Schumacher is second to Fangio said Stirling Moss
07-19-2002, 02:22 AM
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Schumacher is second to Fangio said Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Moss claims that no matter how many records Michael Schumacher breaks, he will never be the greatest driver in the history of Formula One.
"For me there is no comparison between Fangio and Schumacher, Fangio stands out as the No. 1 of all time. He had not only a superb natural ability but also tremendous stamina and adaptability. What's more, he was such a gentleman, so ethical in everything he did.”
Sir Stirling recognises that Michael Schumacher is a superb driver of his generation, he still feels that the German has some way to go if he is to reach Fangio’s level.
“Michael is the outstanding driver of today. But I would put Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark closer to Fangio than Schumacher.”
“Michael is still in the ascendancy. He has achieved great success and could go on to achieve an awful lot more”, he said.
“I don't think, though, that five titles now means what it meant in our day. There are twice as many Grand Prix these days than in Fangio's time, so to notch up as many wins as Michael has carries less significance. It was tough in every respect and I think Fangio had to beat a better field. Michael does not have the same quality of competition.”
“Michael also has a tendency to make the occasional mistake. We saw that the other week at the Nurburgring and again in practice at Silverstone. Fangio simply didn't make mistakes. He could maintain his extraordinary pace and position over a race distance without putting a foot wrong.”
Moss admits Schumacher is the greatest driver on the grid at the moment but he believes people will judge Michael on more than his numerous records, which he set on the track.
“That's the biggest difference between Fangio and Michael”, Moss explained. “Fangio had humility right through his career, no matter how many times he won. Fangio was an extraordinary man as well as an extraordinary driver. He was as good out of the car as he was in it. You don't see that in today's drivers.”
“There is no doubt that Michael is going to win a fifth title and could go on to win more. But to my mind Fangio will always be No. 1"
"For me there is no comparison between Fangio and Schumacher, Fangio stands out as the No. 1 of all time. He had not only a superb natural ability but also tremendous stamina and adaptability. What's more, he was such a gentleman, so ethical in everything he did.”
Sir Stirling recognises that Michael Schumacher is a superb driver of his generation, he still feels that the German has some way to go if he is to reach Fangio’s level.
“Michael is the outstanding driver of today. But I would put Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark closer to Fangio than Schumacher.”
“Michael is still in the ascendancy. He has achieved great success and could go on to achieve an awful lot more”, he said.
“I don't think, though, that five titles now means what it meant in our day. There are twice as many Grand Prix these days than in Fangio's time, so to notch up as many wins as Michael has carries less significance. It was tough in every respect and I think Fangio had to beat a better field. Michael does not have the same quality of competition.”
“Michael also has a tendency to make the occasional mistake. We saw that the other week at the Nurburgring and again in practice at Silverstone. Fangio simply didn't make mistakes. He could maintain his extraordinary pace and position over a race distance without putting a foot wrong.”
Moss admits Schumacher is the greatest driver on the grid at the moment but he believes people will judge Michael on more than his numerous records, which he set on the track.
“That's the biggest difference between Fangio and Michael”, Moss explained. “Fangio had humility right through his career, no matter how many times he won. Fangio was an extraordinary man as well as an extraordinary driver. He was as good out of the car as he was in it. You don't see that in today's drivers.”
“There is no doubt that Michael is going to win a fifth title and could go on to win more. But to my mind Fangio will always be No. 1"
07-19-2002, 12:52 PM
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Interesting....
My list goes: Clark, Senna, Stewart, Prost, Fangio, Schumacher
I think that ten years after he's retired Schumacher won't be held in nearly as high as regard as he is today. Although he'll hold every record (although I still think he's about 20 pole positions behind Senna - still doable with the super competitive Ferrari), throughout his career there's always been suspicions about cheating (especially while at Bennetton) plus other controversies which I think will tarnish him in the long term. His moves on Hill and Villenuve were also bad, but to be fair, Prost started that in '89 when he took Senna out, with Senna returning the favor in '90. That's one thing I like about the older drivers, they were much more gentlemanly and sporting. In the old days you couldn't do something like that - someone would get killed.
I will give Schumacher credit for being able to build a team around him that worships him like a god. This is a feat that none of the other drivers were able to acheive. Imagine if Prost had been able to keep Senna out of McLaren. He'd would have won the World Championship in 88, 89 and 91 - and likely won the 90 championship after a good battle with a Ferrari driving Senna. I also like the way he's given everyone the impression he's always won with an inferior car - although only in '94 did the team he was driving for not win the constructor's championship. I think having a relatively crappy second driver is partially responsible for this as well.
Cheers, BT
My list goes: Clark, Senna, Stewart, Prost, Fangio, Schumacher
I think that ten years after he's retired Schumacher won't be held in nearly as high as regard as he is today. Although he'll hold every record (although I still think he's about 20 pole positions behind Senna - still doable with the super competitive Ferrari), throughout his career there's always been suspicions about cheating (especially while at Bennetton) plus other controversies which I think will tarnish him in the long term. His moves on Hill and Villenuve were also bad, but to be fair, Prost started that in '89 when he took Senna out, with Senna returning the favor in '90. That's one thing I like about the older drivers, they were much more gentlemanly and sporting. In the old days you couldn't do something like that - someone would get killed.
I will give Schumacher credit for being able to build a team around him that worships him like a god. This is a feat that none of the other drivers were able to acheive. Imagine if Prost had been able to keep Senna out of McLaren. He'd would have won the World Championship in 88, 89 and 91 - and likely won the 90 championship after a good battle with a Ferrari driving Senna. I also like the way he's given everyone the impression he's always won with an inferior car - although only in '94 did the team he was driving for not win the constructor's championship. I think having a relatively crappy second driver is partially responsible for this as well.
Cheers, BT
