One of the reasons that I have more respect for Schumacher off the track than on it. There was no need to do that. I think that it was good that Patrick Head marched down the pit lane to tell the Ferrari guys just what he thought about it.
I don't agree with everything Schumacher did on and off the track (I agree with on a lot of things he did as well, however) but I still have a lot of repsect for him because he is not a hypocrite: He knows what he did and didn't complain when others did it to him.
I think Hakkinen's 1998 was highly deserved for many reasons. He is without doubt one of the fastest drivers ever to drive a Formula One car and I feared his talent would be rewarded with little or no wins, which would have been a travesty great than Alesi. In terms of the 1998 season, McLaren had a few reliability problems which kept Schumacher in it. At the final Grand Prix of the season, Hakkinen kept cool under pressure whilst Schumacher stalled his Ferrari on the grid. Overall, I think McLaren deserved both titles that year. There were some really dark times in the 1990s, but Hakkinen never lost faith, Coulthard was confident in the teams future, everybody plugged away and Adrian Newey did a great job.
Other much deserved victories came in 1984 when McLaren was turned around thanks to some supreme entrepreneurship from Ron Dennis and John Barnard's carbon fibre revolution. Then, in 1988 McLaren produced easily the most dominant Formula One car ever seen and what will probably ever be seen.
In terms of race wins for drivers, the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix stands out. Senna dominated the entire weekend in a much slower car and produced an ingenious performance in the race. Another race that jumps to mind was another race from Senna: the 1993 European Grand Prix. Senna produced what was, is and will always be the greatest opening lap motor racing has ever seen and massacred everybody in the race, again with a poor car. In fact, all of those five Grands Prix Senna won that year were completely deserved. I would say it was (or certainly comes very close to being) his best season.
Sometimes the world gives us somebody so unique, ingenious and brilliant. The world could go on another million years and there still would not be another guy like Senna.
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998,
1999, 2007McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008