People have an inherent need to compare, rate and evaluate things. Best vacation spot, best new car, best movie - we rate everything. Nowhere is this practice more prevalent than in sports, whether it’s baseball, boxing or yes, Formula 1. We love to rate our heroes. We place them, according to their achievements, in our own mental index which we use to judge the worthiness of all future stars.

The problem is, the process is completely subjective - based more on personal bias than fact. Every list put forward, whether by a school boy or a respected scribe, is instantly subjected to questioning and dismissal, or worse ridicule, because the author’s personal bias becomes so clear. Alan Henry, a long time scribe for The Guardian and a veteran F1 journalist recently put out his list of the ‘Top 100 F1 Drivers of All Time.’ Despite his vast experience, he too falls into the trap. His list reflects a very British perspective on F1 and one deeply influenced by the driver’s he has known and befriended over the years.

I’m not sure what the reason was for his attempt (the book costs $30.00 so perhaps it’s a nice retirement fund) because the list never truly achieves anything other than stirring debate amongst fans. In fact, his list doesn’t even limit itself strictly to F1 drivers which just muddies the waters even more. A definitive list will never be written because people, being people, can seldom agree on simple things, like what kind of wine to order with dinner, let alone who was the best driver of all time.

Still, as I review Henry’s list one more time, my instinct is to egotistically reject his top 10 for my own. I have no choice but to dismiss his because it’s so very clearly wrong! I suppose that’s the attraction of a list like this, everyone has their own and everyone believes in their heart of hearts that theirs is right.

Without fanfare or a price tag, here is my own Top 10 Greatest Drivers list. Feel free to add your own in the comments section.

1. Jim Clark

2. Juan Manuel Fangio

3. Jackie Stewart

4. Ayrton Senna

5. Michael Schumacher

6. Alain Prost

7. Stirling Moss

8. Nikki Lauda

9. Gilles Villeneuve

10. Mario Andretti

Special thanks to Norris MacDonald of the Toronto Star for inspiring this article.

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