Have Your Say: Tell Us Who You Rate as the All Time Best British F1 Driver

[Fernando Deutsch]

For me Jim Clark, and very close following Sir Jack Stewart.

 

[Mitja Bonca]

Clark and Stewart.

 

[MSKbeans]

Hamilton for the modern age..... Mansel for focus

 

[nepal roade]

I'm very happily surprised to see so much support for Jim Clark. Really in a class of his own.

 

[Kenny 134]

Stirling all the way

 

[Phoenix77]

Jim Clark all day long... From an era with zero downforce, low grip.. And basically strapped to an engine. Balls of steel! Put many of the modern F1 drivers in those cars and they'd go running back to their Playstation

 

[Caton XII]

Top 5

1. Jim Clark
2. Jacky Stewart
3. Nigel Mansell
4. Stirling Moss
5. James Hunt

 

[Franz Surowetz]

Für mich, James Hunt, Nigel Mansell. John Watson

 

[BenCollins]

This is horseshit. Lewis Hamilton is right up there as the greatest UK driver of all time. The fact that he is an absolute cock does take away from it, but Lewis is up there.

 

[BenCollins]

Graham Hill would easily be ahead of Jim Clark and Lewis Hamilton is there too.

 

[Phoenix77]

This is horseshit. Lewis Hamilton is right up there as the greatest UK driver of all time. The fact that he is an absolute cock does take away from it, but Lewis is up there.

Just because other people have different opinions to you, doesn't make it horseshit...
I'd say by democratic vote... so far... your opinion is out-numbered.

As Paul states...

Remember greatness doesn't have to be measured by success, so the most wins doesn't necessarily equate to the best driver. Think hard, have fun and debate below!

 

[Knoxstar]

If you're a stats person then Clark had the highest winning percentage. Stewart and Hamilton are roughly the same but again different era. If class means anything then G. Hill and Surtees should get a nod and "the best never to have....." is Stirling Moss,

My vote is Clark and Stewart.

 

[Craig Dunkley]

I have this real soft spot for Nigel Mansell, but In shear talent alone, it would have to be Jim Clark

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

For me it is a very difficult question, however I would go for;

Clark
Moss
Surtees
Stewart
Mansell
Hamilton

Reason being is that Clark outshone everyone, at every opportunity and across multiple disciplines throughout his career, without even having that steely drive to win at all costs so often seen in the last 20 something years. The man drove in an incredibly dangerous era where not only did you race against your rivals, but also against your own bravery and luck. And he did it for pleasure, not the success.

Moss and Surtees ranked so high because in the case of Moss, he must surely be one of the most naturally gifted drivers of any car he drove in the history of the sport. The man just got in stuff, strapped on his seat belt (or not in some cases) and immediately got to the front, often against serious talent in better machinery.

Surtees, well he won cars and bikes, that alone gets him in the all time greatest category. Just think if Rossi in MotoGP decided rather than sign for Ducati after he left Yamaha, he shifted over to Red Bull in Formula One and picked up at the front immediately, then after a WDC thrashed everyone over in Blancpain for a bit and ran an F1 team. Legend doesn't even come close.

 

[Richard Wilks]

Wow!....
The pole is not 'Who's the nicest gentleman?' or 'Who do you like most?'
It represents a difficult comparison... given the different era and types of machinery.
That said; Given that he has surpassed every other British driver's accomplishments, Hamilton has to be near... or at the top of that list.
You may not like him and that's certainly your prerogative..
I personally, have never met him...don't know if he's a nice guy or a total 'wanker' behind closed doors...don't care.
There is however, no denying that as a rookie, he completely up-ended the establishment by almost winning the WDC in his first year... and has stayed relevant ever since that time.
No one in the history of F1 has ever come remotely close to doing that.

I've heard that "rookie almost won the WDC" a lot of times, and all those times i need to remind people that J. Villeneuve did even better in his rookie season.

 

[Rupe Wilson]

Here is my choice of a top 5
Graham Hill
Nigel Mansell
John Surtees
Jim Clark
Sterling Moss

 

[Blkout]

Lewis Hamilton without question at this point. I
With these type of polls it seems nostalgia always carries the most weight and old time drivers seem to get the most votes but what Lewis has done the last few years is domination among some very high level of competition. Keep in mind Lewis most likely would have won the championship last year if it weren't for that late season engine failure and he's right on track to win this year too after today's qualifying session.

 

[Richard Wilks]

Lewis Hamilton without question at this point. I
With these type of polls it seems nostalgia always carries the most weight and old time drivers seem to get the most votes but what Lewis has done the last few years is domination among some very high level of competition. Keep in mind Lewis most likely would have won the championship last year if it weren't for that late season engine failure and he's right on track to win this year too after today's qualifying session.

Or i could use the reverse logic, and say that the fact that he is not the top choice shows that people realize he had the best car by far these last few seasons, and/or that simracers actually know their racing history well, and rate very versatile drivers of the past very highly, and rightfully so.

 

[Blkout]

Or i could use the reverse logic, and say that the fact that he is not the top choice shows that people realize he had the best car by far these last few seasons, and/or that simracers actually know their racing history well, and rate very versatile drivers of the past very highly, and rightfully so.

Sure, ok.

 

[Ryno917]

Jim Clark.

Not just the best UK driver, but the best F1 driver period.

Natural talent like no other, consistently faster than any other driver and he took great care of the car and the tires while doing so. No other driver could match his pace and still be easy on the car - and he did so driving for the team with the most fragile cars in an era where the cars were the most fragile.

And, to top it all off, he was an eternal gentleman and great sportsman.

He didn't berate other drivers. He didn't bitch about his equipment, or his team. That fact alone makes him better than Hamilton and every single other current driver on the grid, imho.