Best pilot EVER!!

[a007apl]

Senna its Crazy in your drivers and in old time dont have much tecnology, have very good pilots 8)

[stracing]

i'd loked at ech era and see what equipmen they had and what excitement they brought. i think the early days of f1 would be great to watch, aerodnamics and electronics were virtually nil. it really relied on skill and the whatever grip you had in your tires. so my choice would have to be another. i'd pick schumacher because he is my favourite driver but i reckon modern cars are just too easy for him.

[kteo2003]

there is nothing to compare...the father of jack villeneuve and senna are the top...

[Caplax40]

Best pilot ever? Easy! Chuck Yeager!

[a007apl]

F1 dont have more fighters.
One race begin Schumacher,Schumacher,...
If he goes to McLaren?

One race begin Schumacher,Schumacher,...?
Ferrari at this moment have the better car of F1
in years 80 Mc Laren(Senna & Prost) wins.
Car + best pilot = winner
Remeber in Monaco Senna in the rain?(2º place)
no good car but the best Pilot 8)

[astonmartinandy]

If you look at the facts, Schumacher is the best driver (as with my personal opinion). However, even withstanding the six world championships, there will never be a definitive argument either way as to the best driver as too many of the drivers are no longer here today for a direct comparison! Unless somebody can come up with an objective means of comparison?!

[speedyPete]

Cmon...no contest. :fist: Ayrton Senna was the greatest ever. EVER If you look at the competition he had to go up against (prost, piquet, mansel among others) and he still dominated the sport. Shumacher although very good has NO...repeat NO... competition going against him. The only competition he did have was Mika Hakinnen and when Mika put his mind to it he was better than shumacher.

Besides... WRC drivers are the best drivers out there today

[SPAD]

Have u ever thought that der is a reason he has no competition?And besides schumie was beating senna in a slower car.

[speedyPete]

If your referring to the williams renault senna was driving in 94 that car was definately not quicker than shumie's benneton at that time. Williams had all kind of problems setting it up properly and if you remember senna's teamate damon hill (who by the way beat shumacher a couple years later for the drivers title) was consistently lapped by senna.

[PATo355]

Senna might be good but i thinked a little and i think its Schumacher

[sameerrao]

This is a tough one ...

I guess the responses here would be by the best pilot that you have been exposed to - people watching racing in the 60s would plump for Clark while today's generation would give Schumacher the nod ... All worthy choices but extremely subjective to choose between...

For the fun of it, I would like to think about it from analyzing the parts as well as taking the whole...

Raw Speed - Qualifying
1. Ayrton Senna
2. Jim Clark
3. Mika Hakkinen

There will never be another Senna - the man was magic when it mattered - the dying minutes of qualifying when Senna would pop out for the final run and everyone would hold their breath waiting for the inevitable pole position. Jim Clark was also supremely fast frequently starting from Pole. Mika was dynamite when the car was supreme.. he was rarely out-qualified by David. Michael also deserves a place here for consistently fast qualifying

Raw Speed - Race
1. Jim Clark
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Bernd Rosemayer

Jim Clark would virtually lead his races unless there were car related problems. Michael has had several epic drives and has the most # of fastest laps ever. Bernd Rosemayer drove Auto Unions for a brief period in the 30s before his untimely death. His raw speed had an unearthly quality about it.

Wet weather Skills
1. Rudolf Caracciola
2. Ayrton Senna
3. Michael Schumacher

Caracciola (drove for Mercedes Benz in the 30s) was the original "regenmeister" (Rain master) - he had that special feel that made him truly special in wet conditions. Senna and Schumacher are also exemplary in the wet. Ranking Caracciola above these two masters just indicates the quality of Caracciola

Race Craft
1. Alain Prost
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Niki Lauda

Le Professor Alain Prost waas the consummate thinker - he would win at the slowest possible speeds like Jackie Stewart a decade before. And he was only a little bit slower than Ayrton was.. Michael was the master of thinking strategically while racing at ten-tenths - he could adapt to any problem or any strategy. Niki

Bravery
1. Gilles Villenueve
2. Ayrton Senna
3. Nigel Mansell

Villenueve demonstrated tremendous bravery in taking it to the 11/10s very often. He was always on the edge of disaster. Senna and Mansell were extremely brave drivers who drove with no fear and balls out always...

Car control
1. Gilles Villenueve
2. Tazio Nuvolari
3. Ayrton Senna

Villenueve could recover from slides like no one else .. perhaps his snowmobile racing helped hone his skills in this regard. Nuvolari was able to do stuff in cars that others could only dream about. Senna was famous for his throttle control and feel during the wet

Physical Fitness
1. Michael Schumacher
2. Ayrton Senna (in the 90s)
3. Juan Manuel Fangio

Michael comes out as fresh as a daisy while the opposition would look as if they ran the half-marathon. Senna was a weakling but worked himself into one of the fittest ever. Fangio raced in a time when the drivers were fat but the tyres thin - but the man was indefatigable - practice from endurance racing in south America before his GP career.

Determination/Will power
1. Ayrton Senna
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Tazio Nuvolari

Senna was the most intellectual of the lot and his determination to win at all costs was frightening to witness sometimes. While Senna could be classified as obsessive (aprticlurlarly w.r.t. Prost), Michael was determined and thoughtful - he works harder than the rest and does not just depend on his considerable driving talent

Best Driver - overall

I would give my vote to Tazio Nuvolari (Nivola)
- for his car control
- for his bravery
- for more than 30 years of racing at the top drawer level
- Epic Nurburgring and Mille Miglia drives - stuff of legends
- Rated by Enzo Ferrari as the best ever....

[5vz-fe]

Damn sameerrao, very very good category break down.

[EthanGilles]

Gilles Villeneuve

No arguments, please

[yg60m]

This is a tough one ... I guess the responses here would be by the best pilot that you have been exposed to - people watching racing in the 60s would plump for Clark while today's generation would give Schumacher the nod ... All worthy choices but extremely subjective to choose between... For the fun of it, I would like to think about it from analyzing the parts as well as taking the whole... Raw Speed - Qualifying 1. Ayrton Senna 2. Jim Clark 3. Mika Hakkinen There will never be another Senna - the man was magic when it mattered - the dying minutes of qualifying when Senna would pop out for the final run and everyone would hold their breath waiting for the inevitable pole position. Jim Clark was also supremely fast frequently starting from Pole. Mika was dynamite when the car was supreme.. he was rarely out-qualified by David. Michael also deserves a place here for consistently fast qualifying Raw Speed - Race 1. Jim Clark 2. Michael Schumacher 3. Bernd Rosemayer Jim Clark would virtually lead his races unless there were car related problems. Michael has had several epic drives and has the most # of fastest laps ever. Bernd Rosemayer drove Auto Unions for a brief period in the 30s before his untimely death. His raw speed had an unearthly quality about it. Wet weather Skills 1. Rudolf Caracciola 2. Ayrton Senna 3. Michael Schumacher Caracciola (drove for Mercedes Benz in the 30s) was the original "regenmeister" (Rain master) - he had that special feel that made him truly special in wet conditions. Senna and Schumacher are also exemplary in the wet. Ranking Caracciola above these two masters just indicates the quality of Caracciola Race Craft 1. Alain Prost 2. Michael Schumacher 3. Niki Lauda Le Professor Alain Prost waas the consummate thinker - he would win at the slowest possible speeds like Jackie Stewart a decade before. And he was only a little bit slower than Ayrton was.. Michael was the master of thinking strategically while racing at ten-tenths - he could adapt to any problem or any strategy. Niki Bravery 1. Gilles Villenueve 2. Ayrton Senna 3. Nigel Mansell Villenueve demonstrated tremendous bravery in taking it to the 11/10s very often. He was always on the edge of disaster. Senna and Mansell were extremely brave drivers who drove with no fear and balls out always... Car control 1. Gilles Villenueve 2. Tazio Nuvolari 3. Ayrton Senna Villenueve could recover from slides like no one else .. perhaps his snowmobile racing helped hone his skills in this regard. Nuvolari was able to do stuff in cars that others could only dream about. Senna was famous for his throttle control and feel during the wet Physical Fitness 1. Michael Schumacher 2. Ayrton Senna (in the 90s) 3. Juan Manuel Fangio Michael comes out as fresh as a daisy while the opposition would look as if they ran the half-marathon. Senna was a weakling but worked himself into one of the fittest ever. Fangio raced in a time when the drivers were fat but the tyres thin - but the man was indefatigable - practice from endurance racing in south America before his GP career. Determination/Will power 1. Ayrton Senna 2. Michael Schumacher 3. Tazio Nuvolari Senna was the most intellectual of the lot and his determination to win at all costs was frightening to witness sometimes. While Senna could be classified as obsessive (aprticlurlarly w.r.t. Prost), Michael was determined and thoughtful - he works harder than the rest and does not just depend on his considerable driving talent Best Driver - overall I would give my vote to Tazio Nuvolari (Nivola) - for his car control - for his bravery - for more than 30 years of racing at the top drawer level - Epic Nurburgring and Mille Miglia drives - stuff of legends - Rated by Enzo Ferrari as the best ever....

Ok, it's a big quote but i wanted to thank you for this detailled review. Very accurate. In F1 mag they made a rank with more than 70 people (drivers/ journalists ...) and the winner is ... Ayrton Senna He really put his mark on minds for his spirituality, his involvment ... I can't forget it too.

[astonmartinandy]

Full marks for the analysis there. I have serious respect for Senna as I think in a race his overtaking style was incredible, but for overall title as the finest driver the precision and skill of Schumacher, to dominate for so many years, cannot be ignored. Oh I like the final conclusion of Nuvolari at the end of it all!