Wow, I don't want to take anything away from Schuie but I'm surprised this is even a debate. I know his stats are overwhelming but I don't think I would put Schumacher in the Top five greatest F1 drivers. Look at it this way (if there are any fans out there who follow Nascar)- hardly anyone disputes the fact that Dale Earnhardt was the greatest Nascar driver in the history of the sport. Several other people consider Junior Johnson the greatest, and Gordon is starting to get his own following. I think a representative study would find these three drivers as easily the Top three, with Earnhardt an overwhelming #1. Would anybody consider Richard Petty #1? Even though the man has twice as many wins as any other Nascar driver? Petty couldn't even compete in the sport by the time the late 80's came around, and it wasn't just because of age as Harry Gant was winning races and beating the pants off of him. Petty won all his races in a noncompetitive era where he had superior equipment and only two to three people had a legitimate chance to win a race. Earnhardt won his races in an era where 15-18 drivers had a legitimate chance to win in any given race, and he also won championships in years where other manufactures won the manufacturers championships. He could take inferior equipment and consistently beat the pants off of you.
Schumacher has been impressive when he has been in a car that wasn't the best on the track. He has had moderate success, but c'mon- you think he was better than Senna? Did you ever see Senna in the Tolman? Or the Lotus? F1 will never have a talent like that again. The overall talent and competition level in that series has regressed dramatically, and the races are getting to where that flat out suck. On top of that, tech is so much more a premium now than when it was when Senna was driving.
Schumacher's well documented team orders is the greatest kick of all- why doesn't he just beat his teammate if he is the greatest of all time? Why does he need the handicap every race? I'll tell you how he can convince me he is a great driver. He doesn't even have to go to an inferior team or manufacturer. I would just like for him, for just one season, to trade cars with Barrichello just before the start of every G.P. I'd bet my wife and kids we'd have a new world champion - Jason D - USA

The two cannot be compared. although I'm a Schumacher fan, and never saw Senna race, it will not be fair to compare them. Both have different quality, and with the difference in the rules and development - whoever favors these developments, or whoever is better in coping with these factors will never be known. And maybe Schumi have done nasty things before, but he grew up and is he still doing it? it won't be fair to call him a cheater for he has changed. Everbody makes mistakes, that's just the nature of humans. what is good is that Formula 1 helped us, and helped the racers to be better. that's supposed to be what Formula 1 is. It is not who the best is, it is who became better because of it. and who learned from it - Allan - Philippines

Compared to Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher is nothing, maybe he is in present the best driver, but lightyears away from senna, who was in my opinion the best driver ever has been out there, godlike, perfect in all categories... Ufuk - Germany

NO SE PUEDE COMPARAR EL MANEJO DE SENNA CON EL ALEMAN AYRTON ERA PARTE DEL AUTO SALIA DE COSTADO MANEJABA COMO LE GUSTA AL QUE ALGUNA VES PILOTIO UN AUTO DE CARRERA Y NO SE LO MANEJA NADIE AL AUTO COMO AL ALEMAN CON LOS CONTROLES DE TRAC CION SE MANEJABA SIN AYUDA AYRTON CORRIO CONTRA GRANDES - Omar - Argentina

I rate Senna higher than Schumacher!!! Senna is the best F1 driver of all time!!!
Schumacher is good driver, but it's just good... SENNA THE BEST!!! - Dani N - Portugal

Many people judge class of a driver by his total career achievements. In this classification Schumacher gathered more points, wins, etc. than Ayrton. But Senna simply hasn't been given a chance to compete further due to his tragic death. For me Senna was the best and far better of the two: On the race track he was faster, remarkable, unforgettable. As many of You mentioned, he had to battle with top-class drivers- Schumi wins easily but nobody really pushes him. Senna won thanks to his own racing skills vs. not rarely team orders helped Schumi in it. Moreover Michael started his F1-dream with quite good car, didn't have to spend years in worse teams as Senna did. When finally he got competitive car, he won championships:)
Outside the race-track, as a human being Senna had sensitive, human nature. In this field I rate Senna vs. Schumi like 100:1. I can't imagine Senna would have driven a GP after anybody of his closest family had died- Schumi felt comfortable racing just after his mom was gone:(... and one million other examples differing them.
Besides, in 1994 Senna was under pressure from Schumi, the whole Williams team was under a pressure from Benetton. Schumi's team didn't play fair- was using some illegible materials in their cars (what was revealed at the end of the season). So in my subjective opinion... this Schumi's pressure, not coming from fair competition, on Ayrton and Williams Crew .. caused an error of Williams' mechanics that resulted in fatal accident:(
So, Schumi in my view is indirectly responsible that Ayrton is not anymore with us:( That's why I don't like the guy called Schumi and still am a great Senna Fan - Voy - Poland

Ayrton Senna seems to have had a complete personality in terms of driving ability, and carisma off the track. He had greater competition "behind" him on the track than MS has ever had. He had a more intelligent approach and understanding of life in and out of his car, and Schumacher learnt a great deal from Senna in his earlier years in F1.
I believe 1994 would have been his fourth title, but fate dealt its hand. Michael is a worthy champion in his own right, and Ayrton would have acknowledged this during his time. In the end they both gave the sport all they could, and the fact that this debate is occurring would not please either party anyway. All people are individuals, and making comparisons is slightly a bad comparison in its own right.
Ayrton had achieved all that was possible in his life and his memory is the greatest tribute we can give - M Di S - Australia

As other people have mentioned, Senna won his titles against other great champions. Schumacher has not had a lot in the way of competition. I don't believe that Schumi would have won in '94 if the circumstances had been different and I believe that Michael himself admits that. We still miss you Aryton - Wendy L - Australia

Ayrton Senna da Silva, the best of the best of all times. The percentual should be "I rate Senna higher than Schumacher" 97% verus 0.1% and other percentual to the rest.
Senna: simply the best - Thiago S. A. - São Paulo - Brasil

Comeón people Senna are the greatest driver simply because Schumi is a cheater!. Schumi can win how many GP he wants but he will NEVER be as good as Senna.
Senna we miss you!! Senna Fan - Sweden

I think that both are outstanding drivers of two generations......
Senna was in the high time of his career when Shumi was just starting..... they are both great hero's but only one is a legend..... Andrés B-E - USA

Senna will ALWAYS be NO 1. They can not be compared as there is only Schuey at the moment - no other driver is or has been competitive in the last 10 years - during Senna's top days there were many - Prost, Mansel, Rosberg etc to name a few. Also many changes have been made - mainly to help Schuey.
Turbo days were the best - unreliable, hard to handle - gear changes, no traction control - made for thrilling racing - the drivers were more gutsy - overtaking was the norm.
These days penalties are the norm. Senna will always be NO 1 - even if Schuey wins another 10 championships - Marlene - Australia

Comeón people Senna are the greatest driver simply because Schumi is a cheater!. Schumi can win how many GP he wants but he will NEVER be as good as Senna.
Senna we miss you!! Senna Fan - Sweden

Schummy is really a great driver. After all, he won six world titles and has beaten each different record. However, Senna was faster than Schumacher. The major difference is that the German driver does not have an exceptional driver to compete against. Senna had to beat Prost to become a world champion and that was not an easy task...
If Prost (the third place driver of all times, in my opinion, after Senna and Schumacher) had not existed, Senna would have certainly won the 1989 and 1993 championships (he was second in both, behind Prost), and would have died as a five times world champion (try to imagine how many pole positions and victories he would have taken if there was no Prost...).
Schummy's career is very impressive, but for me Senna is the best F1 driver ever existed. This is an interesting link: http://autosport.net/items/senna/other/senna-vs-schumi.htm - Fernando C - Brazil

Statistics alone will never tell the true story. You have to analyse them in further detail. You also have to look at circumstances in which people achieve.
A lot of Schumi's wins don't count for me, because the circumstances were disgraceful. It is disgraceful that when people compete for a position, one must be favoured and that favouritism covered under the terms "team effort" etc. The ability of those who compete should be the sole factor of differentiation, all else must be equal.
Schumi has been greatly assisted to achieve what he has. Senna achieved his greatness by himself. I have no admiration for his titles and his victories.
Senna's knowledge of cars and mechanics can best be summed up by an occurrence during testing (cannot remember race). He drove his test car flat out during testing and returned it to the mechanics stating that something was wrong with the car. The engineers ran tests on the computers and found nothing wrong. They gave him back the car. He went for another session and returned stating that there was still something wrong with the car. Again it was tested and again no error was found. Senna refused their findings and insisted the car be checked properly. The car was stripped down and low and behold. A hairline crack was discovered somewhere on the engine.
Well this might not advance why he was a great driver, but to me he was an all rounder. Driving, charisma, controversy, greatness. Senna had it all.
SENNA was and is the GREATEST. He was Formula 1. RIP - D Fortuin - South Africa

Senna is the best ever, here's why:
Back in the time F1 cars were turbochaged, the weren't as reliable as nowadays. It was a good thing (or a lucky thing) if you went across the finish line. Before, F1 cars were very difficult to drive, electronic devices are far better nowadays, safety also have a lot to do with it, before, drivers had to retire at early ages, while now it seems that Michael is going to drive forever, of course it isn't a risky business anymore. and to finalize my statement, Schumi never faced real drivers (with the possible exception of Hakkinen) while Senna beat, lost and competed against the best all-time drives (Niki Lauda, Michele Alboreto, Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Riccardo Patrese, Nigel Mansell and Gerhard Berger), there are more than 10 world championships within that list, how many world champions drivers have Schumi faced during his 12 year career, taking Senna out: only two ( Mika Hakkinen and Jacques Villeneuve) that's only 3 - Rafael G - Venezuela

No doubt... Senna was the best of all time... Gustavo - Brazil

Well, today it's a certainly difficult time to discuss the subject. Schumacher has the mind, the precision, he is a Swiss watch. He is stronger technically and mentally superior than every driver today. His victories are unquestionable (most of them .. hehe), and his singular technic and driving stile made him the best driver for a team to employ.
Then Schummy just walked through the park. That what are his numbers all about. Precisely, they are all what he has. Numbers. Because no one is as good as he is also, off course. I don't think we have to like one OR another. They are both exceptional. But::: It's unquestionable that Schumacher never did the kind of things that Senna did a several times in a race. In pressure, Schumacher failed many times just because of that. Senna was more complete, and I mean his attitude. That's what lacks in Schumacher. In rain, Senna was the greatest in history. In speed, too. In poles versus time raced (because that's the only base of comparison that we can really believe and use) the first one. And he drove against one of the top drivers in history by themselves (not only world champions as many here said). Senna drove against Alain Prost in the same super McLaren. They were both super drivers. Today Michael drives with Rubens Barrichello, a good driver but an excellent second driver. In other category, Senna won a race of British Formula 3 without brakes. He won the Brazilian GP at home with just two gears against the immortal Williams of Ricardo Patrese AND Nigel Mansell. He won six times Monaco GP in 10 GPs raced (it would be seven if Jean Jacques Balestre didn't have stoped the race when he and his yellow Tolleman were approaching Prost under an incredible rain). Senna won his first championship in a way Schumacher could never be able to try. To Senna, it was victory or nothing (in a totally clean way), and he died just because of it. Because in the time he had a strange car and a surprising Benetton with Michael Schumacher. The car (Williams) was good, but he kept having problems with it since the beginning of the season. I bet the biggest frustration of Schumacher is Senna's death. If Senna was alive, today Schumacher would be chasing his fifth championship, at maximum (because he lost to Damon Hill, Villeneuve, and Hakkinen twice), and Senna would be retired with five or six championships (I believe Senna would have won his fourth championship in 1994). And he would have more than 80 pole positions in his back, at least (supposing he would drive more four years at most, and retire with 37 years; or at least almost 70 GPs to fulfil).
Senna and Schumacher are to be posted in a different group, such as Prost, Piquet, Lauda, Fangio, Rosenberg, Villeneuve, Mansell, Hill, ... but even in this group, I put Senna in the top two or three and Schumacher perhaps in the top five or six.
PS: The first time Ayrton Senna drove a formula 1 (a Williams, for coincidence) he broke the circuit record three times in a few more than thirty laps, entering the box to fit his cockpit only once. Did you know that? Billy J - Orlando - Califórnia - USA

No comparison! they are in different times !!! Senna was a greater driver, but so is Michael and he however he continues wining after all.
So... it's un-fair to compare two great drivers - Yuri - USA

You here stories of other drivers who raced with Ayrton it give's you goose bumps. He drove cars with huge HP and no traction. He was a True genius behind the wheel even Prost would say this.
Sheuy is very good , but times are different.
There will only ever be 1 Ayrton Senna, And only 1 Michael Schumacher, Who cares they are & were true RACERS - Scott - Australia

Eduard O - Brasil/USA and Kostas - Greece are right Schumacher sucks and Senna is the best by the simple fact Schumacher has made too many mistakes and should have won MORE than he has already. Plus what's worse he's never had a seriously good rival (other than Hakkinen) Senna had fast competition and often a car which was worse than his rivals, yet he still took 41 wins from 160 gps over 1 victory in 4 gps. Senna drove so fast and hard that in many gps he had trouble getting out of the car.
Don't get me wrong though coz Schumacher has won some amazing races (Spa 95 was brillant from 16th, Spain 96 in the rain, Monaco 97, Sepang 01) But despite this Senna's victories were far more brilliant (Japan 88 started 22nd and still won, Imola 89 beat Prost fairly, Brazil 91 when his gearbox let him down and he finished the race stuck in 6th gear for a whole lap!!, Monaco 92 held off Mansells much faster Williams, Donington 93 if u haven't heard about that race you've not been watching long enough!!) There were many more, I would like to know what you Schumi fans think of that.
Oh yeah also I never remember a team mate of Senna LETTING him win a gp because the team don't want him to lose. Come on who's the daddy?!? - Adam H - England

I believe that Senna and Schumacher are in the same league. The fact that this matter is still a hot topic of debate amongst F1 fans around the globe shows that picking out the best is an impossible task here.
Senna had the speed, wet or dry: his car must have felt as natural to him as his own skin, something which can be said about Michael Schumacher as well. Senna had fabulous intrinsic speed and a drive for winning that has become mythical. Nonetheless, the apparently cooler Schumacher has been driving F1 for over more than a decade and can still bring up the same drive to push to the limits and win. Their outside attitude may differ, but inside, I believe, the motivation for driving and winning is the same.
I cannot break down Senna; no-one can. But I believe Schumacher to be the greatest driver of all times because of his versatile achievements: he has been at the top since he started racing F1, manages to keep on winning after more than 10 years and living under loads of pressure. His switch to Ferrari in 1996 deserves respect: his presence there and the people he brought with him have made Ferrari as good as untouchable for years now. Schumacher is the key here: he keeps these talented Ferrari people together, motivated and willing to beyond limits for him. He knows how to drive a car, make it a winning car and can keep a team motivated like no-one else has done before. The greatest era in the history of Ferrari comes down to the presence of Schumacher.
This is unmatched and makes him stand out, even with respect to Senna. Michael is not only an exceptional driver, he is also the key factor to the genius of Ferrari's F1 cars! - Roeland M - Belgium

Ayrton was the faster, Schumi is the most complete. Imola 94 robbed us of ever finding out anything other than these facts - Cooky - Australia

Senna and Schumacher with the same car (Ferrari for instance) Senna would win the pole-position. The race Senna go first and Schumy after. I think at the end of the race Senna would win with 30 seconds before. (sorry for my poor English) Roberto - São Paulo - Brazil

SCHUMACHER IS THE BEST, KEEP ON WINNING - Anthony - USA

Schumi GOGOGOGO ! The 7th title is coming - Christian - Germany

Senna was an exceptional driver. He was very fast and almost flawless. But look at Schumi 70 race wins, many poles, and 6 world championships compared Unlike any other driver he improved his team. When Schumi joined Ferrari he turned them into an unbelievable team that seems unstoppable. They have like 5 constructor awards with him, and they have exceptional teamwork. He always had a desire to win. No matter how many he wins, and at 34 is still the fittest driver in F1. Schumi all the way - Bharat A - USA

Senna was first of all my friend, we grown up 5 blocks apart from each other...when he was 13 years old I used to help him to take his kart to the road... There will never be another Senna...
Oh..yeah!...about Schumacher...if Senna was alive...Schumacher would eat Senna's dust all the way... No offense, Eduard O - Brasil/USA

They are the two greatest F1drivers. But they are also so different. The biggest difference between them is that AYRTON SENNA was never making mistakes when he was on pressure, while Schumacher does. E.X. In 1988 SENNA had to win the last race of the championship, the Japanese, if he wanted to be a champion. Because of a car's technical problem he started the race 22nd with Prost 1st. ON THE END OF THE RACE WAS FIRST AND WORLD CHAMPION!!! On the other hand, M.S.was in the same position in 1.1994 2.1997 3.2003 1. In the last race of 1994 was in front of Hill for about 4sec. He made a mistake and he was retired! For good luck Hill retired too. 2. Everyone remembered his unprofessional behaviour in the last race of 1997, when he tried to throw out of the track J. Villeneuve. And 3.At Suzuka last year when he crashed with Da Mata and Sato.
"AYRTON SENNA DA SILVA" SIMPLY THE BEST!!! WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOU... Kostas - Greece

MS was caught using traction control in the first 6 races of 94'..... Yet still couldn't out qualify Senna in what I would call as equal cars as you could get without being team mates.
MS will do whatever it takes to win. To name a few: Taking out Hill, Tried taking out Villeneuve the same way, Tells team to make sure Rubens lets him win and then has the hide to lift his hand out as if to say "I am great, I won another GP" Then he changed his attitude when the crowd started booing.
MB know's all to well how bad it is to be his team mate. MS can win another 100 titles BUT in my book he will always be a good driver and NEVER one of the greats - Ayrton

Senna is the greatest driver of the modern era. Behind the wheel of a racing car he exhibited a 'magic' rarely, if ever before seen. There were no cracks in Senna's armour. Schumacher has offered nothing to further the sport. His personality is uninteresting as his wins. I guess you get that with no competition. I assume the only reason Schumacher is hanging on in F1 is to claim Senna's record 65 pole positions. He is selfish in that way, even though Schumacher would never admit it.
SENNA IS SIMPLY THE BEST!!!! - J D - USA

Sincere thanks to Ryan T. for the last mail. You are a scholar and a gentleman. You've been one of the strongest contributors to this thread and I will miss you, even though I disagree with you. I intend to say nothing that will provoke you from self-inflicted retirement on this thread. All the points I have written so far can be used in reply to your last mail, so I won't be writing for long, as I stand by my word and will not waste everybody's time just writing the same things again. There were just a couple of points I had to make, though
- "...Your comment about Patrese is very silly Paul. Very silly..." Well, actually, it was more facetious than silly. Don't give folk the impression that my comment about Patrese in '92 was said for anything other than reinforcement of the quite valid point I was making.
Also: "...Paul, your arguments are full of “IF”s, “Would have”s, “Could have's..." Well, you can't deny that any reasonable discussion that includes the results of Senna's incomplete, interrupted racing career with Schumacher's would be liberally strewn with these phrases. Here's one that I just made up - "IF Schumacher and Hakkinen had been killed in the same race as Senna, then the next best driver WOULD HAVE filled the void left by their absence. In other words, we COULD HAVE ended up talking about 'the great David Coulthard' or 'the Mighty Rubens Barrichello'." That's what Schumacher was, in my opinion - the best of the rest. If he were really as good as you insist when you say "...In the Races that they both finished, AS beat MS 3 times more than MS beat AS. AS was a 3 times Champion in an established team & MS was a novice in a new team..." then he'd have been good enough to have taken every championship from '94 -'03 uninterrupted. And he wouldn't have NEEDED preferential treatment, team orders, over-liberal interpretations of the rules etc.
I have greatly enjoyed debating this with you, Ryan T. Internet threads like this one were made for exactly this sort of exchange. Best regards all - Paul D - Scotland

Just look at what Schumacher has done for the sport and what he has achieved - Dieter Jensch - South Africa

Senna was the greatest with Schumacher racing and racing well, the only comparison we can make is when they raced in the same grand prix... Franky M - Australia

Paul D : The fact that you have taken a bit of trouble to write your last mail deserves some credit. So I thought I will reply, definitely for the last time. (Will continue to read this column, though not on a regular basis)….
I will just touch on a few points because I want to keep this as short as possible…
(1). I do apologize for the wording “Wrong/Manufactured claims” but I will stick to the fact that you were wrong in saying “MS was put into a capable team practically from the start & never left one” (This was probably in your first mail), unless you are saying that any team is a capable team. You tried to explain that comment but only made it worse with the Mega Rich Team story. Apparently, one of these Mega-Rich teams couldn’t afford to pay MS & had to let him go.……
(2). So, Alain Prost was more experienced, had won many Championships etc. & JPM & KR are novices ? VERY TRUE. That’s exactly my answer if someone asked me the same question. You jumped at it thinking I asked the wrong question, didn’t you ? Now go back & read your comparison of AS & MS of ’93 (one year – which in your own words is not a REPRESENTATIVE result) What was MS then ? A veteran ? What was AS ? a novice ? You said “And don’t say that it was because Schumacher was a rookie….” Where’s the consistency in your arguments ? (I will not say that MS is a great driver for beating KR in 2003, instead I give KR credit for pushing MS to the end.)
(3). Of course Paul, I agree that results over one year don’t give a representative result. I have always spoken about consistent performance over a long period of time. The only reason why I brought-up 92 was because, in your own style, you were saying AS got higher numbers in 93! AS got higher numbers in 93!! Although 41 races is a far cry from 160-200, I would consider it for analysis since that’s the max they appeared together. In the Races that they both finished, AS beat MS 3 times more than MS beat AS. AS was a 3 times Champion in an established team & MS was a novice in a new team. Weigh it properly & it will tell you that MS’s performance was at least as good as AS’s. Your comment about Patrese is very silly Paul. Very silly.
(4). Paul, I don’t know about you, but everyone (including Drivers & Teams) need to have some faith in the decision makers of the sport, be it F1 or any other. This doesn’t mean that they are always right, but if they can’t call it right, there’s no way that you could. If all those stories that you pulled-out (I heard most of them at the time) were true, I’m sure Williams, McLaren & Ferrari with their imposing presence would have made sure that Benetton was punished. UNLESS they were up to mischief themselves…. Important question is though, How did MS, from no where - in a new team, be able to dictate terms to the decision makers ??
(5). Paul, your arguments are full of “IF”s, “Would have”s, “Could have's & quite a few coincidences. Benetton would have won anyway (MS was there at the right time), Benetton would have declined anyway (MS left at the right time), Ferrari would have eventually won (but it had to happen after MS joined them). Gees, This MS guy is Clairvoyant! Further, the reliability of the McLaren in 92 was poor (well, I will accept that), the Williams was difficult in the first half of 94 & If not for AS, Lotus would not have won those races from 85 – 87 & so on & on….. I could accept any one of these, may be even 3. But not all of these Paul, no way. Senna was great no doubt & I will respect your opinion that he was better than MS. But I certainly do not agree with your reasons. MS has done quite a few regrettable things which he will carry with him for the rest of his life, but just as a Driver, I think he’s the best…. That’s all from me. Cheers - Ryan T - Sri Lanka