Originally Posted by theugsquirrel
My list...
1. Jim Clark - Dominant driver. Faster than everyone else in any car, in any conditions. Led races in the 3L era while driving a 2L car, and came back from a lap down to lead races. Won at Spa by 8 miles.
2. Michael Schumacher - Statistics speak for themselves.
3. Jackie Stewart - quick everywhere. Used his head and won championships in cars that weren't the quickest. Wasn't as spectacular as Ronnie, but faster.
4. Juan Manuel Fangio - Dominant in his 40's, with 5 championships.
5. Ayrton Senna - completely committed, most talented driver on the grid for several years.
6. Stirling Moss - Had that ability to win in inferior cars (not just grands prix). He was the man to beat when F1 went to mid-engines.
7. Tazio Nuvolari - won races into his 50's, brave and utterly committed, won in vastly inferior cars.
8. Bernd Rosemeyer - instantly quick in a recalcitrant car, having never raced a car before in his life. Noone else mastered the Auto Union like Rosemeyer.
9. Rudolf Carracciola - Multiple European Champion. An excellent and very brave driver. " ... of all the great drivers I have known - Nuvolari, Rosemeyer, Lang, Moss or Fangio - Caracciola was the greatest of them all." - Alfred Neubauer.
10. Fernando Alonso - pips Raikkonen, only because he has 2 championships to his name. Time will tell. Also, Hamilton rattled him, but that's seperate from sheer driving talent.