Did you know FerrariChat is associated with F1 Racing Magazine too? F1 Racing magazine is celebrating Ferrari’s 70th anniversary in their December issue (on sale in the UK on 3 November). inside they are listing Ferrari’s greatest F1 driver by asking fans - the members of the FerrariChat community - to vote. The shortlist is every driver who won a world championship grand prix for the Scuderia. The survey closes at the end of September, so just who will come out on top? You have one choice, so get voting now... http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3859543/Greatest-Ferrari-driver-of-all-time
Man, I hate lists. Numbers-wise, MS is. As far as the greatest 'driver' goes, wow, we have seen some really 'spirited' drives come thru Maranello, Niki, Gilles, Pironi, Alboreto, but I have to pay homage also to the ones I never saw drive as well..
haven't we discussed this many times in the past? I seem to think a majority acknowledged Schumacher had the best results, but that Fangio was maybe the best driver? very hard to compare drivers of different times.
I voted for Lauda who impressed me a lot when I was younger. He would also have deserved the title the year of the Nurburgring accident. Nobody fought harder for the Scuderia.
You notice it is for the "Greatest GP Winner" so, of course, poor Chris Amon (who was probably better than at least 1/3 of the drivers on the list) gets left out again. Personally, I picked Ascari.
Frankly, IMO the best driver ever to drive for Enzo was Tazio Nuvolari, but unfortunately before 1950 does not count.
No contest, Michael Schumacher. His work ethic on the testing and development side ensured he had the best car to get the best results. In any case, he put in some amazing performances on race days. All the best, Andrew. Sent from my Nexus 5 using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Hmmm....well Fangio was probably the best...but he went where the best car was i guess....so i ll go for those who signed when Ferrari wasnt at the top and won anyway..so its Michael and Lauda for me...cant really judge the boys from the very early days but the stats say Ascari won 48 % of his Ferrari Races and Fangio 42 % while Micheal is at 40 %......but it were different era`s,and reliability was a bigger thing etc....if i let my Heart decide..its von Trips, Gilles and Micheal
Thats easy, Gilles is by far the most revered Ferrari driver and with reason since he was by far the most talented one and the one that cause more impact on f.1 during his time. Niki, Ascari and Shummy probably next. No doubt this 4 guys are the all time greatest drivers at the helm of a Ferrari.
Most accomplished - Michael. Most loved - Gilles. After all these years the most revered and loved Ferrari driver. Also Enzo's favourite. Like a son. No 27 will live forever.
Schumacher....... oversaw the transition from amateur racers mixing it with professional racers, into honed, professional athletes behind the wheel. Get fit, or get out of the seat, whereas for those years before his arrival, some drivers paid less attention to their fitness, and even their waistlines, than they should have (remember mansell not fitting in the mclaren seat when he arrived one day at the track, and they had to redesign the car to accommodate him) Drove crap cars as well as the best cars, and won in both regardless, fought for safety both for drivers, but also for the roads, total humanitarian with his silent charity donations in the millions. Fantastic ambassador for the sport, always respectful to his entire team, made sure that the team itself, every member, knew how important they were to him and the teams success. Hand and shoulders above them all as an allrounder
I think this is a pretty clear answer - Michael Schumacher has to be the best at Ferrari and here is why: 1. When MSC joined Ferrari were no where - and had only won one race the previous year and 2 the year before that. from 1991 to 1994 they won nothing. 2. MSC stuck with the team when it would have been easy to go to McLaren or Renault / Bennetton 3. He built the team around him, Brawn, Byrne, and brought the level of preparation to the highest level ever at Ferrari ( even mechanics were working out) 4. His dedication to testing all the time ( when it was allowed) and his commitment to personal fitness allowed Ferrari to try new things at all times. 5. Ruthless on track - not always fair but he was single minded to win ( much like Lauda ) 6. Kept his mouth shut - when the press was going after Todt, and others he always supported the team 7. Drove some bad cars and made them win - 1996, 1997, 1998 cars were not winners - but he won with them Fangio , Ascari, Lauda and Surtees were great drivers, but they searched for the best car all the time - Fangio especially. Villeneuve was spectacular and I think 82 could have been a Championship year but sadly the wild streak in him did not allow him to survive..... MSC is the one.
How can Fangio be the greatest, when there wasn't loyalty in those days? It has to be Schumi, followed by Lauda, Gilles closely.
Fangio was not that important for Ferrari..not a true Ferrari driver (unfortunatly for us )..but we had Ascari who was as good as him
Fangio is certainly one (if not the best ) of the best drivers ever.. regardless of the era. In my opinion the further you go back in time, the harder and more dangerous the cars and racing was - the far better driver you had to be. Ok the speeds were not as high, but the chance for error or failures were 1000 x higher and regardless of 200mph or 130mph- you can die just as easily. Fangio not only raced those cars, he won races and championships - but also survived to a ripe old age... that is the main accomplishment. To race and die - gives you glory... but to race, win and survive -gives you greatness! The fact that his record of 5 championships stood till Schumacher beat it, and that his race victory record was only bettered by Jim Clark, and then Jackie Stewart in the 60's and 70's ... shows how amazing this man was.
Mr. Ferrari and Fangio did not trust each other. Fangio was suspect of the safety of Ferrari... ( who was running the team on a shoe string in those days) and he was not convinced that he would live long racing for Ferrari... Fangio's instinct or getting the right car / team at the right time was uncanny. better than almost anyone else - perhaps Jackie Stewart had the same knack.
Ascari's 2 WDCs are slightly devalued by the fact that they were obtained with Formula 2. The championship wasn't raced with Formula 1 cars for 2 years. There was hardly any opposition against the Ferraris during that period, and Fangio didn't race for one year because of injury.
Sorry i meant as 'greatest' Ferrari driver. Not the debating of whether he was the greatest of all time. That is for sure. But in regards of the topic...I don't think he can be considered to be the greatest Ferrari driver, when he switched teams so consistently.
