Top 20 best F1 Drivers of All Time

[Diego440]

The british newspaper The Times has compiled a list of the best F1 drivers in history.

Values are said to have been determined by 'driving ability', race smarts, braveness, working capacity and betterment of their team. So, to the list:

1. Jim Clark (UK): 2 world championships

2. Ayrton Senna (Brazil): 3 world championships

3. Michael Schumacher (Germany): 7 world championships

4. Alain Prost (France): 4 world championships

5. Jackie Stewart (UK): 3 world championships

6. Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina): 5 world championships

7. Stirling Moss (UK): No world championships

8. Fernando Alonso (Spain): 2 world championships

9. Nigel Mansell (England): 1 world championship

10. Mika Hakkinen (Finland): 2 world championships

11. Alberto Ascari (Italy): 2 world championships

12. Graham Hill (UK): 2 world championships

13. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland): 1 world championship

14. Niki Lauda (Austria): 3 world championships

15. Nelson Piquet (Brazil): 3 world championships

16. James Hunt (UK): 1 world championship

17. Jochen Rindt (Austria): 1 world championship

18. Gilles Villeneuve (Canada): No world championship

19. Jack Brabham (Australia): 3 world championships

20. Lewis Hamilton (UK): 1 world championship

I think the fact that Senna is not #1 is a bit controversial, especially when a British driver with less world championships is... even when British drivers make up about 1/4 of the list, and Schumacher is relegated to 3rd place.

Additionally, Stirling Moss, who is undoubtedly a great driver, but never got a world championship, is on the list... and Lewis Hamilton, who although with one championship, IMO shouldn't be, at least not right now.

 

[GT4 genius]

How can Schmacer be third, when he has more championships than the two infront of him combined.
As for Lewis Hamilton?? I dont understand that one at all, other than wining a championship in his second season, Jacques Villenuve also done that, I dont really see any true greatness yet, maybe if he can turn McLaren around this year, but I doubt it.

 

[Alex.]

It's British, the majority of our press kiss his ass 24/7.

 

[Ardius]

Hmm, I agree with the first 3....Schumacher isn't as good as Senna or Clark.

Clark deserves number 1, seriously.

I actually agree with this list except for maybe Hamilton, he's good but I'm not so sure he deserves be number 20 just yet.

My reasons for Schumacher:
Yes, he has 7 WDCs...but only 2 or 3 of them were down to the wire against competitors who could even touch him. Between 2000-2004, he barely had any competition from other teams, their cars were never good enough.

On the one hand, he was the person who pressured Senna in early 1994. On the other, he did have a fairly easy couple of WDCs it has to be said. He only manages 3rd purely because of those 7 WDC as well, because I'd rate Prost better than him too.

 

[Tobias123]

This seems like a pretty good list overall, except I'd move Gilles Villeneuve up the order a bit(in fact, I'd rate him in the top 3 with Senna and Clark) and switch Hamilton for Ronnie Peterson. But that's just me.

 

[KSaiyu]

Not sure why Fangios 6th....

 

[Clark]

No Bellof?

 

[Ardius]

No Bellof?

All respect to him but he never got to prove it.

 

[Peter]

And soon to be Jensen Button and Rubens Barrichello

 

[Hun200kmh]

Niki Lauda 14th ?!?!? THAT is a joke! A guy that:

- wins 1975;
- doesn't win 1976 by one point (after a huge crash in the Nurb that made him miss two other races, and still doesn't race the final JP GP because he thinks its unsafe to do it ...)
- wins 1977
- retires 1979
- is 3 years away from F1 and racing
- returns 1982
- And is for the third time champion in 1984, 9 years after his first title!!!

As I see it, Lauda is definitely one of the greatest F1 drivers ever, I would put him ahead of Prost without any doubt.


Another Joke: Where is Emerson Fittipaldi ?

As I see it, my top 5 are these:

1. Fangio
2. Clark
3. Senna
4. Lauda
5. Schumacher

 

[Tired Tyres]

I think Schumacher is the most grossly overrated race driver of all time.

He was most defiantly world class but since he never had a world class teammate with equal standing within the team he can never be claimed to be the best or one of the best.

Championships won fair and square = 1 (1995)

Championships stolen = 2 (1994 and courtesy of the FIA 2003) In 2003 Montoya and Raikkonen were beating Schumacher fair and square only for the FIA to step in and declare the Michelin tyres to be illegal (it required a Rule invention to make it so).

Championships that were walkovers = 4 (Ferrari had the best car on the grid and Schumacher had a teammate who was contractually obliged to move over and let Schumacher through)

Incidentally, apart from seasons mentioned above, each time that another driver had a car that was as good as Schumacher’s Ferrari then that driver beat Schumacher to the championship (1997, 1998 and 2006)

 

[Famine]

How can Schmacer be third, when he has more championships than the two infront of him combined.

How can Moss be on the list when he never won any championships?

Yet I'm sure you'll agree any top 20 F1 driver list which doesn't include Moss would be a very flawed one.

 

[Fastas]

I think the fact that Senna is not #1 is a bit controversial

Why? Just because he committed his life to the motorsport doesn't make him the most committed. Great, yes. The greatest? IMO no.

When Senna was racing Prost was always my favourite driver, he was the one who gave something back to the sport.

Schumi, 1st IMO. Why? well this guy took a floundering team and turned them into the untouchables. This guy knew how to instruct a team to make a winning car. This guy was the most committed and gave the most to the sport, IMO!

Prost won four Championships, he was runner up three times(?) he retired because he didn't want to be team mates with Senna, and soon after made his own team because he was F1, 2nd! (IMO!)

D.

 

[Omnis]

The only plus side to a zombie apocalypse is that perhaps we will see this whole list on the same grid.

 

[Ardius]

Schumi, 1st IMO. Why? well this guy took a floundering team and turned them into the untouchables. This guy knew how to instruct a team to make a winning car. This guy was the most committed and gave the most to the sport, IMO!

Erm, just a second there mate, there was a little more to that than just Schumacher.
One only has to look at recent results to see whom that was.

It was the team of Jean Todt, Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn that made Ferrari. Not one on their own.

But yes, he was good at getting his team together and taking leadership....however, does this make him the #1? No, purely because his competition was rather lacking most of the time and he was gifted with some of the best cars in his respective seasons where other teams stuggled.

Also, imo, he single-handedly made F1 boring for 5 years.

 

[Nicksfix]

Very nice list.I would change some positioning around here and there.but overall,a good list.

Mario Andretti ,1978 F1 Champion.The last American to win a Grand Prix race.

Active years in F1 : 1968 - 1972, 1974 - 1982
Teams Lotus, March, Ferrari, Parnelli, Alfa Romeo, Williams
Races 131 (128 starts)
Championships - 1 (1978)
Wins -12
Podiums -19
Career points -180
Pole positions -18

Just my .02 , thought that I would throw one in as well.

 

[Fastas]

Also, imo, he single-handedly made F1 boring for 5 years.

yeah, he ruled didn't he.

I take your points though, 👍 however, it takes more than a good team to make a winning car - did Alonso shape Hamilton's championship?

 

[Ardius]

yeah, he ruled didn't he.

I take your points though, 👍 however, it takes more than a good team to make a winning car - did Alonso shape Hamilton's championship?

No, Adrian Newey did

 

[Fastas]

No, Adrian Newey did

Ardius, I'm a fan of yours! however, after a short amount of research I can confidently say Adrian Newey joined Red Bull at the beginning of 2006. Surely he could not have played that an instrumental role in Hamilton's 2008 championship!

 

[Ardius]

Ardius, I'm a fan of yours! however, after a short amount of research I can confidently say Adrian Newey joined Red Bull at the beginning of 2006. Surely he could not have played that an instrumental role in Hamilton's 2008 championship!

He did however design the cars before that, and as the rules changed very little up until this year, it wasn't hard for McLaren to make slight evolutions on what effectively was a Newey designed car.

 

[Hyst]

Good to see some love for Jackie Stewart on there. Probably the most overlooked champion of all time, with the possible exception of Jody Scheckter. One of the more mind-numbingly brave drivers ever, and his work with safety cannot be underestimated, or overestimated, for that matter.

I don't agree about Lewis - I will admit I have grown to at least respect him but come on, he can't compare with any of the other names on that list right now. Check back in 5 years.

 

[mafia_boy]

I'm sorry, but Jack Brabham, a 3 time drivers champ, 4 time constructor champ and the only person that built AND drove his own F1 world championship winning car in history is ONLY 19th?! This isn't Aussie bias here, this is just logic playing a part...he should be a lot higher than where he is placed.

My Top 10 would be:
1. Schuey
2. Senna
3. Brabham
4. Fangio
5. Stewart
6. Clark
7. Prost
8. Ascari
9. Mansell
10. Lauda

Hamilton, Raikkonen & Alonso don't deserve to be on the list yet. Greats like Fittipaldi, Andretti, Rosberg & Jones should take their place instead.

 

[SagarisGTB]

Im sorry, but Brabham ahead of Fangio? Seriously?

Anyway, the whole list is 50 drivers and some of the choices are quite strange. Hakkinen is clearly overrated, Fangio clearly underrated.

 

[Grand Prix]

Really, the guy at the top of the list for GP drivers should be Tazio Nuvolari. Let me explain.

Imagine if you combined Senna's raw talent, with Prost's brain, Fangio's determination and insight, and put that all into a guy who grew up during the dawn of motoring and drove everything from motorcycles to 500hp Auto Union monsters. You'd get Tazio Nuvolari. Quite simply the most ultimate badass driver the world has ever seen, with over 200 assorted victories in his career. Flamboyant AND fast? Check. Could calculate the maximum survivable entrance speed for a corner in his head? Check. Great personality? Check. Humiliated the Nazis on German soil? Check! What more could you want?

But, sadly, he often gets overlooked because he didn't compete in official Formula One, which started in 1950. So as far as "F1" drivers go, it would have to be Fangio. He had the brains to go with his awesome driving skill, and competed in one of F1's most deadly eras. Pretty much every driver since has said he was the greatest.

The rest are too close to call IMO. Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Clark, Hill, Stewart, Lauda, Fittipaldi, Brabham, Moss and Andretti were all greats. Some were very skilled, some were master minds, and some were great team players, but they all earned their place in history. I really can't sort them in a list,

 

[niky]

Hamilton, Raikkonen & Alonso don't deserve to be on the list yet. Greats like Fittipaldi, Andretti, Rosberg & Jones should take their place instead.

IMHO, Raikkonen and Alonso thoroughly deserve their spots. Hamilton, not yet... he still has a lot to prove, though I feel he is one of the greatest "natural" talents on the grid since Senna... or maybe even Kimi... If he can stay at the sharp end of the pack for another five years, maybe.

Well... maybe Kimi's spot there is tenuous... but you can't deny that, in terms of skill, he's way up there.

Alonso is just the complete package. Like Schumacher, having Alonso on your team doesn't just mean you have a hire who can drive the balls off of a car, it means you have a driver who can actively help you develop and refine your mechanical package... while the Renault has often lacked straightline pace during his championship run, Alonso's input helped keep it competitive.

And Alonso makes F1 exciting. The emotion. The passion. The temper.

 

[Tired Tyres]

Really, the guy at the top of the list for GP drivers should be Tazio Nuvolari. Let me explain.

Imagine if you combined Senna's raw talent, with Prost's brain, Fangio's determination and insight, and put that all into a guy who grew up during the dawn of motoring and drove everything from motorcycles to 500hp Auto Union monsters. You'd get Tazio Nuvolari. Quite simply the most ultimate badass driver the world has ever seen, with over 200 assorted victories in his career. Flamboyant AND fast? Check. Could calculate the maximum survivable entrance speed for a corner in his head? Check. Great personality? Check. Humiliated the Nazis on German soil? Check! What more could you want?

But, sadly, he often gets overlooked because he didn't compete in official Formula One, which started in 1950. So as far as "F1" drivers go, it would have to be Fangio. He had the brains to go with his awesome driving skill, and competed in one of F1's most deadly eras. Pretty much every driver since has said he was the greatest.

The rest are too close to call IMO. Senna, Prost, Schumacher, Clark, Hill, Stewart, Lauda, Fittipaldi, Brabham, Moss and Andretti were all greats. Some were very skilled, some were master minds, and some were great team players, but they all earned their place in history. I really can't sort them in a list,

The problem with Nuvolari and to a lesser extent Fangio, Ascari etc is that no one here ever saw them race when they were at the top of their powers.

That's the problem with making lists like this. It can never work.

I will always regard Gilles Villeneuve as the best pure racing driver of all time and nothing will ever change that.

I will always regard Niki Lauda as the most complete race driver. I can't say he's better than Clark or Stewart because I didn't see them race. I can't say he's better than Prost because Lauda's time was affectively past by the time Prost came to prominence so you would be comparing drivers at different stages of their careers.

Someone getting into F1 earlier than me will pick a driver from the previous era and someone getting into F1 later than me will choose someone from their era.

 

[mafia_boy]

Im sorry, but Brabham ahead of Fangio? Seriously?

Yes, seriously. Like I said before, no one else built their own car and drove it to a world title like Brabham did, not even Fangio, and if you combine his driver's & constructor's titles, he has 7 all up. No driver has had the success that he has had as a constructor.

IMHO, Raikkonen and Alonso thoroughly deserve their spots. Hamilton, not yet... he still has a lot to prove, though I feel he is one of the greatest "natural" talents on the grid since Senna... or maybe even Kimi... If he can stay at the sharp end of the pack for another five years, maybe.

Well... maybe Kimi's spot there is tenuous... but you can't deny that, in terms of skill, he's way up there.

Alonso is just the complete package. Like Schumacher, having Alonso on your team doesn't just mean you have a hire who can drive the balls off of a car, it means you have a driver who can actively help you develop and refine your mechanical package... while the Renault has often lacked straightline pace during his championship run, Alonso's input helped keep it competitive.

And Alonso makes F1 exciting. The emotion. The passion. The temper.

Believe me niky, IF Alonso gets that Renault to the world title then his place would be deserved and assured. All because he left Renault, they went to pieces, he comes back and takes the team back to the promised land. That would add to his status so much more and cement him in the Top 10 with a performance like that you know.

But Hamilton and Raikkonen, not yet, most definitely not yet.

 

[Grand Prix]

Fangio and Brabham fans, this is for you:



Possibly one of the most epic battles ever seen, considering Fangio had an older car I think he did quite well. Now if we could get all these greats on the same track together, that would be so awesome the universe couldn't contain it!

Legendary driver onboards FTW!

 

[Ardius]

^I kind of got the feeling with that Fangio vs. Brabham race, that Brabham was holding off a bit because he visibly dominated in the straights but on a couple of straights he lifts off and lets Fangio ahead again. Good battling anyway though and its awesome to watch Fangio drive.

Also, great to see the old version of Oulton Park again! I wish they would put that track in Gran Turismo one day!

 

[Stevisiov]

Also, great to see the old version of Oulton Park again! I wish they would put that track in Gran Turismo one day!

QFT

I live about a mile away from Oulton park, how it has changed.