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I came across this and thought it was a good read. We all have our own thoughts on which F1 driver was / is the best, who could of beaten who etc. This from a guy with years of insight and who knew all of the drivers discussed was both surprising and interesting. Thought I'd share.
C/O Formula Wonders 1996
Bernie Ecclestone shuts his eyes behind his dark glasses and steeples his fingers as if in prayer for what would have been the perfect Grand Prix scenario.
"Ah, if only," muses the pounds 30-million-a-year Formula One ringmaster who runs racing worldwide. "My dream grid. What would it be? And where?"
And he answers his own question: "Monaco - that's where it would be. It's so full of excitement and atmosphere it is the ideal stage for what would be a breath-taking spectacular."
Bernie, a trawler skipper's son who became one of the most powerful influences in any branch of global sports, sits in his Knightsbridge tower block HQ and lets the images of heroic drivers trace through his mind.
And his showmanship demands that any race be entertainment. "I love daring men, chargers, real racers who are ballsy ten-tenths guys who only know how to give of their all," he says with a smile.
"And that's why I'd have Nigel Mansell on pole position at Monaco. He'd be full value and would make it one hell of a race and everybody would have to get through him to the front."
Ecclestone, once owner of team Brabham and the first boss to sign Ayrton Senna, fantasises about a glittering Formula One line-up with all the drivers in Renault-Williams cars.
"It's the best one around," he says, "And that way they'd all start equal.
"But what a race it would be - and you would see that you CAN overtake at Monaco...ABSOLUTELY.
"And these guys could do it three or four times a lap. It's nonsense to say you can't overtake. There's nothing to stop you - it's just that they don't or they won't, because somebody had told them they can't so they back off."
He lists his perfect line-up: Nigel Mansell on pole with Senna and double- world champion Michael Schumacher next in line.
Then on the third row comes the late Jochen Rindt alongside Ronnie Petersen.
After that it's Alain Prost alongside Aussie Alan Jones.
On the fifth row it's Jackie Stewart with Niki Lauda, both triple champions.
Then it's James Hunt with Graham Hill and behind them he'd have the Juan Fangio and Nelson Piquet.
Bernie told me: "I'd have all of the chargers on the front few rows - with the clever, delivery-boys like Prost and Stewart ready to pick up the pieces, and maybe win, after the inevitable crash among the front runners.
"But when it comes down to who is the absolute master I would choose Senna every time - and he was great in Monaco. But then he was a genius everywhere he drove - and he only knew one way to drive. Flat out. But he still knew and was clever enough to realise what his limit was.
"Senna had everything. He was able to concentrate fully for the entire race - and that's a problem a lot of drivers can't overcome. He was very hard on himself, quite ruthless and got the best out of all his cars. And some them weren't so good.
"He carried the McLaren for a long time when it wasn't so hot and he showed he could handle all the pressure and all the difficulties.
"He was a charming guy with no flaws in his driving - the complete man."
Bernie, who used to race motorbikes adds: "It's almost impossible to name a top ten list of drivers, because you cannot leapfrog the years. The different decades demanded different techniques.
"And you can only imagine, as I do, what a thriller it would be if only by some miracle of a time warp, you could flag off the sort of grid I can only dream about.
"They were all the sort of guys who just got on with the programme, the sort of men who made their best efforts to get the car home.
"OK, guys like Prost and Stewart did it as slowly as they possibly could without sticking their necks out to win every time. Points were their goal.
"Their aim was to win the championship and they weren't embarrassed if they were third, fourth or not a winner.
"You can never say that Prost or Stewart were exciting drivers, not like James Hunt. He was magic - but you never knew, and neither did he, what he was going to do. It depended on his mood.
"And Mansell! What a driver, particularly in Monaco. Everybody seemed to want him to be world champion. He had that quality that people seemed to admire.
"OK, he was a moaner at times, but even that was done with what he believed was justification and sincerity.
"He was tremendous, a giant of a driver and a heck of a man to beat. He'd race down the pit lane, on the track, out of the garage and everywhere if he thought he could be a winner.
"But one way or another, all those guys would have given him one hell of a challenge."
Nigel MANSELL
The brave Brummie held the Formula One and American IndyCar titles in the same season. He won 31 of the 187 Grands Prix he contested in an exciting and controversial 15-year career.
Jordan are trying to get him back into their car for the new season.
Ayrton SENNA
The Brazilian superstar is regarded by just about everybody in Formula One as the finest driver of all time.
He was killed at Imola in 1994 after clinching three world titles and winning 41 GP's from 161 starts.
Michael SCHUMACHER
THE 27-year-old German is the highest paid racer of all time and the natural heir to Senna.
Ferrari paid the double world champion pounds 1million a race this season - and boosted his wages by another pounds 30million to keep him for another two years.
Jochen RINDT
THE heart-throb Austrian was killed during practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 1970.
He had contested only 60 GP's with six victories and died as the 1970 F1 champion.
Ronnie PETERSEN
HE was regarded as one of the quickest, most spectacular drivers of all, but perished in a crash at the Italian GP.
By then he had raced in 123 GP's, been on pole 14 times and won ten events with ten second places and six thirds
.
Alain PROST
THE Frenchman was not the most exciting driver but was the cleverest, hence his nickname The Professor. Four world titles in 199 GP's with 51 wins.
Alan JONES
THE burly Aussie tough-guy was the driver who put Williams on the map and gave them their first world title in 1980.
He was the victor in 12 races and competed in 116 Formula One events.
Jackie STEWART
THE shrewd Scot, a pioneer of F1 safety, was three times champion from only 99 GP's.
He had a staggering 27 wins, 11 runners-up places and five thirds in a career in which he never once spilled blood.
Niki LAUDA
THE Austrian, who lived to race again after a scarring fireball crash in Germany, won three world championships.
His bravest act was to pull out of the Japanese Grand Prix in a downpour and let James Hunt surge on for the title.
James HUNT
The playboy racer was crowned king in 1976 - and never came close again to being the title holder.
The hard charger raced in 92 Grands Prix, was a winner ten times - and had 17 crashes in six years.
Graham HILL
DAMON'S dad, a rascally daredevil, died in a private plane crash in 1975.
By then the lovable rogue had been dubbed "Mr Monaco" for his five wins in Monte Carlo and had won two world titles.
Juan FANGIO
The legendary Argentinian maestro was a winner when cars wanted to slew sideways more often than go straight.
He won 24 of his his 51 races with 23 fastest laps - and grabbed the title a record-setting five times.
Nelson PIQUET
THE Brazilian superstar who cockily rattled Nigel Mansell and shook up Formula One with his self-belief twice won the championship.
He raced 204 times, won 44, claimed pole position 24 times and set 23 fastest laps.
C/O Formula Wonders 1996
Bernie Ecclestone shuts his eyes behind his dark glasses and steeples his fingers as if in prayer for what would have been the perfect Grand Prix scenario.
"Ah, if only," muses the pounds 30-million-a-year Formula One ringmaster who runs racing worldwide. "My dream grid. What would it be? And where?"
And he answers his own question: "Monaco - that's where it would be. It's so full of excitement and atmosphere it is the ideal stage for what would be a breath-taking spectacular."
Bernie, a trawler skipper's son who became one of the most powerful influences in any branch of global sports, sits in his Knightsbridge tower block HQ and lets the images of heroic drivers trace through his mind.
And his showmanship demands that any race be entertainment. "I love daring men, chargers, real racers who are ballsy ten-tenths guys who only know how to give of their all," he says with a smile.
"And that's why I'd have Nigel Mansell on pole position at Monaco. He'd be full value and would make it one hell of a race and everybody would have to get through him to the front."
Ecclestone, once owner of team Brabham and the first boss to sign Ayrton Senna, fantasises about a glittering Formula One line-up with all the drivers in Renault-Williams cars.
"It's the best one around," he says, "And that way they'd all start equal.
"But what a race it would be - and you would see that you CAN overtake at Monaco...ABSOLUTELY.
"And these guys could do it three or four times a lap. It's nonsense to say you can't overtake. There's nothing to stop you - it's just that they don't or they won't, because somebody had told them they can't so they back off."
He lists his perfect line-up: Nigel Mansell on pole with Senna and double- world champion Michael Schumacher next in line.
Then on the third row comes the late Jochen Rindt alongside Ronnie Petersen.
After that it's Alain Prost alongside Aussie Alan Jones.
On the fifth row it's Jackie Stewart with Niki Lauda, both triple champions.
Then it's James Hunt with Graham Hill and behind them he'd have the Juan Fangio and Nelson Piquet.
Bernie told me: "I'd have all of the chargers on the front few rows - with the clever, delivery-boys like Prost and Stewart ready to pick up the pieces, and maybe win, after the inevitable crash among the front runners.
"But when it comes down to who is the absolute master I would choose Senna every time - and he was great in Monaco. But then he was a genius everywhere he drove - and he only knew one way to drive. Flat out. But he still knew and was clever enough to realise what his limit was.
"Senna had everything. He was able to concentrate fully for the entire race - and that's a problem a lot of drivers can't overcome. He was very hard on himself, quite ruthless and got the best out of all his cars. And some them weren't so good.
"He carried the McLaren for a long time when it wasn't so hot and he showed he could handle all the pressure and all the difficulties.
"He was a charming guy with no flaws in his driving - the complete man."
Bernie, who used to race motorbikes adds: "It's almost impossible to name a top ten list of drivers, because you cannot leapfrog the years. The different decades demanded different techniques.
"And you can only imagine, as I do, what a thriller it would be if only by some miracle of a time warp, you could flag off the sort of grid I can only dream about.
"They were all the sort of guys who just got on with the programme, the sort of men who made their best efforts to get the car home.
"OK, guys like Prost and Stewart did it as slowly as they possibly could without sticking their necks out to win every time. Points were their goal.
"Their aim was to win the championship and they weren't embarrassed if they were third, fourth or not a winner.
"You can never say that Prost or Stewart were exciting drivers, not like James Hunt. He was magic - but you never knew, and neither did he, what he was going to do. It depended on his mood.
"And Mansell! What a driver, particularly in Monaco. Everybody seemed to want him to be world champion. He had that quality that people seemed to admire.
"OK, he was a moaner at times, but even that was done with what he believed was justification and sincerity.
"He was tremendous, a giant of a driver and a heck of a man to beat. He'd race down the pit lane, on the track, out of the garage and everywhere if he thought he could be a winner.
"But one way or another, all those guys would have given him one hell of a challenge."
Nigel MANSELL
The brave Brummie held the Formula One and American IndyCar titles in the same season. He won 31 of the 187 Grands Prix he contested in an exciting and controversial 15-year career.
Jordan are trying to get him back into their car for the new season.
Ayrton SENNA
The Brazilian superstar is regarded by just about everybody in Formula One as the finest driver of all time.
He was killed at Imola in 1994 after clinching three world titles and winning 41 GP's from 161 starts.
Michael SCHUMACHER
THE 27-year-old German is the highest paid racer of all time and the natural heir to Senna.
Ferrari paid the double world champion pounds 1million a race this season - and boosted his wages by another pounds 30million to keep him for another two years.
Jochen RINDT
THE heart-throb Austrian was killed during practice for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza in 1970.
He had contested only 60 GP's with six victories and died as the 1970 F1 champion.
Ronnie PETERSEN
HE was regarded as one of the quickest, most spectacular drivers of all, but perished in a crash at the Italian GP.
By then he had raced in 123 GP's, been on pole 14 times and won ten events with ten second places and six thirds
.
Alain PROST
THE Frenchman was not the most exciting driver but was the cleverest, hence his nickname The Professor. Four world titles in 199 GP's with 51 wins.
Alan JONES
THE burly Aussie tough-guy was the driver who put Williams on the map and gave them their first world title in 1980.
He was the victor in 12 races and competed in 116 Formula One events.
Jackie STEWART
THE shrewd Scot, a pioneer of F1 safety, was three times champion from only 99 GP's.
He had a staggering 27 wins, 11 runners-up places and five thirds in a career in which he never once spilled blood.
Niki LAUDA
THE Austrian, who lived to race again after a scarring fireball crash in Germany, won three world championships.
His bravest act was to pull out of the Japanese Grand Prix in a downpour and let James Hunt surge on for the title.
James HUNT
The playboy racer was crowned king in 1976 - and never came close again to being the title holder.
The hard charger raced in 92 Grands Prix, was a winner ten times - and had 17 crashes in six years.
Graham HILL
DAMON'S dad, a rascally daredevil, died in a private plane crash in 1975.
By then the lovable rogue had been dubbed "Mr Monaco" for his five wins in Monte Carlo and had won two world titles.
Juan FANGIO
The legendary Argentinian maestro was a winner when cars wanted to slew sideways more often than go straight.
He won 24 of his his 51 races with 23 fastest laps - and grabbed the title a record-setting five times.
Nelson PIQUET
THE Brazilian superstar who cockily rattled Nigel Mansell and shook up Formula One with his self-belief twice won the championship.
He raced 204 times, won 44, claimed pole position 24 times and set 23 fastest laps.
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