Talking Point: Best of the rest

Eurosport - Tue, 11 Nov 09:14:00 2008

Who was the best driver never to win the F1 title? Every week during the off-season, we are opening up a discussion point for Formula One fans in conjunction with our online poll. So let us know what you think.

2008 Toro Rosso Berger - 0

Here is our eight-man shortlist:

Chris Amon: The last driver from New Zealand to make an impact in Formula One, Amon was the son of a wealthy sheep farmer who arrived on the scene in the 1960s and earned widespread adulation for his fearless approach on the track. He won both the 24-hour races at Le Mans and Daytona, but despite competing in 108 grands prix, he never managed a victory in Formula One.

Rubens Barrichello: Barichello was prolifically successful as a Kart driver, winning the Brazilian title five times before moving on to become champion of Formula Opul, then Formula 3. But since arriving in Formula One the Honda driver has been a nearly man. Barrichello finished fourth in the 2000 World Championship, third in 2001 and came runner-up in both 2002 and 2004.

Gerhard Berger (pictured): The lanky Austrian won his first grand prix with BMW in 1986 and would add eight more driving for Ferrari and McLaren, before a remarkable victory with Benetton in Germany marked his final victory in 1997 - the year he retired. Despite finishing in the top 10 every season from 1986 to 1997, the world title eluded him.

Jacky Ickx: The Belgian arrived on the Formula One scene in 1967 and would finish inside the top 10 of the world championship seven times before competing for the last time at the US Grand Prix in 1979. Ickx won eight times during that time, but will perhaps always be remembered for his six triumphs at the Le Mans 24-Hour race - the last of which came in 1982.

Stirling Moss: The legendary Englishman is regarded by many as the best all-round driver in the history of racing. He won a remarkable 194 races in his career, but despite picking up 16 grand prix victories could never manage a Formula One world championship. Moss finished runner-up four times in succession between 1955 and 1958, but the ultimate prize slipped his grasp.

Ronnie Peterson: Sweden's greatest driver, Peterson made his Formula One debut at the 1970 Monaco Grand Prix and would go on to race 123 times and achieve 10 victories. The 'Superswede' finished runner-up twice in the championship, in 1971 and 1978 - the season that ended with his tragic death at Monza in the Italian Grand Prix.

Carlos Reutemann: The Argentine raced in Formula One between 1972 and 1982, winning 12 times and earning a reputation for his cavalier approach. Reutemann finished in the top 10 of the world championship eight times during his career, coming closest to the title in his penultimate season, when he finished runner-up to Nelson Piquet.

Gilles Villeneuve: Villeneuve made his Formula One debut at the British Grand Prix in 1977 and won for the first time in Canada the following season with Ferrari. The Canadian would triumph five more times, before being killed in a crash during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982. His best finish in the championship was runner-up to Jody Scheckter in 1979.

So vote now in our online poll and let us know your thoughts on the discussion board below.

Eurosport

Comment 36 - 55 of 115

Sort comments by: Most recent
  1. best of the rest: Moss and DC - both deserved a­ championship - DC had a great debut and a great last­ half of 2000 and first half of 2001....had that been­ the same calendar year, he would have won a­ championship. and moss was just all talent.

    worst to­ win a championship - villeneuve jr.

    From xy_2301, on Tue 11 Nov 5:57AM
  2. How about another question:
    Who was the worst driver to­ win a world championship?

    From Io, on Tue 11 Nov 4:12AM
  3. Close call, but it is Stirling Moss.

    From Io, on Tue 11 Nov 4:06AM
  4. Again Ginger, I have to agree with you.

    I do consider­ Alonso as amongst the best drivers in F1 but with flaws­ (namely a tendency for arrogance & blackmail), but­ my twisted (bit genuine) statistics name him as 4th­ highest points scorer ever, so fair play to him and­ full credit for his achievements.

    With all the rule­ changes for next season I do consider him a very real­ title contender, especially with the way Renault­ finished the season.

    I am looking forward to it­ already.

    Who will win, I'd struggle to decide­ between Hamilton, Massa, Raikonnen, Alonso, Kubica­ & Vettel.

    I can't wait.

    From w.z.e, on Tue 11 Nov 1:19AM
  5. Scottish C: Only part of what you said that I really­ disagree with is that I don't think Fernando Alonso­ has earnt the right to "look down" on DC,­ he's not been in the sport long enough to earn that­ right. Two more seasons at the top of his game and­ yes, but not yet. And I was merely clarifying that­ Kimi stat, it seems to be one that not alot of people­ knew and has been quoted on threads a few times in­ recent weeks, but is usually inaccurate.

    From ginger_gitt, on Tue 11 Nov 12:39AM
  6. hey marnio from peru, are you stupid? or haven't­ got any logic in your mind? black dude wins it because­ FIA stripped him of a win in spa. and why only get the­ @#$% of glock? how about kubica? why he pushed the­ black kid off the racing line? he has no point of­ winning the race nor any place. its just a sad thing­ that the black kid wins by his lonesome and we have a­ platoon of looser's. Am disgusted at myself being a­ looser here, as I want ferrari to win it all. Wanted­ Massa to win at straight race not with any help from­ the FIA.

    Lets have a FORMULA ONE, real grand prix of­ best car in DESIGN; TECHNOLOGY; BEST FUEL; BEST TIRE;­ BEST LUBRICANT.

    From Vladimir, on Tue 11 Nov 12:34AM
  7. ginger_gitt, on Mon 10 Nov 11:21PM

    "Scottish C:­ It is indeed Kimi being refered too, and it was 23 car­ races (with 13 wins) before joining F1 and a single­ season at Sauber before moving to­ Mclaren."

    ---------------------------------------­ ------------------------------------

    Fair play Ginger­ and you are correct, my mistake, Kimi was only 1 season­ at Sauber before coming to McLaren and being beaten to­ 6th by Coulthard in 5th in 2002, which was kinda my­ point, Coulthard's record against his team mates­ isn't too bad.

    He was amongst the best of the rest­ against arguably the best driver in the history of F1,­ Schumi, although I consider Jackie Stewart & Jim­ Clark up there with him & Senna.

    From Scottish C, on Tue 11 Nov 12:19AM
  8. As for the question that was asked, it is­ unquestionably Stirling Moss.

    From ginger_gitt, on Mon 10 Nov 11:30PM
  9. To the writer of the story, I'd suggest you lead by­ example and read before you submit your stories (maybe­ then others might follow)

    Barrichello 3rd and 4th in­ the 2001 World Championship?

    Stirling Moss stats are -­ 67 Races, 66 Starts, 16 Wins

    Without checking every­ fact, how much more of it is wrong?

    From ginger_gitt, on Mon 10 Nov 11:28PM
  10. Scottish C: It is indeed Kimi being refered too, and­ it was 23 car races (with 13 wins) before joining F1­ and a single season at Sauber before moving to Mclaren.

    From ginger_gitt, on Mon 10 Nov 11:21PM
  11. Moss, Irvine, Villeneuve, Peterson, Coultard, Montoya,­ Zanardi, Jones (either one).

    From Alex, on Mon 10 Nov 11:19PM
  12. Francois Cevert!

    For Ken Tyrrell and Sir Jackie­ Stewert

    From mark, on Mon 10 Nov 10:57PM
  13. Gyöngyi K.
    Not that unlucky. He's still alive!

    From Count Louis Zborowski, on Mon 10 Nov 10:57PM
  14. Most might not agree but I say Steve McQueen and James­ Garner

    From X RACER, on Mon 10 Nov 10:53PM
  15. Juan Pablo Montoya without a doubt for me...If it was­ 80s, he had it under his belts.his aggressive , strong­ and not very consistant style was for that era.

    From Mehryar, on Mon 10 Nov 10:47PM
  16. Jean Alesi, unluckiest driver ever.

    From Gyöngyi, on Mon 10 Nov 10:31PM
  17. Riccardo Patrese

    From Count Louis Zborowski, on Mon 10 Nov 9:41PM
  18. scs3drg, re. DC.

    ----------------------

    DC was 2nd­ only to Michael Schumacher in 2001, a field of drivers­ that included Barrichello, Hakkinnen, Montoya &­ Villeneuve.

    In reference to a driver who had only­ raced on a track 22 times before, was that Kimi­ Raikonnen? who had only raced on a track 22 time before­ he joined Sauber for 2 seasons? Hmmmm??? Before then­ joining McLaren.

    Is that who you mean?

    I think you­ need a history lesson.

    DC was 3rd in his first full­ year in F1 in 1995.

    3rd in 97.
    3rd in 98.
    4th in­ 99.
    3rd in 2000.
    2nd in 01.

    DC was the top driver at­ McLaren 5 years out of his 9 years at the team, when­ his team mates were 2 times world champion Mika­ Hakkinen & future world Champion Kimi­ Raikonnen.

    5th biggest point scorer in the history of­ F1, that's not bad.

    What have you achieved in your­ sad pathetic life.

    The way I see it there are only 4­ guys who have ever driven racing cars that have the­ privelige of looking down on DC, Michael Schumacher,­ Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna & Fernando­ Alonso.

    Lesson over, I hope you enjoyed it as much as­ me.

    A$$.

    From Scottish C, on Mon 10 Nov 9:37PM
  19. Juan Pablo Montoya was faster than D.C. or Rubens.­ I've only been watching since the late 90's but­ JPM has got to be in the discussion. The only thing the­ man lacked was the ability to be honest with himself­ about his weakness. If he could have kept a cooler head­ he could have won it with Williams.

    From TeamJuanF1, on Mon 10 Nov 9:03PM
  20. I have heard that Michael Scumacher when asked this­ question said Eddie Irvine.

    From Julie4Fernando, on Mon 10 Nov 8:39PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account