German Car Zone

With "fans" like this no wonder F1 is in such a mess.

so is the entire F1 management. i really hope Max will retire or something by next year.

I agree with your banging heads etc IE. Maybe active/current drivers should be excluded in surveys like this, but with special mention of the greats who are still active. For example, while Schumacher was still driving after winning several championships, it was clear that he'd rank high in these lists. Same as with boxing, when Mohammed Ali was still boxing it was clear that he would rank really high in the all-time great lists.

If current/active drivers were excluded from surveys like this, people would have to think a bit harder...I bet many of the respondents were not even alive when Jack Brabham and Jim Clark were winning races, never mind Fangio.

Must've been a really young and ignorant group of fans...

Kubica on 5th place says it all. BS survey.

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^ Unfortunately these are the fans of today. They don't know F1 history and comfuse "favorite driver" with best driver.

The new F1 fans are young, ignorant, band-wagon passengers, but they're rich, so they obviously need pandering to!

What does surprise me is the result of the survey. I thought the newbies that know and care nothing about F1 would instantly support the flavor of the month driver, which happens to be Hamilton. I thought the guys voting in this farce would have been the ones calling Hamilton the greatest ever after his third race.

The pathetic thing is that Mansell probably wouldn't have made that list at all had it not been for his bloody fast Williams in '92 giving him his only title. If you look at the only "serious/deserving" names on that list, I'd put them in this order:
1) Michael Schumacher - big gap between 1) and 2)
2a) Alain Prost - I wouldn't put Prost one full rank above Senna but I think he was marginally better
2b) Ayrton Senna - same class as Prost, but slightly inferior in my mind
4) Nelson Piquet - miles below 2b)

I would put Fangio 1 as a driver.

While Schumacher was the total package of F1, but as a total driver only Fangio would come first.

Fangio could do a strategy/pit-stop race Schumacher style (witch suposebly acording to some "fans" only existed from 94 onwards and with it Schu destroyed F1), as well as an inteligent race Prost style, or go into devastating speed/destroy the limits mode Senna style. And all in one race if necesary (think Nurburgring 1957).

The numerical advantage belongs to Schu, but look at the percentages:
- wins: 47.1% Fangio vs. 36.4% Schumacher
- poles: 56.9% (29 of 51) Fangio vs. 40.1% Senna vs. 27.6% Schumacher
- GP's lead 76.4% (39 out of 51) vs. 54% (135 out of 250) Schumacher
- most fastest laps per season: 9 laps/8 races in 1954 = 1.125 Fangio vs.
10 laps/18 races in 2004 = 0.555 Schumacher
- most fastest laps: 56.9% (29 in 51 GPs) Fangio vs. 30.4% (76 in 250 GPs) Schumacher


Simply forgeting Fangio is a crime IMO.

Yes, I think Fangio is the greatest ever, but the fans voting didn't have the good sense to include him in the poll. Four of the eight on their list would probably not make a serious Greatest Ever list voted on by knowledgeable F1 fans.

If you consider all the great drivers, not just the serious choices on the ING survey, Fangio would top my list. I'd have it as:
1) Fangio
2) Schumacher
3a) Prost
3b) Senna
5a) Clark
5b) Lauda

I think it's interesting that Prost and Schumi are often criticized for driving strategically and winning at the slowest possible speed. Other champs are also criticized for that, but not as much as Prost and Schu. Fangio usually drove only as fast as he needed to win. It's unfortunate that some "fans" that think this style of driving somehow detracts from the achievement of the drivers.

I would also add to that list:
Jackie Stewart and Jack Brabham.

I may disagree with many of Stewart's curent views, but I can't deny his merits.
Fast and consistent driver, very few mistakes, total package type, 3 WDCs, held the record for most victories (witch he took from Clark) until Alain Prost beat that.

Jack Brabham, 3 WDCs, first of the total package types, along with team mate Bruce McLaren and boss John Cooper developed the mid-engined cars witch have changed F1 forever and won the 1959 and 1960 WDCs in the process. Then created his own team and designed the car on witch he dominated 1966. In doesn't get any better than that.