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Who Was The Fastest F1 Driver Ever!

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Scott Speed.

Besides, who cares? As long as the Sox are the World Champions, it doesn't really matter to me.

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I think a lot of the "Senna is best" is down to myth - I followed his career from his time at Lotus and never really got the impression that he was superhuman quick like Schumacher. I always thought Prost was the faster and more intelligent driver and, for sheer pace and guts, Mansell was always the man! Piquet was another very fast driver - So for me Senna was never outstanding among his peers at the time, he was just another fast driver in the fastest car.

Just my perception at the time.

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I think a lot of the "Senna is best" is down to myth - I followed his career from his time at Lotus and never really got the impression that he was superhuman quick like Schumacher. I always thought Prost was the faster and more intelligent driver and, for sheer pace and guts, Mansell was always the man! Piquet was another very fast driver - So for me Senna was never outstanding among his peers at the time, he was just another fast driver in the fastest car.

Just my perception at the time.

Never have falser words been spoken. Nah your opinion is fine, I couldn't disagree more of course! In my opinion he would destroy Mansell if they were team-mates, and I believe he would have the measure of Piquet too, to a lesser extent though. Prost and Senna were the best of their generation in my opinion, and what a great generation it was.

A perfect excuse to post some Senna videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_5DB91pM-U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeuegZsK4tg

I know those vids are unlikely to change your opinion, and technically don't prove anything, but who cares...

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Never have falser words been spoken. Nah your opinion is fine, I couldn't disagree more of course! In my opinion he would destroy Mansell if they were team-mates, and I believe he would have the measure of Piquet too, to a lesser extent though. Prost and Senna were the best of their generation in my opinion, and what a great generation it was.

A perfect excuse to post some Senna videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_5DB91pM-U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeuegZsK4tg

I know those vids are unlikely to change your opinion, and technically don't prove anything, but who cares...

If Senna was the best he would have won everything - I'm not saying he was not a very good driver, he just didn't dominate his peers in the way that Michael has.

His death has created an almost superhuman type myth that wasn't borne out when he was competing. Admittedly, he had some excellent races, but so have Prost, Nando, Kimi, Mansell, Piquet, Gilles, Michael etc etc

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If Senna was the best he would have won everything - I'm not saying he was not a very good driver, he just didn't dominate his peers in the way that Michael has.

I would argue that Schumacher's rivals were not at the same level as Senna's, I don't want to offend any fans of other drivers, but I'd say Mika was the only man on the same kind of level, and Alonso perhaps. Whereas Senna has Piquet, Prost, Mansell, Lauda, Rosberg, and generally I think the quality of the field was higher, only in the last few years has there been an increase of top drivers - see my 'the young ones' thread.

I suppose this is all quite pointless, I won't convince you Senna was better than Schumacher, and you won't convince me of the opposite. Let's agree that they are both top talents.

His death has created an almost superhuman type myth that wasn't borne out when he was competing. Admittedly, he had some excellent races, but so have Prost, Nando, Kimi, Mansell, Piquet, Gilles, Michael etc etc

All true.

Maybe I'll go for the less controversial choice of Clark. There are some very fast drivers missing from this guy's list.

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Therefore if we say Senna and Schumacher's competitors were significantly different then there is no debate whatsoever. I more like to base opinion on facts in which case we should say the fastest F1 driver ever is the most successful F1 driver ever being Michael Schumacher.

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Therefore if we say Senna and Schumacher's competitors were significantly different then there is no debate whatsoever. I more like to base opinion on facts in which case we should say the fastest F1 driver ever is the most successful F1 driver ever being Michael Schumacher.

If the facts support your opinion then I suppose they must be valid. I could argue qualifying is a better signifier of speed, Senna has a greater percentage of poles than Schumacher, therefore he is faster. But has that got us anywhere? Stats aren't everything, subjective feeling is just as important.

Anyway I maintain this is pointless, everyone has their heroes for different reasons, not much can change that, you can keep your heroes and I will keep mine, no harm done :)

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I would argue that Schumacher's rivals were not at the same level as Senna's, I don't want to offend any fans of other drivers, but I'd say Mika was the only man on the same kind of level, and Alonso perhaps. Whereas Senna has Piquet, Prost, Mansell, Lauda, Rosberg, and generally I think the quality of the field was higher, only in the last few years has there been an increase of top drivers - see my 'the young ones' thread.

A driver can only be compared against his peers, that is why comparing drivers of different eras is pointless. To say that Michael had less competition than Senna is plain rubbish and only serves to prove how supremely talented Michael was. If Michael had competed with Prost, Senna et al he would have dominated them in the same way that he dominated his peers.

I am inclined to agree that Jim Clark is the only driver that is consistently rated as the best regardless of era.

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A driver can only be compared against his peers, that is why comparing drivers of different eras is pointless. To say that Michael had less competition than Senna is plain rubbish and only serves to prove how supremely talented Michael was. If Michael had competed with Prost, Senna et al he would have dominated them in the same way that he dominated his peers.

I am inclined to agree that Jim Clark is the only driver that is consistently rated as the best regardless of era.

The two bits in bold are a direct contradiction. I believe no driver could dominate Senna/Prost/Schumacher, you really believe Michael was THAT special? I feel you are looking for an argument and I'm really not, looks like you were right when you said this thread would keep the forum busy, it's certainly keeping me busy!

I think they are both great drivers and similar in many ways, can we please leave it there? These discussions never prove fruitful.

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>

^ Well that doesn't take into consideration the cars they drove vs. the time they were in F1.

The cars Clark drove:

- Lotus 25 (revolutionary); fastest car in 62 (reliability) and 63 winner

- Lotus 33 fastest car in 64 and 65

- Lotus 49 fastest car in 1967 and early 68

Fangio, except 58 always drove a top/the top car.

I know the MB W196 he drove had a special aero-body, not just the standard one, witch on tracks like Reims gave a second advantage per lap. And that's just the aero-body, the car's engine with desdemonic valves and direct injection being excluded.

Schumacher's cars are well known.

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I think a lot of the "Senna is best" is down to myth - I followed his career from his time at Lotus and never really got the impression that he was superhuman quick like Schumacher. I always thought Prost was the faster and more intelligent driver and, for sheer pace and guts, Mansell was always the man! Piquet was another very fast driver - So for me Senna was never outstanding among his peers at the time, he was just another fast driver in the fastest car.

Just my perception at the time.

Indeed!!

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I'm not looking for an arguement, I'm just trying to impress upon you the huge strides that Michael introduced into f1 that allowed him to dominate the sport.

- Senna introduced fitness, but Michael took it to another level. The likes of mansell would practically be having a fit after a race, he appeared that unfit. Drivers of his era did not place a lot of emphasis on physical fitness and so there level of competitveness would always be limited by this - Michael, on the other hand, was supremely fit, dedicated and single minded - How much extra speed do you think his fitness played in his success :eusa_think:

Because Michael was fitter than 90% of the field he had an immediate advantage

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Who is/was the fastest ever?

I guess its like asking which is the one true religion.

Never gonna be agreed

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A fastest driver's list is like a list about which football player can kick with better accuracy. It is only one of many factors that make a driver great. Senna being 13th causes me no disappointment, for I consider him great based on many other talents.

It's not so hard if you pay less atention to all these rankings and just watch them race.

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I'm not looking for an arguement, I'm just trying to impress upon you the huge strides that Michael introduced into f1 that allowed him to dominate the sport.

- Senna introduced fitness, but Michael took it to another level. The likes of mansell would practically be having a fit after a race, he appeared that unfit. Drivers of his era did not place a lot of emphasis on physical fitness and so there level of competitveness would always be limited by this - Michael, on the other hand, was supremely fit, dedicated and single minded - How much extra speed do you think his fitness played in his success :eusa_think:

Because Michael was fitter than 90% of the field he had an immediate advantage

I agree, Michael changed the sport a lot. Senna was probably as dedicated in my opinion, there's a story of him working on his own car at about six in the morning before anyone else had entered the pits. Like I said, I think they are quite similar, what I will say is I think Schumacher was the only driver who maintained his dedication throughout his career. As for fitness affecting speed, I'm not sure, Kimi is supposedly unfit (relative to other drivers) yet he's pretty quick!

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Who is/was the fastest ever?

I guess its like asking which is the one true religion.

Never gonna be agreed

Damn you, I demmand that you prove any religion exists!

:P

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You know, I remember the days when F1 drivers just jumped in their cars and raced - Racing in those days was mainly down to instinct, guts, determination and skill. At the end of the race the guys would slope off with a gorgeous woman for more racy stuff in the bedroom - F1 drivers were playboys and that was the attraction to many a young man.

It all changed around about the time of Michael - This guy would look fresh as a daisy after a grueling 70 lap race of Monaco and would be all smiles and energy. Michael brought skill coupled with supreme fitness and dedication - F1 drivers were now referred to as athletes - The playboy days ended with the likes of Berger, although Jenson did his best to revive them and promptly lost his Benneton drive to the supremely dedicated Nando.

Like Jesse Owens would not have been able to compete with Carl Lewis, the older generation would not have been able to keep up with the current generation of drivers.

F1 is not what it was thanks to Michael

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You know, I remember the days when F1 drivers just jumped in their cars and raced - Racing in those days was mainly down to instinct, guts, determination and skill.

That's why I am a fan of the now deceased Gilles Villeneuve and Stefan Bellof, the man who holds the lap record at the Nurburgring, the old one, the big one.

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Speed=Distance/Time

So the driver with the most speed is the fastest, which means the driver who covered the most distance over the shortest amount of time wins. So whoever made the most starts over the fewest seasons is the fastest driver.

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Speed=Distance/Time

So the driver with the most speed is the fastest, which means the driver who covered the most distance over the shortest amount of time wins. So whoever made the most starts over the fewest seasons is the fastest driver.

OOOOOHHHH, I like that answer!! :clap3:

Who was it then?

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Speed=Distance/Time

So the driver with the most speed is the fastest, which means the driver who covered the most distance over the shortest amount of time wins. So whoever made the most starts over the fewest seasons is the fastest driver.

Or least retirements... or most laps run or most laps led could also be a good estimate...

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Please consider for many F1 driver a visit to the pits equals the race is over. In different eras there were different rules and I would like to know if Michael without traction control and without pitstops can setup a car (without telemetry too) and drive through a entire race and save the tyres like Prost. Different eras wanted diffferent skills from drivers. And as many of you said the discussion is pointless. I think some drivers made a huge difference with the rest of the gridline and should be recognized as the best of the F1 history. There were only 12 or 15 drivers in 58 years and hundred of races.

I like to point out that the 4 top wining drivers are MSC, Alain Prost, Ayrton and Mansell also. And you know what? 3 of them race together! So we can say without doubt that Prost, Ayrton and Nigel Mansell was the most competitive era.

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