Top 10 Formula 1 Drivers of All Time
Now this is a doozy, I'm a glutton for punishment and I know that I'm never going to please everyone, but listed below are my top 10 F1 drivers of all time. Need to make sure I put Formula 1 or F1 there, because Sebastian Loeb and Valentino Rossi would certainly make the list if it was just top ten drivers of all time. So without further ado, let's see how many people I can piss off today with this list.
Ok, number 10, Nikita 'Give dem titties a squeeze' Mazepin... alright alright, calm down, turns out we can't even joke around here without my head being bitten off. Look this list is going to give you the shits, it just is. you're never going to please everyone, so I don't know why I even try, but what I am going to do is justify my reasons. Write why I've put them there and why they don't deserve to be higher or lower on the list. So let's get started.
10 - Jim Clark
8 years, that's it, that's all he raced, no much, didn't need it. When I make love to Mrs. Caldipotamus, it doesn't need to be for hours, just get in do your thing and leave, and that's exactly what Jim Clark did. 72 starts, 25 wins, 32 podiums, 33 pole position, 28 fastest laps and 2 championships.
His 1963 championship was a sheer masterclass of driving, all podiums apart from the first race, he just needed to warm up, then it was 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 1st, 1st. How's that for a season in Formula 1. Well done Jim Clark being named the first one on the list of greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time.
9 - Fernando Alonso
Lets talk about this cat yea, he was the man that ended the reign of Michael Schumacher, I was not a fan of Fernando Alonso. I wanted nothing more than for him to lose, but he went back to back and did it in such a dominant fashion. ps. he is so much better looking now than he was back then, hubba hubba.
2 time Champ, back to back, 2005, 2006. Has been in a bajillion races, well, 333 and counting, 32 wins, 98 podiums, 22 pole positions and 23 fastest laps. That 2006 season he was on another level, for the first 9 races of the season Alonso finished first or second. It wasn't quite on a level of Schumacher prior to him or even Vettel afterwards, but you can't take anything away from him. He flat out set himself apart and put Renault on the map.
Great to see him still going in the sport as well, was not one of the keen supporters seeing him come back into the scene last year, but I will admit it was the few times in my entire life that I've been wrong. He's been great to have back in the sport and watching him in Hungary against Lewis Hamilton as well as pick up a podium in Qatar. I hope we see him up towards the pointy end of the field next season.
8 - Niki Lauda
Lauda was doing Michael Jordan things before Michael Jordan, goes out there, wins a couple of titles, retires, chills, sinks some cans on the beaches around the world, comes back and wins another. The man of course is deserving of being on this list. 3 Time World Champion, the guy was on fire, with his racing and literally.
171 Race Starts, 25 wins, 54 podiums, 24 pole positions, 24 fastest laps, but his 3 world championships is what sets him apart, winning one in 1975, then again in 1977, took a little break, got bored, came back and won one again in 1984. Yea he deserves to be on this list and I don't want to hear another fucking word about it.
7 - Jackie Stewart
Time for Jackie Stewart to make his way onto the list, when he isn't jet setting around the globe picking up bitches, he is making appearances on TV and looking like he will drop dead at any second. But prior to all that, did you know he dominated the track just like he dominates the Red Light District in Amsterdam.
3 time world Champ in 1969, 1971 and 1973, he did that in just 99 starts, 27 wins, 43 podiums, 17 pole positions, 15 fastest laps. The career wasn't long, but just like me in the bedroom you don't need that much time to make an impact. The efficiency was unbelievable, and that's why Sir Jackie Stewart, in only 8 years of Racing, you have cemented a legacy in the world of Formula 1 and of course you make the list. 7th best driver of all time, not too shabby at all.
6 - Sebastian Vettel
Look, I'm Australian, so naturally, I want to say I hate Sebastian Vettel, Multi-21 Seb, Multi-21. Just follow team orders, but as he has matured he's going wiser, older, lost some hair at Ferrari and then grew it back remarkably. But more importantly dominating the world of Formula 1 in that Red Bull with 4 consecutive World Titles from 2010 - 2013.
What makes these 4 titles incredible was the level of competition at the time, there was a young stud in Lewis Hamilton there, Jensen Button, Mark Webber, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa. He won two championships, the one in 2010 and the one in 2012 that both came down to the last race of the season, two incredible and amazing seasons to watch.
279 races, 53 wins, 122 podiums, 57 pole positions, 38 fastest laps and he is still going strong today, getting himself a handy podium in an Aston Martin that has no business being anywhere near the podium. He's now become a decent human being, quite funny and entertaining, and it really shows just how young these drivers are when they enter the world of Formula 1. He is deserving of being the 6th greatest driver in the history of F1.
5 - Alain Prost
The biggest nose is Formula 1, Alain Prost, look, I've got to have him in at number 5, controversial I know and a lot of people are going to argue and complain that it's too high and to those people I say piss off and eat a bag of dicks.
Alain Prost had one of the greatest feuds in the sport with his fierce rival Ayrton Senna. The two pushed each other to the absolute limits and it came to ahead in Suzuka multiple years in a row as they fought hard for a championship.
The man is the reason why France has won a World Championship, no other French Driver has come close and Prost has 4 of those bloody things. He's raced in 199 races, 51 wins, 106 podiums, 33 pole positions and 41 fastest laps. His first win was a French GP as well back in 1981.
For some reason Alpine were still giving him some cash for consulting work last season, not really sure the reason for that because despite winning 4 titles, I don't think there is anything in his mind worth plucking at to give your current drivers, a two time world champ Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, a man that wasn't born while Prost was still relevant. But nevertheless he was a great driver, a fierce competitor on the track and that mid 80s to mid 90s run in Formula 1 was truly special and entertaining and we cannot possibly keep Prost off this list.
4 - Juan Manuel Fangio
Now, this was well before I was born, but I made sure to look up some statistics and check out some footage of the Fangio do his thing. Because the numbers never lie, and it's an absolute travesty looking around online and seeing that no a lot of people have this man in their GOAT conversation, because Juan Manuel Fangio is one of the Greatest Drivers of All Time, period!
He only raced in 51 races, but it was back in the 1950's so we can give him a break there, there weren't as many races going on and I'm sure he was off doing other things in-between the races anyway. But of the 51 races he managed to win 24 of them, how about those fucking numbers, 35 podiums, 29 pole positions and 23 fastest laps. Those numbers aren't bad at all, but what's really impressive, the man won 5 World Championships. 1 in his second year of racing, 1951, and then 4 in a row, 1954-1957,
What's so impressive about Fangio and his dominance in this era of motorsport is that he is the reason that Sir Stirling Moss is the greatest driver to have never won a World Title and the more you actually think about that the crazier it actually is.
3 - Ayrton Senna
Senna, the charismatic playboy from Brazil was an absolute superstar on the track. He was one of the drivers who tragically lost his life while competing back on May 4th 1994 in Imola. The greatest What If? in Formula 1, What if Ayrton Senna survived, or better yet, what if the crash never happened. He died having only raced 161 races at the age of 34, he had 41 wins and 80 podiums, 65 pole positions and 19 fastest laps, only 19 fastest laps and still managed to dominate the way he did. That right there tells you how good he really was, how much of a competitor he was.
He had three championships and although that's nothing, less than half of what our last two drivers have achieved, he was able to accomplish those three championships at a younger age than both number 2 and number 1 on this list. It really makes you think that if he hadn't lost his life back in 1994, how many more would Senna have to his name? and does that then impact Michael Schumacher's legacy, because Michael won won in 1994, I'll be publishing another article in a couple of days time where I ask the What If questions about Ayrton and we will crunch the numbers and see exactly what would have happened if he never had crashed in Imola.
But without a doubt, even the small snapshot of his career that we actually got, it's still very easy to place him at the pointy end of this list of the Greatest Driver in Formula 1 history.
2 - Michael Schumacher
No Greatest Driver in Formula 1 list is ever complete unless it has the name Michael Schumacher on it. The man was dominant, he flat out made the sport his, and until Lewis Hamilton came along in that incredible Mercedes, Schumacher was the clear front runner in the debate on who was the GOAT of F1.
The man made the Ferrari his own when he arrived at the team, and he is the reason why when you think of Ferrari and that red beast prancing around the track, you immediately associate Schumacher with Ferrari.
The man won 7 World Titles, 5 in a row with Ferrari and two with Benetton, he had 91 wins in his career, 155 podiums and 68 pole positions, not to mention his 77 fastest laps.
People I think forget about just how dominant he was, in 2002 he podiumed in 17 of 17 races, 100% of the races that season he was 1st, 2nd or 3rd. 11 1st, 5 2nds and 1 3rd is a remarkable effort. Something I don't think we will see again in the sport for some time. Although Max Verstappen beat that record this year in terms of amount of podiums achieved in a season, there were 5 more races to do that, no one will get 100% podium success race in a season for a long long time. He was so dominant in 2002 that he secured the championship that year with 6 races remaining, that's over a third of the season still remaining.
I wasn't a massive fan of the Schumacher documentary, but there is no doubt in my mind of just how good he was behind the wheel. It's heart-breaking that the tragic skiing accident has meant that he cannot watch his son race in formula 1, and although many of us all hope and wish for a recovery for Michael it's looking more and more likely that that will never come.
1 - Sir Lewis Hamilton
I mean, it's a no brainer in my eyes, I'm not even a massive fan of the man, I think he can drive the lights out, and he has a resumé that blows out most other drivers, he holds more records than a vinyl store and although he is contemplating retirement (not going to bloody happen) he still has a lot left in the tank. The 7 time world champion was knighted, that in itself was a major accomplishment, but he was knighted while still competing in the sport at the highest level, he has over 100 wins, over 100 poles, and has had his way with a pussycat doll, Nicole Schwartzenburger or whatever he name is.
List of accomplishments
- 103 wins
- 182 podiums
- 7 World Championships
- 103 pole positions
- 59 fastest laps
All while racing in 288 races. The man entered the sport and immediately had an impact and hasn't really ever taken his foot off the gas.
Most Championship, Most Wins, Most Podiums, Most Poles, Most Wins in rookie season, Most wins in a season without a championship, most wins with the same team, most wins at the same grand prix, most wins at home grand prix, most wins at difference circuits, most wins from pole position, most seasons with a win, most consecutive seasons with a win, most wins in one calendar month, most career points, most points in a season, most points in a rookie season, Youngest Driver to lead a world championship, Longest time between first and last championship, Most races led, Most laps led and most Pussycat Dolls banged.
I genuinely believe that if he had won the World Drivers Championship in 2021 he would've ridden off into the sunset with Roscoe and started recording music, selling weird clothing and saving our planet, but he did, he's still here, so he should have a drive and hunger that is unparalleled to try and win WDC number 8 and finally sit atop the throne as the GOAT, but in my eyes he already is.