- 04 Aug 09, 15:22#140072Umm, there's different kinds of fast... I think really the question of who is the fastest has to be about fastest over a single lap.
Firstly, of the five here I'd immediately rule out two: Schumacher and Prost. They were successfull because they were consistently able to lap close to the limit, but what we're talking about is lapping AT the limit, and in that situation I think they were both slightly weaker than some of their peers. I've always thought that in the late 90s and early 00s Hakkinen actually had the edge in terms of outright speed, and if 1988 and 1989 are anything to go by, in equal equipment Senna thrashed Prost 28-4 in qualifying.
Mansell is also probably out, although he did on occasion produce some really perfect laps, notably Monaco 1987.
So that leaves Fangio and Senna, although I'd also include Jim Clark.
I think the problem is that there's two very different driving styles here. Neither Fangio nor Clark had access to telemetry data, so they were like artists who just went out and did their thing on instinct.
Senna was much more premeditated, much more calculated and clinical, as he worked out where the time was available and how he had to drive in each section to eke out the last few tenths.
Ultimately though, I think it's far too easy to say Senna so I'm going to plump for Fangio. He qualified in the top two on 42 occasions out of 52 starts, and it's not as if his fellow competitors just let him. Senna may have a more fearsome reputation, but I think the stopwatch would favour Fangio.
Jim Clark, Monza, one lap down...
If i could make up my own personal nickname for him it'd be Le Morceau de Merde! 
