Britains got talent

[andre]

Why is it that Great Britain has produced the most F1 world champions in the last 30 odd years ?
Mansell,Hamilton,Stewart,Hill,Hunt.........
And now quite possibly you can put Button on that list !
Does this mean the British are the best drivers ?
If so , who is the best of British ?
For me , i would give that accolade to Hamilton .

[CNR]

it all come down to money and sponsorship and suport to get in to the sport
and 4 wheels

[Ranger]

The proximity and degree of motorsports exposure to potential British drivers is enormous (given that its the biggest motorsports industry in the world), and it's my opinion that a career in F1 is simply much more faesible for Brits than anyone else in the world due to this fact.

[Garry Walker]

And now quite possibly you can put Button on that list !

If so , who is the best of British ?
For me , i would give that accolade to Hamilton .

:rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao:

[EuroTroll]

I think it's got a lot to do with heritage.. A known phenomenon in all sports (and life, in general) is that success breeds success. And then there's the established "infrastructure" for producing new stars.

As to who was/is the best Briton.. I think there's one driver who's head and shoulders above every other British champion and that's Jim Clark. That man is a serious contender for the title "the best F1 driver ever". I'd vote for him. ;)

[F1boat]

As Nigel Mansell won the first F1 race I have ever watched, I'll show my bias and will say that Mansell is the best British driver ever!

[Hawkmoon]

Hamilton shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Stirling Moss. He's got a long way to go before he even enters the discussion of best British driver ever.

[UltimateDanGTR]

Its interesting how us brits have been at the forefront of the sport for so long.

Most seasons up until recently Britain has had more constructors/teams han anyone else, the british have had more drivers champions, (9 different and 16 titles to a brit), More constructors champions (I think its 33), more british drivers etc etc. so you could say that the British have contributed a whole lot to motorsport, we are in motorsport what brazil are in football.

but thats because of the heritage of motorsport and sheer infrastructure we have, which makes it easier for a british driver to get to F1 if they're good enough. Thats why alot of foreigners enter things like British F3 as well, because they're gonna get a better name in britain than they are if they race in their own country if they come from outside europe. and europe is very much the epicentre of circuit racing motorsport, and with britain having so much success people look to our championships for the next star, who can move up to pan-continent things like GP2, euro F3 etc.

Ofcourse other european countries like Germany, France, Italy etc contribute alot to the european and world stage. so alot of non european drivers from asia or brazil or wherever come over to europe and britain if they want to get into F1 because thats almost the centre of everything. I dont know why europe is the epicentre and not say south america or wherever, thats just the way it is.

and ofcourse the fan base and interest in motorsport is massive in britain, we are more interested in F1 etc and so more drivers come out of britain because of the interest. Brits are the very good at F1 because we love it, much like aussies are great at rugby and what you call 'football' because thats what you love, and americans are the best at basketball etc, ebcause thats what you love

as a whole, our love for motorsport and our heritage has created such an infrastructure which in turn has produced more.

as for whos the best brit, you cant really compare drivers from different eras in my view. I would say Hamilton in later years, but stewart in his era etc. its all about opinion.

ofcourse our golden era was the 60s when british drivers dominated was the 60s, when british drivers won about 6 championships in that decade and a simular amount of constructors. I think there was even one year were all world championship grands prix were won by british drivers (68 i think)

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Britain has always had a history of technological innovation. But as the manufacturing industry is dead in Britain, skilled British engineers have two options - BAE or motorsport.

[markabilly]

Hamilton shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Stirling Moss. He's got a long way to go before he even enters the discussion of best British driver ever.

The best Brit?
Clearly Clark, even in the master thesis of a german


I found this while googling away:
http://david.stadelmann-online.com/pdf/0015_formula1.pdf

it is a econometric study of who was the best based on a system of measuring results in different areas

Ascari and Fangio took top posts for wins compared to races and poles over races, while Clark and Schumacher were close behind, along with some other stats and observations
Button is no where close to being the wdc yet, and here everyone is trying to put him in the company of Clark Stewart and Moss.....

and please, the Ham does not belong there, for sure.

[jens]

As mentioned here, heritage plays a vital role.

Interestingly in the 30's UK wasn't anything special in GP racing - Italy, France and Germany were the major forces. But in 50's the situation started to change - we saw less and less so-called factory teams in F1 from the aforementioned countries (only Ferrari remained). Private British teams started to replace them and have pretty much remained as major forces by now. Also with the British teams came the new tendency not to build the engines on your own, but buy from a specialized company (Climax, etc). Also the level and quality of lower series has been very high. British F3 has been a major feeder series for decades by now. UK has influenced the history of F1 far more than anyone else. The main question is - why? :p : What stimulated British racing industry to get way ahead of everyone else? The vast majority of teams in F1 have raced under Union Jack.

[airshifter]

With the heritage of the Brits in the past, and so many teams based there, it really isn't surprising at all. It wouldn't be much more different than saying that the US has had more NASCAR champions.

Hamilton blew his first chance at WDC, but rightly earned the title last year. Button is driving better than I expected this year. But only if they prove themselves for many more seasons will they earn the respect of being classed with those that came before them.

[RJL25]

Most F1 teams operate out of Brittain, 2 of the most respected junior catagories in europe are brittish, ie brittish formula ford and brittish formula 3, and most sponsors in F1 have a heavy brittish presence.

It really is quite obvious, Brittain doesn't necessarily have the most talented drivers compared to other countries, Brittish drivers just have far greater opportunites then a lot of other nations, Australia and New Zealand for example, those drivers have very limited opportunities to make it happen in europe.

[ShiftingGears]

If so , who is the best of British ?
For me , i would give that accolade to Hamilton .

No way.

Jim Clark, no contest.