Just how do you rate the greatest driver of all time?

[The Artist.....]

teabagyokel how Moreno managed to drag that Andrea Moda to the grid in Monte Carlo, I will never know... The only thing I can think was that this was Andrea SAssetti somehow convinced the timekeepers to run their clock somewhat slowly for his car that day.... Or alternatively, a Monaco miracle... I suppose miracles do happen occasionally!

I remember an article from many years ago looking at F1's crap teams, and just how many had the Roberto Moreno factor
AGS
Coloni
Eurobrun
Andrea Moda
Minardi
Forti

In fact, of all of these teams, it was the yellow peril (Forti) which qualified most regularly!!! That's really saying something

(Note, not all teams were rubbish, he also had 1 race at Lotus in 1982, 2 races at Jordan in 1991, and almost a season at Benetton after Naninni lost his arm in a helecopter accident)...

 

[Mephistopheles]

At the moment my criteria for the greatest driver is:

• Drives for McLaren
• Has a half Japanese half Argentinian girlfriend
• Won the WDC in 2009

 

[Plutus]

Tell me, how do you rate someone like Jean Alesi?

I'm not saying he is one of the best drivers but he certainly had the qualities to become world champion in the right car.

 

[GeoffP]

Mephistopheles, sorry mate, you're going to have to throw me a bone on this one, still not clear who you're talking about... Is it Hamilton?

 

[Mephistopheles]

I rate Asesi's career as being unfortunate mixed with a bag full of bad luck and massive error in career opportunities, he should never have signed of Ferrari if he had gone to Williams I reckon he had the talent to be a multiple world champion...

 

[Blog Zbod]

Just how do you rate the greatest driver of all time?

According to greatest number of sexual conquests.




<<< Ergo my avatar.

 

[Mephistopheles]

That'll be James Hunt then...

 

[Olivier]

Tell me, how do you rate someone like Jean Alesi?

I'm not saying he is one of the best drivers but he certainly had the qualities to become world champion in the right car.

Nothing short of spectacular ... one of my all time favourite drivers ...

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

You can't really rate this sort of subject, it's the same with footballers as well.

People like different types of things in drivers. I like Hamilton because he excites me with his driving style. Whereas I didn't like Schumachers style because I found it boring. However, someone else on this forum may find it the other way round.

So rating drivers from different eras as each other can't be done as cars and driving styles are different from era to era.

Hope that makes sense .

 

[Mephistopheles]

It absolutely does make sense HammydiRestarules which is why I take this sort of thing tongue in cheek, for instance in boxing Rocky Marciano would have been lucky to last a single round against Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali and Ali would probably have struggled against a brawler like Mike Tyson or a lump of muscle like Frank Bruno and yet they were all great boxers in their time..

I met Frank Bruno Once and trust me the man is fucking huge, I think his shoulders were about the width of a London bus and his fists were the size of footballs..

 

[RasputinLives]

On Alesi's move to Ferrari. At the time it made sense. Ferrari had just missed out on the world title while Williams only victory of the year had come from Boutsen getting in the front at Hungary and making his car very wide.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Alesi made many errors in his career (the biggest duh moment being when he refused to put for Benneton and ran out of fuel) but that can't be judged as one of them.

 

[Fenderman]

OP:
Q: "Just how do you rate the greatest driver of all time?"
... ... + ... ... ... ...
A: With great difficulty.

 

[Atticus]

Interesting question.

Obviously, a lot of factors come into play, but as I always... felt... that Ayrton was the greatest, I tried to seek out why I felt so, and I think there are two factors, which I guess I consider the most important - and he topped both.

These are outright speed and the dedication-motivation-work ethic kind of bunch.

With his light-years-ahead pole laps, esp. Monaco 1988 and some races, like Donington 1993 and (again) Monaco 1988, he I think was able to be closest to the limit of all drivers, like, ever. Maybe Jim Clark comes close.

And his work ethic was just unbelieveable, according to people who worked with him.

 

[Mezzer]

At the moment my criteria for the greatest driver is:

• Drives for McLaren
• Has a half Japanese half Argentinian girlfriend
• Won the WDC in 2009

No such person exists.And I thought you loved Button.

 

[Plutus]

I disagree HammydiRestarules. You have picked a subjective criteria which is not suitable to rate a driver as it is based on personal preference alone.
The adaptability of a racing driver to adjust his driving style to suit any given condition is a suitable criteria. Thus you can also compare drivers from different eras as every driver will have had to adapt to a condition throughout their career.