Sorry if this causes the moderators a headache but I thought it might be fun to revive the age-old debate. Personally, I think it great fun to discuss and argue about. However, please don't be offended if someone else disagrees with you. There is no right answer, and it is just a bit of fun.
I know some people hate this discussion, saying that you can't compare drivers of different eras. Everybody knows that it is impossible to accurately compare drivers of different eras but that is the boring answer and shouldn't be used to shut down an entertaining discussion between other people. Just because you can't know for sure and there is no correct answer because of differences in cars and criteria doesn't stop it from being fun to talk about. I don't see what makes it a pointless debate any more than arguing about anything else to do with Formula 1. If you want to write a speech about why there is no GOAT, go for it, but please don't belittle those who are just trying to have a fun discussion.
As that there are only 20 poll options, and one of those must be 'other', I have to choose 19 drivers who I think are most likely to get a vote, although if you would like to argue for someone else then that is, of course, fine. I will write a paragraph on each one below, and feel free to vote based on whatever criteria you like. The question I have chosen is the greatest 'Grand Prix driver', thus including those who raced Grand Prix cars before 1950, but not making the question about comparing different forms of motorsport and who are the all-rounders, although that is certainly a valid factor to consider. Personally, I believe the top drivers of every era to be a similar level and like to choose based on who was most special for their era, but voting based on what era you think drivers were best is also valid. I hope this thread encourages a reasoned and productive discussion with minimal anger, and allows us to talk about great drivers of the past and the present.
Here are my 19 leading contenders, but by no means the only candidates, in chronological order:
Georges Boillot. Often suggested to be the first truly great racing driver, the 1914 French Grand Prix stands out as Boillot's most notable drive, as he battled the Mercedes in a far superior Peugeot, leading much of the race with the car falling apart around him until eventually it gave up. That race is sometimes thought of as the first flat-out drive in a Grand Prix. However, Grand Prix racing was so different back. He was killed in the First World War.
Tazio Nuvolari. An extremely fast and exciting driver of the 1930s, there are so many fascinating stories surrounding Nuvolari's daring career, driving with all sorts of injuries like a broken leg and racing in hopelessly damaged cars, while defeating the far more powerful Mercedes and Auto Unions in his Alfa Romeo at the 1935 German Grand Prix is perhaps the greatest ever race drive. However, he did have a reputation for breaking his cars and crashing.
Rudolf Caracciola. The most successful driver of the pre-war era with three European championships with Mercedes, Caracciola was a more solid and consistent driver than Nuvolari and was the original 'regenmeister', with his extraordinary speed in the wet perhaps due to his injuries having less effect. However, he may not have had the flare or the raw speed of a Nuvolari or a Rosemeyer.
Bernd Rosemeyer. Another 1930s great, Rosemeyer had a short but spectacular career with Auto Union, renowned for his raw speed as he was clearly faster than top drivers like Achille Varzi in the same car, while he almost beat Caracciola on merit in only his second Grand Prix. However, the shortness of his career counts against him as he was killed in a land record speed attempt.
Jean-Pierre Wimille. The best driver of the era of Formula 1 just before the world championship started, Wimille was capable of dominating in Alfa Romeos and putting in great drives in inferior machinery when Alfa Romeo were absent, but he was killed before 1950, perhaps costing him the inaugural world championship. He was prone to accidents in his early career.
Alberto Ascari. His record of nine consecutive wins in the world championship lasted for 60 years, and his dominance in the 1952 season is almost unparalleled. Ascari was possibly even faster than Fangio and dominated strong teammates like Giuseppe Farina, but he was a little error-prone and also had a short career after his early death at Monza.
Juan Manuel Fangio. The most successful Formula 1 driver for almost 50 years, Fangio won five world championships in the 1950s with four different teams, finishing second in his only other two championship seasons, while he could pull a great performance out of the bag like the 1957 German Grand Prix comeback win. His age also made his successes even more remarkable. However, perhaps he didn't quite have the raw speed of an Ascari or a Moss.
Stirling Moss. One of the great all-rounders with success in so many different cars, and perhaps the strongest list of great drives by driver. Moss was on another level to the competition between 1958 and 1961 but chose to drive less competitive cars as he liked to be presented as the underdog. He was a very complete driver with all different types of great wins such as tyre management masterclasses or comeback drives. But he never won the world championship.
Jack Brabham. On pure driving ability, Brabham would not be a contender having been so clearly outperformed by Dan Gurney over their three years as teammates. However, Brabham's overall contribution to his three world titles comes from his ability to make his cars great, beating Stirling Moss in 1959 by modifying his gearbox to make it more reliable and, in 1966, becoming the first and only driver to win a title in a car bearing his own name.
Jim Clark. The dominant driver of the 1960s with two of the finest championship campaigns ever in 1963 and 1965, where he won many races by huge margins and despite adversity like gearbox and engine problems. Clark was clearly the fastest at this time but was also incredibly smooth and could make the components on his car last longer than anyone else. But he often drove dominant cars and never raced in Formula 1 for a team other than Lotus.
Jackie Stewart. If this debate was a box-ticking exercise, it is difficult to find a weakness in Stewart's game. He was the dominant driver of the era, made few mistakes, had some great wins like the 1968 German Grand Prix domination in appalling conditions and won three world championships, including the last without the best car. He also was responsible for great advances in safety in the sport.
Niki Lauda. Perhaps most impressive for his remarkable story with the great comeback in 1976 after a fiery accident. Lauda also won three world championships including one after returning after his initial retirement. He was the best driver of his era but perhaps with less competition and didn't have as many great drives as others on this list.
Gilles Villeneuve. So many extraordinary moments, touted as potentially the fastest ever but with brilliant racecraft as well, and tyre management ability, that meant Villeneuve is revered despite just six Grand Prix wins. However, he was also inconsistent and error-prone. Maybe he would be a stronger contender had he not been killed in his prime.
Alain Prost. Known as the professor for his smooth and calculated driving style, and with perhaps the most impressive statistical record of anyone as he outscored every one of his teammates over their entire time together, including three former and two future world champions. On the other hand, he didn't have the raw speed of Ayrton Senna, was prone to mistakes, and his racecraft wasn't on the same level as other drivers of his era.
Ayrton Senna. It was extraordinary that he was so much faster than Prost in qualifying over their two seasons as teammates, even though Prost maybe wasn't always giving it everything on these laps. His raw speed was surely his greatest strength and he also changed the game with his level of ruthlessness, although this sometimes went too far with questionable driving standards, and he made some unforced errors as well.
Michael Schumacher. A long period of domination where he broke almost every record available to him and played a huge role in the revival of Ferrari, while Schumacher also showed his level by dragging inferior cars into title contention and had a huge margin of superiority over his peers, although arguably in a weaker era. But he also had some questionable driving ethics, and was prone to mistakes, particularly in crucial moments when the pressure was on.
Fernando Alonso. Despite only two championships, Alonso for many years was able to outclass some strong teammates and his racecraft is among the greatest ever, but he was beaten by a rookie Lewis Hamilton and perhaps lacks outright pace compared to Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton. The most successful driver in history with seven titles and 103 wins, and also outperformed fellow great Alonso as a rookie. Hamilton can put in a truly remarkable drive, and is great in the wet, but has been beaten by weaker teammates in the championship three times.
Max Verstappen. The best driver on the current grid with one of the most impressive, dominant seasons in history last year, a history of destroying his teammates, and dethroning the previous great. However, his career is unfinished, and he hasn’t the same list of great drives as others.
Other. There are plenty of other drivers who might be considered contenders, including Felice Nazzaro, Giuseppe Campari, Achille Varzi, Graham Hill, Dan Gurney, John Surtees, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ronnie Peterson, James Hunt, Mario Andretti, Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Sebastian Vettel. Sorry that I couldn’t include them all as well.
I hope this thread can provide some entertainment over the off-season, some fun and constructive discussion about great drivers, and doesn’t become toxic. Sorry to the moderators if it does become toxic. If anyone has any top ten (or more than ten) lists, that would also be interesting, but I would mostly just love to see people’s opinions about who is the greatest, and why.
