This time, the floor was given to the readers of Iltalehti.
Who is the greatest F1 driver of all time?
In August, Iltalehti clarified the answer to a question to which it is impossible to give a correct answer.
A nine-member jury of experts assembled by IL ended up naming Ayrton Senna driver of all time. The three-time world champion beat Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher and partners in the end quite clearly.
Iltalehti also wanted to hear its readers’ opinion on the question.
Räikkönen high
Kimi Räikkönen enjoys enormous respect among F1 fans. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS
The most popular names of the question, which generated dozens of answers, were Senna, Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen.
Räikkönen received only a couple of mixed votes from Iltalehti’s panel of experts, but Jäämies enjoys greater appreciation among readers.
– Kimi Matias Räikkönen would have been world champion before 2007 if McLaren had offered a more reliable car. I claim that Ferrari could have won another one if Vettel had not been forced to win the championship. And it is not fair to claim that Kim is the most popular F1 driver of all time, writes the brand PH.
– The best of all time is Fangio. Räikkönen is the fastest of all time, Jonimarkus describes.
“I remember crying”
Michael Schumacher was the choice of many readers as the greatest of all time. PDO
Räikkönen steadily collected mentions and “lower points”. However, Senna and Schumacher clearly emerge as the two most popular answers.
– Yes, that Senna is almost in the position of a god. I didn’t even follow the formulas back in 1994, but I still remember crying at the news of Senna’s passing. I started following the formulas quite by chance at the beginning of the 1998 season and with well-known consequences. Yes, that Häkkinen is the number one Finnish driver. Of course, there are other tough drivers, Schumacher, whom I consider an enemy, must be recognized as one of the greatest drivers of all time. Now, after a break of years, after being bitten again by the formula fly, I have noticed that I like many of today’s drivers, but Max Verstappen will surely join the ranks of the few legends, no one can deny that! Ede writes.
– The absolute number one name of all time is Michael Schumacher. Schumacher is put first by his great qualities as a racing driver. Totally unyielding on the track, and the work ethic was always at a very high level. Schumacher didn’t get anything for free, but built Ferrari into a success through hard work. Also great in rainy weather. So Schumacher is the absolute number one. No two words about this, Dieselmotor, on the other hand, feels.
Sakke raises to be the driver of all time Niki Lauda.
– He rose from the gates of death to become a champion, in 1976 there was still a chance to stop the last competition and he was close to the championship in that too. Tells about the man’s character, took risks, but also grew mentally as a competitor after the accident. The man also knew how to adjust the car, was also a great businessman, and also an important man in formula relations and the drivers’ union.
Tribute to a forgotten legend
Ayrton Senna (right) is always at the top of such lists. For some reason, Alain Prost (left) didn’t. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS
Alain Prost is one of the greatest F1 legends, but he is often destined to be left out of the top in such statistics.
In Henri’s books, he is the best F1 driver of all time.
– Drove in the turbo season, when refueling was prohibited and the competition was the toughest. He won a total of four championships and Fourth runner-up. He is amazingly low in the estimations of these experts.
In the IL expert council, Lewis Hamilton finished second. The seven-time world champion consistently received TOP10 mentions from readers as well.
– Drive according to the rules, i.e. passion does not exceed the rules, Peetu justifies his own number one choice.
From the old guard, Fangio, Jim Clark and John Surtees get mentions, which Hakke even raises as the greatest F1 driver of all time.
The 1964 F1 champion Surtees is the only person in history to have won the world championship on both two and four wheels.
At the end, it is good to quote the nickname A. Kydonis.
– If a list is made of the best F1 drivers of all time, the number of world championships or victories cannot be decisive. In my opinion, the individual driving performances of the drivers compared to their competitors are really the only criteria that can be used, A. Kydonis sums up the difficulty of the task.
Ayrton Senna used to top his list Gilles Villeneuve.