So, Senna and Schumacher were the best ever? Not quite, according to Bernie
Former Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has an eye for detail. And good drivers – he won world championships when he owned brabham, after all. Bernie also reckons Alain Prost is the greatest F1 driver of all time, better than both Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. Even Juan Manuel Fangio.
Having built the sport over decades, with his motor racing involvement stretching all the way back to the late forties, the 90-year-old’s opinion carries a great deal of weight.
Once when asked who – Fangio, Senna or Schumacher – was the greatest, his retort was a surprise: “It’s hard to say,” he told Spanish sports daily Marca in a 2016 interview. “But if I had to choose one over the years, I would probably say Prost.”
“He was better than Schumacher or Senna. Michael had a lot of help from the team or teammates, and at some points it was the same with Senna. But Prost never had such privileges. He always had competitors even within his own team,” Ecclestone pointed out.
Bernie however also admitted that Jochen Rindt was his personal favourite. “We were very close, as colleagues and friends,” Bernie conceded. “Jochen is definitely my favourite. But not the best of all time. That’s Prost.”