Who do you currently regard as the 3 greatest Formula 1 drivers and why?

[FIA]

1. Senna
2. Schumacher
3. Stewart

Also mentioned:- Ascari, Fangio, Moss, Clark, G Hill, Rindt, lauda, Prost, Mansell & Hakkinen.

[Mintexmemory]

1 Fangio
2 Clark
3 Lauda

Schumacher and Senna by their actions diminished the sport imo and I wouldn't mention them in the same breath as Moss, JYS, Rindt and Andretti

[futuretiger9]

1. Ayrton Senna - the man who elevated Formula 1 competition to a new level.

2. Jim Clark - a natural, and a humble person.

3. Juan Manuel Fangio - a wonderful competitor and ambassador, who commanded respect from his peers.

[AAReagles]

Gilles Villeneuve - the most spectacular and talented formula one driver I've seen footage of or read about...

...Jim Clark - ...was probably one of the unluckiest world champions but he was the dominant 60's driver.

I'm inclined to agree with you in regards to Gilles. Having been fortunate enough to have watched his races while he was alive, one could not help but notice that his abilities stood out so much from other drivers more frequently than what might have been normally expected.

His talent was certainly recognized and appreciated world wide... by die-hard fans and so-so followers alike. As a motor racing journalist once implied, his presence always brought an atmosphere of adulation from the crowds. And that of course came with reason.

Hence I tend to believe that he had a greater struggle with uncompetitive cars than with teammates. His driving/determination was questionable at times, but then again Gilles had a tendancy to regard himself as a racer, rather than a points-collector.





As for J. Clark, I'm not sure that he was unlucky. Grant it, he should have been WDC on at least 2-3 other occasions, mechanical failure not withstanding. However he was on a team that was competitive more often than the rest of the pack, not to mention he showed well overseas, noteably the TASMAN and american open wheel series.






Anyhooo... back on topic...

my choices:

1) J. Clark - class act with talent. Translation: He wasn't like the pre-Madonna crybabies that the sport had been afflicted with since the early 80's . He was the epitome of a GP driver.

2) Gilles - surprise!.... well, it was kind of a toss up between him and Niki Lauda. Lauda having gained my admiration for not only returning so soon to the sport after the 76' German GP, but having taking a break from "retirement" to win the 1984 WDC.

3) flip-a-coin... Andretti or Moss oorrr..... Gurney ooorrrr..... Ickx.....

[CCFanatic]

Michael Schumacher: Best racer of alll time. Nearly 100 wins in what is the most comptitieve era of F1. Agressive and sometimes dangerous.

Fernando Alonso: Great driver, who came from a country who only cared about 2 wheel racing. Agressive and fast.

Jacques Villenueve: Gasp.

[D-Type]

Surely a rather modern selection for 'of all time'.

Why do you say Schumacher competed in the most competitive era? The most high spending definitely but not the most competitive. In any recent year at most three makes of car have won races, normally only two. In some years in the past there were considerably more. I think the peak was probably 1983 with six different makes winning. Surely six potential winning cars on the grid must be more competitive than three?

[AAReagles]

... I think the peak was probably 1983 with six different makes winning. Surely six potential winning cars on the grid must be more competitive than three?

Indeed. How I miss those days.

[futuretiger9]

Surely a rather modern selection for 'of all time'.

I think the peak was probably 1983 with six different makes winning. Surely six potential winning cars on the grid must be more competitive than three?

You could argue that the most competitive era of F1 was between 1972 and 1977, although the overall quality of driver talent was perhaps not as great as 1962-1967 or 1988-1991.

1983 is one of the most "under-rated seasons" ever. I have the FIA review video, and the racing was fantastically competitive. Long Beach in particular that year was an absolute barnstormer.

[ArrowsFA1]

1983 is one of the most "under-rated seasons" ever. I have the FIA review video, and the racing was fantastically competitive. Long Beach in particular that year was an absolute barnstormer.

When I'm looking through my season review videos on a quiet evening I invariably pick out 1983 to watch. The cars look great, particularly that Brabham BT52, and turbo power (for many) combined with reduced aero made them spectacular, particularly through Eau Rouge where Rosberg (no turbo) was perhaps the most spectacular of all mokin:

[F1boat]

When I'm looking through my season review videos on a quiet evening I invariably pick out 1983 to watch. The cars look great, particularly that Brabham BT52, and turbo power (for many) combined with reduced aero made them spectacular, particularly through Eau Rouge where Rosberg (no turbo) was perhaps the most spectacular of all mokin:

How I "envy" you. My father couldn't have watched this races because F1 was considered capitalistic sport in my country.

To the topic:
1 M Shumacher
2 Fangio
3 Prost

My list is made on statistics, for I am surely not an expert and way too young (23) to judge about driving talent.