Ranking Niki Lauda's F1 cars!

Racing events, drivers, cars or anything else from the past.
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Ranking Niki Lauda's F1 cars!

#1

Post by XcraigX »

As a way to keep the memory of Niki Lauda going, let's continue the car debate with a ranking of Niki’s F1 machinery.
Edit: Borrowed some stuff from PTRacer's great thread:
Thread Rules

1. We will discuss the ranking of ONE CAR at a time.
2. Please reply to the newest posts, NOT the older ones.
3. See Post #3 of this thread for the rank. I will continuously edit as the discussion evolves.
4. At the end, we'll discuss all the cars as a group, make sure we're happy and then settle the final order.

The cars on offer in race year order are:

1971 - 1972 March
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1973 BRM
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1974 - 1977 Ferrari
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1978-1979 Brabham
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1982 - 1985 McLaren
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Full size images for reference:
1971 March 711
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1972 March 721 (There are a couple variants of this car, but they seem to be mostly wing and airbox shape differences)
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1973 BRM P160E (and C)
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1974 Ferrari 312B3-74
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1975 Ferrari 312 T
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1976 Ferrari 312 T2
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1977 Ferrari 312 T2B
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1978 Brabham BT45C
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1978 Brabham BT46
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1978 Brabham BT46B (the Fan Car)
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1979 Brabham BT48
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1982 McLaren MP4/1B
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1983 McLaren MP4/1C and MP4/1E
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1984 McLaren MP4/2
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1985 McLaren MP4/2B
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There is a lot here to unpack. And I found it very difficult to find decent photos/outlines of the cars from this era.
Last edited by XcraigX 4 years ago, edited 5 times in total.
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#2

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Judging from comments made byNiki I would say theMarch would be last

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#3

Post by XcraigX »

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

1st - 1984 McLaren MP4/2
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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
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1st WDC. You always remember your first time.


3rd - 1976 Ferrari 312 T2
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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)
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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
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WDC number 2


6th - 1985 McLaren MP4/2B
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Bad luck or driver favorites? Prost wins the WDC with it. Niki struggled.


7th - 1974 Ferrari 312B3-74
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Vastly improved thanks to Niki's inputs.


8th - 1982 McLaren MP4/1B
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2 wins and a podium for Niki. Proves out the carbon fiber chassis. A car ahead of its time.


9th - 1978 Brabham BT46
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A win to defend the title and a couple podiums. Not nearly enough.


10th - 1978 Brabham BT45C
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Mediocre at best


11th - 1983 McLaren MP4-1C/E
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Tired of retiring


12th - 1973 BRM 160C/D/E
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Great chasis. Shit engine (according to Niki)


13th - 1971 March 711
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Peterson has some luck in it. Niki does not.


14th - 1979 Brabham 48
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Wins one non-championship race. Barely finishes 2 in the entire season. Retires from everything else.


15th - 1972 March 721
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It was a stinker!
Last edited by XcraigX 4 years ago, edited 14 times in total.
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#4

Post by XcraigX »

Let's start the discussion at the bottom. What is the worst car in this lot?

My vote is for bottom spot is the 1979 Brabham BT48. It had a horrific record with 11 retirements in 13 races for Niki (and 8 of 12 for Piquet).

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#5

Post by erwin greven »

XcraigX wrote: 4 years ago Let's start the discussion at the bottom. What is the worst car in this lot?

My vote is for bottom spot is the 1979 Brabham BT48. It had a horrific record with 11 retirements in 13 races for Niki (and 8 of 12 for Piquet).

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@XcraigX Let's start with correcting the topic name. It's Niki instead of Nikki.
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#6

Post by XcraigX »

erwin greven wrote: 4 years ago
XcraigX wrote: 4 years ago Let's start the discussion at the bottom. What is the worst car in this lot?

My vote is for bottom spot is the 1979 Brabham BT48. It had a horrific record with 11 retirements in 13 races for Niki (and 8 of 12 for Piquet).

@kals @John @sadsac @Everso Biggyballies @caneparo @DoubleFart @Michkov @PTRacer
@XcraigX Let's start with correcting the topic name. It's Niki instead of Nikki.
I feel a bit foolish on that. Didn’t even notice. :blush:
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#7

Post by Antonov »

XcraigX wrote: 4 years ago Let's start the discussion at the bottom. What is the worst car in this lot?

My vote is for bottom spot is the 1979 Brabham BT48. It had a horrific record with 11 retirements in 13 races for Niki (and 8 of 12 for Piquet).

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Yes. But then again it won the (non-championship) race at Imola.

Sadly I do not know much about the 72 and 73 car, but possibly these could be worse?
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#8

Post by ReneLotus »

It is either going to be the March or that Brabham from '79.
I seem to remember an interview with Niki saying that the March was the worst car he ever drove, but I'm not sure if it was an interview from before 1979.
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#9

Post by Cheeveer »

March 721X was horrible. Should be as low as possible.

The greatest? The fan car, or his championship winning McLaren.
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#10

Post by Michkov »

I need to have a think about this over the week.
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#11

Post by Antonov »

Cheeveer wrote: 4 years ago March 721X was horrible. Should be as low as possible.

The greatest? The fan car, or his championship winning McLaren.
yep. I think we can all agree on that?

should we have the fan car in the list though?
In effect it was a one-off Brabham, the dominant win of which was tolerated for the occasion.
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#12

Post by XcraigX »

Antonov wrote: 4 years ago Yes. But then again it won the (non-championship) race at Imola.

Sadly I do not know much about the 72 and 73 car, but possibly these could be worse?
I missed the fact that it actually won a race. I have to admit that changes my view a bit. I am leaning toward the March as the lowest.

Seems like the rest of the comments are in agreement. So should we put the March 721x in the bottom position?
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#13

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

That would be my choice.

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#14

Post by Antonov »

was the 1973 BRM any good?
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#15

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Antonov wrote: 4 years ago was the 1973 BRM any good?
Great chassis but down on power engine and suffered poor reliability. Lauda himself said he took many of their handling traits and instigated the handling traits of the car to Ferrari for Forghieri to work on for the 75 car. Again Lauda's words taken from a tribute I have seen.

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