What was the most dominant F1 car ever built?

May be...

The Ferrari

lotus 49/ JPS

I have to agree that it was the all conquering Willams.
As much of a Schumi fan I am, he didn't have a grid full of World Champions to contend with and with the modern rules- was in a much 'safer' place.

Lest we forget QUITE how dominant their machines were. Although not as powerful as the beast 'turbo' cars of the 80's (That 87 Williams.. .Wow!) but the '92 car was complete technological 'active' wonder .
If Mansell DIDN'T win the title in that car it would've been a travesty.
The first to win 9 in a season, wrapped the constructors in record time and -most importantly- looked absolutely beautiful. it says something that the only other drivers to win a race were two legends themselves!

I long for them to be seriously competitive again!

The 1988 Marlboro McLaren Honda MP4/4 was the most dominant car in the history of Formula One. It was designed by Gordon Murray, who based the design on his lowline Brabham BT55 car of 1986, and American engineer Steve Nichols

The MP4/4 took 15 wins from 16 races, 15 pole positions, and 199 points, all in a single season.

*drivers*
car no. 11 - Alain Prost
car no. 12 - Ayrton Senna

*Technical Specifications*

Chassis: Carbon Fiber Monocoque

Suspension (front): Unequal-length wishbones, pushrod activated
Suspension (rear): Unequal-length wishbones, pushrod activated

Engine: Honda RA168E 80-degree V6 1500cc turbocharged Mid-engine, longitudinally mounted

Transmission: McLaren 6 speed Manual

Fuel: Shell

Tyres: Goodyear

*Record*

races - 16
wins -15
pole position - 15
fastest laps - 10

another candidate would be the 1979 Brabham BT46B вЂ" the "Fan car"

it only raced once then it's design was deemed illegal. it's the only f1 car with a 100% winning record

Very recently this same question has been asked, and people agreed that the car was the Ferrari 2004, yes there is no denial that the car track record is completely unbeatable and incontestable, but I still tend to believe that the most dominant car was the Williams 1992, for a number of reasons.

The Ferrari 2004, 1 - Had Schumacher on the drivers seat 2 - The rest of the grid was composed by puny drivers, 3 - Modern F1 Car are more reliable improving the odds that the fastest will win.

The Williams 1992 - Had Mansell, against might Ayrton Senna, and Michael Schumacher, and even so he managed to finish 1st or 2nd on every race that he did not retire.

I would like to hear the community opinions on that matter.

The MP4/4 is officially the most dominant package F1 has ever witnessed. A Gordon Murray car paired with Prost and Senna won 15 out of 16 races. Even though a pairing of Prost and Senna favoured the team anyway, the car was generally 1 second a lap quicker than any other car in the hands of Prost and 2.5 seconds a lap quicker in the hands of Senna.

The car used the brilliant Honda Turbo. Honda decided in the previous year to develop the engine further even though Turbo was to be banned in '89. The rest of the field decided to concentrate on preparing for the naturally aspirated '89 then spend resources of developing something with only a years lifespan.

Murray also designed the car with a very low centre of gravity which greatly improved handling. No car has ever been as successful since.

The Williams FW14 was also very dominant. It coupled advanced technology such as active suspension and a semi-auto gearbox with brilliant Adrien Newey aerodynamics. It was ahead of its time and also to advanced for its own good. It did suffer a lot of mechanical failures. You could argue that in the hands of Senna and Prost, this car would be more dominant than the MP4/4. It’s a tough question but I think that the Mclaren would shine as racers such as Senna would be at a greater advantage without the aids I believe. Who knows.

The F2004 was also extremely dominant, winning 15 of 18 races in one season the same as the dominant F2002. The F2004 is the fastest F1 car there has ever been. It consisted of a race winning car evolved over a number of years and perfected. It had over 900hp, hugely efficient aerodynamics, and advanced electronics. But the restrictions on car design of 2004 means that although it was hugely dominant, it did not have the pace advantage of the FW14 or the MP4/4.

I shall disagree with everyone and say the Mclaren MP-4/4.
That car won 15 of the 16 races it entered. Pole for 15 races and it took 199 points in a single season. It also acquired 10 fastest laps and it had 9 1-2 finished for Prost and Senna.

***edit***

Redsnookerball has a point. The Mclaren MP-4/4 did have 2 amazing drivers to help propell it to the realm of true genius. It does also prove that an amazing car combined with the best drivers is something truly wonderful to see.

I'm going to agree with what was put on the other question, the F2004 was the most dominant car ever. It won 15 out of 18 races, 8 of those were 1-2s. Barrichello only won 2 of those races, and one of those was under team orders once the title had already been won; The WIlliams FW14B won 11 out of 16 races, with six 1-2s and one win for Patrese.

In my opinion Patrese was better than Barrichello, even at the end of his career - if you're not old enough to remember him, then you won't be able to make a proper comparison just from the history books as Patrese drove some really bad cars during his career and Barrichello had the best car in the whole field for 5 consecutive years.

As to the Williams beating Senna and Schumacher, neither of those drivers had a decent car that season. The only reason Senna won 3 races that season was sheer brilliance. Schumacher was still at the start of his career and the Benetton wasn't yet the best car by a long way. Yes, the Williams allowed Patrese to come second in 1992, but the F2004 allowed Barrichello to do that as well (and he only did that on one other occasion in his whole careeer, again with the best car in 2002).

The FW14B WAS the most dominant car of all time until the F2004 was built.

Just to pick up on a point you raised, surely being reliable is PART of being dominant? Otherwise you could say that in 1984 Brabham was dominant over the McLaren - it certainly had the fastest car, it just didn't finish very often. I think most people would agree that it was McLaren who dominated the 1984 season, not Brabham, and they did it with an almost bullet-proof car which was only about the third best in terms of speed.

there are no doubts, the McLaren of Senna and Prost, it won all the race in one season expect one, it was flying, the Williams Renault of 1992-1997 was strong too

I'm with Derek on this, the McLaren MP4/4 of 1988 was on a different planet that year, it was a combination of great drivers, great chassis and aerodynamics and great engine and swept all before it.

2004 had -
Kimi Raikkonen
David Coulthard
Fernando Alonso

these were all challenging drivers and they didnt do well ...no question due to their cars.....and this clearly says...that F2004 was the best car...!!hertz mustang shelby