Patrick O’Brien’s Grand Prix Ratings

"He was a mine of accurate information and his book is a respected and valued part of my racing library." ~ Stirling Moss, OBE. *** “Patrick O’Brien’s system is the most objective I’ve seen to date.” ~ Peter Windsor. *** "He probably pushed F1 metrics forward further than anybody else has ever done and his contribution will not be forgotten." ~ PF1 forum. *** "His rating system [...] brought some kind of consistent view of F1 throughout the decades and offered me a lot of insight." ~ PF1 forum.

Friday 28 July 2017

1894-1899 SEASON SUMMARIES NOW AVAILABLE

After 12 years of development and refinement from its 2002 inception, my Rating System is being published. The Patrick O’Brien Grand Prix Rating System is divided into 14 volumes, one for each decade of the pre-Formula One era (1894-1949) and Formula One era (1950-2016). The Formula One era, 1950-2013, was published in 2014. The Explanatory Chapters constitute the 15th volume and was published in December 2016. The thirteenth decade (1894-1899) is now available – see ‘Buy my Rating System’ above or click on the link below:

The fifteenth book contains the 1894-1899 seasons, is 78 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1894-1899/paperback/product-23268007.html

The fourteenth book contains the 1900-1909 seasons, is 148 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1900-1909/paperback/product-23265294.html

The thirteenth book contains the 1910-1919 seasons, is 122 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1910-1919/paperback/product-23256700.html

The twelfth book contains the 1920-1929 seasons, is 188 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1920-1929/paperback/product-23234350.html

The eleventh book contains the 1930-1939 seasons, is 165 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1930-1939/paperback/product-22362853.html

The tenth book contains the 1940-1949 seasons, is 80 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1940-1949/paperback/product-22298647.html

The ninth book contains the 2014-2016 seasons, is 42 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-2014-2016/paperback/product-23180321.html

The eighth book, the Explanatory Chapters 1894-2013, is 186 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-explanatory-chapters-1894-2013/paperback/product-23176833.html

The seventh book contains the 1950-1959 seasons, is 91 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1950-1959/paperback/product-21831132.html

The sixth book contains the 1960-1969 seasons, is 82 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1960-1969/paperback/product-21744857.html

The fifth book contains the 1970-1979 seasons, is 90 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1970-1979/paperback/product-21694328.html

The fourth book contains the 1980-1989 seasons, is 81 pages, soft-cover bound and is available online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1980-1989/paperback/product-21597744.html

The third book contains the 1990-1999 seasons, is 80 pages, soft-cover bound and available online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1990-1999/paperback/product-21570130.html

The second book contains the 2010-2013 seasons, is 50 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-2010-2013/14410768

The first book contains the 2000-2009 seasons, is 80 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-2000-2009/paperback/product-21395285.html

A section entitled ‘Guidelines for interpreting my Rating System’ is included in all books which briefly explains my System.

Each season is in three sections, Package, Driver and Car, with the whole field rated and tabulated, and text discussing mainly the winners and the front-runners. My own illustrations are used, and reflect a spread of competitors for each season.

For those who are interested further, additional explanations can be found here:

http://grandprixratings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/my-rating-system-available-to-buy.html

***

Thursday 27 July 2017

1900-1909 SEASON SUMMARIES NOW AVAILABLE

After 12 years of development and refinement from its 2002 inception, my Rating System is being published. The Patrick O’Brien Grand Prix Rating System is divided into 14 volumes, one for each decade of the pre-Formula One era (1894-1949) and Formula One era (1950-2016). The Formula One era, 1950-2013, was published in 2014. The Explanatory Chapters constitute the 15th volume and was published in December 2016. The twelfth decade (1900-1909) is now available – see ‘Buy my Rating System’ above or click on the link below:

The fourteenth book contains the 1900-1909 seasons, is 148 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1900-1909/paperback/product-23265294.html

The thirteenth book contains the 1910-1919 seasons, is 122 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1910-1919/paperback/product-23256700.html

***

Sunday 16 July 2017

1910-1919 SEASON SUMMARIES NOW AVAILABLE

The thirteenth book contains the 1910-1919 seasons, is 122 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1910-1919/paperback/product-23256700.html

Saturday 15 July 2017

1920-1929 SEASON SUMMARIES NOW AVAILABLE

The twelfth book contains the 1920-1929 seasons, is 188 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1920-1929/paperback/product-23234350.html

The eleventh book contains the 1930-1939 seasons, is 165 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1930-1939/paperback/product-22362853.html

The tenth book contains the 1940-1949 seasons, is 80 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1940-1949/paperback/product-22298647.html

The ninth book contains the 2014-2016 seasons, is 42 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-2014-2016/paperback/product-23180321.html

The eighth book, the Explanatory Chapters 1894-2013, is 186 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-explanatory-chapters-1894-2013/paperback/product-23176833.html

The seventh book contains the 1950-1959 seasons, is 91 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1950-1959/paperback/product-21831132.html

The sixth book contains the 1960-1969 seasons, is 82 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1960-1969/paperback/product-21744857.html

The fifth book contains the 1970-1979 seasons, is 90 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1970-1979/paperback/product-21694328.html

The fourth book contains the 1980-1989 seasons, is 81 pages, soft-cover bound and is available online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1980-1989/paperback/product-21597744.html

The third book contains the 1990-1999 seasons, is 80 pages, soft-cover bound and available online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1990-1999/paperback/product-21570130.html

The second book contains the 2010-2013 seasons, is 50 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-2010-2013/14410768

The first book contains the 2000-2009 seasons, is 80 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-2000-2009/paperback/product-21395285.html

A section entitled ‘Guidelines for interpreting my Rating System’ is included in all books which briefly explains my System.

Each season is in three sections, Package, Driver and Car, with the whole field rated and tabulated, and text discussing mainly the winners and the front-runners. My own illustrations are used, and reflect a spread of competitors for each season.

For those who are interested further, additional explanations can be found here:

http://grandprixratings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/my-rating-system-available-to-buy.html

***

Friday 12 May 2017

2014-2016 SEASON SUMMARIES NOW AVAILABLE

The latest volume of Patrick O'Brien's Grand Prix Rating System is now available: the 2014-2016 Season Summaries:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-2014-2016/paperback/product-23180321.html

The final volume that Patrick completed before his death in March 2017, this brings his Rating System series up to 15 volumes in total:

14 volumes, one for each decade of motor racing 1894-2016, with the last decade divided into two volumes 2010-2013 and 2014-2016. The aim was to combine these shorter volumes into one book when the end of the decade had been reached (2010-2019). In the light of Patrick's untimely death, I will leave the latest seasons as two separate, smaller volumes. These 14 volumes constitute the 'Findings' of his thesis.
1 volume explaining his rating methodology, titled 'Explanatory Chapters'. Published online in December 2016, this volume is formatted as a dissertation: Chapter 1 - Introducing the problem; Chapter 2 - Literature review; Chapter 3 - Methodology, including a step-by-step guide to replicating his ratings in a chapter appendix; Chapter 4 - the Findings (the 14 volumes enumerated above); Chapter 5 - Conclusion, which discusses the replicability of his ratings.

The 2014-2016 Season Summaries is 42 pages, soft-cover bound and available now online here.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-2014-2016/paperback/product-23180321.html

~ Catherine
---

A section entitled ‘Guidelines for interpreting my Rating System’ is included in all books which briefly explains my System.

Each season is in three sections, Package, Driver and Car, with the whole field rated and tabulated, and text discussing mainly the winners and the front-runners. My own illustrations are used, and reflect a spread of competitors for each season.

For those who are interested further, additional explanations can be found here:
http://grandprixratings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/my-rating-system-available-to-buy.html

Sunday 23 April 2017

2017 update - a note about Patrick's 'Explanatory Chapters'

28 July 2017
The 1900s and 1890s volumes are now available online.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1900-1909/paperback/product-23265294.html
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1894-1899/paperback/product-23268007.html

This completes Patrick's Rating System findings: 13 decades of motor racing published over 14 volumes, 1894-2016. The 15th volume in the set is his 'Explanatory Chapters' (thesis). Two forthcoming volumes that he completed are 'Further Analysis' (including his Six Criteria for Driver Dominance) and his 'Season Summary Tables' (appendix). These last two volumes bring his Rating System set up to 17 volumes. They will be released shortly.

Catherine

***
13 July 2017
The 1920s and 1910s volumes are now available online.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1920-1929/paperback/product-23234350.html
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1910-1919/paperback/product-23256700.html
Just two more Season Summaries to go!
Catherine

***
27 June 2017
Working back from 1950, the 1940s and 1930s volumes are available online again.
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1940-1949/paperback/product-22298647.html

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-season-summaries-1930-1939/paperback/product-22362853.html

The 1920s, 1910s, 1900s and 1890s will be available soon.
Catherine

***
12 May 2017
Patrick O’Brien’s Grand Prix Rating System: Explanatory Chapters 1894-2013 is now available.
Paperback, 186 Pages
http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-explanatory-chapters-1894-2013/paperback/product-23176833.html

P.S. The above link has been deleted. 3May22. This volume can be purchased here:

In his (prescient) haste to release in December 2016 his methodology so that others would be able to check his conclusions and continue using his rating system to analyse future racing performance, POB overlooked the original, 2007 title he’d given this work: ‘The Gap’. For the fifth anniversary of his death in 2017, his family decided to re-release this volume under the title he would have wanted. The contents of this volume remain unchanged.

To purchase this new edition, click on link:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-the-gap-explanatory-chapters-1894-2013/paperback/product-kq25n5.html

Catherine

***

Friday 17 March 2017

Patrick O'Brien (1944-2017)

Just to let everyone know that my father Patrick O'Brien died of a heart attack in France this morning.

Will write more later.

Catherine O'Brien in Cambridge, UK.

--

Tuesday 21 March 2017

"... there [is] really no way to overcome the real dilemma of existence, the one of the mortal animal who at the same time is conscious of his mortality. A person spends years coming into his own, developing his talent, his unique gifts, perfecting his discriminations about the world, broadening and sharpening his appetite, learning to bear the disappointments of life, becoming mature, seasoned – finally a unique creature in nature, standing with some dignity and nobility and transcending the animal condition; no longer driven, no longer a complex reflex, not stamped out of any mold. And then the real tragedy [...]: that it takes sixty years of incredible suffering and effort to make such an individual, and then he is good only for dying."

~ Ernest Becker (1973). The denial of death. New York: The Free Press, p. 268.

Thank you for all the comments here and tributes to Patrick on the PlanetF1 forum:
http://forum.planetf1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14138&sid=c78b467f7314bb9885c9e8432e50387e

From the ‘Sad news’ thread of the Planet F1 forum http://forum.planetf1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14138:

Hello everyone, my name is Brendan O’Brien – I’m Patrick’s son.

Our family’s grief since he died on Friday morning has been almost unbearable. I wanted to take the time to post though because, although my dad had many and varied interests and a wide group of friends across the world, F1 was his passion and this forum – and his many virtual friends on it - was an important part of that.

My dad took me to a number of Grands Prix in our native South Africa when I was a kid, showing me around the pits and once - in the early years, must’ve been around the late-70s - putting his hands over my ears when the noise of the cars going by on the straight startled me and made me cry. Despite thoroughly enjoying the experiences, though, I never really picked up his passion for F1 to the same extent. Rather, we had a shared passion for sports cars – his knowledge about their design and history was almost as vast as his knowledge about F1. Some of my happiest memories are of weekends spent with him in the garage at home in Johannesburg helping him to restore his two beloved Alfa Romeo Giulietta Sprint Speciales.

This is difficult to write. I keep cracking up.

He reminded me just a few weeks ago about how I had dragged him, ‘kicking and screaming’ (his words), onto the Planet F1 Forum back in 2011. Being of an earlier generation, and never a man with much patience for computers, it was an initial challenge to get him comfortable with the technicalities of posting and forum usage. I was determined that he should do this though - living in rural France, he needed an outlet for his F1 passion and you, the members of the PF1 Forum, provided that.

Most of you will be aware of the Rating System that he had developed. He achieved so much in life, but the Rating System was really his life’s major work and the culmination of everything he knew about F1. My sister, Catherine, spent countless hours with him over the past 3 or 4 years to help him formalize the work into book form. He really valued the input and knowledge of so many forum members in discussing his work and testing his conclusions. I also know that he regarded and valued a number of forum members as genuine friends, although he never met any of you.

I am struggling to rationalize his death. He was active and fit, and living life as fully and with as much passion as ever. He was only 72, and had so much more to give. The best I can do is that his family and friends were lucky to have had him in their lives for the period that they did. He was the most thoroughly decent and kind man, and his empathy for all living things – whether human, animal or plant – was on an otherworldly level. Everything that is good in me, I learnt from him.

I moved out of home to go to university when I was 18. This was followed by various moves to countries overseas over the years, which meant that we typically only saw each other annually. In May 2016, however, I was able to fly him over from France to my home in Canada for a dream road trip for both of us. I fulfilled a long-held wish a few years ago of becoming a Porsche 911 owner, and my dad came over for a 4-day road trip with 10 Porsche friends of mine through the forested and winding roads of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia. The driving pace was at times spirited, and my dad said he could still hear the wonderful sound of flat 6s echoing in his mind for months after the trip. He seat-hopped from car-to-car through the trip, getting to know the others and sampling different flavours of Porsche. As was Dad’s way, in the short time he knew the others on the trip, he made an impact with his kindness, his humour, and his genuine interest in others’ lives. On the last day of the trip, which fell on his 72nd birthday, he and I peeled off from the group and made a special journey to Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece, Fallingwater, in southern Pennsylvania. One of his other passions (and, in fact, his profession) was architecture, and Fallingwater had been an icon to him since his student days. The in-depth house tour was a spiritual experience for him, and I am grateful we got to do the trip together.

He travelled over to Canada again in September 2016 with my mother to meet his first grandchild, my son, who was born in August. That was the last time I saw him. I had booked for him to come over for another Porsche road trip in May 2017. He was so excited about this and about meeting all of his Porsche friends from last year again.

I’ve written more than intended, and it’s all been done in the midst of a grief I’ve never before experienced and which feels as though it will never end. However, I do want to thank you, his PF1 forum friends, for your engagement with him and for the knowledgeable outlet that you provided. It was important to him and he really appreciated it.

http://forum.planetf1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14138&sid=cf502937eda293a41cf9209d586ce0a8&start=40#p677015

--

He probably pushed F1 metrics forward further than anybody else has ever done and his contribution will not be forgotten.
~ mikeyg123, Fri Mar 17, 2017 3:44 pm, http://forum.planetf1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14138

His rating system was very interesting, it brought some kind of consistent view of F1 throughout the decades and offered me a lot of insight.
~ mds, Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 7:16 am , http://forum.planetf1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14138&start=40

The guy was a statistics machine, very interesting posts.
~ kimilandia, Fri Mar 17, 2017 7:26 pm, http://f1fanatics.forumakers.com/t2121-sad-news

...a most knowledgeable and charming man. I always thought he must be quite mad to be attempting to rate so many era's, drivers etc. something my brain could not even contemplate, definitely a touch of genius in him.
~ bauble, Tues Mar 21, 2017, http://f1fanatics.forumakers.com/t2121-sad-news

He [...] had one of the greatest wealths of Motorsport history of anyone on earth.
~ F1 MERCENARY Fri Mar 17, 2017, http://forum.planetf1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14138&sid=c78b467f7314bb9885c9e8432e50387e

He was a great guy who provided both great analysis and historical insight to this forum and i recommend all new readers to review his body of posts here* for their high signal to noise content.
* http://tinyurl.com/mj2eq2q
~ mas, Mar 27, 2017 12:15 pm, http://forum.planetf1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14138&start=80

He was a mine of accurate information and his book is a respected and valued part of my racing library. Over the years, I have referred to it an awful lot.

~ Stirling Moss, OBE, personal communication, 24 April 2017.

Fantastic information as ever Patrick, and always appreciative of all attempts to look at the facts objectively; I love F1 and several other sports as 'the stopwatch does not lie', but when it's as complicated as F1 it's wonderful your info and breakdown helps analyse what that stopwatch is telling us! Brilliant ;-0)
~ lalaeuro 12 July 2012 at 15:29, http://grandprixratings.blogspot.fr/2012/04/luigi-villoresi.html

The Crankhandle Chronicle - December 2004

Obituary, Crankhandle Chronicle, May 2017

Obituary, Classic Car Africa, June 2017

Fifth Gear, Winter 2017 June
Written by Nick Gouws
Visit ARCSA site on: www.arcsa.co.za

Letters to the Editor, The Crankhandle Chronicle, May 2017, p. 12

Friday 27 January 2017

EXPLANATORY CHAPTERS NOW AVAILABLE

Note May 2022: The link below has been deactivated in order to replace the volume below with a new-cover edition (the content remains the same). Please click on the following link to find the book:

https://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-the-gap-explanatory-chapters-1894-2013/paperback/product-kq25n5.html?page=1&pageSize=4

See the following page for an explanation of the title change:

http://grandprixratings.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-gap.html

---------------------

Having published most of my findings, one volume for each decade (1894-2013), I have now published my thesis explaining my Rating System. Titled 'Explanatory Chapters', this soft-cover 188-page book is available from Lulu.com. Click on the following link for a preview or to buy:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/patrick-obrien/patrick-obriens-grand-prix-rating-system-explanatory-chapters-1894-2013/paperback/product-23045368.html

Patrick O’Brien’s Grand Prix Rating System: Explanatory Chapters 1894-2013
By Patrick O'Brien
Paperback, 188 Pages

The 2013 Formula One season was dominated by the Vettel/ Red Bull-Renault package, which won 13 of the 19 races. Many reckon that Vettel is one of the great drivers. Some however argue that Vettel was fortunate in having the fastest car, the Red Bull-Renault. Just how good was Vettel compared with his peers? This publication compares grand prix and Formula One drivers, cars and packages in simple arithmetic terms. For the first time the driver has been separated from the car and each is expressed as separate performance elements that make up the performance package. Just how much current four-time champion Vettel contributes to the Red Bull-Renault’s recent dominance is explained and quantified. The author’s analysis starts from the first car race in 1894, from Paris to Rouen, and includes over 1,200 grand prix races. The Patrick O’Brien Grand Prix Rating System is divided into 13 volumes, one for each decade since racing’s inception in 1894. This is a fourteenth book, presenting my methodology.

REVIEWS

Review on Planet F1 by pokerman , 26 Jan 2017.
Post subject: Re: Greatest Formula 1 driver, http://forum.planet-f1.com

"...I have to respect the amount of work you put into your system and it seems to be totally without bias which is to be commended."

Review on Planet F1 by Lotus49, 6 Mar 2017.
Post subject: Re: Underdog winners, http://forum.planet-f1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=14081&p=675379&hilit=enjoy#p675379

"... performing in 'two stages' during 2012 makes sense, looking at my race-by-race running average figures. :thumbup: It's an aspect of your ratings I enjoy that you incorporate both car and driver as a package as well as individually. We're usually on the same page, with the odd exception of course, ..."

***

The beauty of his 'Explanatory Chapters' for me is that he (1) corrects some cognitive errors in thinking about Grand Prix racing; (2) digs out abstruse historical facts and uncovers historical patterns; (3) brings alive every single theoretical point with a living example from motor racing (and I'm not even interested in the sport!).
~ Catherine O'Brien

I started by the “end”, as my first book is the “Explanatory Chapters”. Patrick explained perfectly my exact thoughts on all the “greatest ever” or “top xxx drivers” rankings I ever read or heard about - always biased, based on personal opinions or only in pure statistics, etc. Your words on the book says it all. His work is amazing as he is able to 1) detach the personal bias towards a driver/team and to only consider a driver’ pure speed based on track times 2) and the “trick”, as he well explained it, is that one can never rely 100% on raw numbers or statistics. Being able to put this two facts together is astonishing and a work which I never thought someone would be able to produce for Grand Prix racing (I am not only a Grand Prix fan but I am also passionate for statistics). His knowledge is unbelievable.

I am sure that in the near future even more success and recognition on Patrick’s work will come naturally - and from there to publishing in other languages and ebooks it’s just a small step. (myself, I am already a great advertiser of Patrick’s work)

~ Nuno Moreira, 27 April 2017.

http://forum.planet-f1.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15022

Blinky McSquinty

Post subject: Re: Who is the best F1 driver ever?

Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 3:05 am

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2016 12:13 pm
Posts: 1264

I put more stock in Patrick O'Brien's assessments.

http://grandprixratings.blogspot.ca/

I still miss you Patrick, RIP my friend.

_________________
Only dogs, mothers, and quality undergarments give unconditional support.

minchy

Post subject: Re: Who is the best F1 driver ever?

Posted: Sun May 27, 2018 11:35 am

Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2011 1:59 pm
Posts: 5155

Blinky McSquinty wrote:(click to hide)

I put more stock in Patrick O'Brien's assessments.

http://grandprixratings.blogspot.ca/

I still miss you Patrick, RIP my friend.

I was also going to say Patrick's ratings are still the best by far. He worked on his formula for so long, taking driver, car and overall package into account from their entire f1 career.

Always loved his posts and discussions and echo your sentiments.

***

UPDATE:

Note added 3 May 2022: This volume has now been withdrawn and replaced by this one:

http://grandprixratings.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-gap.html

The title has changed (to 'The Gap') but the content remains the same.

Pages

Friday 28 July 2017

Thursday 27 July 2017

Sunday 16 July 2017

Saturday 15 July 2017

Friday 12 May 2017

Sunday 23 April 2017

Friday 17 March 2017

Friday 27 January 2017

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