Past Imperfect:So who do you think was best? A book to ponder on the greats of motor sport
THERE'S A book on sale at the moment that no motor sport fan will be able to resist. It's titled The Top 100 F1 Drivers of all Timeand it's by Alan Henry, one of the most senior and respected of motoring writers, who has been writing about F1 for the past 35 years.
Depending on your viewpoint, he's either very brave or very foolish to put his name to such a book, for one thing is certain: to get any two F1 fans to agree on such a list is quite impossible.
Then there's the impossibility of comparing talent from different eras. Just how can you compare Tazio Nuvolari with Michael Schumacher?
Nevertheless, in an age with a fixation for lists, Alan Henry's opinions - and he stresses they are his personal opinions only - are sure to cause disagreement and to get fans compiling their own lists.
Without spoiling the book for anyone, his top five drivers are as follows:
1 Stirling Moss
2 Jim Clarke
3 Aryton Senna
4 Alain Prost
5 Alberto Ascari
I can hear the cries of righteous indignation already. What, no Michael Schumacher? What about Tazio Nuvolari? And where's the great Juan-Manual Fangio? But, really, that's the point.
This is the personal list of a highly respected commentator on F1, but it remains just that, a personal list. You or I would have a different list.
I would have to list in my top five the following:
1 Jim Clarke
2 Juan-Manual Fangio
3 Tazio Nuvolari
4 Alain Prost
5 Ayrton Senna
As one travels down Alan Henry's list, there are plenty more ratings which will cause controversy.
Mika Hakkinen at 10 - too high, or not high enough? Graham Hill down at number 44, but son Damon five places higher at 39? The star-crossed Didier Pironi one place ahead of the great Jacky Ickx?
And what about Lewis Hamilton - star of the 2007 season who ultimately fell short of what he might have achieved - at number 30, ahead of world champions Nigel Mansell, Alan Jones, James Hunt, Phil Hill, Mike Hawthorn and Jody Scheckter?
By now you will have got the idea - no two people are ever going to agree on this list, and that, of course is precisely what makes the exercise so fascinating.
Although it's a short read, Alan Henry's justifications for his choices make fascinating reading and are almost guaranteed to get you reaching for a pen and paper to start your own list.
In reading his book you'll have read 100 short pen-portraits of the greatest stars of motor racing, and got a feel for just what it is that makes a truly great driver, but be warned, even that is controversial.
• The Top 100 F1 Drivers of all Timeby Alan Henry, is published by Icon Books at £14.99 (€18.90)