The most influential F1 person in Liberty Media poll/competition

F1Brits_90

World Champion
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what a farce. & are they take the :censored:

how can F1 do a poll for 70th anniversary & come up with Michael Schumacher. when surely we all that there are only 2 answers to this 1 is Jackie Stewart & other is professor Sid Watkins (maybe Charlie Whiting might sneak in there but he wasnt even considered :o ) .but the number deaths & serious injuries theyve prevented at the time & over the decades because of their measures is off the scale. them 2 on their own have been the reason why people have walked away from crashes they might not have.
 
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Without a doubt the most influential person in the history of F1 is Bernie Ecclestone.

well yes i guess F1 would be nowhere near the global status it has. without bernie he made it huge with the tv element & make the series professional from a bunch of hobby enthusiasts

but was that enabled by Jackie Stewart because he made the sport viable if they kept at the death rate (according to BBC) they had 29 f1 drivers died in 1960s which is 29 in 100 races. a series where every 3 races either at the track or in another series a driver is killed. would the TV executives actually wanted it
 
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a series where every 3 races either at the track or in another series a driver is killed. would the TV executives actually wanted it

Interesting question. Obviously there are motorsport categories that continue to see occasional fatalities - IndyCar, Motorbikes most obviously - that have relative big fan followings and TV coverage. But not as big as F1, clearly.

The response to Senna's death clearly showed senior people in F1 in 1994 thought the public would not keep watching unless it was made safer. I'm not at all sure they were right about that, and possibly the opposite was true. For sure if Ayrton had survived, and perhaps unfairly, but there wouldn't have been the same response to the tragic death of Ratzenberger alone.

Stewart certainly deserves huge respect and credit for the work he did on safety, in the face of much opposition at the time. Sid Watkins too, although I think I'm right in saying it was Bernie who got Sid into F1 in the beginning? Could be wrong.

I'd add Enzo Ferrari to the list for obvious reasons, like it or not. But yes, Bernie has to be the number one.
 
It's reasonable to vote for Schumacher. After all he is the sports most successful driver.
but was that enabled by Jackie Stewart because he made the sport viable if they kept at the death rate (according to BBC) they had 29 f1 drivers died in 1960s which is 29 in 100 races. a series where every 3 races either at the track or in another series a driver is killed. would the TV executives actually wanted it
Safety standards increased in all areas of life and continue to do so. Watching an Indy 500 from the 60s, I looked up the grid and of those 30 drivers some 13 had died within 5 years of that race alone. Motor racing is inherently dangerous. The danger involved is part of the thrill for drivers and spectators alike, although times have changed and death as an outcome of an incident has become less tolerable.
 
It's reasonable to vote for Schumacher. After all he is the sports most successful driver.

but this is most influential F1 figure, if Hamilton does equal Schumacher record I wouldn't say that he was influential. he has had some memorable moments most often for the wrong reasons. but he's top 5 but there a few above him
 
He seems to have been influential enough for people to vote for him. Thus, I don't understand why it's such a big deal that it was Schumacher.
 
Yes, as shown by the result of the people’s vote.
Love him or hate him, he had made the sport popular in times where social media didn’t exist due to his rivalries with Senna, Hill, Villeneuve, Hakkinen, Montoya, Raikkonen, Alonso - do you see the names there? - as well as his surreal success.
The controversies surrounding him contributed to the exposure and popularity of the sport too.
 
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he was big in germany undoubtedly where they supported him not Ferrari or F1 & Italy but then so is any successful ferrari driver look at leclerc now. but im not sure worldwide because we were coming off the back maybe F1 most popular era of late 80s with Mansell Prost Senna Piquet . did he have a rivalry with Senna & Kimi. Hill & Villeneuve was for all the wrong reasons Then Montoya they had a couple of battles but can it be classed as a rivalry unsure.

but Jackie Stewart revolutionised Circuit safety. Sid Watkins in JYS words "He was responsible for more life saving than anyone else". Charlie Whiting had huge influence on all F1 on track matters for 31 yrs & we saw his loss when he died at start of 2019 season. Bernie Ecclestone transformed F1 in the modern spectacle you see now & Adrian Newey transformed Car Design still best you can get after 30 yrs in F1
 
but Jackie Stewart revolutionised Circuit safety. Sid Watkins in JYS words "He was responsible for more life saving than anyone else". Charlie Whiting had huge influence on all F1 on track matters for 31 yrs & we saw his loss when he died at start of 2019 season. Bernie Ecclestone transformed F1 in the modern spectacle you see now & Adrian Newey transformed Car Design still best you can get after 30 yrs in F1
Michael Schumacher is an international brand much like Senna, he is known worldwide.
I don't get your point, Ecclestone, Newey, Schumacher, Stewart, Watkins and Whiting influenced the sport in different ways.
Newey without doubt is a great designer but in which way has he transformed car design? Whiting had 30 years of experience and would have retired sooner or later, his replacement was always going to have big shoes to fill. Masi will need some time, it was his first year in F1.

You completely fail to mention any of Schumachers achievements which speaks volumes.
 
ive said before 7 world titles are not influential that's being successful different thing, just like Hamilton 6 world titles doesn't make him influential, this is who had the biggest impact on the sport as you will have seen I never once mentioned Jackie Stewart 3 world titles, because what he did off track was more influential & bigger legacy than what he did on track

Bernie & Charlie have now got 6 people doing the jobs they did by themselves. & without Jackie stewart the niki lauda accidents would be norm not the expection, Sid Watkins saved the lives of Gerhard Berger, Martin Donnelly, Érik Comas, Rubens Barrichello, Karl Wendlinger, Mika Hakkinen, then all the huge accidents that could've been far worse & after 1978 race when Ronnie Peterson he demanded all the things we take granted now. if it wasn't for Bernie F1 would still be bunch of hobbyiests without full tv coverage . do some research as for me to have explain why Sid Watkins was massive is abit embarrassing for a fellow F1 fans. it knowledge all F1 fans should know
 
I've read Watkins' book 'Life at the Limit - Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One', but thanks for advising me to read up on him. Pointing out that he saved the lives of drivers is trivial, he was a doctor, what else was he supposed to do? Film them dying for TV?

You have yet to mention any contributions of Schumacher, maybe you should read up on a few things. His fitness regime which became integral to his success. Previously physical fitness had been widely neglected by drivers and/or not on the level of Schumacher's.
Brawn and Todt often credit him for his relentless and dedicated attitude as one of the pillars of Ferrari's success. Brawn, Haug, Rosberg and Wolff have confirmed that he had a say on the teams strategic planning which laid the contributions for their success from 2014 until now, as he demanded that they sacrifice resources for the development of the 2011 and 2012 car to free resources for the next generation cars.
As you mention safety here's an interview with Hakkinen on Schumacher's work on safety:
There's plenty of other articles on his contribution to safety too.
He did more than successfully race cars. He didn't need the limelight though.
 
before we get on with my main schumacher improved fitness but he didnt invent the wheel. its nothing that senna wasnt already doing as he had a very strong training regime & that will be where Schumacher gain the idea because to beat your rivals you have to match their training

saving lives & creating medical facilities that we have now, is trivial you must be on the wind up. because cant believe anyone could be so extremely heartless & be serious. saving lives is not trivial it is not 1 of those things, maybe you should find Mika Hakkinen on twitter tell him saving his life in 1993 was trivial or jules bianchi was 1 of those things . in sure they'd would chuffed to hear that.

lets not forget how F1 had being going 28yrs all they had was probably less than basic. this despite previous 10yrs Rindt, Lauda, cevert, peterson crashes & Jackie Stewart relentless pursuit of safety which bosses ignored. sid watkins made more progress in 2 weeks in medical safety then they had in 28yrs. which when Schumacher had his 180mph accident that broke his leg & got lucky because i saw that live as 8yr old i remember commentary thinking it was far more serious than it became to be.
 
before we get on with my main schumacher improved fitness but he didnt invent the wheel. its nothing that senna wasnt already doing as he had a very strong training regime & that will be where Schumacher gain the idea because to beat your rivals you have to match their training
Schumacher was very fit before Senna was known to the wider audience, so it's unlikely he 'gained' the idea from Senna.

saving lives & creating medical facilities that we have now, is trivial you must be on the wind up. because cant believe anyone could be so extremely heartless & be serious. saving lives is not trivial it is not 1 of those things, maybe you should find Mika Hakkinen on twitter tell him saving his life in 1993 was trivial or jules bianchi was 1 of those things . in sure they'd would chuffed to hear that.
It was his job. It's what he had studied and was trained to do. Pointing out that a doctor saves lives is like saying a waste management professional collects rubbish. It's trivial, it's their job.

sid watkins made more progress in 2 weeks in medical safety then they had in 28yrs. which when Schumacher had his 180mph accident that broke his leg & got lucky because i saw that live as 8yr old i remember commentary thinking it was far more serious than it became to be.
How did he get lucky, I thought you were making an argument for Watkins? If we are relying on luck we might as well get rid of the safety standards which involved the work of Schumacher too.
At that point I had seen worse crashes on karting tracks and I was a year or two younger. It wasn't even that vicious. I remember Irvine and Bernoldi collinding at Spa that is what I call an impact.
 
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Schumacher was very fit before Senna was known to the wider audience, so it's unlikely he 'gained' the idea from Senna.

Michael Schumacher drove in his first open wheeled race series (the European Formula Ford 1600 series) the same year Senna won his first World Title for McLaren,1988.

Senna had already won 6 races and finished in the top 3 on 28 occasions in total and had put his car on pole 16 times.

I think the wider audience, including Schumacher would have been well aware of who Senna was by then.
 
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