Bernie Ecclestone once snubbed Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna when naming his ‘greatest’ F1 driver

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Bernie Ecclestone has never shied away from giving his opinions on the drivers competing in Formula 1.

The 1958 F1 season saw Bernie Ecclestone attempt to enter two races, but he didn’t qualify in Monaco and withdrew his entry at Silverstone.

Some may have wondered if that would be the end of Ecclestone’s involvement in Formula 1, but how wrong they were.

Ecclestone has spent the last six decades parading the grid, storming up and down the paddock and negotiating many of the deals that have made the sport what it is today.

Liberty Media may currently own Formula 1, but it was Ecclestone who built it into one of the most popular championships on the planet.

In that time, Ecclestone has seen the best and worst drivers take to the grid.

He’s witnessed Luca Badoer fail to score a point in 50 F1 starts, and Philippe Alliot never finish on the lead lap of a Grand Prix.

However, he’s also witnessed greatness, but when it came to who was the very best, he only had one driver in mind.

READ MORE: Bernie Ecclestone made an amazing Gabriel Bortoleto career prediction straight after the Hungarian Grand Prix

Bernie Ecclestone once said Alain Prost was the ‘greatest’ driver ever to race in Formula 1

Ecclestone took part in an interview with Top Gear in 2016 and broached a variety of topics.

Lewis Hamilton was starting his period of domination over the sport, while Max Verstappen had only just made his Red Bull debut.

Asked about the greatest driver he’s seen in Formula 1, Ecclestone said: “It’s hard to say, but if I have to choose over the years, I’d probably say Prost.

“Prost was better than Schumacher or Senna. Michael had a lot going for him: the team, a teammate who worked for him, etc.

“At a certain point, the same thing happened with Senna. However, Prost never had those kinds of privileges. He always had competitors within his own team.

“I think if you said to me who I think has been the greatest driver… I’d say Prost.”

READ MORE: All to know about Alain Prost including Ayrton Senna rivalry and failed F1 team

Bernie Ecclestone names which driver would have won an F1 title without Alain Prost or Ayrton Senna

The end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s were dominated by Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

Prost and Senna won every title between 1985 and 1993, aside from the 1992 season when Nigel Mansell ended their domination.

Mansell believed he would have destroyed Prost in 1993 had he continued racing for Williams, but instead the Frenchman returned for one last season and won his fourth championship as a result.

There were plenty of very talented drivers during that era of Formula 1 who never won a championship.

Stefan Johansson somehow never even won a Grand Prix, while the likes of Thierry Boutsen, Jean Alesi and Riccardo Patrese only ever showed flashes of brilliance without ever mounting a true title challenge.

Ecclestone believed that Gerhard Berger would have been an F1 champion without Senna or Prost, with the Austrian winning 10 races across spells with Ferrari and McLaren.

Prost recently recalled his rivalry with Senna and how no matter how heated it got, the respect between two of the sport’s greatest ever drivers remained.