99 replies to this topic

[myattitude]

Yuji Ide was and still is the single greatest driver in the history of motorsport.

[Yamamoto]

Yuji Ide was and still is the single greatest driver in the history of motorsport.

 

Indeed. Shame he retired from F1 after achieving all there is to achieve in just four races.

[noikeee]

Loeb seems to be able to get in any kind of vehicle and be quick. Such a shame his race drive with Torro Rosso never happened a few years back, but then we know how much F1 hates a good story.

http://www.jamesalle...t-in-abu-dhabi/

Wasn't he over a second off the pace of all other drivers in his GP2 test? Perhaps it was for the best that he wasn't allowed to do that one race.

Not saying Loeb isn't a great driver, but jumping into top level single seaters with no experience in it is extremely hard.

[statman]

Stuart Oliver!!!

 

 

in truck racing

[Nathan]

I think the best we can do is assume talent wise the top 10 or 20 top flight race drivers in the world are very, very close.  So the differentiator in which drivers are currently the best are the ones that have the greatest momentum and confidence behind them at the moment.
 

Harvick, Rosberg, Pagenaud?  For this week I would go with Rosberg.

Edited by Nathan, 22 May 2016 - 17:29.

[PassWind]

Leob has is the best all round steerer going round and has been for some time.

[jonpollak]

Well..It isn't Tagliani

 

Jp

[artista]

Ekström

[Andretti Fan]

Some unknown guy (or gal) in F4, or f3, or at some dirt track in middle America who, because they won't get the funding to move up the ladder, we'll never hear of!

[Radoye]

Fullerton. Pure driving, no money, no politics, just real racing.

[teejay]

Mario Andretti

[JeePee]

Montoya?

I heard he is good at tennis too

[Taxi]

Sebastien Loeb is the most talented driver ever. He will drive totaly fast anything with 4 whells. If you made a contest with a F1, a WRC, a WEC, a Rally Raid, a Nascar a WTCC, Rally Cross and get the chronos... He will come first by far.  Guys like Kubica, Raikkonen, Ekstrom, Sarrazin, Muller would also shine. 

Edited by Taxi, 23 May 2016 - 17:52.

[jonpollak]

James Hinchcliffe

 

Jp

[HeadFirst]

Mario Andretti

Of all time .... certainly.

[sopa]

Jim Clark... still. 

 

If you wanted me to mention one name out of the current bunch... I'd say Sebastien Loeb.

[PlatenGlass]

I don't think looking for a good all-rounder is the best way of doing this. I would want to know - who is the best at doing the particular form of motorsport that they are doing? I know you're comparing apples with oranges, but you can take a statistical approach. Basically how many people did people have to beat to be the best? And you'd have to take into account how meritocratic the route to the top is, of course.

But anyway, I see the "Jack of all trades" approach as fundamentally flawed. Most drivers stick to their formula nowadays, so just because a few drivers try other things, it doesn't make them the best all-rounders, just the only people that have tried it. There's just not that much competition in the all-rounder stakes.

[smr]

Postman Pat. Proper racer getting those parcels delivered on time.

[GSiebert]

Marc Marquez looks like the most gifted to me.

[F1matt]

I am going to mention Robert Kubica, a racer who effectively drives one handed but still has the desire to compete, on the track, or on the gravel, there is even some talk of him testing the new Pirelli tyres. 

[Ross Stonefeld]

Well, Max Verstappen gets into the car from the same side as Vettel so he must be? 

[PlatenGlass]

Obviously see my sig. Facts back it up. Badoer beat Barrichello in the same car over one full season, and so on. So it must be true.

I know your signature is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but when were Badoer and Barrichello ever team-mates? Unless you're counting using the same chassis in F3000 (doesn't count because teams are still important) with different engines for half the season.

[thiscocks]

But we ]know Nakajima was crap in F1,

Hardly 'crap'. Nakajima is a very under rated driver. Just seems its popular to slate Japanese drivers for some reason.

 

Talking of Lotterer again, not only has Nakajima beaten him this season in WEC he also beat him several times in Super Formula over a season. Not to mention some very strong drives in Super GT.

[Tsarwash]

I know your signature is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but when were Badoer and Barrichello ever team-mates? Unless you're counting using the same chassis in F3000 (doesn't count because teams are still important) with different engines for half the season.

It must be that. I didn't actually come up with the Badoer > Barrichello one, somebody else did. It was part of a stupid game we did here a while ago with certain rules. That one was accepted by all, so it was used by me and others. It wasn't restricted to F1, but you did have to use a full season, even if they only completed half of it. 

[Victor_RO]

Hardly 'crap'. Nakajima is a very under rated driver. Just seems its popular to slate Japanese drivers for some reason.

Talking of Lotterer again, not only has Nakajima beaten him this season in WEC he also beat him several times in Super Formula over a season. Not to mention some very strong drives in Super GT.

Which just goes to show how impossible these intended comparisons are, you can have two drivers that compete in multiple series and one does better than the other in some series, but it's a complete opposite in others.

[Trust]

Casey Stoner.

[Domi]

I am going to mention Robert Kubica, a racer who effectively drives one handed but still has the desire to compete, on the track, or on the gravel, there is even some talk of him testing the new Pirelli tyres. 

 

I second that. Many people brings down his rallying, but I don't think they understand what he was able to achieve in such short amount of time.  He was winning stages on all types of surface driving one handed in crap private car. He can drive anything that has 4 wheels

Edited by Domi, 27 May 2016 - 17:55.

[milestone 11]

Fullerton. Pure driving, no money, no politics, just real racing.

Had the thread title been marginally different I would have given you a like and agreed.

[George Costanza]

Fernando Alonso.

Edited by George Costanza, 27 May 2016 - 18:47.

[George Costanza]

Sebastien Loeb is the most talented driver ever. He will drive totaly fast anything with 4 whells. If you made a contest with a F1, a WRC, a WEC, a Rally Raid, a Nascar a WTCC, Rally Cross and get the chronos... He will come first by far. Guys like Kubica, Raikkonen, Ekstrom, Sarrazin, Muller would also shine.

ever? I can nominate Ayrton Senna as the most talented driver of all times.

[HaydenFan]

Ryan Dungey pretty much is making SX/MX his whipping boy.

 

But the title says driver. And right now, it is still Loeb. He can wheel a car better than anyone. Or some drifter in Japan or Sweden or something. Pick one out of a hat and they have more car craft than anyone on the grid of the Monaco GP this year (or ever). 

[George Costanza]

Technically, it would be Michael Schumacher. But he is in a really bad state.

Edited by George Costanza, 28 May 2016 - 00:06.

[igoru]

Fernando Alonso.

Agree.

[Zava]

Talking of Lotterer again, not only has Nakajima beaten him this season in WEC,...

WEC 2015:

Lotterer, 2nd with 161 points
Nakajima, 7th with 75 points

Come again?

[NickeF1]

Loeb and Marc Marquéz.

[f1paul]

WEC 2015:

Lotterer, 2nd with 161 points
Nakajima, 7th with 75 points

Come again?

But you do have 2 other drivers with you and Toyota were rubbish last year

[Taxi]

ever? I can nominate Ayrton Senna as the most talented driver of all times.

 

Unproved in more categories than F1. I have no doubts about his talent, of course, but Loeb is more complete. WRC, WTCC, Raly raid, managed to do good times when got in single seaters for some tests. He gets on the top in every category he races. 

 

If I had to place a bet it would be Loeb all the way. 

[GovaK]

Alonso and Mcrae, no doubt about that one.

[messy]

Hardly 'crap'. Nakajima is a very under rated driver. Just seems its popular to slate Japanese drivers for some reason.
 
Talking of Lotterer again, not only has Nakajima beaten him this season in WEC he also beat him several times in Super Formula over a season. Not to mention some very strong drives in Super GT.

Oh come on. He was poor in F1. I remember him qualifying fifth on the grid for the 2009 British GP and being really surprised, but also remember him being sometimes a second plus a lap behind Rosberg throughout 2008 and then not scoring a point the next year. I'm not into bashing a driver because of their nationality and it seems like a pretty ridiculous thing to accuse me of based on saying he was crap in F1.

[scheivlak]

Alonso and Mcrae, no doubt about that one.

McRae the best driver in motorsport at the moment? I wouldn't be too sure about that.

[Burnzoire]

[lbennie]

Has jeremy undone his pants 

[ch103]

RIC is the best driver in the world right now.

[SR388]

Lewis Hamilton or Kyle Busch.

[nordschleife]

If you put every nominee into the next race of each conceivable series i.e., F1, WEC, MotoGP, IMSA, WTCC, V8, NASCAR, Indycar, whatever (which would include the Isle of Man and the North West 200) the last man standing (or even breathing) would not be someone with a four wheel day job. 

 

​Consequently you might want to concede the point and pose the question anew with only four wheel practitioners eligible.

Edited by nordschleife, 31 May 2016 - 01:26.

[jonpollak]

Alex
Jp

[William Hunt]

Oh come on. He was poor in F1. I remember him qualifying fifth on the grid for the 2009 British GP and being really surprised, but also remember him being sometimes a second plus a lap behind Rosberg throughout 2008 and then not scoring a point the next year. I'm not into bashing a driver because of their nationality and it seems like a pretty ridiculous thing to accuse me of based on saying he was crap in F1.

 

That's not true, Nakajima was very close to Rosberg in terms of pace, especially in their first year together. Very underrated driver.

[Brackets]

Ryan Dungey pretty much is making SX/MX his whipping boy.

 

Carmicheal did it against real opposition, as did Everts in real MX. So, no.

[Wingcommander]

Ogier. Rally drivers > everybody else. Biiig cojones!

[Lister of Smeg]

Mattias Ekström

Sébastien Loeb

Valentino Rossi