"They have skills that make F1 drivers look like amateurs!" | Why rally drivers are built different

"They have driving skills that make F1 drivers look like amateurs!"
Rally drivers are built different.
David Coulthard remembers his most terrifying driving experience, riding with Kalle Rovanpera and Mika Hakkinen.
LISTEN TO FFS - linktr.ee/ffsshow

[@jkitchen2003]

the best way i’ve seen someone describe it is: f1 has the best racers but rally had the better drivers

[@timmynicolas8729]

How can they be the best racers when there's barely any racing in that series

[@maxb148]

Best racers you mean every other series

[@philh3709]

​@@timmynicolas8729so where are the American F1 world champions then?

[@timmynicolas8729]

@@philh3709 what are even you talking about ?

[@skippyguy3]

​@philh3709 might want to check your history pal. 2 F1 world drivers champions from America. (And no I am not American before you whine). Do better......

[@HubiD]

Walter Roehrl : „The cool drivers have the dead bugs on the side windows”

[@papa_pt]

Tbf Hans Stuck said the same thing in 76 lol

[@desioye7782]

Hahaha. First time hearing this. Good one

[@wyldeyouth]

@@papa_pt never think that a particular saying, whatever it might be, has never been said before.

[@papa_pt]

@@wyldeyouth never said that did I? This one WAS said before, by Stuck. Idk about, nor made any claim about before him.

[@bennyhannover9361]

Michael Schumacher did a 15 Kilometer run with Röhrl and he jumped out like David Coulthard described: You guns are crazy…

[@DatBlueVQ]

F1 drivers have downforce, rally drivers have a large ballast right in the middle of their seat.

[@paulhope3401]

The current rally cars have a bit of downforce too... nothing compared to F1 but more than ever before in rallying.

[@watersnortmoment3734]

@paulhope3401 Rally cars have been producing downforce since Group B.

[@sentriple5120]

@@paulhope3401the joke is the cars arent the most aerodynamic, but they are held down simply because of the weight of their balls to drive like that

[@paulhope3401]

@sentriple5120 Yeah, I do get it but I just wanted to point out that the current WRC cars have more downforce than ever before. Apologies for ignoring your joke. 😊

[@paulhope3401]

@watersnortmoment3734 Yes... but not as much as they do now... or at least as efficiently.

[@donaldfedosiuk1638]

Night racing, in the rain, in snow, in extreme heat, on tarmac, on gravel, on ice, two feet away from 500-ft drops, etc, etc.

[@kurtsudheim825]

That's the setting, you forget it's often on public roads, so you have people, animals etc my favourite crash is in lake Como or somewhere there, there a hairpin turn around a tall building to one side, not even knee high wall to the other with q drop. Guys come flying & smash into a parked car, where were they supposed to go? so it's reactions as well. Fq has had a dragon or umbrella on the track a few times, but nowhere near the same

[@Gabethemosthated]

@FarTooRightgood so it should be easy for you to don then right?

[@pippo9830]

@FarTooRight yes they push on buttons and the car wins alone?? wth are you people on?

[@richhobo1216]

@FarTooRight okay, so you know absolutely nothing about f1. good to know

[@DoubleA115]

Respect to David for telling it as it is.

[@seanoleary2236]

So true pal

[@mr.goodcat582]

Telling what? That’s it’s fking scary to be in the passenger seat?

[@kh7688]

​@@mr.goodcat582That rally drivers are incredibly talented and better drivers overall than F1 drivers. You're not all there, are you? You're in my prayers.

[@Jashtvorak]

⁠@@kh7688 Not necessarily better. They utilise different set of skills to race in rally than the guys in F1 do.

[@DavidBaillie1986]

​@@mr.goodcat582nonce

[@ilkkak3065]

Oh, now I know why Kimi said F1 is like a hobby...

[@timhilton7254]

Agreed... F1 is the hobby that paid him enough to make rally driving his other hobby. Robert Kubica was one of my favorite F1 drivers. He nearly tore his arm off in a rally car.

[@Sertifi]

@@timhilton7254 He only tried rally, he's a motocross guy, and that's his hobby.

[@b5Bart]

​@@Sertifilmfaoo he got the motoxp team in 2022. Hes beein doin rally for ages hes finish

[@ThePaulz80]

Kimi drink and drift at same time. What eh crazy beast he was. 😂

[@mikeneitte212]

​@@ThePaulz80don't forget the boat racing in a gorilla suit 😅😅😅..

[@tp7886]

Not mention the codriver talent and the team they make together. Rally is just an awesome and insane sport.

[@elguapo7970]

Yeah and that co-driver has the biggest balls/most bottle going. To be doing those speeds that close to trees and real dangerous hazards while not even being in control of the car 😳. Some people are just different. They are like the passengers on the isle of man side cars, both things I would never be able to even nearly become.

[@Deltatwo3]

I absolutely agree with you.

[@OmegaF77]

Rally is unique in that both the driver and the spectators are insane.

[@wajdister]

Aggree

[@Azmania3000]

​@@elguapo7970nah I think the co-driver is easy. Just keep looking down at the notes, and yell something at the driver every time your head stops being squeezed against the door

[@deeohen8344]

When the best F1 drivers say, "this shit is nuts" it pretty ends the "who's best" conversations.

[@JwowSaechao]

Yeah i never realized how masterful rally drivers were until i started following it more after F1 drivers says they're on another level and use rally to learn more. Their foot work, steering work, feel for the car and how they make it look so smooth on rough roads convinced me that rally drivers invented physics.

[@fireblow44]

@@JwowSaechao that's a good one they invented physics just so that they could ignore them right after

[@solargmbh649]

@@fireblow44 they left a backdoor in the Sourcecode of the physics open for them

[@declanwells1887]

​@@solargmbh649hope the devs dont find it and patch it.

[@arhagamer2510]

Who is the best f1 driver who said that😂

[@travelwithtony5767]

If you can make a F1 driver shit his pants in the passenger seat of the car you’re driving, you’ve reached the pinnacle of your sport.

[@Kevster-dp7tt]

You've never sat next to my wife when she's driving. Truly terrifying.

[@segitigabiru6625]

😂😂😂😂​@@Kevster-dp7tt

[@bremCZ]

Race of champions has been run 33 times... 27 of those wins are rally drivers.

[@ryanchivwara5013]

Part of the reason for that is because it was originally a rallying competition just for rally drivers. However, they still are very competitive on the tarmac courses

[@rockzs74r]

Well it's mostly done on rally course though with rally car

[@bremCZ]

@@rockzs74r No it isn't. It's done on various courses in various cars.

[@RobManser77]

@@bremCZIt’s not high speed though. F1 and most circuit racing is about managing balance at high speed.

[@bremCZ]

@@RobManser77 So is drag racing...

[@robbanjohansson9078]

They are the best drivers in the world.

[@Proranis]

by far

[@lucignolo8333]

Lmao not even close, take any fast car and see who does a faster lap around any circuit. F1 driver is king

[@smortypot]

@@lucignolo8333driving and racing are not the same at all, I am an F1 fan myself and to try to be blind to the immense talent of rally drivers is just stupid

[@lucignolo8333]

@@smortypot they are incredibly talented but around the track the f1 driver is faster with almost any vehicle

[@smortypot]

@@lucignolo8333 ok? and Rally drivers have a faster time on the track they actually compete on too. That’s a stupid comparison, which literally proves nothing

[@FaintAcrobat]

Kalle Rovanperä is also just 23 years old today and is a double, back-to-back world champion. So he decided this year to share the teams third car with Ogier and drive just some of the races. Dude is 23 and already taking a break because he completed WRC. Amazing driver.

[@B1gLupu]

He seems like he just really loves cars too, considering his "hobby" is drifting professionally. That family is something else.

[@johnforrester8332]

So good to hear this from a former F1 driver. Rally driver's are on another level!

[@DatBlueVQ]

I love listening to Coulthard talk

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

Soothing mild scottish, mannered voice.

[@jamesthecat]

He used to live in Monaco, you know.

[@n0body550]

@@jamesthecatand hit didnt effect his voice what do ever do why mention it?

[@lup1up]

​@n0body550 godzilla had a stroke trying to read this and fucking died

[@n0body550]

@@lup1up 3 letters at the start of a word where wrong because my huge thumbs and you couldn’t decipher it? How dare you call Godzilla stupid, i hope he steps on your home

[@ctf1537]

Rallying the best form of motorsport in the world

[@bedfordtiger]

I'd say "purist" rather than "best". There are more exhilarating motorsports to watch, but in terms of being one with the car, extracting the last millisecond out of any course? Rally drivers are the best, the purist racers.

[@watersnortmoment3734]

Depends, for some, the technology is what makes racing so they watch F1, for others, on track action is more their style so Indycar, and for the final group, some people really enjoy drivers pushing the limits of a car in death defying scenarios.

[@G-force_Motorsport]

@@bedfordtiger "There are more exhilarating motorsports to watch" That may be true, but possibly not be involved in, the feeling of flying a 1100kg lump off the top of a crest is something else ;)

[@cerberus1321]

Road racing on superbikes is on another level to it

[@Thot-Slayer-420]

​@@cerberus1321isle of mans tt is nuts

[@albertmas3752]

I remember 1 GP (long ago so don't remember which and year) where David Coulthard himself arrived too fast at a turn so he did an amazing drift with his car positioning it so perfectly that at half of the turn he was already facing the exit in a perfect straight line.. Sure he lost some tyres that's better than ending out of the track. The most amazing maneuver I've ever seen in my 40 years watching F1. Pure rally move.

[@hexhiaa]

-0.2 tho

[@ssssssss6889]

@@hexhiaa of course but once you are there, I mean already misjudged it , that's the only way out properly or in the gravel..........uhuhuhuhu should I say asphalt run off......

[@PhoebeGrigor]

Kalle posted a KZbin video from it, Mika and David have the best reactions

[@wandaorth6324]

😂😂❤

[@AsthoyAto]

They have off the scale driving skills...., said David Coulthard... Its a simply admired clear explanation from DC...

[@inno-v8-ion165]

Got to say, this helped me give even more respect for Robert Kubica.

[@pen7759]

Kubica one of the best ever, oh sorry how many wins he got?

[@Kwashior]

​@@pen7759 His fans compete with the Hulk fans for biggest consumers of copium annually.

[@didimatjila7463]

Raikkonen also did rally

[@simonvanderheijden432]

Kubica is (or was..) a bit of hit and miss. He was very quick but he also crashed a LOT..

[@brolo7234]

Lots of F1 drivers have tried their hand at Rally. Coulthard is coping.

[@CTcuber4K]

for the record, just because they make f1 drivers look like amateurs it doesn't mean f1 drivers are amateurs, it's just a different skill set. problem is f1 cars have so much downforce that driving on the limit looks like your average trip to the supermarket

[@simonvanderheijden432]

It's all about balls..

[@shawnbrown6047]

Respect for both… very fast speeds on difficult tracks.

[@demonsluger]

No the thing is the place they drive if you drive of the track in f1 you have safety features to stop and preserve you in rally you have trees, rocks or a long way down.

[@therealjimshady100]

​@@jone8626talking like you've ever driven an F1 car.... Amusing

[@Robin-hi8oq]

@@jone8626the G’s don’t make it easy tho lol

[@patrickbuick5459]

I used to volunteer for rally work before I moved. It was crazy stuff. One of my last years, I got to be recovery following the course closing car in a Jeep. He said he kept checking the rear view to see how far back I was, but I was right there the entire time. I wish I had the pics and videos taken when word was spread about a Jeep clearing the course. Of course, now that I am mich older, I know how nuts it was because my Jeep and I weren't equipped for that. They truly are a different breed.

[@craiglee2851]

David was lucky he wasn’t in a Group B rally car from the mid 80,s

[@hillclimbracingfan5821]

Or WRC+ one.

[@andrewpowers2904]

I think you find rally cars are a lot faster today than Group B cars of the mid 80s

[@hillclimbracingfan5821]

@@andrewpowers2904 WRC plus and Rally1 are waaay faster.

[@martynwarry6800]

@@hillclimbracingfan5821 except these days they don't have to drive them through crowds of people.. lol

[@hillclimbracingfan5821]

@@martynwarry6800 Well,there would be just as bad or even worse images if they did.

[@simongb7897]

I can believe it because an F1 circuit is made to be as consistent as possible, these guys do it on every surface, in all weathers.

[@benjaminsagmoe6939]

Both have elite skills... Rally drivers have bigger balls

[@simonvanderheijden432]

Way bigger

[@watersnortmoment3734]

Knowing that you could die with any fuckups definitely requires more balls than padded barriers, I’ll give you that.

[@amjan]

Rally drivers have more skills and highers skills.

[@anthonyduffy6953]

Rally driver balls are so big they generate their own gravity

[@bilbobaggins783]

everyones balls generate their own gravity as any matter generates gravity 🤓

[@haris1321]

Raikonen be like "Hold my icecream !'

[@JakobWierzbowski]

Boah

[@dariuszcurylo]

Kimi was a joke in WRC, Kubica was winning special stages there and even won WRC2 title..

[@OO-dr9wy]

This is why Walter Röhrl is a legend , the goat 🐐.

[@thewhiterabbit7548]

Michèle is above 😜

[@thelonerizla1]

​@@thewhiterabbit7548she certainly made Vatanen eat his words . I mean this respectfully, Ari is one of the greatest .

[@aiwass84]

@@thelonerizla1 according to Vatanen Loeb is the GOAT

[@thelonerizla1]

@aiwass84 can't really argue with that, but I will . While Loeb is 100% the most successful, I still think Toivonen was the greatest.

[@alan_davis]

​@thelonerizla1 Toivonen, McCrae, Loeb, Rohrl, Kankkunen, Makinen, Blomqvist, Sainz, Vatenen, Biasion, Mouton, Mikkola.... all amazing drivers, I am a McCrae fan but Rohrl was special. Toivenen... I wish we could have seen more of him.

[@e1239]

I totally agree, those guys are amazingly talented...

[@MediHusky]

Isle of Man TT bikers: Yea them rally drivers are pretty good.

[@MediHusky]

it could be 2 things.

[@ImaginaryKiddo]

Conor Cummins. Living proof

[@lordgammadonkaargon2830]

Cant realy compare Isle of man and Rally. In Isle of man they Go Balls while having grip on astpalt. In Rally they often dont have much grip Like when they Drive in snow making it Take more skills and risk

[@TenorCantusFirmus]

To be an F1 driver you have to be a super-skilled driver. To be a Rally driver you have to be beyond human. To be a TT Isle of Man biker you have to just not bother about being dead or alive!

[@DolleHengst]

The Isle of Man TT is raced on wide roads with tarmac. Group B was going over 200km/h on a dirt road through a forest. With less than 1 metre between the car and the trees on both sides.

[@eden5260]

Some racers in F1 were very capable outside of F1 like Bottas and Vettel for example , and some just show how good they are in modern single seaters but not much more. Riccardo's control in the race of champions comes to mind

[@amjan]

Kubica was a European rally champipn.

[@eden5260]

@@amjan true kubica is a guy I always regarded as a super capable driver in general not an F1 super star racer

[@HoopleHeadUSA]

Netflix needs to make a “Drive to Slide” series

[@keninswed]

WRC

[@freudsigmund72]

@@keninswed Slide to survive

[@lauraschot9065]

​@@freudsigmund72😂

[@lordgammadonkaargon2830]

Dont make Netflix do it they will destroy it with woke and non talent as allways

[@djremotion2]

Netflix is not needed to ruin anything more.

[@FriendlieGhost]

It’s a different style of driving.. They are both amazing

[@GoatyHerps]

Only comment with any sense.

[@alessandromulas2713]

The fact is that just a few of f1 drivers really are able to push a f1 car to its real limit

[@mineralwater6736]

@@alessandromulas2713 in F1 it's all about the car.

[@martinoreilly8313]

Delightful honesty and appreciation from a top driver of others in the profession.

[@MrSiah007]

“If you wanna win, hire a fin” -Abraham Lincoln

[@mattski1979]

My friend Courtney was the ONLY person I've ever been scared of driving with. She lived in Oakhurst, CA just outside Yosemite National Park. If you've ever been there you know about the switchback roads. Girl drove 60-80 mph on them and each time we went places outside the park I'd be the most nervous I've ever been in a car with another person. She would've made an impressive professional driver. Her and a freakishly large amount of the teens that stole cars and drove police through wild chases in Newark, NJ where I grew up.

[@15DEAN1995]

I remember commenting under a greatest of all time drivers list. I said "F1 may be the fastest Motorsport outside oval racing, but rally drivers are a different breed. First it's easier to understand their speed because they drive on closed public roads and second seeing how close to disaster they are on the edge all times is insane." The closest F1 gets to rally is Monaco qualifying.

[@davidshotton6072]

Thank you, David. I've bern saying this about Rally Drivers for years

[@JoshLikesFuzz]

Lovely to see John Lennon back interviewing

[@Padicus70]

I thought it was Robin Gibb.

[@stableianF1oracle]

And Paul McCartney

[@jabbawakka7286]

👉🏼😎Truth....RESPECT....was fortunate enough to meet and speak with Possum Bourne, having seen footage of stages he ran in WRC New Zealand as an official and televised footage pre studio, and it's scary awesome what the guys are prepared to do for the petrolhead thrill of arguably one of THE most dangerous motosports. It truly was an honour to have even met him. His passion was infectious for me at that time.😎👈🏼

[@richboy900]

Rally drivers are a different breed

[@patrickgarrison7640]

They are , and they do it for a lot less money than F1 drivers

[@alidaniels2487]

I think Pike's Peak is the ultimate expression of this. Yes its technically a road race but the jeopardy is equivalent if not more, to a rally stage. A large number of winners of this have been (ex)WRC

[@edonveil9887]

Good job David. Kimi would have remained speechless.

[@InterestsparkedTV]

Videos of Mika in his old Merc (w202 I think) back home on gravel & snow are worth a look.

[@healthiswealth5515]

Yeah saw that think they showed it in top gear as well 👍

[@jesuslopez7751]

Rally and Baja driver are fkn champs

[@christophbarra1841]

I LOVE rally and I LOVE F1. And I sometimes compare rally and F1 to infantry and airforce. Both can't be compared at all. It's like comparing a mountain biker to a tour de france rider. Different skillsets with different challenges. Both at the top of whatever there is we can pull out of those machines. Hopefully rally racing will get a little more "showtime" soon. It's really fun to watch.

[@anaconda6147]

Video please!

[@mhh7544]

put rovänperä häkkinen to search bar.

[@jeremyporter5540]

I absolutely love rally car races! I started watching them when i first saw them on tv back when i was 14 and Im 53 now.

[@Telecasterland]

When you actually find that F1 is not the "premier motor sport" I'm proud he admitted it.

[@_Bife]

The thing about it is that F1 is (currently) about being precise, while rallying is about managing pure chaos. Its like saying that F1 drivers arent the best truckers because they cant drive big rigs

[@_Bife]

However we've had multiple F1 drivers that went to rallying and found success (kubica, raikkonen, etc)

[@pranavps851]

F1 is the premier sport. More fans, more viewership. More everything. Except danger, of course.

[@amilcarsafeca7629]

F1 is in fact the premier motorsport in terms of everything but pure skilful driving. Biggest budget, massive calendar, biggest influence, biggest salaries, biggest net worths. Premier doesn’t just come to the drivers behind the wheels. You could have 20 Mazespins behind the wheel in F1 and despite the 15 spins a race as long as it pulled the same numbers and same logistics it’d still be premier.

[@crsantin]

In terms of engineering and technological advancement I think it is. F1 tends to have the best engineers developing the cars. In terms of the product it provides it’s fans (the race) it is not. There are elite drivers in F1 and some that are less than impressive. The best or better is hard to quantify. F1 is good at marketing but it’s not the premier example of motor sport., at least not regularly. It has its spectacular moments and then extended periods of awful racing. In North America we get no exposure to rally driving so I’m not at all familiar with it.

[@downmk-ly1tm]

The truly are amazing. Your co driver is telling you what's coming up while you are driving what he said previously in the moment. They reconcile the two in real time. Simply epic.

[@leonblittle226]

This was very much proven when Loeb joined the ranks of WTCC and was racing people like Menu and Muller etc and could beat them in the exact same car on the right day.

[@seanduffy7730]

To be absolutely honest he gave you the best verbal explanation that you could possibly get on driving 👍

[@brolo7234]

I don't know. It is not that one or the other is "harder". They're completely different skill sets in motorsport.

[@OCRay1]

Rally is absolutely awesome. Give some credit to your fellow F1 boys though man, especially the top drivers. Give them some time to learn the Rally styles and they’d be the best imo. They work tirelessly on the health, conditioning, reflexes, and mental strengths, all on top of their natural abilities. They’d be just fine.

[@swgillespie4003]

It's a great wee podcast I like the respect & the candour David & Eddie always show even though they are in perfect position to snipe they don't & listening on way back from work traffic isn't as annoying so thank you for that.

[@Emilieaaa]

Cant really compare such different cars, techniques and skill sets

[@mr8I7]

Good to hear Coulthard has come to his senses and appreciates how skilful rally really is. I distinctly remember him slagging off the Peugeot that Loeb broke the Pikes Peak record with and seemingly not able to understand that you can't compare a F1 track car with something that goes on a rally stage or similar.

[@michellebyrom6551]

David has always appreciated the rally drivers skillset. He always points out when an F1 driver has been able to transfer rally skills to F1 maneouvres.

[@john.doe_0007]

Rally drivers are great but don't tell me driving at over 200 mph experiencing 10+ g-force with temperature at 40-50⁰C and maintaining 175+ heart rate for upto two hours are "amateurs"

[@DirtyFiST69]

Bro, they do not hit 10g+ 😂😂😂😂. They peak *max* at 6g when braking , lmao. And their heart rates average like 150, that's like a long jog. All this info is widely available, idk why you would post such BS ridden lies when everyone can literally Cross your bs.

[@HaydenLau.]

"look like"

[@Sussex192]

The temps aren't any different in rally.

[@vvs25]

Atleast they dont gave to worry about driving into a tree

[@DrivermanO]

Explain why you are qualified to contradict David Coulthard.

[@Drenwickification]

Mad props to their co drivers. It’s always way more terrifying being a passenger than being the driver.

[@Sussex192]

I both co-drive and drive in low level rallies (club, some state) and if we're going to crash, I prefer to be the co-driver. When you're co-driving, one doesn't see whats coming, so you just feel it, think 'oh well, here we go' and wait till its over. Whereas the driver sees it coming, knows its their fault, and over all its a much worse feeling.

[@francoisdvanderwesthuizen]

Okay let me make it simple, race an F1 champ and a rally champ on a rally course in a rally car and the rally driver will prolly win, do the same on a F1 track with F1 cars and the F1 driver will prolly win, one sport, two different categories and two different levels of thrill...

[@paulofurtado4925]

I would imagine the rally driver to have the balls to push all the way on a f1 car in a nice clean wide track.

[@ChrisM541]

David and Mika are world F1 champions, and David is saying that the 'set of driving skills' required to be a world rally champion is through the roof compared to that required in F1. He's NOT saying Rally champion will always be an F1 champion (and vice versa). He's comparing the overall driver(!!!) skillsets...he's saying Rally champions need to be masters in so many more driving aspects than an F1 champion. That seems fairly obvious ;) The driving skillset required for Nascar/Indy racing is even more narrowed, obviously.

[@allananderson949]

Looks like that video went over your head. The whole thing was about who has the biggest balls and fear tolerance. Nothing to do with winning a race

[@natasamladenovic1765]

Havent seen David in decades! Nor Eddie! I like this random feed!😊

[@VitisCZ]

I realized this as well but through a video game. I got Dirt rally 2.0 for free so i installed it and tried playing. Since it's not arcade but a simulator the physics simulation on different surfaces completely changes car behavior. I disabled all assistants like traction control to get the proper experience and I kept crashing for like an hour until I finally was able to handle the car in the lowest class(about 100hp). After going up a class(250hp) i started crashing again because it was more difficult to handle a more powerful car. This experience made me realize how difficult it actually is to drive a rally car and i gained huge amount of respect towards rally drivers.

[@andrenascimento9112]

Isle of man bike driver enter the chat ... Everyone else leaves ...

[@weedy79]

Rally drivers got big balls but Isle of man drivers are suicidal.

[@TheAsdffaaa]

It was like that in rally, but regulations shut down group b, because its not fun anymore if couple guys die every year, year after another. Like in isle of man. 5 dead in one championship is the record if i remember right. Of course it would be interesting to have 1200hp rallycars, that could be done in no time, but dying on regular basis is just dumb

[@pranavps851]

Those guys are clinically insane. They make rally drivers look like choir boys.

[@adamcichon6957]

DC said "drivers", not "bikers" or "riders". And how one can compare the TT, a singular event on tarmac, to the whole World Rally Champinship callendar of events, where rally drivers are going on whatever the road was made of, through whatever is falling from the sky. Excluding bravery, rally drivers have the broadest driving skill set. TT riders are the bravest.

[@River_of_Revenge]

bikers ride they don’t drive. no comparison

[@raptorsean1464]

Yeah, I've watched videos of them going so fast on such narrow dirt roads, and jumping over hills around corners sideways it's insane!

[@OrionWolf00]

and nascar is just a fucking joke compared to both 😂

[@p3falien233]

You know what is way, way worse then Nascar ? People that think "their" racing is the best, like you just did... moronic is not accurate enough to actually describe what my opinion is of arseholes saying stuff you just did.

[@oonmm]

Nascar actually take the most skill to drive, and when you're up against a whole field of the other best drivers in the world - it makes it the toughest and most skill demanding sport on the entire planet. No other sport on planet earth requires you to travel at those insane speeds while constantly hitting the apex since there are no real straights on the track. F1 and rally drivers mostly drive in a straight line, and find it hard to hit the apex of single corners. Imagine a baby F1 driver trying to not just hit the apex point of a single corner, but to keep within the apex zone of a whole track while having a full field of other drivers around you trying to do the same thing at the same time and at the same track.

[@gasoowannab]

You do know nascar doesn’t drive only in ovals right? Plus they race on dirt as well which makes them more of a rally driver (more skilled) than an F1 driver in those conditions

[@pranavps851]

@@oonmm "F1 and rally drivers mostly drive in a straight line"🤣 I don't know which part of the world you're from, but the rest of us have a slightly different understanding of "straight line" Ever saw a drag race?

[@vgaportauthority9932]

Meanwhile Indycar is rolling its eyes at F1 and Nascar while giving Rally the nod of approval.

[@rayden4327]

put a rally driver in F1 car and enjoy the show.

[@fergar0206]

It's been done before. I know Sainz Sr. did a test session with Alonso's 2006 Renault for example. They do better than your average Joe's but they still can't match the F1 guys, at least not at first. Also plenty of F1 drivers like Kimi that wind up doing rally at some stage in their career. I think it's pointless to compare, other than the basic reactions and understanding of car balance they use different skillsets.

[@drazenbudis7881]

@@fergar0206 Loeb was immediately within a second per lap when testing the red bull F1 back while he was still active. But, thats Loeb.

[@fergar0206]

@@drazenbudis7881 a second is an eternity in F1. They're all high level professional drivers so I'm sure with enough time they would be relatively up to speed, no one is good enough to jump in and get there in one session.

[@drazenbudis7881]

@@fergar0206 *within* a second on the very first session for the first time being inside F1 cockpit thats not tailor made for you? Hardly an eternity in that regard.

[@neroexe6872]

put a f1 driver in rally car and enjoy the show.

[@daryleman5325]

Its literally unbelievable. And whats really frightening is when people line the curves a mere feet away.

[@dennisnickoloff1723]

Apples vs Oranges

[@kemsat-n6h]

“But to be fair…” he’s absolutely correct. Those rally drivers are absolutely inspiring & equally insane.

[@theshapeexists]

The MotoGP guys are insane too. Watching that gives me major anxiety.

[@leedavies839]

I have been watching Ralllying since I was four. I am 52 now and love it more than ever.

[@marcuslang6153]

I like both! Coulthardt is being generous and humble... What F1 driver bring to the table is equally fascinating, but different !!

[@IronMan3582]

There's a really good bit on old proper Top Gear where James learns how to go rallying with Mika and it's an absolute banger of a segment

[@StateGenesys]

Two completely different sports that can’t be compared

[@W_Force]

I live in North Carolina. When I was in my twenties. I did that with my Volkswagen golf GTI through the crowatan national forest.

[@user-ht2qb9tm1c]

I've always said this. But fair play to him for admitting this and not being biased

[@jmshkm]

F1 and rally drivers have completely different skill sets but both are impressive. F1 drivers need to be super aware and handle crazy g force but don’t need to be as precise with the car. But rally drivers need to be super precise as the circuits are much more complex

[@danielpickett8560]

Rally have the best drivers for sure...F1 has the biggest egos...What an incredible moment of humility from David! Much respect

[@alunchurcher7060]

One thing that hits home is how they manage to turn on a bend after landing, following a jump on the course. The speed they drive at on narrow roads makes this the best motor sport. F1 today is rightfully safety conscious, but with WRC rallies safety seems to of been forgotten.

[@steverabbits]

He's absolutely right, rally drivers skills are off the chart crazy.

[@lannybrasher2452]

Absolutely, without a doubt. Rally drivers are the most fearless drivers on the face of the earth! True skills!

[@Franz-ke2ui]

Happy to hear that from a F1 Champ! He's humble, 👍!

[@jeremiahb22]

Pikes peak hill climb before they paved it. It's still amazing since they paved it but when it was all dirt to the top it was amazing.

[@maxwellspeedwell2585]

I was talking to a photographer who took a ride with x (famous rally driver but can’t remember his name). He said that he had seen a lot, but never in his life did he experience a driver that was so skilled.

[@killachief187]

Same as the TT. Crazy skill zero fooks. Respect

[@beegee22]

😮👍👏 On some rally runs there is zero room for error. Truly amazing drivers.

[@Stand1ngBear]

Just imagining what it must feel like to be going that fast through all of those turns and crests with trees so close to the car that you could reach out and touch them absolutely gives me chills. I have no earthly fucking idea what is in these people that makes them able to do what they do. But i love to watch them do it.

[@dubsessed9790]

DC is great, always enjoy his commentary

[@Digga_10]

From two awesome F1 drivers. How his words count. But David and Miki in sure the rally boys are impressed with your strengths too

[@alunaston6745]

It is absolutely amazing how much control that the rally drivers have in all aspects of different surfaces. I’d love to have a lap as a passenger, even when watching a rally standing close to the road as they drive past at maximum attack. It’s a great sport but can be very dangerous but safety is so important, and some of the crashes I’ve seen are very bad and drivers walk off a bit shaken. That’s why safety is priority as these cars are driving at maximum speeds. The control that these drivers have is something special.

[@wonkybomb1865]

Rally is truly the Motorsport that puts me most on edge. Mistakes aren’t just extremely punishing for the drivers but more so for the spectators. I would not want that on my conscience.

[@DavidKing-jx3sg]

There used to be wrc round in the south of Perth Western Australia, we have pea gravel that is found nowhere else on earth, that was something to see ,incredible skill

[@jeffreyswartz9568]

I've watched world rally up close, from roadside, outrageous skill, noise is unbelievable.

[@randallobrien1812]

I've always wanted to drive in these rally races. So bad ass.

[@lukesmialkowski7870]

I would soil myself about 45 seconds into any rally race.So much respect to these guys.Rally Racing will NEVER be boring.👍👍✌️❤️

[@sloanNYC]

I’m amazed any cars finish a rally. Those speeds and conditions are insane.

[@BENHAMINE-n7z]

These guys and the Isle of Mann motorcycle drivers are insane!

[@paulkearney4565]

About time that WRC gets the recognition it deserves, great to see Coulthard come out and say that, the F1 drivers get coached around a track 50 times a race and sit in a simulator for a week beforehand driving the same corners again and again, with not a tree in sight..🙌

[@beebester4106]

My first internship working in the Tillamook State Forest in Oregon for the States Department of Forestry we had a rally course set up. It was on gravel logging roads with large Douglas Fir trees. Two men a driver and his navigator from England on the first race, first sharp corner at about 80+ mph they slid off the road an into a large tree and killed them both. That was my first and last introduction to rally car racing.

[@nimay13]

Why I love WRC so much. The drivers are different. On top of that, there’s the randomness factor on every stages.

[@johnskinner3108]

A vastly underrated group of drivers

[@digbydogcraigyboy]

Read about this in that book Welcome to the Game. The guy based the character on Dai Llewellyn. He said exactly that about rally vs F1