"Golden Age" of drivers.

[Conceptual]

When I watched the iTV recording of the Italian GP, James Allen (I think it was him) made the comment that we are having a golden age of drivers at the moment, and they are all very young.

Has there ever been a time in F1 history that has seen this before? I know of Senna, Schumacher, Hill and many others. But comparing the combined driver talent of todays grid to any other time seems to be no contest.

Now I have only been watching since 2004, but I have never seen this level reached before.

Does anyone care to comment? Has this happened before?

Thanks!

[nae]

all drivers of all times had the potential to win wdc's and races
other wise they wouldnt have been racing

it is not possible to say that 'the now' is anything historically

and as james allen said it its purely hype

[DaveKillens]

Throughout the history of Formula One, the best (road) racers found their way into F1. Thus, for all times, the best of the best race in this ultimate series.
To paraphrase a quote from Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, the best place to be is "here", the best time to be is "now".
I've been closely following F1 since the late 60's, and the grid has always been stacked with supreme talent.
Please also take into consideration the wide exposure today's drivers get via the media and internet. Fangio was one of the greatest, yet he never was on YouTube

[Conceptual]

all drivers of all times had the potential to win wdc's and races
other wise they wouldnt have been racing

it is not possible to say that 'the now' is anything historically

and as james allen said it its purely hype

I am not saying that potential wasn't there, simply the amount. And I would seriously disagree about "all drivers of all times having the potential to win wdc's". There have been many second drivers in WDC/WCC cars that couldn't even come close to their teammates in terms of ability or results.

And did Allen say that it was "purely hype" in the Italian GP telecast? Because if he did, I missed it entirely.

Does anyone else care to comment? Preferrably with statistics that can be objectively measured instead of this subjectiveness that has been posted already?

Thanks!

[nae]

and as james allen said it its purely hype

to clarify that bit

and as james allen said it

its purely hype

(his job is to add colour to the circus of F1
to get viewers in to advertise at them)



the man talks utter mince all the time

ok so not all drivers are going to win the wdc

but i would revise my statement to at least 1/2 of the
grid could win it if they had the winning car / team

and as there is only 10 teams these days then there are in
fact less drivers


if not more


but that is all getting away from the point i was making, potential
they all have it yet few get to fulfil it.

how many future wdc's on todays grid, check back in 10 years
not as many as you might think yet loads have the ' potential'

hype i tell you pure hype

[WhiteBlue]

to me Alonso is a prooven champion with more WDCs to come
Hamilton in some years will drive with similar experience
Kubica certainly is outstanding
Vettel I'm sure will win WDCs
Massa may or may not win a championship
Kimi probably is game over
Rosberg is an unknown quantity because his car is very inconsistent

in Total it looks a lot better than 2004 but today you do not have to be in a Ferrari and you do not have to beat Schumi to win. so I agree with most of the above. good talent but it may have been there before and just been invisible.

[Conceptual]

to me Alonso is a prooven champion with more WDCs to come
Hamilton in some years will drive with similar experience
Kubica certainly is outstanding
Vettel I'm sure will win WDCs
Massa may or may not win a championship
Kimi probably is game over
Rosberg is an unknown quantity because his car is very inconsistent

in Total it looks a lot better than 2004 but today you do not have to be in a Ferrari and you do not have to beat Schumi to win. so I agree with most of the above. good talent but it may have been there before and just been invisible.

Thanks WhiteBlue,

That is more in line with what I believe as well. We are moving into a time in the F1 regulations that "should" allow for more teams to win instead of just 1 or 2.

I personally don't care who wins, or in what car. I just want to see the fastest cars on Earth bending the laws of physics with pilots that are the supreme summit of all driver talent on this planet.

Hopefully, some day soon, that is what F1 will be!

[modbaraban]

Even though there's some hype in those words, I can agree with that.

The reasoning is simple. It's not just the technology of cars that's being developed over the years, but also the technology of selecting the most talented drivers as well as making the most of their talent. Mistakes in any area of F1 have never been so costly before.

[DaveKillens]

Getting back to the original post, and backing it with hard facts, in my estimate 1967 was the true year of great drivers (and cars). The field in 1967 had Brabahm , Hulme , Gurney, Hill, McLaren, Bonnier, Clark, Stewart, Rindt, Ickx, and others.

[Conceptual]

Even though there's some hype in those words, I can agree with that.

The reasoning is simple. It's not just the technology of cars that's being developed over the years, but also the technology of selecting the most talented drivers as well as making the most of their talent. Mistakes in any area of F1 have never been so costly before.

I coined the phrase "test-tube driver" last year...

It seems that there is at least as much development put into very young drivers as there is into the cars.

There is nothing wrong with that, but I wish that some teams would look for these young prodigies here in the USA. It would be nice to see a US driver on the podium...

And a bit off-topic, but i wonder what Scott Speed thinks about the fact that the car that he would have been driving this year has won a Grand Prix...

[Belatti]

Let´s see:

1981: Carlos Reutemann, Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet, Niguel Mansell, Alain Prost, Gilles Villeneuve, John Watson, Michele Alboreto, Rene Arnoux, Keke Rosberg, Patrick Tambay, Jacques Laffite, Dider Pironi, Riccardo Patrese, Derek Warwick.... amongst other "race winners".

vs

2008: Kubica, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Raikkonen, Coulthard, Trulli, Button, Barrichello, Vettel, Fisichella, Kovalainen...

I don´t know man...

PS: also chek 1982 season...

[donskar]

Getting back to the original post, and backing it with hard facts, in my estimate 1967 was the true year of great drivers (and cars). The field in 1967 had Brabahm , Hulme , Gurney, Hill, McLaren, Bonnier, Clark, Stewart, Rindt, Ickx, and others.

Good one,Dave. I'd only add a mention for Pedro Rodriguez, fast in several types of car. But the big omission in your list is John Surtees - a WDC for Ferrari
and blinding fast on 2 wheels or 4.

One measure of a Golden Age of drivers might be the number of WDCs on any given grid. Anyone have some stats on which years/races had the most WDCs on the starting grid?

[rjsa]

I Might be wrong but the late 80's, with Lauda, Piquet, Mansell & Prost is likelly...

[RH1300S]

I agree with the basic statement that we do have a golden age of drivers. There is real talent through the grid at the moment - even some of those who don't make the "talent" list are still pretty good.

For great drivers being present at the same time and at the peak of their powers and duking it out in good cars - surely the mid/late 1980's with Prost, Senna, Piquet & Mansell.

Otherwise I think we have a field very similar to 1967 - many very good drivers, some at their peak and some yet to become great.

Yes.............I think we are very lucky right now

[Carlos]

Probably 'the golden age of drivers' are those first few years any fan begins to watch F1 with that passion and devotion of a new dedication and for drivers ... the seasons they were winning races.