PICTURES
THE JURY
Frédéric Vasseur
Guenther Steiner
Andrew Shovlin
Ricardo Musconi
Jody Egginton
Jack Aitken
Bernadette Collins
Karun Chandhok
Maurice Hamilton
David Tremayne
Will Buxton
Jennie Gow
Roberto Chinchero
Jonathan Noble
Ronald Vording
Christian Nimmervoll
James Allen
Kevin Turner
Matt Bishop
Andrew Benson
Tom Clarkson
Anthony Peacock
HOW WE DID IT
Each member of our jury was asked to select their 20 quickest (note, not ‘greatest’…) drivers from any point in the history of the F1 world championship, from 1950-2022. Their number one pick was awarded 20 points, number two got 19 points, and so on until 20th on their list received one point. While their exact selections remain anonymous, the collective results form a top 50 ranking.
The driver career statistics and fastest-lap ratio are based on actual number of race starts; pole ratio is taken from all qualifying sessions attempted; and qualifying performance against team-mates is based on times alone, regardless of whether they started the race. Events where drivers had no team-mate were discounted.
50 JENSON BUTTON (Great Britain)
GP starts: 306 (2000-2017)
Outqualified team-mate: 43% (133:176)
Fastest lap ratio: 3% (8)
Pole position ratio: 3% (8)
While not known for his qualifying prowess, Button was able to turn things on when the stars aligned. His 2009 title showed what he was capable of, but arguably even better was his stint at McLaren. Second behind the dominant Sebastian Vettel in 2011 was impressive, and he was untouchable at Spa in 2012. Closer to Lewis Hamilton than many got, proving his critics wrong and increasing his standing among the quickest of the early 2010s.
49 DAMON HILL (Great Britain)
GP starts: 115 (1992-99)
Outqualified team-mate: 49% (59:61)
Fastest lap ratio: 17% (19)
Pole position ratio: 17% (20)
The under-rated (though not by our jury) Hill might have come to F1 relatively late in life, but he took full advantage of his opportunity with Williams. When everything was hooked up, he was hard to beat, being one of the few to say he took the fight to Michael Schumacher. Redemption for their Adelaide run-in came in ’96, while later hurrahs for Arrows (Hungary) and Jordan (Spa) showed his lasting quality.
48 TOM PRYCE (Great Britain)
GP starts: 42 (1974-77)
Outqualified team-mate: 56% (23:18)
Fastest lap ratio: 0% (0)
Pole position ratio: 2% (1)
Pryce spent his all-too-brief career with Shadow, a privateer lacking the might to properly compete at the front. It didn’t stop Pryce from starring, particularly in the wet, and taking a shock pole at Silverstone in 1975. Most tipped him as a future world champion: his dominant win at the Race of Champions in ’75 at Brands Hatch, against a field including Ronnie Peterson, Jacky Ickx and Jody Scheckter, was a sign of what could have been.
47 FRANÇOIS CEVERT (France)
GP starts: 46 (1970-73)
Outqualified team-mate: 18% (9:41)
Fastest lap ratio: 4% (2)
Pole position ratio: 0% (0)
The heir-apparent to Stewart at Tyrrell, Cevert might not have quite matched the pace of his team-mate and great friend for much of their time racing together. But by his final season in 1973, he was a podium regular and shaping up to be a title contender, racing with precision and, importantly, speed. His tragic accident at Watkins Glen meant we never truly got to see just how good he could have been.
46 JACKY ICKX (Belgium)
GP starts: 114 (1967-79)
Outqualified team-mate: 40% (42:63)
Fastest lap ratio: 11% (13)
Pole position ratio: 11% (13)
There was a moment where
