Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Greatest Formula 1 Cars 26-30

Today we look at cars 26-30 on our list of Greatest Formula 1 Cars. If you missed any of the previous rankings click the Greatest Cars link at the top of the page.

30. McLaren M23
Years Used: 1973-1978
Wins: 16
Championships: 1974 & 1976 Drivers' & 1974 Constructors'


The McLaren M23 debuted at the 1973 South African Grand Prix at the hands of Denny Hulme who secured a pole position on the car's debut. The race was not as successful as Hulme only finished fifth but the M23 provided some good results through the rest of the year. Hulme picked up the first win for the car during 1973 at the Swedish Grand Prix and just two races later Peter Revson scored another win for the M23 as Hulme finished third to give the car its first ever double podium. Revson picked up one more victory for McLaren in 1973 at the chaotic Canadian Grand Prix. The three wins combined with other strong results throughout the season was enough for McLaren to finish third in the Constructors' standings. For 1974, McLaren hired Emerson Fittipaldi to drive for the team alongside Denny Hulme as they continued using the M23. The season started off strongly for McLaren as Hulme won the first race in Argentina and Fittipaldi won the second race in Brazil. The team only managed two wins for the rest of the season which were both by Fittipaldi. Due to a competitive season this was enough for Fittipaldi to win the Drivers' Championship and McLaren won its first Constructors' Championship in team history. For 1975, Jochen Mass was brought in by McLaren to drive along with Fittipaldi but the team was not able to defend its titles. Despite this, Fittipaldi was able to win two races and Mass scored what would be his only Formula 1 victory in Spain. Fittipaldi was able to use his strong results throughout the year to finish second in the Drivers' Championship behind Niki Lauda and the team still finished third in the Constructors' Title. 1976 was a strong year for McLaren as they brought in James Hunt to replace Emerson Fittipaldi after he left the team. The season did not start off as hoped for the team as Hunt retired from four of the first six races but the two he finished he scored a first and second place finish. During this same stretch, Jochen Mass only managed one podium with a third place finish in South Africa. Hunt rebounded the second half of the year though as he scored points in seven of the last nine races while winning five of them. Hunt also originally won the British Grand Prix as well but was later disqualified. With such a strong second half, Hunt was able to make a comeback and clinch the Drivers' Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix by one point with a third place finish in what would become one of the most historic title deciders in Formula 1 history. Mass was not able to produce as good results which meant the team could only finish second in the Constructors' Championship. McLaren ran the M23 for the first half of 1977 but Hunt and Mass only produced one podium each for the car. The M23 was used in private entries through the 1978 season but with no significant results.

29. Cooper T51
Years Used: 1959-1963
Wins 5
Championships: 1959 Drivers' & Constructors'


The Cooper T51 is one of the most important cars in Formula 1 history as it became the first car to win a championship without its engine in the front of the car. This led Formula 1 to a change as everyone else followed with putting the engine behind the driver. At the first race for the T51 at the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix, Jack Brabham and Stirling Moss finished third to give the car a double podium finish on its debut. The team also scored a double podium in its second race with a second from Brabham and a third place finish by Masten Gregory. After a third place finish in France, Brabham won the next race which was the British Grand Prix while Bruce McLaren brought the T51 to another podium finish in third. After many of the T51 cars retired in Germany, Stirling Moss was able to win the next two races in Portugal and Italy. At the season finale at the United States Grand Prix, Bruce McLaren won his first grand prix in which he would become the youngest grand prix winner at the time excluding the Indianapolis 500. Maurice Trintingnant followed with a second place finish while Jack Brabham pushed his car home to a fourth place finish after running out of fuel to allow him to clinch his first Drivers' Championship. With strong results across the board for the Copper team, they were able to win the Constructors' Championship as well. The car was used for private entries through over the next couple of years through the 1963 season and managed to score some decent results over that time including a second place finish by Olivier Gendebien at the 1960 French Grand Prix.

28. Benetton B195
Years Used: 1995
Wins: 11
Championships: 1995 Drivers' & Constructors'


The Benetton B195 was built as the successor to the B194 which led Michael Schumacher to his first title. The main change in the B195 from the previous year was the change from Ford power to Renault power. This gave Benetton access to the same engine that their main rival Williams was using. On the cars debut at the 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher took victory but was disqualified after the race because his fuel did not match the sample given to the FIA. The victory was later reinstated however. Team mate Johnny Herbert failed to finish the race after a collision with Aguri Suzuki. The next two races did not bring as much success to the Benetton team as Schumacher and Herbert were third and fourth in Argentina and then did not score any points at the San Marino Grand Prix. The team rebounded at the Spanish Grand Prix with Schumacher leading home a 1-2 finish for Benetton and Schumacher took victory again at the next race in Monaco. After just a fifth place for Schumacher in Canada Schumacher was back on top in France. At the British Grand Prix, Schumacher was leading but then collided with Williams driver Damon Hill which put both cars out of the race. This left Johnny Herbert to take his first career victory. Schumacher followed this up with another victory at Germany. After a disappointing race at Hungary, Schumacher came from 16th position on the grid to claim victory in Belgium. Schumacher and Hill once again collided at the next race in Italy and once again this left Johnny Herbert to take his second victory for Benetton. Schumacher could only manage a second at the next race but then won the next three races after that while Herbert scored points in all three. Both cars retired from the last race but Schumacher already had enough points to claim his second straight championship while finished in fourth and the team was able to claim its first and only Constructors' Championship by 25 points over rival Williams.

27. Williams FW07
Years Used: 1979-1982
Wins: 15
Championships: 1980 Drivers' & Constructors', 1981 Constructors', & 1982 Drviers'


The Williams FW07 was the car designed by the Williams team during the ground effects era of Formula 1. The car debuted at the fifth race of the 1979 season and had difficulty finishing races early as both car did not finish the first two races with the FW07. At its third race in Monaco, Alan Jones retired again but Clay Regazzoni in the other Williams finished in second place. After a fourth and a sixth place finish in France, the car went on to win five of the next six races. Regazzoni won the team's first race at the 1979 British Grand Prix after Alan Jones retired from the lead in the other Williams. Jones won the next three races including a 1-2 finish at the German Grand Prix and Jones then won again in Canada. The team ended the year with a double retirement but it was clear Williams had the fastest car the second half of the season. For 1980 Carlos Reutemann was brought into the team to replace Regazzoni. Alan Jones got the season started off right for Williams by winning the first race and then finishing third at the second race. The team's only points over the next two races came from a fifth place by Reutemann but they then rebounded with a second and third place finish at the Belgian Grand Prix. Reutemann followed this up by winning at Monaco while Jones won the two races after that. The team did not win any of the next four races but they still managed six podiums over those races between the two drivers. The season then finished strongly for the team as Jones led Reutemann home for a 1-2 finish in the last two races of the season. The strong results over the year allowed Jones to win the Drivers' Championship while Reutemann finished third and the team took home the Constructors' Championship by almost doubling the points title of second place Ligier. This was the first time that Williams had won both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships. 1981 started off where 1980 finished as the team scored a 1-2 finish at the first two races of the year with one victory for Jones and one victory for Reutemann. After that the team did not enjoy as much success as they had achieved the previous year. Jones and Reutemann each won just one more race during the season as they struggled to get along although with consistent point scoring finishing Reutemann was leading the championship heading into the final race. Reutemann only finished eight at the last race which was not enough for him to win the title but the two drivers had earned enough points throughout the year the claim the Constructors' Championship. The FW07 was used for the last time for the first three races for the 1982 season before being replaced. During those three races the car managed two more second place finishes including one by Keke Rosberg who would go on to win the Drivers' Championship that year.

26. Ferrari 156
Years Used: 1961-1964
Wins: 7
Championships: 1961 Drivers' & Constructors' & 1964 Constructors'


The Ferrari 156 is one of the most recognizable cars in the history of Formula 1. The 156 is also known as sharknose because of the pointed nose at the front of the car. The 156 first competed on the Formula 1 grid in 1961 and at its first race in Monaco the car achieved a second, third, and fourth place finish. After this, the Ferrari team dominated the rest of the 1961 season as it won five of the next six races. The wins were spread out with Phil Hill winning twice, Wolfgang von Trips also winning twice, and Giancarlo Baghetti picking up the final win. This led to Ferrari having a commanding lead in both championships and the Drivers' Championship came down to Phil Hill and von Trips. At the Italian Grand Prix von Trips was tragically killed in a crash which handed the title to Hill. After this Ferrari did not compete in the last race of the year. The following year in 1962 was not as successful for Ferrari. The team did not manage to win a race all season and despite a few podium finishes along the way, the team only finished sixth in the final Constructors' Championship. The team showed up in 1963 with an updated version of the 156 which did not feature the sharknose design. Results were better as John Surtees won the German Grand Prix and had two other podium finishes but the team struggled to finish races and still only finished fourth in the Constructors' Championship. The team had a new chassis for the 1964 season but still ran the 156 on occasion mostly for Lorenzo Bandini. Bandini had some strong results with the car including a win at the Austrian Grand Prix. These strong results Bandini had using the 156 helped Ferrari win the Constructors' Championship for the season.


What is your opinion about these rankings? Do you feel any of these cars should be higher or lower on the list? Please feel free to share your opinion in the comments section below. Also, don't forget to check back on Thursday as we reveal cars 21-25 on the list. 

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