126 replies to this topic

[Nav-D]

Ferrari have had brilliant drivers drive for them all with varying degrees of succes. What do you think the best ferrari driver was and why? Success doesn't have to be a factor.

Personally the best ferrari driver was Gilles, he was racing personified, a pure racer who died too early. He would have won so much and done it with providing us with immense racing.

[troyf1]

Statistically: Michael Schumacher


Emotionally: Gilles Villeneuve

[tifosi]

Nuvalari, there are no othere even close except Gilles, who Ferrari admitted was the only driver to even approach Tazio.

[Nav-D]

Originally posted by tifosi
Nuvalari, there are no othere even close except Gilles, who Ferrari admitted was the only driver to even approach Tazio.

There was a video of him driving on the limit while smoking a cigar, brilliant.

[AF Prodrive]

Next question?

[BuonoBruttoCattivo]

Its a toss-up between NL, GV and MS for the modern era...
But MS is eclipsing anyone and anything.
Atleast in Italy, pure statistics and results (a measure of a driver?) DO translate in greatness.
Once MS retires, there will be no equal as "greatest red ever".

[tifosi]

Originally posted by AF Prodrive
Next question?

What he can't do it while smoking a cigar???? ROOKIE

Gilles was great but he only reminds of Tazio, if he'd stayed around.....???

[AlesiUK]

Michael schumacher is the best driver to drive for ferrari.no doubts


He is not the greatest "ferrari driver".

The best thing about that Gilles pic,is that you could find a 100 others exactly like it!

[Barri]

Barrichello.....Villeneuve.....Schumacher

[BuonoBruttoCattivo]

Having metioned the obvious MS, NL and GV, I do have a very big nostalgia for and terribly miss Michele Alboreto.
That is a purely personal feeling.

[Nav-D]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Barri
[B]Barrichello

You serious.

He's more like the greatest slave in f1 history.

[VAR1016]

Strictly speaking, Tazio Nuvolari drove Alfa-Romeos (and Maseratis); yes Ferrari ran the team but the cars were Alfas.

Of those driving Ferraris, then apart from those already mentioned, there is Alberto Ascari (whom Eugenio Castellotti idolised) and of course J.M. Fangio for one unhappy, but successful year (1956) even if the car was a Lancia buggered about by Ferrari.

And John Surtees was pretty handy until he fell out with the Scuderia (and subsequently fell out with BRM....)

PdeRL

[Mox]

Originally posted by AlesiUK
The best thing about that Gilles pic,is that you could find a 100 others exactly like it!

Right - and he will be dropping time on the lap on every single one of them, compared to ideal line!

[madmax]

Schumacher without a doubt. Noone comes close.

[Gilles4Ever]

Originally posted by Mox


Right - and he will be dropping time on the lap on every single one of them, compared to ideal line!

Right - if you want to be technical.

Find a video of GV vs Arnoux at Dijon 1979. A driver that stayed within the rules and followed the racing lines would have finished 3rd. Gilles found the absolute limits of the cars but was able to regain control once that limit was passed (most of the time).

[dai_ferrari]

As VAR1016 said, Nuvo mainly drove for Scuderia Ferrari, the team, and as he said, they mainly were Alfa's. Besides some road races in a Ferrari.

So the best would still have to be Gilles. Followed by Ascari, then Schumacher. Statistics don't mean everything.

[Rene]

Originally posted by troyf1
Statistically: Michael Schumacher


Emotionally: Gilles Villeneuve

My thoughts exactly!

[AlesiUK]

Originally posted by Gilles4Ever


Right - if you want to be technical.

Find a video of GV vs Arnoux at Dijon 1979. A driver that stayed within the rules and followed the racing lines would have finished 3rd. Gilles found the absolute limits of the cars but was able to regain control once that limit was passed (most of the time).

i have the vid of the last 5 laps,only about 10mb if anyone wants it

[dai_ferrari]

Originally posted by AlesiUK



i have the vid of the last 5 laps,only about 10mb if anyone wants it

I think if anyone wants to consider themselves a real F1 fan, they must have this!! It's only a small part of one race in his career, but it clearly defines everything he was made of! It's a must have clip, a definite must have.

[paulogman]

Originally posted by AlesiUK



i have the vid of the last 5 laps,only about 10mb if anyone wants it

would love to have it

[Corners]

Michael Schumacher is the best ever Ferrari driver, when sportmen use more modern equipment it can actually hide their talent in sports like the 100m sprint you always see someone better coming along and breaking the record, the same would happen in F1 if they drove those old cars.
You do see some records standing for a while like Flo-Jo when you have exceptional talent, Schumacher is an exceptional talent like her and can even stand out in such a controlled sport.
There's no point in four-wheel drifting opposite lock these days it would get you nowhere but if Michael had to do it you can guarantee he'd be the best at it.

[AlesiUK]

Originally posted by paulogman



would love to have it

i misjudged,its actually 42mb :/

[paulogman]

Originally posted by AlesiUK




i misjudged,its actually 42mb :/

still not a problem. i have read about the race so many times, but never seen it, so getting a chance to see even a little of it is too good to pass up.

[Sakae]

How one compares drivers of different era? How anyone judges "greatness" in anything anyway, and be fair at it?

[Heathcliff]

Gilles by far

[oldtimer]

I can understand Gilles, with his Nuvolari style, being a favoured nominee, but Alberto Ascari showed more race-winning polish and speed. In contrast to the picture of Gilles, pictures of Ascari often showed him in perfect, all-wheels-in-line 4 wheel drifts. Immense precision, and the fastest way around corners in those cars. But that was a long time ago...

In terms of results, Fangio's one season with Ferrari was spotty, but he did things throughout the season that made people's jaws drop. Particularly his team-mates.

And then there is Mr. Love-him/Hate him. How many times has he dropped the ball for Ferrari? Trying to take out Jacques in 1997, and warming his tyres in the tunnel at Monaco this year come to my mind immediately, but after that it gets to be a struggle. PRETTY REMARKABLE

[PhilKerr]

Gilles Villeneuve by a massive margin

[BorderReiver]

Originally posted by BuonoBruttoCattivo
Having metioned the obvious MS, NL and GV, I do have a very big nostalgia for and terribly miss Michele Alboreto.
That is a purely personal feeling.

Very nicely put Buono.

I met Alboreto when he was driving for Footwork, my dad and I ran into him quite by chance at Silverstone. He was a very nice man who did everything he could to put a kid like me at ease with him, he signed my program and was lovely, charming and talkative. I was utterly gutted when he was killed.

A fantastic guy.

Forza Michele!

As for the others, MS, GV, AA, NL, JI etc. they were all great.

[ensign14]

Best driver for Ferrari ever was probably Fangio...just ahead of Nivola...because we never got to see Fangio at his peak. 7 world titles? Pah. Had there been a WC in the 40s and had he come to Europe JMF would probably have been in double figures.

But he was too big for Enzo...hence the latter's rubbishing of Chueco in his memoirs...totally against the historical record. And he was only there one year.

You could put in a good word for Ascari as well, but the best driver for Ferrari is a no-brainer. And the 2nd best driver for Ferrari was Lauda. Both dragged the team up from the back to the front and kept them there.

[Zawed]

Schumacher, Villeneuve, and Lauda.

Schumacher and Lauda for pulling Ferrari back into competitiveness in a manner not seen very often, and Villeneuve, well just because he was an out and out racer.

[arcwulf7]

I'm afraid the science rather than the art has to determine a 'best' f1 driver. Someone would have to outclass Schumacher, and there is no one on the horizon who can come close to those numbers.

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by ensign14
Best driver for Ferrari ever was probably Fangio...just ahead of Nivola...because we never got to see Fangio at his peak. 7 world titles? Pah. Had there been a WC in the 40s and had he come to Europe JMF would probably have been in double figures.

But not for Ferrari, and his 1956 WDC title was perhaps his least convincing one. There are at least half a dozen drivers who were certainly not better, but have been better as Ferrari drivers.

It's difficult to overlook MS -and why should we- but don't dismiss Ascari! His speed and his results were phenomenal -he won nearly every WDC race in 52 and 53, crucial years in the making of the Ferrari legend.
And don't forget there is more than F1 and/or the WDC. Many people tend to forget that during the fifties and sixties the great sportscar races were at least as important as the WDC GPs. Ferrari would never have had the mystique later on without the wins at Le Mans and in the Mille Miglia. In my book Froilan Gonzalez, Phil Hill, Dan Gurney, John Surtees and Jacky Ickx are among the great Ferrari drivers - because they showed their abilities not just in F1 cars.

And perhaps not the best, but maybe the most important driver of all might well be Luigi Chinetti, who gave Ferrari their first truly major result - the amazing 1949 win at Le Mans - and who was essential in opening US market for Enzo.

[angst]

Originally posted by Mox


Right - and he will be dropping time on the lap on every single one of them, compared to ideal line!

Wrong. In that car that was the fastest way. He drove that car beyond it's limits, along with the following 126C because he had to to make any sort of competitive times with it. If it was an FW07, or a Ferrari F2004 then I'd be inclined to agree with you. Just goes to show what we're missing these days. As Buford said in another thread. Good drivers in bad cars is what we need. 11 secs faster than anyone in the rain at Watkin's Glen in '79 (11secs in one lap!) - I think the man knew how to drive a car quickly.

My favourite Ferrari driver is without a doubt Gilles. The greatest? Nuvolari, Ascari, Lauda, Villeneuve, Surtees, Prost, Schumacher.......who knows?

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by angst
11 secs faster than anyone in the rain at Watkin's Glen in '79 (11secs in one lap!)

Eleven seconds?
Ah, the urban legend ;)

Not to diminish, just read:
http://forums.atlasf...ve seconds Glen

[Mox]

Originally posted by Gilles4Ever


Right - if you want to be technical.

Find a video of GV vs Arnoux at Dijon 1979. A driver that stayed within the rules and followed the racing lines would have finished 3rd. Gilles found the absolute limits of the cars but was able to regain control once that limit was passed (most of the time).

Whoa ... don't get me wrong. Had it not been for Gilles, I probably would never have caught on to F1 in the first place. Watching him drive was like watching magic!

And it's not like all the other drivers at the time didn't lose time in much the same way back then.

[polendo]

Oh what the hell.. I say Nigel Mansell

[angst]

Originally posted by scheivlak

Eleven seconds?
Ah, the urban legend ;)

Not to diminish, just read:
http://forums.atlasf...ve seconds Glen

OK then 9.5 secs in one lap. Bloody pedants

[Ferrari_Boy]

OT: have a look at the wings on that car! amazing that they even bothered to bolt them on

[TailHappy]

Originally posted by AlesiUK
i have the vid of the last 5 laps,only about 10mb if anyone wants it

Pick me pick me!

mpward@xtra.co.nz

Cheers

[Rene]

If you want a copy of the Gilles vs Arnoux battle go to this site...

http://www.farzadsf1...om/dijon79.html

[kouks]

Statistics say MS, but here are some comments from other great Ferrari drivers.


"He left us because of something incomprehensible. His fatality has deprived us of a
great champion, one that I loved very very much.

People used to say that one day he'll quit Ferrari but I never believed it because Gilles
and I had formed such an affection for each other we were like father and son.

My past is scarred with grief ...father, mother, brother, sister, wife ...my life is full of sad
memories. I look back and I see my loved ones ...and among my loved ones I see the
face of this great man: Gilles Villeneuve."
- Enzo Ferrari on the death of Gilles Villeneuve

" Gilles was the perfect racing driver ... with the best talent of all of us.”
- Niki Lauda

"Gilles was the last great driver. The rest of us are just a bunch of
good professionals."
- Alain Prost

"He will remain as a member of the family of the truly great drivers in auto
racing history. Mr. Enzo Ferrari, who is an authority on these matters, has
compared Villeneuve to Tazio Nuvolari. Nuvolari in my younger days was the
great idol. All drivers wanted to equal the great Nuvolari. They struggled to match
but could only imitate him. To be compared to Nuvolari is to receive the highest praise.

Villeneuve did not race to finish, he did not race for points. He raced to win. Although
small in stature he was a giant."

- Juan Manuel Fangio

[AutoGrafica]

And now for someone completely different...
Definately Tom Selleck, yes, definately, definately, Tom Selleck.

[Icicle]

Purely based on statistics, Michael Schumacher is miles head of everyone. What the hell!!! Purely based on statistics, Rubens Barrichelo is 2nd best driver ever to drive for Ferrari (i.e. based on points scoring positions for Ferrari). IMO... there is no clear-cut way to judge ‘Best Ever’ from 5 decades of history.

Icicle

[HBoss]

Schumacher and Prost, but we didn't see the best or the most of Prost while he was at Ferrari. And Lauda deserves and extreme honerable mention.

[MONTOYASPEED]

Originally posted by Barri
Barrichello.....Villeneuve.....Schumacher

Barrichello? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

They said Ferrari's BEST, not 2nd best or 1A driver.

[Barri]

hey MONTOYASPEED>>>have you checked the points this season....Barrichello 74pts Montoya 29pts.....RUBINHO IS AHEAD AS ALWAYS>>>

[MONTOYASPEED]

Originally posted by Barri
hey MONTOYASPEED>>>have you checked the points this season....Barrichello 74pts Montoya 29pts.....RUBINHO IS AHEAD AS ALWAYS>>>

You mean like last year when Barrichello finished 5th IIRC in the points with the same car as the WDC?

[KWSN - DSM]

Originally posted by troyf1
Statistically: Michael Schumacher


Emotionally: Gilles Villeneuve

I concur.

[boyRacer]

Gilles... no doubt about it.

[CampioneFerrari]

I thought this was a stupid question but apparently most people on here do not think that MS is the greatest SF driver never mind the greatest of all time. Sorry but 80 wins and counting, 6 or almost 7 WC (not all with SF) makes him EASILY, no question about it the greatest Ferrari driver but i thought that this was obvious. He may not be some SF supporters favorite driver but he is without a question the BEST SF driver.