Top 10 F1 Drivers of the 1990s

so after making that video on the top 10 drivers of the 80s where i committed the cardinal sin of ranking prostate head of cena i decided it was time again to stir the with you lot the 1990s saw some legendary characters enter the fray mixing it up with some of the 80s heroes that we saw earlier so out of all the drivers that took part in the 90s which of them did it the best in this decade and not overall please i don't want to have to explain this again now before we delve into the top 10 let's first have a look at some honorable mentions olivier panis a little too french on some occasions but wicked faster than the legion and pros teams getting a win at monaco after starting 14th johnny herbert did exceptionally well for a guy who was lucky to still have his feet after a crash at bran's hatch in 88 winning a couple of times in his grand prix career including once in a stewart which was one of the strangest races in grand prix history behind harold franson more like heinz harold hopeless for a lot of the 97 season but he still achieved three wins in the 90s which is exactly three more than i have so i'll go myself eddie irvine granted not the best example of a ferrari driver but he did put on some good performances in his time and was in the running for the title back in 1999 against the might of mika hakkanen the formula now is a mess it's just too much nelson pk for dragging the best results out of the machinery he was given marching on from where he was in the 80s and tucky no way because why not and you also had the likes of ricardo betraysie and so on but i couldn't really make an argument for this dude wasn't feeling it alright now we've gone through that band of brothers in the honorable mentions ward let's crack on with the top 10 drivers of the 1990s and we begin with a driver who is more chin than man hurling from scotland david coulthard kicked off his f1 career at the 1994 monaco grand prix replacing the recently departed iot on cena he won his first race a year later at the portuguese grand prix and finished third in the standings that year not too bad in effort and after moving to mclaren in 96 he would continue to make strides which included five grand prix victories although it palled in comparison to what his teammates were producing it was still a decent effort overall especially given the weight of that chin he was forced to lug around but while he wasn't someone known for being the most naturally gifted driver on the grid someone who was typically thrown into that argument was jean lazy a lazy was a hell of a driver in the 90s although he was let down by two factors first was a constant stream of unreliability in whatever machinery he was given secondly and more crucially himself despite this mercurial french attitude he had a racist spirit with indomitable will that saw him put in some heroic performances i suppose it's kind of ironic that he only took one grand prix victory in his career which is about 100 million less than what you would think when you watch him drive that thing ultimately let down by himself on occasions is why he's not further up this list but he is still a well-loved guy in the panic and by fans alike the same is not exactly said for jacques villeneuve because that dude says things although that said he could drive the car pretty well after winning the indycar series and the indy 500 in 1995 frank williams signed him up to compete in the 1996 formula one season for his team being his debut race and about the most unapologetic canadian to ever walk this planet villeneuve took the pole ahead of his heavily favored teammate damon hill which came as a bit of a shock to the formula one world but to him he knew he could take damon taking his first grand prix win at the nurburgring he was kind of in contention for the title that year although when damon was given the boot at the end of the season vielnev became the new number one driver while they brought in friendson to be a slave he won the world championship that year although his win at the nurburgring with three rounds to go would turn out to be his last grand prix victory from there williams lost their dominant streak and his attempt to make bar f1's new world order or whatever the they'll flatten its ass nevertheless it was still an impressive stint in this time and it does warrant some kudos but while he got his last f1 victory in 97 he wasn't the only driver to have done that for the german grand prix that year gerhard berger got his final victory after a fantastic career burger's two teammates throughout the 90s with jean lazy and ayaton sana that's a tough act to follow but he still racked up a handful of victories in his time and drove well right up until the time he retired at the end of 97. now while my personal favourite story is at burger include the time he threw send his briefcase out of a helicopter to see if he could destroy it his driving was a lot better than some may remember it to be although he doesn't quite have the same reputation as the brummie mammoth sacrilege putting mansell this far down the list oh look just please just hear me out for a bit cause there is no denying that mansell was a fast driver when he wasn't at his best when he was though it was nigh on unbeatable the thing that ultimately played against him in this list was that he only took part in the first three years of the 90s full time and that price mullered him in 1990 while striving for ferrari but it was a good time to leave as for the next few years the prancing horse would be turned into dog food he found a home at williams at a time where they brought in the formidable fw14 in 91 a bunch of retirements at the beginning of the year put him on the back foot and his playtime in the sandbox at suzuka gave the title to cena but it was clear that the car was fast all that was needed for him was to not mess up and to have a slave as a teammate the good thing they had betrayed 92 was much more successful as the car was indomitable and mansell drove it beautifully of course immediately after winning the world title he buggered off to the indycar scene coming back sporadically winning his last grand prix at adelaide in 1994 and his time away his seat would be taken up by le professor alain prost no one played the political game better than prost although the skill came at a bit of a cost in the form of his bridges whenever his plane landed in brazil but while he wasn't the most likable dude to ever grace formula one he was a four-time world champion for a reason in 1990 he fought with cena for the title in what was a titanic battle right up until senate ignored his brake pedal at suzuka i mean he did convincingly beat teammate mansell that year but it was far from ideal to be sent sparing toward the wall because someone had a fit over his grid slot 1991 wasn't that much more enjoyable either the car handled like a bus and hate they aren't my words they were his and because ferrari are a famously reasonable bunch they decided to fire him before season's end sending alan into a sabbatical but when mancel left williams at the end of 92 pros took the vacancy and proceeded to win his fourth title following his triumphant return he retired from the sport immediately thereafter giving the number one status at williams to one daymond hill when you're following the legacy of one of the best drivers to come out of the 60s you've got a lot to live up to but after a season of trying to make sense of the failing brabham team he was snapped up by williams for the 93 season from there he would win 21 races for the team and while his first two proper attempts at the title n94 and 95 came up short in 96 he would complete a fairy tale as far as many are concerned but for him his world title would not be coupled with a job as williams decided to give him the old heave hoe heading into 1997 hill eventually found a helmet of all teams arrows arrows were never a race winning team and despite having tom walkenshire involved it wasn't about to start now the car was stupidly unreliable and like downforce which is kind of needed in the sport having said that he almost took this thing to victory at the hungara ring that year only for the twr engineering to remember that it was twi engineering failing on the penultimate lap and handing the victory to the nerve still though a podium and an arrows was still a remarkable effort he would win one more race in 98 before leaving racing in 1999 the year in which mika hakkanen won a second world title trying to determine who the greatest finnish f1 driver of all time is can be a little bit impossible given the talent that's come out of that country but someone who will invariably and quite rightly coming to the equation is hackenan debuting for lotus in 91 there were fears that this talent would not be realised to its full potential as the team had turned into complete garbage as the 80s drew to a close but after mclaren fired michael andretti toward the end of 93 the team from woking signed mika up to race alongside cena he stunned everyone by outqualifying the three-time world champion on his mclaren debut and this convinced them to keep mika on board for the next season from 94 to 97 the mclarens were proved to be decent albeit never able to match the likes of ferrari or williams but come 1998 mclaren rocked up with a car that matched mika's talons and julie took the mp13 to his first world championship title he did it again the following year despite a little bit of bother from eddie irvine his pace was such that michael schumacher would remark that mika was the only driver that he really feared i mean hey of course you would fear a driver who outqualified ayaton cena on debut because after all cena was one of a kind if you were to ask me who the greatest driver of all time is my response would be there is none there are just too many variables in the sport to adjudicate such a thing but if you had asked me who the greatest qualifier of all time is well there's quite a good case going for ayaton his stint in the 80s made him a legend although it was the 90s that made him an immortal you know what i mean his title when in 1990 was a little interesting but he was still on form that season taking ten polls and six victories his third world title the next year was equally as great given how strong the williams pace was starting to get in 92 and 93 the mclaren just wasn't up to par with williams that didn't stop him putting in some herculean performances such as at monaco in 92 or donington park in 93. his death at emily in 94 shocked the motor racing world and reminded us all not only that mode racing is dangerous but that even the best aren't immune from the consequences either had he lived he may very well have won one more title or two in reality we don't know what we do know however is that he left behind a legacy in the sport that few ever could live up to if there was one that could it was the driver that took an ailing team and made it into a powerhouse in the years to come prior to 1991 germany didn't really have a driver in formula one with much in the way of overarching success sure you had the likes of wolfgang von tripps and stefan baloff both of whom were fantastic drivers but never got a chance to fulfill their opportunities with baloff in particular he was the hero of a young german who made his grand prix debut in 91 when michael shimaka took his jordan 191 around the spa frankeljump circuit he was an instant hit in the paddock so much so that by the next round of monza benetton had already signed him up for the remainder of the season and of the next season itself in 1994 he would win his first world title with benetton and his second would come just a year later in 95 he would then be lured over to ferrari taking ross braun with him for the 1996 season and executed a turnaround for the team which would see it dominate in the following decade granted there was some troubled times for michael such as 94 where he ran into damon or in 97 where he ran into vlner or in 1998 where he won the british grand prix in somewhat mischievous circumstances but irrespective what he accomplished and the drives that he put in was nothing short of incredible whether you like him or hate him what he did in the 90s was part of what made him great although remarkably his best was yet to come so go on lynch me in the comments people i'm waiting for my hiding actually to be honest i'd rather you tell me who your top 10 drivers of the 90s were let's all be civil about this please and don't you know kill each other in the comments you all know the drill drop a comment below subscribe to the channel if you're awesome and always remember keep it respectful be wholesome don't be a man and as always i'll see you all later [Music] you

Channel: Josh Revell

Views: 225,941

Keywords: F1, Formula 1, Senna, Ayrton Senna, Schumacher, Michael Schumacher, Hakkinen, Mika Hakkinen, 1990s, F1 1990s

Id: Q4Zf8Ety6J8

Length: 10min 54sec (654 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 13 2021