ADias

Was Senna really the best?

How do you rank?

Juan Manuel Fangio
Stirling Moss
Jim Clark
Jackie Stewart
Emerson Fittipaldi
Ayrton Senna da Silva
Michael Schumacher

Bill_C4S

"Best of All" is strong, amongst the best definitely.

Juan Manuel Fangio and Jim Clark by all accounts warrant consideration at that Apex...

Edit: As do a few others on ADias' list.... Further, rally afficionados would point out that Sebastian Loeb should be in this company as well.

ADias

Agree. And let's add Kimi Raikkonen, Vic Elford, Hans Herrmann, Brian Redman and a few others.

Mspeedster

Senna's blipping technique in the corners, or whatever you want to call it, was easier said than done and somewhat unique to Senna's driving style. I remember when Senna first joined McLaren, Prost tried to emulate Senna's throttle technique in the corners but couldn't quite do it with the same desired results. Prost was widely regarded as the "best" of his contemporaries until Senna beat him for the '88 WRC.

Mspeedster

Difficult to rank drivers from different eras. But I would rank Niki Lauda over Emerson Fittipaldi.

It is too bad that Senna didn't live on to truly battle Michael Schumacher when Michael was coming into his prime. That would have been a good yardstick to have known how good either one really was.

alexb76

Well, I really don't wanna start a debate, as we know it's gonna end up like Manual vs. PDK debate!

Amongst the best for sure, but to me, he's #1, while I understand the argument for any of the above drivers.

One thing's for sure, ANY of the drivers from the old era had MUCH BIGGER ***** racing than new driver, as everytime they got into a car they literally put their lives in danger. That era pretty much ended with Senna's death!

Bill_C4S

Astonishes how little protection the 917 afforded Vic Elford as he flew down Mulsanne at 240mph....

Essentially, a few bits of (as thin as we can get it) stamped aluminium....

Such a contrast to the near on indestructible carbon fiber tubs of today.

cgfen

hmmmmmm video may have been good, i couldn't watch past the first minute or so.

i had my 1st NSX drive experience last week.
Chairman Meow and I were in PA looking to buy a 69 Barracuda.
The owner and i got along pretty well so he threw me a set of car keys and said, "You have A Carerra, go out and drive my NSX while you're deciding to buy the 'Cuda".
I only had about 20 minutes in it on rural roads, but quick impressions include;
great cockpit type dashboard
good seats and position
superb shift action "rifle bolt action"
Excellent steering feel with a manual rack
excellent brakes
well balanced chassis
excellent turn in
ho- hum acceleration
boring exhaust note

did NOT stir my soul
No way i'd trade my 993 or the Chairman's 997 for one.

If i did have one, sport exhaust would be 1st purchase.

cheers

Craig

Mspeedster

I can see why many would feel Senna might be considered #1 of all time. While I do admire Senna and think he could be considered "the best" when it comes to outright speed and talent, IMHO - his genius was a flawed genius.

I was following the sport very closely from his first race in '84 to his last in '94, Senna was gifted for sure, but had some real character flaws. The reason the Senna vs. Prost wars started was due to Senna's self centered desired to win at any cost. Some of Senna's drives in his maiden year at McLaren were not 100% sporting, I recall he nearly shoved Prost into the wall at a very high speed during one race. In 89, Senna would break a gentlemen's agreement with Prost at the San Marino GP in '89, which led to acrimony between the two for the rest of the season, ending in a Prost/Senna crash at Japan that year. The next year Senna deliberately took Prost out at Japan again, in clearly an act of revenge. And I think it was in '93, again in Japan, that Senna went to Eddie Irvine's pit after the race and punched out the Irishman. Because Eddie had the nerve to unlap himself against Senna's McLaren in his lowly Jordan.

Because he died tragically and prematurely, like Clark and Villeneuve before him, Senna's myth as one of the greats will always grow. His passion, determination and talent are undeniable. But IMHO, his conduct on and off the track was at times very immature and unsportsman like. Like John McEnroe, Senna did have some personality quirks.

mooty

in my mind, senna is a cut above. this guy has 10 *****, the rest only 2.

it wont be fun watching shumie vs senna.
it would be watching mac vs sampras. one's an artist the other a machine.
win or lose, i like to watch the artist.

mooty

i feel he's the best driver. but i would not rank him on top of sportsmanship. but that's two different topics.

mooty

i understand. i never said it's EASY. i sure as hell can't do it to save my own life

unique yes. that's why this guy is who he is. genius.

Mspeedster

You have a good point, but I can't fully agree. Like any sport, to truly be best, one needs sportsmanship. Unlike Tiger Woods, whose personal affairs have now spoiled his reputation but had nothing to do with golfing, Senna's genius was scared by questionable behavior related directly to his sport. So for me, I'd give the nod to Jim Clark, who was both a gentleman and a genius. Jimmy Clark could drive any kind of car and was immediately fast. Clark won 25 races and had 33 poles out of 72 F1 starts. That's a better winning percentage compared to Senna's 41 wins & 65 poles out of 162 races. Both of them were artists and the dominant figures for their era.

I'd rank Senna the best of the modern era F1 drivers. I think part of what made Senna great was in fact his intense desire to beat Prost. Without Prost, Senna wouldn't have been Senna (both the good and bad Senna).

ADias

I vote for Jim Clark too. Clark and Chapman what a duo!

zanwar

I am SO going to try his blipping technique next track season!