The best Formula One driver of all time according to SCIENCE

[Manoah2u]

this dailymail trashcan article either way makes no sense because the simple fact is as great as Fangio was,
fysically, he's thousands of miles behind current f1 drivers, as a matter of fact, he's miles behind the fysical state Senna was in when he was on his high.
So really, put fangio in one of today's f1 cars and he'd be nowhere.

You could go vise versa and state that current f1 drivers would be nowhere in fangio's car but to be honest, i believe current f1 drivers would find themselves
quite capable of driving these suicide machines from 'the good old days' in half a day's time lapping a circuit whereas fangio would pass out in current f1 cars
after just 1 or 2 laps due to the excessive g-forces and his body not being fit enough to cope with these forces.

so i'm inclined to say where current drivers would be capable of competing in fangio's racecar,
fangio would definately not be able to compete in today's f1 racecars, let alone senna's for that matter.
so to be frank, that would mean current F1 drivers would be better than fangio.

And to be honest, i really do think that is actually the case as back in the fangio days, there was no such excessive fitness routines. Meaning, back in his day, Fangio
without doubt was the best, but i think most of today's f1 drivers would beat fangio in his own machinery. if it was only due to their better physique and stamina.

it's likely though that current F1 drivers haven't got the balls - perhaps one might say aren't insane or suicidal enough - to actually step into fangio's racecars and push it
to the limit as fangio did.

So to be honest, i don't think anything needs to be taken away from Fangio's legend,
nor should there be taken anything away from piquet, senna, mansell, schumacher, etcs legend.
different times.

hell, F1 changes profoundly ever so every couple of years. its not even fully possible to make a good judgement in whether a driver in 2009 was better in 2009 or 2008 simply
due to the fact the cars changed profoundly enough even though visually it's as simple as just 'some' changes in the wings, let alone compare a 2015 champion to a 1955 champion.
there is simply no ground for comparison.

even footballers from the 50's cant be decently compared to footballers from today's world. The game hasn't changed, the rules haven't changed, but the quality level of fitness and
athletic level of the players are miles and miles apart. You might compare somebody like Cruijff with Pele in their era, but you can't compare Cruijff or Pele with today's Zidane or Ronaldo.
Their training benefits decades of experience in the sport and advancements in fysical excersize, with vastly stricter training regimes. Cruijff or pele in their legendary days would be completely shattered by Ronaldo or Zidane. It would be unfair competition, simply because the difference of the fysical level.

so if you can't even compare that, how on earth are you ever going to give a decent comparing in f1, where the game really isn't even the same anymore and its not just down to the player but also the machine the drive, which also differs greatly in a timescale of 50 years.

And this is called 'science?'

it agrovates me when people slam the words science to an article whenever it fits them for a sensationalistic claim. i get even more agrovated when i start to wonder who funds these rediculous things.

[strad]

simple fact is as great as Fangio was,
fysically, he's thousands of miles behind current f1 drivers

What? It's a beauty contest???
Talent sheer talent.

[GrayGreat]

this dailymail trashcan article either way makes no sense because the simple fact is as great as Fangio was,
fysically, he's thousands of miles behind current f1 drivers, as a matter of fact, he's miles behind the fysical state Senna was in when he was on his high.
So really, put fangio in one of today's f1 cars and he'd be nowhere.

You could go vise versa and state that current f1 drivers would be nowhere in fangio's car but to be honest, i believe current f1 drivers would find themselves
quite capable of driving these suicide machines from 'the good old days' in half a day's time lapping a circuit whereas fangio would pass out in current f1 cars
after just 1 or 2 laps due to the excessive g-forces and his body not being fit enough to cope with these forces.

so i'm inclined to say where current drivers would be capable of competing in fangio's racecar,
fangio would definately not be able to compete in today's f1 racecars, let alone senna's for that matter.
so to be frank, that would mean current F1 drivers would be better than fangio.

And to be honest, i really do think that is actually the case as back in the fangio days, there was no such excessive fitness routines. Meaning, back in his day, Fangio
without doubt was the best, but i think most of today's f1 drivers would beat fangio in his own machinery. if it was only due to their better physique and stamina.

it's likely though that current F1 drivers haven't got the balls - perhaps one might say aren't insane or suicidal enough - to actually step into fangio's racecars and push it
to the limit as fangio did.

So to be honest, i don't think anything needs to be taken away from Fangio's legend,
nor should there be taken anything away from piquet, senna, mansell, schumacher, etcs legend.
different times.

hell, F1 changes profoundly ever so every couple of years. its not even fully possible to make a good judgement in whether a driver in 2009 was better in 2009 or 2008 simply
due to the fact the cars changed profoundly enough even though visually it's as simple as just 'some' changes in the wings, let alone compare a 2015 champion to a 1955 champion.
there is simply no ground for comparison.

even footballers from the 50's cant be decently compared to footballers from today's world. The game hasn't changed, the rules haven't changed, but the quality level of fitness and
athletic level of the players are miles and miles apart. You might compare somebody like Cruijff with Pele in their era, but you can't compare Cruijff or Pele with today's Zidane or Ronaldo.
Their training benefits decades of experience in the sport and advancements in fysical excersize, with vastly stricter training regimes. Cruijff or pele in their legendary days would be completely shattered by Ronaldo or Zidane. It would be unfair competition, simply because the difference of the fysical level.

so if you can't even compare that, how on earth are you ever going to give a decent comparing in f1, where the game really isn't even the same anymore and its not just down to the player but also the machine the drive, which also differs greatly in a timescale of 50 years.

And this is called 'science?'

it agrovates me when people slam the words science to an article whenever it fits them for a sensationalistic claim. i get even more agrovated when i start to wonder who funds these rediculous things.

For sure Fangio could drive today's cars, maybe not as fast as today's drivers can. And I am sure any one of today's drivers cannot drive Fangio's car as fast as he used to drive them. Both generations can drive each other's cars, just not as fast.

[Chene_Mostert]

...

Had Fangio lived in modern times, he would also have access to the latest fitness science. He would be right up there with the rest of the field

[Just_a_fan]

Fangio was in his 40s when he won his F1 titles. He wouldn't have been anywhere near F1 at that age today, modern fitness or not.

It's a silly comparison anyway.

[mightyzigzagoon]

These type of papers are common and get popular every now and then but they all have contradicting results and are of little use to anyone.

[ds.raikkonen]

Why just F1, they should have taken other major championships like WRC, WEC etc. into account as well, I bet 'science' can account different track conditions as well, it'll just be another variable in an equation eh?

Perhaps 'Mr. Le Mans' TK would've topped that sheet followed by Sebastien Loeb, who knows!

So really, put fangio in one of today's f1 cars and he'd be nowhere.

That's not a fair assessment of Fangio's skills in his time, it's like saying WW1 pilots like Ernst Udet would be rubbish flying a Eurofighter or a Sukhoi. They are all brave and competent w.r.t. the time period. With this analogy, one can also say that drivers of this era would be rubbish in future F1 cars which might drive upside down in a helix shaped circuit?

[Manoah2u]

So really, put fangio in one of today's f1 cars and he'd be nowhere.

That's not a fair assessment of Fangio's skills in his time, it's like saying WW1 pilots like Ernst Udet would be rubbish flying a Eurofighter or a Sukhoi. They are all brave and competent w.r.t. the time period. With this analogy, one can also say that drivers of this era would be rubbish in future F1 cars which might drive upside down in a helix shaped circuit?

actually, it is a fair assessment.
Indeed, WW1 pilots would be absolute rubbish in flying a Eurofighter, Sukhoi, F16, whatever.
They shined in planes like Sopwith Camels, but that's an entire different craft.
Would a man like Ernst Udet be able to learn how to operate? Perhaps, but the lack of technology back in the day compared to now makes all this stuff almost 'alien', which raises the question: wouldn't a modern young gun that grew up in this tech era, and thus is not seeing these things as alien, but simply deals with it, have an advantage over 'previous generations'? you bet.
and that means they will beat them. simple as that.

And yes, drivers of this era are going to be rubbish in future f1 cars. Schumacher of all people struggled in the F1 version after 2009 fcol. Just see any Sky episode where brundle or hill steps into a modern f1 car and they're lost at all the complexity of it all. Hill is a WDC fcol.

[ChrisDanger]

There are some things that cannot be reduced to a few linear equations, no matter how bright the student who formulated them thinks he is. Who posted this research? The Daily Mail or someone? My guess is that no-one involved ever said that the research would give any practical results. It's just someone flexing their mathematical muscles saying "please give me my degree now".