1 and Stephen Hendry in Snooker , but for pure talent both Senna ( and Ronnie in Snooker ) are for me the best ever in their sports because of being utter geniuses . One offs that the likes of will never grace their sports again . For me , Senna's drive on a wet Donington in slicks is the greatest drive in F1 history .

 

[Blimey]

Schumacher was the real deal.

 

[Jens Christian Jensen]

There wasn't any doubt at all...
For me only my childhood hero was, is and will always be.....

Here it comes....

AYRTON SENNA....

He was the best driver with the perfect mix of driving skills and heartfelt mastery of pitstop strategy....
He died at a waaaaaaay to young age and would have been as much a winner as shumi was.

Shumi with Mika Häkkinen on a shared close second...

Forza shumi best wished for a healhty recovery.

 

[Luis Villalba]

FANGIO

 

[Rodent]

If we're naming non-champs I'll never not toast the memory of Ronnie Peterson.

 

[Runic]

If we're naming non-champs I'll never not toast the memory of Ronnie Peterson.

Stirling Moss the greatest non-champ imo.

 

[decpau]

Schumacher is my pick, but not my favorite driver or the "best ever" in my humble opinion. The poll is for greatest ever world champion. That IMO is Schumacher. He dealt with radical technology changes to the cars, saw championships with two very different teams and was part of the leadership and management tone at Ferrari that enabled dominance of the sport.
Best driver on the list? Senna. I was never a fan of his esoteric moodiness though.
Favorite on the List? Stewart. Excellent driver, the absolute best ambassador of the sport, car owner and the best example I can think of for a young driver to emulate.

 

[kimbo]

Fangio,

 

[AnklaX]

Sorry this is a bit off topic but I really wanted to have a quick say here.

When I decided to run this poll earlier today I had to think long and hard about if it was a good idea or not. Why? Because much like happens across the whole of the 'tinterweb I was worried it might turn into a "my driver is better than your driver" type of argument, and just end in a silly mess in the comments section...

Well I was wrong, it hasn't ! So without trying to be patronising I just wanted to say how nice and refreshing it is to see comments with such maturity and thoughtfulness on a topic such as this Awesome! Nice one gents!

Now on a serious subject, this is probably the most true thing I think anyone has posted anywhere, about anything, ever -



Couldn't agree more fella

btw, I voted senna but my statement stands.

 

[Tbear]

When I decided to run this poll earlier today I had to think long and hard about if it was a good idea or not. Why? Because much like happens across the whole of the 'tinterweb I was worried it might turn into a "my driver is better than your driver" type of argument, and just end in a silly mess in the comments section...
Well I was wrong, it hasn't ! So without trying to be patronizing I just wanted to say how nice and refreshing it is to see comments with such maturity and thoughtfulness on a topic such as this.

Yes. It sure is.

When I read the subject line I thought Schumacher would probably run away with it because of his numbers. It's nice to see so many voting for drivers from the 60's and 70's. Back in those days the drivers were more versatile ... most of them drove EVERYTHING: F1, Indy, Endurance, Sportscars. Dan Gurney even drove Stock Cars. In the new era(s), drivers have become more specialized. I'm not saying that ALL of them don't drive other types ... but most do not.

 

[Erwin Greven]

Niki Lauda: Before he came to Ferrari, this team had not won a single title for years.
The car in which he started was crap. He turned a non-winners team into a title contender.
He won two title with them (FULL ITALIAN team) and almost won in 1976 another title.

 

[Thug-Life]

Senna.

 

[Glaurung]

Here the legacy began:

He fought and won on track with pilots of the calibre of Prost, Senna and Mansell, when in 1992 and 1993 his Benetton was not the fastest car in the grid.
Also, during his years in Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes, he was the reference point for the development of the whole team, so he was a champion both on the track and in the pits.
Keep fighting Michael!

 

[sKeno]

as a schumacher fan i voted for Jim Clark, brilliant driver.

 

[thewarmer]

Lauda simple has the guy came back from the dead so to speak only a few weeks after been burnt to a crisp almost, & been give the last rights more than once . while fighting for his life.

The fact that he returned to race at Monza & did so in great pain , & still almost took the championship that year.
Is one of legendary stories that make up F1.

One of the toughest guys in F1 & very open a direct he has my respect for telling Eno Ferrari that his current F1 car was a pile of crap, no one before or after him dared to talk to Eno in that way & still be driving the next day.

 

[Helmut Skrdla]

Also John Surtees i feel gets overlooked... He is the only person to win the F1 championship and be a "Moto GP" world champion. No one will ever do that again.

That's why I picked him. Didn't he also win Le Mans?

Schumi is the Ace, but on a human level he wasn't always cool. Niki close second, for his grit in the '76 season and because he's Austrian too

 

[clemencaman]

The one and only: Ayrton Senna da Silva

 

[Michael Senna]

Many good drivers but Senna was the best!

 

[Flammenjc]

All you needed was to survive the F1 season

Thirteen (sorry its 11 drivers as Fangio droped out of 1958 half way thru the season) drivers didn't manage during Fangio's time. Keep in mind a season in those days was about 8 races. With death looming in every corner, to win 5 championships, a record that would stand for 40+ years, is remarkable.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_fatalities

EDIT:

Looking closer at the stats the body count is 4-5 drivers less than I have stated as they crashed in testing or outside the F1 championship. The danger goes up big time in the 60's and 70's as I assume the speeds increase with technology.

Cheers

Well, winning anything is an achievement, I just feel you can't suggest Fangio was a better champion than someone from the modern era, as the actual talent pool is alot LOT less so theoretically you could be alot less talented vs the modern day, and STILL win.

It doesn't take away from the achievement he HIMSELF had, FOR that era. But in retrospect? No, cmon man, you can't say Fangio was a better driver even, than almost ANYONE from the modern era, nevermind a better champion.

If the stakes are high interms of life and death, you automatically lower the talent pool, because there will be talented drivers that die, or don't undertake the racing in the first place, because of its dangers. Where as now, racing is infinitely more inclusive and the talent pool is far far greater, which means any achievement in the modern day has alot more gravitas.

 

[johnnymat]

I think it has to be Fangio. To survive in that era and win so many championships is just unbelievable. He was in his late forties when he won his last championship. The races were much longer and the cars were very difficult to drive. Stirling Moss always rated him as the greatest, and that's good enough for me.