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jtcompton2 · 05-26-03, 08:54 PM

Chris,

The "greatest driver" question is a tough one to answer. Is Shuney good? Absolutely. Would he have been as successful, hence "good", had he been with McLaren, Williams and Jaguar for the last four seasons? Probably not. When you look at F1 (and I have been a close follower since 75), there are more and more parts of the overall success equation. In the 60's and 70's, since most of the grid ran Cosworth DFV's, it came down to chassis effectiveness, and driver ability. In the 80's, the factory turbo's were added to the mix, along with carbon fiber. In the 90's, electronics entered the scene, as well as exotic materials and MUCH larger budgets. So the question today is more difficult to objectively answer, more so than 30 years ago.

One interesting thought is to put Schumey, along with 8-10 other top drivers from any era, into identical cars on different tracks, and see the results? Can you see Michael driving a Lotus 49B against Jim Clark and Mario? How do you think he would do? Or, how about Prost, Senna, Mansell and Michael (and Mario?) in identical Williams FW14B's? I think people would be surprised at the outcome.

My opinion, Michael has the success because he is very good, has had the right teams supporting him, and has done so in a period of great technical inequality within the F1 teams. Is he the greatest? No. Is he the most successful? Yes. There is a big difference...

My two cents...

Jack

05-26-03, 08:54 PM	#10 (permalink)
jtcompton2 Rookie Join Date: Apr 2002 GT40: Dublin, Ohio Posts: 49 Rep Power: 7	Re: Is Michael Schumacher the best? Chris, The "greatest driver" question is a tough one to answer. Is Shuney good? Absolutely. Would he have been as successful, hence "good", had he been with McLaren, Williams and Jaguar for the last four seasons? Probably not. When you look at F1 (and I have been a close follower since 75), there are more and more parts of the overall success equation. In the 60's and 70's, since most of the grid ran Cosworth DFV's, it came down to chassis effectiveness, and driver ability. In the 80's, the factory turbo's were added to the mix, along with carbon fiber. In the 90's, electronics entered the scene, as well as exotic materials and MUCH larger budgets. So the question today is more difficult to objectively answer, more so than 30 years ago. One interesting thought is to put Schumey, along with 8-10 other top drivers from any era, into identical cars on different tracks, and see the results? Can you see Michael driving a Lotus 49B against Jim Clark and Mario? How do you think he would do? Or, how about Prost, Senna, Mansell and Michael (and Mario?) in identical Williams FW14B's? I think people would be surprised at the outcome. My opinion, Michael has the success because he is very good, has had the right teams supporting him, and has done so in a period of great technical inequality within the F1 teams. Is he the greatest? No. Is he the most successful? Yes. There is a big difference... My two cents... Jack