ESPN.com - Top 25 of all time solid, but Nuvolari's absence does stand out

ESPN.com: Formula One

Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Updated: May 22, 9:03 PM ET
Top 25 of all time solid, but Nuvolari's absence does stand out

By Dan Knutson
Special to ESPN.com


	Tazio Nuvolari receives the George Vanderbilt International Automobile Challenge Cup from Vanderbilt, left, after winning the 300-mile race on Long Island on Oct. 12, 1936. Nuvolari drove a V-12 Alfa Romeo.

From A.J. Foyt to Steve Kinser, the 25 drivers who constituted ESPN.com's greatest-of-all-time list had amazing careers. Looking at the F1 drivers on the list, here is what made them great and, sometimes, flawed.

Mario Andretti:
Like Foyt, Andretti was one of the best all-rounders the sport has ever seen. On the F1 front, Andretti won the pole in his first Grand Prix, at Watkins Glen in 1968. Ten years later, driving Colin Chapman's gorgeous ground effects Lotus 79, he became the second American after Phil Hill to win the World Championship. In his second-to-last (of 128) F1 start, much to the ecstatic delight of the "tifosi" fans, he put his Ferrari on the pole at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and finished third.

Michael Schumacher:
To say he smashed every meaningful F1 record is an understatement. Seven World Championships and an astounding 91 wins top his list of achievements. On the negative side, he also will be remembered for such ruthless moves as trying to knock Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve off the track in crucial championship-deciding races. And for trying to block the track during qualifying in Monaco to preserve his pole position.

Ayrton Senna:
His passion and dedication for racing earned him legions of fans, perhaps even more than Schumacher because of the way he wore his emotional personality on his sleeve. Three World Championships and 41 victories (third in the record books) highlight Senna's achievements. But like many greats, Senna had his flaws, and his uncompromising win-at-all-costs moves on the track included crashing Alain Prost off the track in Japan to ensure he won the championship.

Jim Clark:
A sublimely gifted driver, he was at his best when he started from the pole and led every lap. Put him back in the pack in traffic, however, and he could get flustered. He was one of the greatest drivers ever but not one of greatest racers ever.

Juan Manuel Fangio:


	Juan Manuel Fangio won five F1 titles in the 1950s, a record that stood for nearly 50 years.

A true gentleman, he won five World Championships in the 1950s, a record that stood until Schumacher broke it nearly 50 years later. With 24 victories in 51 starts, Fangio's winning average of 47 percent remains unbeaten.

Jackie Stewart:
The consummate professional on and off the track, Stewart held the F1 record of 27 career victories from 1973 until Prost topped it in 1987. Along with his three World Championships, Stewart is credited for his efforts in improving circuit, driver and car safety.

Alain Prost:
Prost was known as "The Professor" for his meticulous engineering approach, and his 51 victories put him second only to Schumacher in the F1 record books. Prost won the championship four times, more than any other driver besides Schumacher and Fangio.

Emerson Fittipaldi:
After 14 wins and two World Championships, he made a bad career move by joining his brother's Copersucar F1 team in 1976 and wasted five years. A couple of years after that detour ended, he made a brilliant career move switching to CART, reaping triumphs that included two championships and two Indy 500 wins.

Niki Lauda:
But for an accident that nearly killed him in 1976, Lauda would have four World Championships to his credit instead of three. His 25 wins tie him with Clark for sixth place on the all-time win list.

Nigel Mansell:
It was almost as if someone had flicked a switch when Mansell, after years of driving uncompetitive cars, racked up 31 wins and a World Championship. He followed that up by winning the CART title in 1993. The Italian fans called him "The Lion" because of his brave and brash moves on the track, such as going wheel-to-wheel with the likes of Senna and Nelson Piquet. His emotional approach to racing both helped and hurt his career.

Who else should have been on the list? Looking specifically in the context of drivers who competed in Grand Prix races (which began in 1906) and F1 (which began in 1950), here are some of the best in no particular order.

I picked Tazio Nuvolari as the best driver of all time.

Tazio Nuvolari:
Nuvolari, "The Flying Mantuan," was already 27 when he started motorcycle racing in 1920. He switched to cars full time in 1930. Between 1924 and 1939, the Italian ace racked up 43 wins in major Grand Prix and sports car races such as the Targa Florio. Some of his most famous wins were in his Alfa Romeo against the mighty Auto Unions and Mercedes-Benzes. He returned to racing after World War II and won one more Grand Prix.

Dan Gurney:
Gurney was one of the great all-rounders, with wins in F1, Indy, Can-Am, Trans-Am, sports cars and NASCAR. On back-to-back weekends in 1967, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Foyt and the Belgian Grand Prix in his own Eagle. Clark said that of all the racers he competed against all over the world, the one he most feared was Gurney. High praise indeed.

Felice Nazzaro:
The Italian was one of the best drivers in the world from his first victory in 1900 though his last in 1922. In 22 Grand Prix starts, he won five times, finished second five times and third twice driving for Fiat. Two wins in the Targa Florio were among his many other victories in a career interrupted by World War I.

Stirling Moss:


	Stirling Moss was the runner-up in F1 four times, three of those to Juan Manuel Fangio.

Moss is the best F1 driver who never won a World Championship. He finished second in the points four years straight. Three of those times Fangio -- the driver Moss rates as the best ever -- won the title. A severe accident in 1961 curtailed Moss' brilliant career.

Alberto Ascari:
Ascari was the World Champion in 1952 and 1953, a span in which he won nine consecutive Grand Prix races. That's a record that stands to this day. He won a total of 13 championship Grand Prix races, the same number his father, Antonio Ascari, won before World War II.

Rudi Caracciola:
Caracciola was a star of the European scene in the 1920s and 1930s driving for Mercedes-Benz. When his trophies are on display at the Hall of Fame Museum at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, they make an impressive array.

Bernd Rosemeyer:
A top Grand Prix ace in the 1930s with Auto Union.

Jimmy Murphy:
Murphy's notable achievements include winning the French Grand Prix in 1921 and the Indianapolis 500 in 1923.

Honorable mention goes to Jack Brabham and Piquet for winning three World Championships apiece. And to Graham Hill, a two-time World Champion and the only driver to win racing's triple crown of world-famous races: the Indianapolis 500, the Monaco Grand Prix and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Among the current F1 crop, drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen may well make the Top 25 list one day. But their careers are far from over, so the jury is still out.

Dan Knutson covers Formula One for National Speed Sport News and ESPN.com.