The limits were lower, of course, and thee driving style required to be fast was very different to a modern car. 4-wheel drifts were seen pretty much every corner where today's car will stick you in the wall if you try to drift it in similar fashion. And you'll be going twice as fast when you hit.Hoffman900 wrote: ↑08 Jun 2026, 15:52
Hell in Clark’s era, those guys didn’t have that much racing experience (started late, way less opportunity for track time, no sim work, etc), hardly any feedback, cars often broke (limiting track time), the threat of dying was real in all categories (so harder to learn the limits).
It’s not a bad thing, but it’s just different now.
As for less racing experience that was true in Prost's day, but in the days of Clark, drivers drove in multiple formulae and series in the same year. So you'd see an F1 driver in F2 (Clark died in an F2 race, of course), Indy 500, sportscars, tin-tops, etc.. So in a season they would do more than a current F1 driver. In 1965, Clark won the F1 WDC over 9 races but, in total, he raced in 34 races including winning the Indy 500 (which meant he missed Monaco that year). That's twice as many races as Prost did in a season of F1.
I think the fact he was so successful across multiple formulae is why many hold Clark as being a contender for the GOAT title. Not a one trick pony, like most drivers have been for decades.
