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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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.
