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Celebrate over sixty years of F1 - your memories, experiences and opinions.
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By Lewis Hamilton - COME ON!
#12334
Gachot, the greatest driver that ever lived, & then M Schumacher!
By ArtHowe
#12350
There are a number of drivers who have been more naturally talented than Schumacher. Both Prost and Senna to name only two. For my money, I consider Prost possibly the greatest because he best espoused the ethic of "sport". Schumacher was simply a very talented driver who had carte blanche in a large international corporation. His ethics were abyssmal.

Gachot never won a race and scored a whopping 5 championship points during his F1 career of more than 40 races. Of course his career was rudely interrupted by a stint in a British jail for spraying another driver with CS gas. If he didn't want to tip his taxi driver why didn't he just say so? Hardly the most distinguished career in the short annals of Belgian history... Audrey Hepburn was at least good looking.
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By internos2k
#12366
The greatest driver is Eliseo Salazar,
who "legitimately" impeded Piquet to lap him, (maybe
because he didn't know the meaning of the blue waving flag).
That has been the greatest show in F1:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3SXbGDcMeo8
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By madbrad
#12378
Yeah I remember that. I felt Salazar tried to get out of the way but the layout of the chicane didn't allow it. He sure could've planned it better! I always considered Piquet a real prick for that outburst, not that I wouldn't have anyway LOL.
By britishtrident
#15332
Jim Clark ---- just got poles and won races, didn't cheat, didn't throw hissy fits
Fangio ---- firm robust but fair
Chris Amon --- like Button just unlucky never to have the right car.
Stirling Moss --- massive talent wasted by patriotism
Ronnie Petterson --- like Clark so smooth
Mario Andretti --- master of any type of racing
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By texasmr2
#15350
Schumacher, Senna and Prost are my personel alltime top three driver's that I have had the pleasure to watch. That being said I have alway's supoorted Jacque Laffite, Marc Surer and Gerhard Berger also.
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By darwin dali
#15351
As a Swiss I feel flattered that you mention Marc Surer. I still think he was a dud though. I was much more impressed by Clay Regazzoni who, while he was driving for Ferrari, I had the pleasure to meet in person as a teenager. Also, not to forget legendary Jo Siffert whose fiery death in Brands Hatch sparked a host of F1 safety regs.
By britishtrident
#15693
I intensely dislike what I know of Schumacher but he had truly immense talent.

I intensely dislike all I know of Senna but he was just a very very good driver no better than Prost or even Mansell in the same car.

In contrast Clay Regazzoni was a truly wonderful guy very brave and determind but just a good driver.
Lauda out shown him by a mile and Lauda was never a great natural talent but Lauda was the best technician driver F1 will ever see.

Jo Siffert was a great but like Jackie Ickx (the greatest rain meister) and Derek Bell really at is best in sports cars.
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By texasmr2
#15836
Ayrton Senna was imho the greatest F1 driver. Still to this day I cannot bring myself to watch the '94 GP of Imola as I watched it live and have it taped. I remember the race like it was just yesterday but I cannot bring myself to relive that day ever again, I can still feel the tear's running down my face, I do not want to feel that kind of loss ever again :( .

Gerhard Berger, Senna's team mate at McLaren from 1990-1992 and a very close friend, expressed a memory of what it was like qualifying with Senna:
“ I remember one weekend in Imola where I went out, I set the time. He went out, he was a bit quicker. I went out, I was quicker than him. He went out, he was quicker than me, and then it goes forwards, backwards -- ping pong -- until close to the end of the qualifying and it was the last set of tyres, and he was sitting in the racing car, me in my one, and he got out of the racing car, walked over to my one and said, 'Listen, it's gonna get very dangerous now,' and I say 'So what? Let's go!' â€
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By 7UpJordan
#15851
[quote="texasmr2"]Ayrton Senna was imho the greatest F1 driver. Still to this day I cannot bring myself to watch the '94 GP of Imola as I watched it live and have it taped. I remember the race like it was just yesterday but I cannot bring myself to relive that day ever again, I can still feel the tear's running down my face, I do not want to feel that kind of loss ever again :( .

Gerhard Berger, Senna's team mate at McLaren from 1990-1992 and a very close friend, expressed a memory of what it was like qualifying with Senna:
“ I remember one weekend in Imola where I went out, I set the time. He went out, he was a bit quicker. I went out, I was quicker than him. He went out, he was quicker than me, and then it goes forwards, backwards -- ping pong -- until close to the end of the qualifying and it was the last set of tyres, and he was sitting in the racing car, me in my one, and he got out of the racing car, walked over to my one and said, 'Listen, it's gonna get very dangerous now,' and I say 'So what? Let's go!' â€
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By McLaren Fan
#15958
Ayrton Senna was imho the greatest F1 driver. Still to this day I cannot bring myself to watch the '94 GP of Imola as I watched it live and have it taped. I remember the race like it was just yesterday but I cannot bring myself to relive that day ever again, I can still feel the tear's running down my face, I do not want to feel that kind of loss ever again.

Same here. When Senna died, the world lost more than just a racing driver: His charisma, values, complex personality and deeds make him one of the greatest sports figures ever. For me, I find a lot of inspiration from him on a daily basis.
By britishtrident
#16072
Senna behaved like a spoilt child, not a champion sportsman his prima donna act brought out the worst in team mates shame some talented drivers (Alonso & Schumacher) have copied his low tactics. The war he started with team mate Prost makes Alonso's hissy fit look tame.


A many top notch F1 drivers have co-existed with highly talented team mates as equals without the prima donna act --- for example Hill & Clark, Hill & Rindt, Brabham & McLaren, Brabham & Hulme, Andretti & Petterson.
By supeindesu
#16121
Alesi - Berger too, there were no pretty times to Ferrari, but it was very fun their performance on race (hillarious Alesi and Hakkinen closing M. Schumacher to give a chance to Damon Hill... Schumacher was on fire behind them, running side by side :D)
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By texasmr2
#16131
I'll alway's remember Alesi's drive in the 1995 European GP, as one of his best. I have alway's been a huge fan of Alesi.

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