Yesterday Lewis Hamilton was the Portuguese GP winner and claimed his 92nd career victory. He topped Michaael Schumakers 91 many thought would never be beaten. No question these two men are on the top of any greatest list when it comes to motor sports.
It’s always tough to compare athletes in any sport especially motor sports when you examine cars, tracks, rivals, and rule changes. However, let me make a case for my favorite Jim Clark.
I have no doubt Hamilton would be successful in other forms of the sport. However let me give you Clark’s achievements. He mastered EVERYTHING he drove. F1 world champion 63 and 65. Won the Tasman F1 series in 1965 while simultaneously being F1 world champion. Also won that series in 67 and 68. A record for that series. He destroyed everyone in the 1964 British Touring Chamiponship. A car vastly different from F1 machines. He is the only racer to win the Indy 500, he dominated a crash heavy race, and be F1 champion the same year-1965.
Keep in mind he raced in a time when it was fantasticly dangerous. Those guys and the ones before, had way more mechanical failures than the modern machines of today. He would have won more victories if the Lotus hadn’t failed.
One season he won 70% of the F1 races he entered. I believe that’s still a record. He has more grand slams than anyone with a far shorter career. Grand slam=Pole, win and lead every lap, and fastest lap. He has 8 grand slams. Senna and Jackie Stewart said he was the best. Anyone who raced against him said he was the best.
Clark drove during peak of death and danger as well.
AJ Foyt had a pretty good carreer as well. I appreciate the guys that can drive different Motorsports. Really shows mastery.
Hamilton is certainly a talented driver but I’m not so sure he or most of his current contemporaries would necessarily do as well driving older F1 cars. These current drivers and cars are so micromanaged by massive teams of techno-weenies behind computer terminals, I wonder if the drivers have become redundant. This tech advancement along with extreme race car design standardization and near perfect reliability has also lead to the most boring racing Ive ever tried to watched (so I usually don’t…). Excessive downforce leads to dull racing IMO. The only positive in modern F1 racing to me is that it is much safer to drivers and spectators.
Jimmie Clark was a childhood hero of mine as well. Like his F1 contemporaries Moss, Brabham, Hill (G & P), Gurney, McLaren, Stewart, he had the ability to win races despite evolving, imperfect and sometimes crazy dangerous race cars and race courses. Not so sure the modern guys would do any better and thereby qualify as “the greatest”.
What John said. And that is why Juan Manuel Fangio has been rated the greatest Formula 1 driver of all time. He had to master unrefined racing circuits and bad road surfaces plus powerful cars on skinny tires with no ground effects, to win as often as he did, to survive as long as he did.
Hey Fotofrank, I should have included Fangio I my list. I was too young to ever see these guys drive in actual races but was lucky enough to see a few of the lucky ones who survived drive at the Monterey Historics thru the years. Fangio, Phil Hill, Bob Bonderant, Parnelli Jones, Mario, Gurney, Jacky Stewart, Emo Fittipaldi all put on glorious demo race laps in vintage race cars belonging to the rich hedge fund managers and trust fund babies. The most impressive driver to me was Stirling Moss in '86 behind the wheel of the priceless '55 Mercedes 300 SLR Mille Miglia car that I believe he won the original race - he really “drove it like he stole it”!
I think “Greatest of The Hybrid Turbo F1 era” is valid…I think that as a current F1 driver his pacing and tire management skills rate the highest of any current driver.
Without repeating everyone else’s points I think it’s worth comparing him to his closest comparison, Micheal Schumacher.
Most of Schumi’s wins were in seasons with 16-18 races (less chances for wins vs Ham)
same w pole positions
Points given for finishing positions used to be 10-6-5-4-3-2-1
As dominant teams go, Ferrari had 4 years where Micheals only competition was his team mate whereas Ham and Mercedes have only had one year of Nico Rosberg as competition.
if somehow all the drivers got into a spec car with the same setup I honestly think Hamilton would get beat by both Verstappen and Charles LeClerc…they are driving the wheels off their respective shtboxes (compared to the Mercedes)
I love boring people with my F1 views…thanks for letting me share in your drivel.
