#NoMatterWhat - Top 5 Ferrari drivers of all time

Scuderia Ferrari has been one of Formula One’s most iconic teams from the earliest days of the sport. Ferrari did not initially exist as its own team, with founder Enzo Ferrari initially supplying engines to the erstwhile Alfa Romeo team in the earliest days of the sport.Some of the sport’s greatest names of all time have been part of the team’s illustrious history, with a few of the earliest F1 champions winning titles driving with the team. Several drivers through the ages have openly acknowledged a desire to race with the Prancing Horse as a matter of prestige – the great Gilles Villeneuve among them.Here's a look at the 5 best drivers to have been part of Ferrari's stable:

#5 Fernando Alonso

The Spaniard's ability to extract the most from his car stood out

2-time world champion Alonso may have had his most successful Formula One days with Renault, but even those who are not fans of the Spaniard acknowledge he changed the face of racing.

World Karting champion at 15, he made his F1 debut at 20 with Minardi, moving to Renault the following year. Only 4 years later, Alonso became the then-youngest ever World Champion. He’d go on to repeat the feat the following year.

After a short, ill-fated stint at McLaren in 2007, Alonso returned to Renault for two years before moving to Scuderia Ferrari in 2010. He may not have won a title with the team - but he was runner-up to the championship 3 times - with two of those extremely closely contested.

In 2010, he finished only four points behind the eventual championship winner, a driver who overtook him for youngest ever World Champion - Sebastian Vettel.

This performance was echoed in 2013, when he finished 3 points behind the German. From 2013 until the 2015 Italian Grand Prix, Alonso also held the record for most championship points in an F1 career.

Widely regarded as one of the ‘Greatest of All Time’, Alonso consistently set records during the majority of his Formula One career - records that would be broken by a future Ferrari driver. He is also the only Spaniard to have ever won a Formula One Grand Prix.

#4 Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda is undoubtedly one of the bravest drivers to have been part of Formula One

His life has been chronicled in film, and he has been regarded as one of the most aggressive drivers of all time. Lauda would go on to win 3 world championships in his 8-year career - the first two of those with Ferrari, in only his 2nd year with the team in 1975.

He won 5 races with 8 podiums in all that year, and the following year missed out on the title by only a single point - this despite that year’s German Grand Prix being the scene of Lauda’s horrendous accident.

At the Nurburgring that year, Lauda had been fastest going into the race - but had repeatedly appealed against the safety arrangements at the circuit, which he had said were sorely lacking.

Most others disagreed with Lauda, and with them unwilling to boycott the race, it went on. Lauda’s Ferrari swerved off the track and crashed into an embankment, bursting into flames. The fire would burn Lauda’s head and scalp, also resulting in lung damage as Lauda inhaled noxious gases from the inferno.

Despite this, Lauda would return to race only 3 Grands Prix later - and Hunt’s own results would see him finish only 1 point ahead to take the championship. English motorsport journalism icon Nigel Roebuck recounted seeing Lauda peel bloodied bandages from his scalp following one race - an insight into just how courageous the Austrian legend was.

Battling through injuries, damaged facial nerves and limited mobility, Lauda raced one of the most consistent years any driver in Formula one has ever seen. He would take the championship mainly for this reason; although Mario Andretti had 4 wins to Lauda’s 3, the Austrian finished every race barring two in the points, of which all but 2 were podiums.

He is another driver considered to be among the greatest of all time. Although he took an early retirement from ‘79 - 82, Lauda came back forcefully to take a third world championship in 1984 before retiring from the sport completely the following year.

He is now non-executive chairman for double world championship-winning Mercedes AMG Petronas.

#3 Gilles Villeneuve

Villeneuve's raw talent saw him rated as one of the fastest F1 drivers ever

His life tragically cut short by a crash, Canadian F1 ace Gilles Villeneuve showed immense talent in the earliest days of his Formula One career. Villeneuve may never have won a championship - but he came to be revered quickly.

Spotted by F1 icon James Hunt, whom he beat in Formula Atlantic, Villeneuve became part of F1 in 1977, and straight away showed a raw talent and an ability to move that few drivers till then had ever exhibited.

The Canadian was known for an unnatural ability to extract the most from his vehicles and tyres, endurance that few others were able to.

In his 3rd year with the Scuderia, after having been able to rein in his aggression, Villeneuve finished in 2nd in the championship behind longtime friend and teammate Jody Scheckter.

Although Villenueve would never come close to the title again, tragically perishing in Qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, he is still considered one of the fastest F1 has seen.

Carrying on his legacy, his son Jacques would win the World Championship in 1997 to become Canada’s only champion, with the F1 circuit in Montreal named for the Senior Villeneuve.

#2 John Surtees

Surtees’ versatility and talent made him a motorsport icon

Few motorsports icons are as ubiquitously legendary as the great John Surtees. The only F1 driver who also had multiple championships in MotoGP, Surtees’ speed could never be doubted - he is still the only driver to have won championships on two wheels and four.

He was MotoGP champion for three straight years - from 1958 to 1960, progressing to Formula One at the end of the year. He struggled in his initial years in the sport, but once he found his wings, Surtees quickly became one of the quickest men on the track.

Moving to the Scuderia in 1964, Surtees took his first F1 win in Germany that year, finishing with 3 podiums in total to conclude the season at 4th in the championships. The following year, he was closely locked in a battle for the championship with two other Britons - reigning champion Jim Clark and future champion Graham Hill.

Surtees finished only 6 of the 10 races that season - but in a demonstration of his absolute skill, ended each of those 6 on the podium. He is currently the oldest surviving Formula One World Champion, and continues to support motorsports from behind the scenes.

Tragically, although Surtees’ son Henry followed his iconic father into motorsport, progressing to Formula Two, the 18-year-old was hit by a wheel from the car of his competitor Jack Clarke, losing consciousness instantly. He would pass away in hospital later that day.

His father instituted an award in his honour the following year, In 2010, the Henry Surtees Award was launched, to be awarded annually for the most outstanding performance by a rising motor racer.

#1 Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is undoubtedly the best Ferrari driver of all time

No surprises for this choice. Schumacher is regarded as the greatest Formula One driver to have ever lived, and his name has been synonymous with the sport for decades.

Reams and reams of print have been dedicated to Schumacher’s iconic aggressive driving, his ability to win races, and his masterful handling of rainy conditions - which would eventually earn him the title Regenmeister.

His records speak for themselves - with a record seven world championships, no driver has so far come close to touching Schumacher’s records.

His records include: most wins in a single season, most wins of all time, most fastest laps of all time, most podium finishes, and most Grand Chelems of all time. A grand chelem occurs when a driver has pole, fastest lap and the race win in a single race - and Schumacher had a staggering 22.

Jim Clark has the second-most of all time - but this number was half of Schumacher’s - at 11.