Does Stella have a point, or is there a better case to make? Our writers have their say.<\/p>\n
Read Also:<\/p>\n
Drivers just get better and better \u2013 Ben Vinel<\/p>\n
It is famously impossible to compare Formula 1 drivers from different eras, but it also is rather obvious that they just keep getting better.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the case in most \u2013 if not all \u2013 disciplines, partly thanks to advances in sports science. In track and field, records keep getting broken. High-level association football matches from 30 years ago look ridiculous in comparison to today\u2019s fixtures, in terms of both technique and athleticism.<\/p>\n
Likewise, current F1 drivers simply are more skilled than their forebears. Modern cars are faster and more complicated to operate than ever; physical training is infinitely more demanding than it used to be, with Michael Schumacher<\/a> setting new standards in his days \u2013 no more regular smokers like Keke Rosberg or James Hunt!<\/p>\n 1970 world champion Jochen Rindt was among smokers too<\/p>\n Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch \/ Motorsport Images<\/p>\n Over time, budget mattered less and less when forming an F1 driver line-up, with post-2015 superlicence points requirements eradicating the likelihood of drivers reaching the world championship merely thanks to their financial backing.<\/p>\n And there simply are more talented drivers in junior series, meaning nobody that reaches F1 looks out of place. Nowadays\u2019 super-tight results are evidence of that.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s just remember that in the 1990s \u2013 not so long ago, or that\u2019s what it feels like for some of us \u2013 it was not uncommon for Riccardo Patrese to be outqualified by Williams<\/a> team-mate Nigel Mansell by one if not two seconds, with the likes of Heinz-Harald Frentzen<\/a> and Eddie Irvine<\/a> similarly struggling against Jacques Villeneuve<\/a> and Michael Schumacher.<\/p>\n All three were multiple grand prix winners; Frentzen and Irvine even contended for the title in 1999.<\/p>\n Nowadays, the gap between team-mates in qualifying almost never exceeds six tenths (well, except at Red Bull). That\u2019s how good everyone is.<\/p>\n Then again, that\u2019s not to say a Franco Colapinto<\/a> would have lapped Juan Manuel Fangio in his time. That\u2019s impossible to claim. But I\u2019ll still argue that a 1950s-spec Fangio would be out of his depth in 2025 Formula 1.<\/p>\n This generation has the potential but 2012 shades it for now \u2013 Haydn Cobb No fewer than six world champions featured on the 2012 grid, plus 2016 victor Nico Rosberg<\/p>\n Photo by: Emily Davenport \/ Motorsport Images<\/p>\n Comparing eras in sport is an impossible task but it doesn\u2019t stop us doing it and provides hours of debate. While Andrea Stella\u2019s comments weren\u2019t meant in the theme of comparing the current crop of F1 drivers to any others in particular, it has got us wondering about where the 2025 grid would shake out against years gone by.<\/p>\n It is definitely fair to say the current F1 grid is the most prepared for the challenges of grand prix racing through the junior single-seater ladder, and the majority have titles and wins to prove their worth when they arrive.<\/p>\n And this year\u2019s grid has three F1 world champions too in Alonso, Hamilton and Verstappen \u2013 with plenty others containing the minerals to become future world champions: Norris, Piastri, Russell, Leclerc, Antonelli and probably one or two more.<\/p>\n That easily tallies up to Stella\u2019s estimation: \u201cThe new generation of drivers, they’re just so good, and now you have seven, eight drivers which are at world championship level. Like I say, I’m not sure this has happened before.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, 2012 had a record six F1 world champions: Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen<\/a>, Jenson Button<\/a> and Sebastian Vettel<\/a> joined Alonso and Hamilton on that star-studded grid. Add to that future world champion Nico Rosberg<\/a>, plus multiple race winners in Mark Webber<\/a>, Felipe Massa<\/a>, Sergio Perez<\/a>, Daniel Ricciardo<\/a>, Heikki Kovalainen<\/a> \u2013 even Pastor Maldonado<\/a> \u2013 and you\u2019ve got a grid packed with talent and success.<\/p>\n So 2012 may edge it, but the potential for 2025 is there: half the grid are grand prix winners already and a handful definitely look set to join that list at some point in the future as a minimum. Can future years break the 2012 record? The potential is there.<\/p>\n Nothing is quite Senna vs Prost – Ed Hardy 1986 world championship contenders Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Nelson PIquet<\/p>\n Photo by: Sutton Images<\/p>\n It can be debated what Andrea Stella exactly meant when he used the term \u201ccompetitiveness\u201d. Did he mean that current drivers are all better than their predecessors, or is the McLaren boss referring more to how close he thinks the 2025 grid is?<\/p>\n That\u2019s an important technicality to consider, as a season could be one of the most competitive in history but still fall short on quality. One could argue that\u2019s been this year\u2019s title fight, because as level-pegging as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have been, neither can be considered the best driver.<\/p>\n Such an honour falls to Max Verstappen, who arguably would have already won the championship had his Red Bull car been as good as McLaren\u2019s since the opener. So F1 may be pretty blessed with its current crop, but there is still one driver who is levels above the rest.<\/p>\n One generation, however, that was just as high on quality as it was with competitiveness was the late 1980s. It already boasts the most legendary rivalry in Ayrton Senna versus Alain Prost, but they weren\u2019t the only stars of the show.<\/p>\n There was also triple world champion Nelson Piquet, plus Nigel Mansell who in another life wouldn\u2019t have waited until 1992 for his crowning moment. Then there\u2019s Gerhard Berger<\/a>, Thierry Boutsen, Michele Alboreto, Riccardo Patrese, Johnny Herbert<\/a> and Jean Alesi<\/a> \u2013 who all won a grand prix.<\/p>\n So the quality was high throughout, but particularly at the front, which featured four drivers \u2013 Senna, Prost, Piquet and Mansell \u2013 that were already F1 greats while still in their prime. Can the same be said about now?<\/p>\n There\u2019s perhaps three current drivers who are certain to go down as legends \u2013 Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso \u2013 but only one is in his prime. I\u2019m struggling to think of a fourth who is certain to join that. Of course some have the potential to do so, but we cannot know for sure, unlike the late \u201880s \u2013 which one could also argue remains the most iconic and popular era in F1 history\u2026<\/p>\n Thanks, Andrea, but 1965 gets my vote \u2013 Stuart Codling Pictured winning at Charade, Jim Clark overwhelmingly dominated the 1965 F1 season<\/p>\n Photo by: David Phipps<\/p>\n It\u2019s fatuous to compare eras but fun nonetheless, so let\u2019s go there. We are indeed fortunate to have a grid in 2025 composed of several world champions, plus a handful who are easily good enough to merit a drivers\u2019 title.<\/p>\n Even those who might not be world-champion-grade megas are quick and competent for the most part.<\/p>\n I like Haydn\u2019s suggestion of 2012 but I\u2019m going to dial back further in time to 1965. Then, as now, there was one driver who was clearly head and shoulders above the best (because, let\u2019s face it: if Max Verstappen had consistently the fastest car in 2025, he would have waltzed away with the title).<\/p>\n In 1965 the peerless Jim Clark won the world championship with three rounds to go, despite absenting himself for the Monaco GP to contest the Indy 500 \u2013 which he won.<\/p>\n Ranged against him was a veritable pantheon of champions past and future, plus several whose talent merited better results in an era in which the pace and reliability of grand prix cars was usually much more greatly differentiated.<\/p>\n Graham Hill, Jack Brabham and John Surtees were those who had already claimed the drivers\u2019 title \u2013 and Surtees, of course, was a serial champ on two wheels. Future three-time champion Jackie Stewart was rookie of the year, third in the standings; Denny Hulme made his grand prix debut in a part-time campaign. Jochen Rindt had his first full year of F1 racing, albeit in a Cooper drifting from competitiveness.<\/p>\n Elsewhere on the grid you would find past and future grand prix winners including the brave and multi-talented Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Pedro Rodriguez, Lorenzo Bandini, Jo Siffert, Innes Ireland and Richie Ginther.<\/p>\n Essaying a part-campaign was a man believed by many to be the finest driver never to win a grand prix: the perennially luckless Chris Amon, of whom it was said (by Mario Andretti) that if he were to take up the undertaking trade, people would stop dying.<\/p>\n Yes, 60 years ago the field was shot through with quality \u2013 it\u2019s just that one driver stood out even among the very best.<\/p>\n We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.<\/p>\n![\"Jochen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/jochen-rindt-smokes-a-cigarett-1.jpg\")
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