Ranking Niki Lauda's F1 cars!

[Everso Biggyballies]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Agree totally with what @caneparo says.

[XcraigX]

OK. Good discussion points. I have put the 77 Ferarri 312 T2B down into the 5th spot (but still above above the '85 McLaren).

So we now need to decide if the 76 goes above the BT46B Fan car or below it? @caneparo, you didn't have that one in your list. Where do you think it sits?

3rd - 1978 Brabham BT46B (the Fan Car)

Utterly DOMINANT! Scared the rest of the teams so bad it was banned after its first race and first win. But only races once.


4th - 1976 Ferrari 312 T2

The car that almost killed him. Capable of a WDC, but instead they had to settle for WCC.


5th - 1977 Ferrari 312 T2B

WDC number 2

Should the 76 car be in the top 3 or in the #4 spot?

@kals @John @sadsac @DoubleFart @Michkov @PTRacer @Everso Biggyballies @ReneLotus @Cheever@ErwinGreven

[John]

Quit spamming here and update the GTP standings.

Sorry for not posting in this thread, been far to busy with real life lately to be able to spend time with the bigger matters of life such as this.

[XcraigX]

Quit spamming here and update the GTP standings.

Sorry for not posting in this thread, been far to busy with real life lately to be able to spend time with the bigger matters of life such as this.

I was angry about how they took off another 1.2 seconds in Q3 in the switch to the soft tires. This thread was my escape for a second.

See above statement for why I'm posting here instead of working on my "real life".

[PTRACER]

Fan car would have to go below the World Championship winners. It was an innovative idea that made it supremely fast, BUT it was so short lived. The other cars managed to win the championship (or near enough) while being conventional and without being banned after one race.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Fan car would have to go below the World Championship winners. It was an innovative idea that made it supremely fast, BUT it was so short lived. The other cars managed to win the championship (or near enough) while being conventional and without being banned after one race.

Beat me to it.

Oh, and technically it was not banned.... Bernie withdrew it as he knew it was 'outside the spirit', and would end up in a huge cost to all others who would have to play me too and no doubt come out with more refined equivalents. It would have set unnecessary precedents.

But it was just a one off car in all honesty and is not in my mind a real consideration.

[XcraigX]

Fan car would have to go below the World Championship winners. It was an innovative idea that made it supremely fast, BUT it was so short lived. The other cars managed to win the championship (or near enough) while being conventional and without being banned after one race.

Beat me to it.

Oh, and technically it was not banned.... Bernie withdrew it as he knew it was 'outside the spirit', and would end up in a huge cost to all others who would have to play me too and no doubt come out with more refined equivalents. It would have set unnecessary precedents.

But it was just a one off car in all honesty and is not in my mind a real consideration.

I thought of this also. But the fact that this car ran a single race 40 years ago and people are still fascinated with it speaks volumes. It was a great car and a great idea by the great Gordon Murray. It put a permanent mark on F1. How many of the cars in this list did the same thing?

I also think that for a car to not only win it's first race, but dominate also should be considered. This car in my mind ranks up there with the championship winners because it was just so good from the start. It may not be the best ever for all the reasons you cite, but definately worthy of a high position.

I think I could maybe go a bit lower, but the comments on the 77 car make me think the BT46B belongs above it.

[PTRACER]

I'm pretty happy with the final rank on the first page.

[Cheeveer]

Me too.

[XcraigX]

I think most are happy with the 1976 Ferrari in 3rd. Which leads us to the top 2 contenders.
I suggested the '75 Ferrari at the #2 spot because he won his first championship in a car (and a team) he helped develop himself. It was quite an achievement, but some of his fortune was down to timid competition and a driver (Lauda) at the height of his powers.

The reasons above are why I moved the '84 McLaren to the top of my list. This was in his last few years as a driver and represented the emerging development of the Porsche TAG engine. The car was very very good and it continued to win into the '85 season.

Current Rank (This post will be updated with the current order)

1st - 1984 McLaren MP4/2

Not at the height of his powers anymore, but still wins the WDC (for the 3rd time). And beat the mighty Alain Prost!


2nd - 1975 Ferrari 312 T

1st WDC. You always remember your first time.

So I've heard from @PTRACER and @Cheeveer . What do the rest of you think about these top 2 cars?

@caneparo @kals @John @sadsac @DoubleFart @Michkov @Everso Biggyballies @ReneLotus @erwin greven

[sadsac]

Agreed the top two

[Antonov]

I can agree to '84 being the best (a monster in race-trim), although over one lap it was by no means a top car.

[Michkov]

I can agree to '84 being the best (a monster in race-trim), although over one lap it was by no means a top car.

That was more down to Porsche not building qualy engines. I've never found out who the main driver of this decision was McLaren or Porsche.

[caneparo]

Agreed the top two

Agreed. The tag/porsche engine was too strong that year

[XcraigX]

Thanks for all the great debate on this list! I enjoyed the cussin' and discussin' bit. While not sure if we all absolutely agree with every spot, this order feels about right and would be close enough to my ideal list.

Final Rank (This post has been discussed and we have settled on the order below)

1st - 1984 McLaren MP4/2

Not at the height of his powers anymore, but still wins the WDC (for the 3rd time). And beat the mighty Alain Prost!


2nd - 1975 Ferrari 312 T

1st WDC. You always remember your first time.


3rd - 1976 Ferrari 312 T2

The car that almost killed him. Capable of a WDC, but instead they had to settle for WCC.


4th - 1978 Brabham BT46B (the Fan Car)

Utterly DOMINANT! Scared the rest of the teams so bad it was banned after its first race and first win. But only races once.



5th - 1977 Ferrari 312 T2B

WDC number 2


6th - 1985 McLaren MP4/2B

Bad luck or driver favorites? Prost wins the WDC with it. Niki struggled.


7th - 1974 Ferrari 312B3-74

Vastly improved thanks to Niki's inputs.


8th - 1982 McLaren MP4/1B

2 wins and a podium for Niki. Proves out the carbon fiber chassis. A car ahead of its time.


9th - 1978 Brabham BT46

A win to defend the title and a couple podiums. Not nearly enough.


10th - 1978 Brabham BT45C

Mediocre at best


11th - 1983 McLaren MP4-1C/E

Tired of retiring


12th - 1973 BRM 160C/D/E

Great chasis. Shit engine (according to Niki)


13th - 1971 March 711

Peterson has some luck in it. Niki does not.


14th - 1979 Brabham 48

Wins one non-championship race. Barely finishes 2 in the entire season. Retires from everything else.


15th - 1972 March 721

It was a stinker!


I really appreciate all your inputs and thoughts behind the posts. I look forward to the next great debate!

Anyone up for working through a different driver (Schumacher? Prost? Andretti?)?

[PTRACER]

If anyone would like to write a very short paragraph for each car and Lauda's success in each one, I will submit it as an article on the main site.

Final Rank (This post has been discussed and we have settled on the order below)

1st - 1984 McLaren MP4/2

Not at the height of his powers anymore, but still wins the WDC (for the 3rd time). And beat the mighty Alain Prost!


2nd - 1975 Ferrari 312 T

1st WDC. You always remember your first time.


3rd - 1976 Ferrari 312 T2

The car that almost killed him. Capable of a WDC, but instead they had to settle for WCC.


4th - 1978 Brabham BT46B (the Fan Car)

Utterly DOMINANT! Scared the rest of the teams so bad it was banned after its first race and first win. But only races once.



5th - 1977 Ferrari 312 T2B

WDC number 2


6th - 1985 McLaren MP4/2B

Bad luck or driver favorites? Prost wins the WDC with it. Niki struggled.


7th - 1974 Ferrari 312B3-74

Vastly improved thanks to Niki's inputs.


8th - 1982 McLaren MP4/1B

2 wins and a podium for Niki. Proves out the carbon fiber chassis. A car ahead of its time.


9th - 1978 Brabham BT46

A win to defend the title and a couple podiums. Not nearly enough.


10th - 1978 Brabham BT45C

Mediocre at best


11th - 1983 McLaren MP4-1C/E

Tired of retiring


12th - 1973 BRM 160C/D/E

Great chasis. Shit engine (according to Niki)


13th - 1971 March 711

Peterson has some luck in it. Niki does not.


14th - 1979 Brabham 48

Wins one non-championship race. Barely finishes 2 in the entire season. Retires from everything else.


15th - 1972 March 721

It was a stinker!