The fastest F1 driver of all-time revealed and it's not Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen

Formula 1 has carried out a study to finally answer the age old question of who is the fastest driver ever across the last 40 years of the sports history.

Formula 1 drivers are famously very hard to compare across eras, with drivers of even just ten years ago having completely different machines underneath them when compared to today's stars.

Comparing the current drivers even seems impossible due to the performance difference between the current teams.

For example it is impossible to know whether Max Verstappen would still come out on top if all the drivers had the same car.

However, that has all changed with modern technology as F1 has teamed up with AWS to use real data to answer the impossible question.

"AWS machine learning software has reviewed time sheets for every qualifying session since 1983, removing outliers and normalizing the data to create a complex web of driver performance relative to their teammates," via Formula1.com

Being fast in Formula 1 doesn't necessarily mean you are the best as drivers only ever push the car to the limit during qualifying, while the race is a more tactical battle of strategy and tire degradation.

An example of this in the modern day is Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Despite only winning six times in his six year F1 career to date, Leclerc is arguably the fastest driver on the grid with 24 pole positions.

The Ferrari driver has managed to put his car on top countless times over the last few seasons, but with strategy and race pace issues he has often been unable to convert pole to victory.

While it might not be the key difference on race day, in such an egotistical sport, every driver wants to be fastest.

Here is the top 20 fastest drivers of all time according to data in 2020:

Senna- Getty

1. Ayrton Senna - 0.000 seconds
2. Michael Schumacher - 0.114 seconds
3. Lewis Hamilton - 0.275 seconds
4. Max Verstappen – 0.280 seconds
5. Fernando Alonso - 0.309 seconds
6. Nico Rosberg - 0.374 seconds
7. Charles Leclerc - 0.376 seconds
8. Heikki Kovalainen - 0.378 seconds
9. Jarno Trulli - 0.409 seconds
10. Sebastian Vettel - 0.435 seconds
11. Rubens Barrichello - 0.445 seconds
12. Nico Hulkenberg - 0.456 seconds
13. Valtteri Bottas - 0.457 seconds
14. Carlos Sainz - 0.457 seconds
15. Lando Norris - 0.459 seconds
16. Daniel Riccardo - 0.461 seconds
17. Jenson Button - 0.462 seconds
18. Robert Kubica - 0.463 seconds
19. Giancarlo Fisichella - 0.469 seconds
20. Alain Prost - 0.514 seconds

If Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Michael Schumacher weren't topping the list, it was always going to be Ayrton Senna.

The Brazilian's control of the car was second to none during his career that was tragically cut short in 1994 when he was killed at the Imola GP.

Senna won three championships, scored 41 wins and claimed 65 pole positions during his F1 career.