Favorite F1 drivers over the past six decades: Clark, Stewart, Lauda, Prost, Senna, Schumacher, Hamilton. All masters of the craft.
Excellent list, close but not identical to mine. Surprise!
OK, old timer here. A few memories:
I've seen every F1 race from 1966 on, even delayed when I was in 'Nam from mid-'68 until mid-'70.. I attended every F1 race in Europe and the US (missing South Africa and Mexico) in '66, '67, and most of '68. Wanted to get to Kyalami, but couldn't swing it.
I lived a couple miles from Hockenheim racetrack during that period, and that's where I started my own very low level racing in a Renault sedan. The down side of that is that I was in the stands at Hockenheim in '68 when my favorite all-time driver, Jim Clark, was killed.
In 1992, I had the pleasure of flying Lauda Air from Madrid to Vienna with Niki himself in the co-pilot seat. The food and service were incredible! Real crystal and silver. Lauda didn't scrimp.
Favorite drivers: Clark, Graham Hill. Stewart, Phil Hill, Ickx, Gurney, Andretti, Lauda, Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill, Prost, Hakkinen, Vettel, Hamilton.
Favorite team: Lotus.
Favorite tracks: Zandvoort, Watkins Glen, Spa, Laguna Seca, Hockenheim Summit Point (my old home SCCA track).
Not much of a Mansell fan. Couldn't stand Senna as a person, so hard to fully appreciate his talent or root for him.
Horrible tracks: Hungaroring (terminally boring), Monza (absurdly dangerous back then), Nurburgring (a waste of time for amateur drivers, because it was impossible to memorize back then).
IMO, F1 was much better racing without refueling / pit stops, which led to tire changes, which led to the absolutely absurd requirement to use multiple different tires during a race.
Oh, and any city racing is a joke, even Monaco. Though I did enjoy myself driving my FF in two races on the streets of Baltimore a couple of decades ago ... managed to avoid the curbs, fortunately.
