The perfect foil for the ruthless Ayrton Senna,
‘Il Leone’ never backed down to the charging
Brazilian. His never-say-die attitude endeared
him to the fans, but his irascible nature often
put him at odds with his teammates. After
winning the title with Williams in 1992, Nigel
faced the prospect of being paired with the
similarly prickly Alain Prost in 1993. He left
F1 then, entering the CART IndyCar World
Championship and winning it in his ‘rookie’
season. Mansell remains the only driver to
hold both titles at the same time.
Lewis’s calm hands at the wheel belie the fact
that he is bloody quick. He corners much
earlier and trail-brakes much later than anyone
else, ever teasing the edge of oversteer.
His balletic performances in the wet and on
knackered tires showcase an innate feel that
allows him to adapt to any condition.
While his Senna-like ruthlessness and
many on-track clashes have inspired more rule
revisions by the stewards than any other driver
in memory, he has seemingly calmed down
over the years. This leaves only his reliance on
his talent as his biggest weakness. Aside from
that lucky call at Silverstone last month, he has
often fumbled strategies, and teammate Nico
Rosberg’s more meticulous approach to setup
often shows him up in qualifying at Mercedes.
Yet Lewis’s raw speed and wheel-to-wheel
brilliance allowed him to dominate Nico on
track last year, cementing his status as a true
world champion.
Clark was not just fast, he was dominant.
Against the likes of Jackie Stewart, Dan
Gurney and Graham Hill, he set the yet-
unbeaten record of eight career grand slams
(pole, win, fastest lap, and all laps in the lead).
If not for chronic Lotus unreliability as well as
his untimely death in 1968, he might have
achieved even more.
Clark’s deceptively smooth driving hid an
amazing aptitude for late braking and induced
oversteer—and yet so softly did he push the
car into oversteer that he used less brakes and
tires than anyone else. He is regarded by many
with the kind of awe reserved for the likes of
Senna or Fangio.
Could Lewis ever be regarded with the
same reverence? Perhaps not yet. But we
don’t doubt that, by the time he retires, he
may move a few notches up the ladder on the
pantheon of F1 greats.
Stirling MoSS
(66 races, 16 wins)
nigel ManSell
(187 races, 31 wins, 1 championship)
lewiS HaMilton
(157 races, 38 wins, 2 championships,
as of the 2015 british grand prix)
Jackie Stewart
(99 races, 27 wins, 3 championships)
JiM clark
(72 races, 25 wins, 2 championships)
5
4
3
2
1
Arguably the greatest loser in history, Moss
came second in the championship four times
in a row (1955 to 1958). But those who
beat him out for the title knew that, in equal
circumstances, Moss could have beaten them.
While his unusual straight-armed style and
late-braking ability made him faster than his
contemporaries, his determination to win
in independent British cars denied him the
trophies he so rightly deserved.
While best-known nowadays as a driving
force for safety in racing, there is no doubting
Sir Jackie’s accomplishments behind the
wheel. He was impressive in his rookie season
alongside the great Graham Hill, but it was in
the iconic blue Tyrrells that he flourished.
Stewart’s unflustered driving style seemed
slow, yet his mechanical sympathy and
his abilities in setting up a car made him a
dominant driver. Nowhere was this more
evident than in his victory at the Nurburgring
in 1968, where he won by four minutes in
the blinding spray. His car-management
skills would later prove decisive at the wheel
of the notoriously twitchy, short-wheelbase
Tyrrell 006, which gave him his third and last
championship in 1973.
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