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The Top F1 drivers of all time.

by 42 Comments

This top one hundred may raise a few eyebrows; one because Sir Stirling Moss has been named number one and the great Michael Schumacher has been placed outside of the top ten. This is because in he deals with the Ferrari F1 Team, many people claim that he demanded seniority over other drivers.

Felipe Massa Racing

Felipe Massa Racing

Clearly Michael Schumacher is the number one F1 driver as he won 91 Grand Prix, while the top four of Moss, Clark, Senna and Prost only won 133 Grand Prix between them!

Anyway this is the list according to Autocar:

1. Stirling Moss

2. Jim Clark

3. Ayrton Senna

4. Alain Prost

5. Alberto Ascari

6. Juan-Manuel Fangio

7. Bernd Rosemeyer

8. Jackie Stewart

9. Tazio Nuvolari

10. Mika Häkkinen

11. Michael Schumacher

12. Gilles Villeneuve

13. Chris Amon

14. Tony Brooks

15. Carlos Reutemann

16. Achille Varzi

17. Emerson Fittipaldi

18. Jack Brabham

19. Mario Andretti

20. Niki Lauda

21. Jochen Rindt

22. Nelson Piquet

23. Guy Moll

24. John Surtees

25. Ronnie Peterson

26. Hermann Lang

27. Dan Gurney

28. Keke Rosberg

29. Kimi Räikkönen

30. Lewis Hamilton

31. Nigel Mansell

32. Fernando Alonso

33. Rudolf Caracciola

34. Didier Pironi

35. Jacky Ickx

36. Alan Jones

37. James Hunt

38. Phil Hill

39. Damon Hill

40. Mike Hawthorn

41. Giuseppe Farina

42. Jody Scheckter

43. Jean-Pierre Wimille

44. Graham Hill

45. François Cevert

46. Gerhard Berger

47 Pedro Rodriguez

48. Jean Behra

49. Jacques Villeneuve

50. Ricardo Rodriguez

51. Clay Regazzoni

52. Denny Hulme

53. Jean Alesi

54. Juan Pablo Montoya

55. Carlos Pace

56. Louis Chiron

57. Peter Revson

58. Jo Siffert

59. David Coulthard

60. Felipe Massa

61. Froilán Gonzalez

62. Stefan Bellof

63. Elio de Angelis

64. Lorenzo Bandini

65. Riccardo Patrese

66. Patrick Tambay

67. Jenson Button

68. Rubens Barrichello

69. Martin Brundle

70. Derek Warwick

71. Dick Seaman

72. Patrick Depailler

73. Peter Collins

74. Bruce McLaren

75. Michele Alboreto

76. Eddie Irvine

77. Richie Ginther

78. Jean-Pierre Beltoise

79. Johnny Servoz-Gavin

80. Thierry Boutsen

81. Rene Arnoux

82. Tony Brise

83. Tom Pryce

84. Innes Ireland

85. Jarno Trulli

86. John Watson

87. Luigi Musso

88. Raymond Sommer

89. Mike Hailwood

90. Roy Salvadori

91. Ralf Schumacher

92. Wolfgang von Trips

93. Stuart Lewis-Evans

94. Jacques Laffite

95. Eugenio Castellotti

96. Trevor Taylor

97. Piers Courage

98. Stefan Johansson

99. Jochen Mass

100. Brian Redman

Source [Bruce McLaren]

Comments

  1. Hamilton in 30th? Isn’t he technically still an unknown quantity having only came second in a GP? Admittedly it was his first but that is besides the point. Legendary status has to be earned – though I myself am convinced of the young drivers skill.

  2. The list seems to me a joke. I wonder how come you decide to publish it in your web site.

    In the list there are drivers that are simply not worth neither to mention. Even more there are drivers in there that have done nothing impressive neither to be in a list of drivers as is the case of Lewis Hamilton, a disgrace for UK so far considering his bad behavior, lack of humility and skills to win last year F1 championship.

    I will keep this list and its source to laugh at it from time to time and more over to keep track of the author. For sure if I want to laugh reading something as ridiculous as this I should continue reading his “work”

    And last but not least, Michael Schumacher 11th!!!! God how I can laugh at this article, thank you for making my day…

    LOL

    Sir Castleberry

  3. I’m not sure I follow what you’re saying ‘Sir Castleberry’. Do you think that Schumi doesn’t deserve a place or are you upset that he didn’t make first place, given that he’s won the GP seven times?

    As for Hamilton, I didn’t see many examples of his ‘lack of humility’ or indeed his skill. Okay, so he’s not as nice a chap as Anthony Davidson, but then who else on grid is?

    Hamilton didn’t win last year’s GP – he came second. In the list, which drivers wouldn’t you have mentioned and why?

    ~Mr B

  4. RU SERIIOUS GUYS?
    THE LIST IS FUNNY…
    RU SURE UR WATCHING THE SAME F1 GRAND PRIX’S WE DID?
    I THINK THE LIST WAS CHOSEN RANDOMLY BY THE COMPUTER…

  5. did michael schumacher get a 10 place penalty drop for a grearbox change or something on this list, we all know hes number 1 like it or not. glad to see martin brundle on list though, think he was a very underated driver. he gave schumacher a run for his money at beneton. no johnny herbert tho, thought he may have been in the low 80s/early 90s of the list. good fun n good read ta.

  8. I will cancel my subscription. This is one of the most stupid top F1 lists I have ever seen – and I’ve been a devout fan for forty years.

  9. this list is a joke. Shu at 11? wtf , what the hell is brundle, trulli doing in it? wheres Fissichella, Frenzten? why is barrichello, alonso so low?

  10. Wow. Almost everyone who commented is retarded. Schumacher should never be number one. Ever. If anyone thinks the biggest cheater in the sport’s history should also be named the best driver, they need to see a mental health specialist.

    I also noticed that the last person to comment thought that Fisichella should be on the list, one of the most average drivers of all time.

    And sir Castleberry needs to get a life. Seriously.

  12. Michael, Senna and Prost were the 3 best drivers of all time…

    Everybody knows that.

    Moss in first? Joke! Moss never won a title!
    Jim Clark? Never heard about him….

  13. Luke – that might be true if “all time” means “since the 80s” 😉

    Not saying I agree entirely with the list but it’s not hard to find out a little about how great a driver Jim Clark was if “all time” includes the 60s…

  14. 1-Senna
    2-Fangio
    3-Clark
    4-Prost
    5-Stewart
    6-Brabham
    7-Lauda
    8-Moss
    9-Schumacher
    10-Villeneuve (Gilles)
    I at least give Schumi more credit not much cause he is a cheat.

  15. This list is the funniest joke i’ve heard for months! Can’t believe it comes from-one would have thought: ‘creditable source’

  16. What’s funny about it? I know everyone will have different opinions but at least expand on that and say what’s wrong with the list? 🙂

  17. Jimmy Clark and Fangio were the best natural talents ever, don’t know who I would pick out of the two though.

  18. “What is wrong with the list” is that Senna is not first :)).
    Gilles Villeneuve should defenetly be in the top 5.
    Fangio’s place is in the top 3.
    Fittipaldi , again, is in the top 5.
    P.S. Schumi is where he deserves, he did his thing only while Ferrari had the best car, with no competition what so ever.

    For any Senna enthusiast out there, here’s something i discovered not so long ago: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Top-Gears-Tribute-To-Ayrton-Senna/141320515896795?v=wall .

  19. Nigel Mansell below Hamilton, you have to be kidding. Whilst Hamiliton is undoubtedly a good driver he has a long way to go to prove he is one of the greats.

    Senna has to be No 1

  20. Everyone has a personal top 100 of drivers, but I do not agree with this list. Maybe winning many races and championships don`t automatically make you no 1 but, personally Michael has to be on top remember Spain 1996, as for his insisting on team leader, that takes care of a lot of other drivers. I am not denying Fangio had a gifted talent, Moss beat him hands down in sports cars, and Fangio went to the team with the best cars. Senna it seems that because he died has meant some of the “tricks” he pulled have been forgotten, ask Nigel Mansell, and Alain Prost.
    Lastly Carraciola in the 30`s, read your history books.

  21. Schumacher only did his thing whilst at Ferrari? I am sorry but did you not notice him winning TWO world titles at Benneton? At that time Williams was the best car. Schumacher has always outperformed every team mate he has ever had. Even in his first drive for Jordan he immediatly proved he was too good for them and was signed up by Brawn at Benneton. He built every team he was ever in

  22. Why is Senna No 1? He only won three championships and didn’t do anything that special to put him much further above the rest really. I’d say Schumacher has shown determination and ultimately won a brilliant number of races and titles respectively.

  23. For me sennas top for natural talent alone, how you can say he did nothing to put him further above the rest is unbelievable.Some of his performances in underperforming cars throughout his whole carear showed his talent. shumacher cant be ignored for his records but in my opinion winning isnt neccersarily the only thing that has to be taken on board when thinking about the greatest ‘driver’. Senna – Fangio – Clark – Schumacher – Prost

  24. 1-Ayrton Senna
    2-Jim Clark
    3-Alain Prost
    4-Juan Manuel Fangio
    5-Michael Schumacher
    6-Jackie Stewart
    7-Alberto Ascari
    8-Jack Brabham
    9-Gilles Villenueve
    10-Niki Lauda
    11-Stirling Moss
    12-Emerson Fittipaldi
    13-Jochen Rindt
    14-Nelson Piquet
    15-Ronnie Peterson
    16-Nigel Mansell
    17-Mika Hakkinen
    18-Jody Scheckter
    19-Graham Hill
    20-Dan Gourney
    21-Clay Regazzoni
    22-Didier Pironi
    23-Jame Hunt
    24-Fernando Alonso
    25-François Cevert
    26-Rene Arnoux
    27-Keke Rosberg
    28-John Surtees
    29-Denny Hulme
    30-Sabastian Vettel

  26. Newer times… NOW GET LOST!
    1. Schumacher
    2. Alain Prost
    3. Ayrton Senna
    4. Mika Hakkinen
    5. Nigel Mansell
    6. Fernando Alonso
    7. Kimi Raikkonen
    8. Sebastian Vettel
    9. Jenson Button
    10. Fernando Alonso

  27. Tough choice certainly. In addition, focusing mainly on raw figures is rather silly because you can not easily compare different eras (number of GP per season (hence chances of victories, pole positions, etc when you have a dominant car), careers cut short (when security was not yet an issue), etc). Although I am far away from being a Schumacher fan, I believe you can’t count him out of the very top positions. I would agree with the Times list putting Clark-Senna-Schumacher on top but the order can vary depending on people sensibilities.

  29. mikha is better than schumi because he won 2 world tittles fair and square,while michael win one fair and square (1995) 2 cheating (1994 and 2003) and 4 without competition because of his car (2000,2001,2002 and 2004) and you see what happen when race againts a driver who has a competitive car like alonso and hakkinen

  30. In what world Is Clark, and Moss better than Senna! Or how is Schumi or Fangio Lower then freaking Alain Prost! This is a very Anglo-Centric List from the look of it. Senna was by far and away the Greatest of all Time

    1. Senna
    2. Schumacher
    3. Fangio
    4. Moss
    5. Clark
    6. Prost
    7. Villeneuve
    8. Stewart
    9. Ascari
    10. Hakkinen

  32. I hope this list would have changed by now! for one, I personally think Button is far better than Hamilton on his day!

    But for me, Senna and Schumacher are the best drivers ever.

  33. @ Freddy: Wow! I think Mika Hakkinen was the one who enjoyed the massive car advantage. He lost the title in 2000 despite the Ferrari still being a couple of tenths off, and was always not much better than Coulthard whenever the car wasn’t the absolute best.

    Is that not true?

    Also, why is Fisichella missing, but Eddie Irvine, David Coulthard, Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher (who Fisi beat!) are so far up the list? I know Fisi wasn’t as good as Alonso, but much of that was thanks to all Fisi’s car problems and Flav being against him challenging Alonso. He’s still better than the mentioned drivers.

    Villeneuve was no better than Heidfeld in 2006, beaten by Massa in 2005, destroyed by Alonso in 2004 (by a massive amount more than Fisichella was!), beaten by Button and matched by Panis!

    Why isn’t Jarno Trulli higher, who beat Fernando Alonso once he really got his head down? He made a fool of Alonso in Monaco for example.

  34. My Top 10 would be:

    1. Senna
    2. Prost
    3. Fangio
    4. Schumacher
    5. Clark
    6. Stewart
    7. Lauda
    8. Piquet snr
    9. Moss
    10. Vettel

  35. I pity the fool who still thinks Schumacher is the best. And piquet SNR? Really? World titles aint’ everything you know. That is why my list would see senna at the top. Followed by fangio and then G. Vilnerve followed by moss followed by lauda. Schui wold be somewhere around 22341st, just behind , but about 2 places ahead of vettel

  36. Who’s to say Michael Schumacher could horse around a 1950 Alfa Romeo, or that Juan Manuel Fangio could even fit in a 2011 Mercedes. Without a time machine to make all things equal, (cars, tracks, weather, pit crew, etc), the only criteria for the top F1 drivers is RESULTS. And results can be decieving due to eary deaths such as Jim Clark, Gilles Villenueve, Jochen Rindt, Ayrton Senna, etc.

    Stirling Moss is a strange pick for #1, even though I can attest he could sure handle a car late in his life having driven against him and Innes Ireland in the mid 80s. I rate Moss at 54th & Ireland at 101st.

    If we were rating the top drivers after the first 10 years, (starting with 1950), I would pick:
    1) Fangio
    2) Moss
    3) Hawthorn
    4) Ascari
    5) Farina

    After 30 years (1979) it would be:
    1) G Hill
    2) Stewart
    3) Brabham
    4) Lauda
    5) Fittapaldi

    Now after 62 years of the “modern GP Era”:
    1) Schumacher
    2) Prost
    3) Barrichello
    4) Senna
    5) Alonso
    6) Coulthard
    7) Piquet
    8) Mansell
    9) Raikkonen
    10) Button

    You will notice 2 drivers never won the World title, and 4 are still active. I have rated all 754 drivers based on results.

  37. @TheKid (above)

    Dude that’s an interesting ranking that has Barrichello 3rd and Coulthard 6th. I rate Barrichello highly – he’s ALWAYS been underrated to me and I’d certainly say he was 2nd best driver of 2002 – but not 3rd best of all time!

    Yeah it must be based on results! But then that would mean Jos Verstappen, Giancarlo Fisichella and Heinz-Harald Frenten are better than Alonso as they scored more points than him in 2001. 🙂

  38. @rjbetty

    I based the rankings on career results not year results. That’s why Barrichello & Coulthard are so high.

    Based on average race results, (excluding the Indy 500 drivers of the 50’s like Lee Wallard, George Amick, & Bill Vukovich), the top 10 GP drivers would be:

    1) Fangio
    2) Schumacher
    3) Ascari
    4) Clark
    5) Vettel
    6) Senna
    7) Prost
    8) Hamilton
    9) Luigi Fagioli
    10) Stewart
    11) Farina

    I added Farina because many would disclude Fagioli since he only raced 8 times. Of coarse he was on the podium 6 times, with 1 win.

    By the way I ranked Fisichella at 18th & Frenten at 37th all time.

  39. @TheKid and a lot of others.

    Results don’t matter much. They died young back then. You can’t compare the results of a driver who died after 5 years(Gilles Villeneuve), never having a good car, to another who raced 15 years with very often the best car (Coulthard, Hakkinen, Schumacher).

    Simply put, if you have not seen most of them race, you can’t make a list.

    Senna #1

    Villeneuve Top 5 if not Top 3

    Schumacher doesn’t belong in a Top 5.

    Ask anyone who’s seen them race, he’ll tell you.

  41. Almost buried among the asinine comments lie the enlightened contributions of TheKid. Moss’ breathtaking performance in the 1955 Mille Miglia alongside Denis Jenkinson remains one of Motor Racing’s most Memorable events!

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