MadCow809
Forum Addict
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2006
- Messages
- 6,375
As for what ESPNSTI said: its impossible to form an unbiased view of a driver's skill if you just see him on TV. Without actually witnessing them in action, you're not going to truly see what's what.
Well fortunately, I have about 5 versions of 80~90s F1 in writing which I can compare in detail. Various different autobiography and F1 books have put the 80s into different perspective for me. I did not formulate my views of F1 drivers simply from TV coverage and press materials. I think Lauda, Mansell, Hill and Prost's statements & autobiography are a lot more credible than some TV coverage or internet polls.
All I'm saying is that it's no co-incidence that Senna's dangerous driving is mentioned in every top driver's autobiography, just like his enormous driving talent and mental attitude.
Is there something you want to tell us?
As for the debate, I do think it's pointless, as both were ridiculous in their on track behaviour, and both ridiculously quick. I just see Senna as the greatest because he won 3 championships while up against 2 or 3 other greats, while when Schumacher won in 2000-2004 he was arguably up against none.
Senna's dominance in a McLaren is no different than Mansell's dominance in the superior Williams, nor Schumacher's Ferrari. It doesn't matter if you are up against more rivals, as long as you have the superior equipment.
So what if Senna had won the championship while up against more competitors? Piquet and Mansell struggled with their equipments and wasn't much of a threat to the superior McLaren-Honda. It was more like an one-on-one match with Prost, then later with Mansell. Schumacher created his own perfect environment at Ferrari, some might say (Damon Hill for example) that Schumacher isn't a true champion because he eliminated his team-mate and competitors by strategy. But I disagree, in my opinion, Schumacher's dominance at Ferrari is due to his hard work and dedication, you gotta remember that Ferrari was a terrible team in the mid 90s. Schumacher made it all happen with the team, and you can't take that away from him by saying that he had no direct competitor to compete with.
Last edited: