The sixth installment of my Greatest Ever series is here!
In this series I will look at the greatest talents to grace various sports.
This time I look at Formula One, and the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen. Enjoy!
10. Jack Brabham (AUS) - Jack Brabham is a three-time World Champion, who won two World Championships back-to-back in 1959 and 1960. He raced 128 times in his 15-year career, winning 14 of those races and achieving 31 podium finishes.
His 1966 World Championship triumph was extra special as he became the only man to win a Formula One World Championship with one of his own cars.
9. Nelson Piquet (BRA) - Another one of the handful of drivers to win three World Championships, all of Piquet's triumphs came in the 1980s.
In his 207 races, he recorded 23 wins and 60 podium finishes. He also won 481.5 points in his career, a total not many have surpassed.
8. Alberto Ascari (ITA) - Some would argue that Ascari doesn't deserve to be on this list; others would say he should be higher up. He may have only raced 33 times, but he still managed to win two World Championships.
The main reason he is on this list, though, is his win percentage. He won 13 of his 33 races, including seven in a row in one season, a record equaled only by Michael Schumacher.
He also achieved 17 podium finishes.
7. Niki Lauda (AUS) - Lauda is another of the small group to have won three World Championships, with nine years between his first and last Championship wins.
- B/R Ticket Guide
He won 25 of his 177 races, finishing on the podium a total of 54 times. He competed with five different manufacturers, with two of his Championships coming at Ferrari and his last coming after a return to the sport with McLaren.
6. Sir Jackie Stewart (SCO) - "The Flying Scot" is another three-time World Champion. All his Championships wins came for Tyrell in 1969, 1971, and 1973.
He won 27 of his 100 races, getting on the podium 43 times, which means that he's finished in the top three in 47 percent of his races.
He remains the only man to win a World Championship in a French-built car.
5. Jim Clark (SCO) - The dominant driver of his era, he was the predecessor to Jackie Stewart, winning the World Championship in 1963 and 1965.
He died in a crash in 1968 while racing in Germany after just eight years of racing. Without the accident, he probably would have added to his two World Championships.
He won 25 of his 73 races, more than a third, and found himself on the podium 32 times.
4. Alain Prost (FRA) - A four-time World Champion, only two men have won more than Alain Prost. He had a notable rivalry with teammate Ayrton Senna while at McLaren.
He won 51 of his 202 races, with 106 appearances on the podium. The 768 career Championship points he achieved is the second highest total in F1 history. His 51 wins is also the second highest total of wins in history.
3. Juan Manuel Fangio (ARG) - The first superstar of Formula One, Fangio dominated the 1950s, winning all of his five World Championships in that decade.
His record of five World Championships stood for 46 years, and his record of winning five Championships with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes and Ferrari) still stands to this day.
He won four Championships in a row form 1954-1957 and won nearly half of the races he competed in (24 of 52). He also appeared on the podium 35 times.
2. Ayrton Senna (BRA) - The last driver to be killed while driving an F1 car, Senna is considered by many to be the greatest ever. His tragic end was watched by millions on live TV as they saw a great of the sport succumb to an early death.
A joy to watch on and off the track, Senna won his three World Championships in 1988, 1990 and 1991. He won 41 of his 162 races and reached the podium 60 times.
Although his statistics are perhaps eclipsed by others, as a driver there were few, if any, better.
1. Michael Schumacher (GER) - His domination of his sport can be compared to that of Tiger Woods or Roger Federer. However, unlike those two, Schumacher has made it as the best in my opinion.
When he got in full swing, the records started tumbling. He holds the record for most World Championships (seven), most consecutive World Championships (five), most race victories (91), most fastest laps (76), most pole positions (68), most points scored (1,369) and most races won in a single season (13). He is also the only driver to have achieved an entire season of podium finishes, on his way to his 154 podium finishes.
Overall, Schumacher holds 31 Formula One records.
Although often a controversial driver, Schumacher has, in my view, done enough to be considered the best of all-time in his sport.
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4 months ago
Sorry, this is all wrong. First you make the same inferences a number of times "greatest drivers the sport has ever seen" then you make it clear that these are the best, not just your favorites.
Then you offer a list, that has only drivers from the modern era, you make a list without any supporting evidence, You have one driver who is higher, than the man who had a better career head to head.
No substance, subjective at very best, if only you would have said this is your favorites and not treated this as an objective list!
from 4 months ago
you are doing it again, he clearly said it was ONLY formula one, and not grand prix which was pre-1950.
from 4 months ago
Elaborate please.
from 4 months ago
Well Well Sir , It Seems Your In a Minority Of 1 Again !!!!!
I agree too barney , the only problem i have personally is i cant bring myself to seperate senna and schumacher , that is because senna is my hero in f1 and michael sometimes did many underhand things . but im in agreeance with your choices and respect your choices too .
Someone has mentioned Gilles villeneuve , he could definatly make it in to the top 10 , BUT the whole point is this is your own top 10 SO no i dont think This is all WRONG As someone may think .
Nice article and thanks for giving us an insight into your thoughts on f1 drivers ( Note the key word there was F1 Drivers Not Pre 1950 Grand Prix Drivers ) . 5 stars , my POTD is not available Barney otherwise i would POTD it too .
4 months ago
I believe there was also some Canadian dude.............uh.........let me think now........oh yea.......Gilles Villeneuve...........not too shaby a driver in his own right........not just those from Europe can drive in F1. Oh yea, maybe not top 10 material but I beleive His son Jacques wasn't too bad either, won a World Championship. Canadians unite.............BW
4 months ago
Good article mate but prepare for the backlash, ha ha ... I am not getting involved but trust me there are some passionate so and so's on this site who will tear this top 10 apart for the strangest of reasons ... All I will say is A) Your a brave man, BUT B) Stand by your opinions ... Oh and keep on referring to the word OPINION, it will become a tool to knock back the haters who try to knock you down ! Great article Barney, I enjoyed it and to be honest for anyone reading this ... I AGREE WITH BARNEY, AND THAT ... IS MY OPINION !
4 months ago
I liked this article, i think it was a good opinion backed up with figures and facts. some nice research there Barney. Personally i think there is no point to harsh criticism and it should not be taken to heart. Paul makes a few strong points which is fair enough but take them as u will... at least you started a debate which i think is the point of these articles.
4 months ago
Yes, I agree. Much better than Alan Henry's illogical and biased list of top drivers.
4 months ago
thanks for all the constructive comments people! much appreciated!
4 months ago
OK, I BELIEVE THAT IF WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A TOP 10 F1 DRIVERS LIST WE MOST CONSIDER THE TECHNOLOGY FACTOR VERSUS THE CLASSIC ERA OF F1. iN MY OPINION NO MODERN DRIVER IS BETTER IN ANY ASPECT OF MOTOR RACING THAN A CLASSIC DRIVER. for EXAMPLE, DRIVING A ROAD CIRCUIT LIKE THE DEADLY NURBURGRING WITHOUT POWER STEERING, TRACTION CONTROL OR ANY OF THE BEAUTIFUL GADGETS THE MODERN DRIVERS HAVE, ADDING TO THIS THE HEAT FACTOR AND THE MENTAL PRESSURE THE DRIVER HAD ANALYZING THE CAR HANDLING WITHOUT A COMPUTER . AYRTON SENNA IS IN MY OPINION THE GREATEST DRIVER OF ALL TIMES JUST BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT HE WAS FISCALLY AND MENTALLY SUPERIOR THAN ANY OTHER DRIVER IN HISTORY, CAPABLE TO ADAPT TO ANY RACE CONDITION RAIN OR DRY, REMEMBER HIS BATTLE WITH MANSELL AT MONACO, IN THE END THE MECHANICS HAD TO TAKE HIM OUT OF THE CAR, HE WAS ALMOST FADING, WHILE SENNA WAS CELEBRATING HIS VICTORY, WHAT I SAY IS THAT IF WE PUT SENNA AND SHUMACHER USING SAME CARS ,SAME TECHNOLOGY. SAME WEATHER CONDITIONS, WHO DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO BREAK FIRST, REMEMBER DOHNINGTON RACE, SENNA TOOK FIRST PLACE FROM 5TH ON THE VERY FIRST LAP WHILE PROST WAS SPINNING LIKE A BALLET DANCER.
from 4 months ago
Your rambling rhetoric is just plain silliness.
4 months ago
This a good list and a good article. However, I would argue a bit, particularly about Nos. 1,2, and 3. It's easy to select Michael as No. 1 because of all his records, but this is not the only measure, and possibly not the truest measure, of who was ultimately the best driver.
Other factors are 1. How many races did a driver compete in? 2. Who was he competing against? and 3. What marques did he drive for? 4. What were his percentages taking into account the number of races driven( perhaps the most important question)? There are other issues, but these are all very important. Michael drove by far the most races, drove primarily for a single manufacturer, and did not face the multiplicity of competition as did most of the others on the list--as has been pointed out. If one looks at percentages (and I can't quote them all, as I would be the first to admit, though I am familiar with them) Michael's records do not look as impressive. Fangio is the absolute king of the percentages, and easily. He drove the fewest races by far yet one five WC titles and almost 50% of those races. And he won them, if memory serves correctly, in four different manufacturer's cars, while facing some of best drivers of his time, including an English kid some of you may have heard of, one Stirling Moss who, except for Fangio, I believe was the greatest driver of his time.
In those days as has been pointed out there were no driver aids, no aerodynamics experts, and very little suspension fiddling. Fangio's domination was pretty much complete in an era when the driver was by far the biggest part of the equation unlike today when they are a much, much smaller part of the package.
I don't care to quibble about Grand Prix records vs. Formula 1 records. We are talking here about those drivers competing in single seat open wheel cars built to a specific set of rules comprising racing at it's highest level. This is a very brief discussion of Fangio. Remember, he was 39 when he first sat in a Grand Prix/Formula 1 car. What might he have accomplished had he been in his 20's or even early 30's? It's difficult to select any one over him. If you have doubts still, refer to his fantastic drive at the original Nurburgring. I confess I cannot recall the year, but it's a well known classic and I will look it up and fill in for anyone who'd like to know.
I would keep Senna second, tied with Stirling Moss, who never drove for a factory team except when he was teamed with Fangio at Mercedes Benz. Moss regularly drove the previous year's car for Rob Walker, and still won 15 races, always challenging for the WC. When Graham Hill won the WC a journalist asked him what it felt like to be the fastest driver in the world. Hill replied, "I'm not the fastest driver in the world. Stirling Moss is." And so he was at that time, for Fangio had retired. Moss was once quoted as saying, and I have to paraphrase here, "I can follow Fangio in a Grand Prix car through a corner at speed, stay exactly in his tracks, and he will get through and I will go off the road." Moss did go on to say, and here I can quote, "I reckon I could beat him on sports cars, though."
As regards Michael, he has to settle for fourth at best on my list. And, at that, I believe that Raikkonen was always that little bit faster, as Haikkinen frequently was. However, McClaren, (always excellent except in reliability) was never consistently the master of Ferrari and Ross Brawn during Kimi's time with McClaren. Further, one can easily argue about one of Michael's WC wins when, in my estimation, he clearly crashed out Damon Hill who was on track to win the WC. Michael also tried that with J. Vllenueve, but failed at that one. Michael, by sheer persistence and longevity and admittedly by some excellent driving, set all those records. Great driver? Yes. The best? I think not.
Sorry for the length of this comment. Perhaps it should have been an article. I now shall don my armour as I suspect I may have made myself a target! :-)
from 4 months ago
Sorry Ted but your list is far far away from reality, just not sure what you have been drinking. There are fiver drivers and only 5 drivers can be number 1 of the modern era, Ascari, Fangio, Schumacher, Clark, Prost. There is no way anyone can objectively , place Senna in that grouping, he is not the best of his own era, let alone the entire modern era.
There is only one honest way that you can have a list that is objective and that is statistics, anything else ignores the facts with rhetoric and personal opinions. If your guy is not in the top 5 with statistics, then simply take the view, that it is impossible to make a list. Facts however are facts and long after we are no longer here, it is the facts that people will use. You made a big point about Fangio and moved Schumacher way down the list, yet you failed to mention that AA owned Fangio and nobody in the modern history gained more from being the lead driver and moving from team to team to be in the fastest car as Fangio. As far as your points regarding Michael and the McLaren drivers, here we see the root of your views. You failed to mention that the McLaren was one of the most dominant cars when Mika took the title.
To conclude, I would bet that you are a McLaren fan or a Schumacher hater at least. Would not be surprised if you thought that Hamilton is the next great thing.
from 4 months ago
Judging by your posts Paul, I bet you're a Senna hater or Schumacher fanboy. Stop acting like you know everything and telling everyone their opinions are wrong and stupid.
from 4 months ago
ted really knows about formula one, that is why we agree that there were no driver aids, no aerodynamics experts, and very little suspension fiddling. those classic drivers where human computers, and like I say fiscally and mentally superior to any modern driver.Dagni , this is a man sport , I thing you are in love with shumi, your comment is not a critical analysis of a driver capability behind the wheel of a f1 car , that is , if you know what that is. this is not a game or Paris Hilton pathetic entertainment , this humans are risking all for a dream, and in the classic era of f1 that dream usually ended very quickly in a ball of fire that is call passion for the sport.
4 months ago
Good article, the number one greatest is defo right :)
The allround ability to win, overtake, qualify, set up the car, motivate the team, help build the car by giving lots of input, and the ruthlessness means he really is the greatest.
4 months ago
Well said Adam . See Paul its not just Me Who thinks your a bit over the top with your degrading of peoples Opinions and articles .
All you Do is tell people that a) They are wrong
b) They are Rambling Rhetoric
c) that they dont have a clue about motorsports or F1 , when clearly they do .
I just dont know who you think you are , what gives you the right to Tell people these thing ?????
By all means debate on articles but why he need to Belittle people ????
My feeling is that you was bullied as a child and now your trying to damn the world for it With all that power behind your PC screen , Do us all a favour and get one of those things that you call a LIFE !!!!!
from 4 months ago
Well I beg to differ, my guess is that I know a lot more about racing that most here. Point number 1, if you have never raced, then the best you can be is another pain in the rear end like Murray "the fool" Walker or James Allen.
If you have raced and never won, you would have no idea what drives a winner.
For my money there are quite a few people here (they know who they are) that are so full of themselves, that their ignorance is showing. A real racer would NEVER make half of the stupid comments that I see here. It makes me wonder how many people are here because they are Hamilton fans, oh they may have watched a few races before, but it is that advent of Hamilton, that has brought them here.
If you have raced and I mean raced (not a few odd events) then I will respect your views, even if I do not agree. As for the rest of you Sennanites, get your FACTS straight!
4 months ago
Paul--Thanks for your comment. However, I'd like to point out that it was Michael that clearly had the dominent car for many years. Further, for something like three years he never had a retirement due to a car malfunction, an advantage that no other driver had--in particular Kimi Raikkonen at McClaren. Kimi was, I believe along with many far more qualified observers than I, ultimately the faster driver of the two--when the Mercedes engine wasn't blowing up or bits and pieces weren't fallling off the McClaren chassis.
Ferrari most certainly dominated all other marques during much of Michael's reign. Moreover, Schmacher would never accept a team mate who was allowed to challenge him on the track, and that goes all the way back to Martin Brundle who pushed Schumacher hard at Benneton. Rubens wasn't consistently quite fast as Michael, but if both had been driving for Ron Dennis, Rubens would have won quite a few more races over Shumacher than he was permitted to at Ferrari.
Schumacher claims he left Ferrari to "save" Massa's career. Absolute rubbish!!! He did not want a driver of Raikkonien's caliber on "his" team, and it was convenient for him to retire at that time. In fact, if not for Rubens winning in Japan when Schumacher drove poorly, Kimi Raikkonen would have taken one of Schumacher's WC away. Then there was the WC Schumacher won by crashing out Damon Hill, who would have won two, not one, WC during Shumacher's reign. Michael tried that tactic again with J. Villenueve, but botched that one, and Villenuerve won the WC that year.
Sadly,Michael had more than good driving and a dominent car working for him in winning seven WC and setting many records. Pure statistics may be important, but they do not always tell the truth. Schumacher's impressive statistical records cause a majority of journalists and fans to overlook the circumstances under which he achieved many of them. Again, was he a great driver? Yes. The best? No.
from 4 months ago
TED .
I Know we had a disagreement on the kimi / photographer article , however every god damn word you just said is the absolute truth , well said !!!
Yes Schumi was great but take away his ability to cheat and he wouldnt have 7 titles .
If like you said rubens was allowed to challenge him i dont think he would have 7 titles .
If ayrton senna was still Alive he wouldnt have 7 titles .
Michael retired Though fear of : a) Kimi Raikkonen Embarrasing Him .
And
b) a New Kid on the block the season after ( Hamilton) Showing him up , he knew at the time he announced his retirement that lewis was on his way into the sport , he wanted to retire at the top in case he couldnt get his No1 Status Back from these two .
I Mean who wants to retire after being beaten by two younger drivers ?? +
from 4 months ago
Ted, Mika's car so dominant that when I first saw it live at Jerez in 97, it was clear that this was a car that was so very special. The next year in Melbourne, the Mclaren was beautiful and it redefined the F1 car. It was sold, fast, quick and great grunt off the corner, the way it handled curbs was brilliant!
4 months ago
Thanks Mark. I really do try to maintain an objective view. I'm sure I am not always successful, but I do my best. I'm not here to incur wrath or anger anyone but, like everyone else, I do have an opinion and a point of view. I must say that, all in all, this is a very civil group even when disagreements arise. I'm glad I found you all!
4 months ago
AYRTON SENA , THE MAN, THE MITH, THE MAGESTIC. HE MADE FORMULA ONE HIS ART, HIS BLOOD HIS LIFE. THERE HAS NOT BEEN AN EMOTIONAL RACER WITH THE CARISMA AND KIND NESS OF SENNA, THAT IS WHY HE WILL ALWAYS BE THE BEST EVER, NOT ONLY AT THE TRACK BUT IN LIFE, HE WAS A MASTER OF SPEED, AND AT THE IMOLA RACE HE KNEW HE WAS GOING TO DIE, BUT EVEN THEN, HIS VALOR AND SPIRITUAL SUPREMACY, WAS GREATER THAN ANY DANGER THAT HE COULD FACE, HE KNEW THAT THE CAR WAS TOUCHING THE GROUND ENTERING TAMBURELO CORNER AT190MPH , BUT INSTEAD HE KEPT THE GAS PEDAL DOWN 110%, AND THAT IS WHAT SEPARATE THE MAN FROM THE GIRLS IN THIS SPORT, UNLIKE MICHAEL SISTER , RALPH, THAT IN ONE OCATION TOLD THE PRESS THAT THE FIA HAD TO BANNED MONACO GP JUST BECAUSE IT WAS TO DANGEROUS FOR GIRLS LIKE HIM. AND THAT IS ALL WE THE F1 FANS GET, AFTER SENNA DIED, JUST A BUNCH OF SISSY GIRLS, . THIS IS A SPORT OF HONOR AND VALOR.. WE THE REAL F1 FANS WILL MISS THOSE CLASSIC GLADIATORS, THEY GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE SPORT, WE WILL MISS THEM FOREVER OUR FRIENDS...
from 4 months ago
Your shouting Luis, is both annoying and rude. Not to mention that your posts was uninformed as for you being a real fan of F1, from you post, I would have thought it more likely that you are a fan of Arsenal!
As for Senna was brilliant at times a complete joke others. It would be a foolish team that took him over Prost (that says a lot about Honda) who was a real deliverer of the goods. It is sad that Senna is gone, however no more sad than Clark, Ascari, Rindt, Villeneuve, Ronnie P, Courage and a host of others. One other point, if he knew he was going to die and he raced, that would make him an arrogant fool. How dare he endanger the lives of others!. Sounds stupid, of course it is, he had no idea he was going to die, he was just PO,d because a young German by the name of Michael Schumacher was faster, smarter and braver than he was, he had tried twice that season to beat Michael and and crashed doing so, the third time was like the others, driver error!
4 months ago
Very Nice Comment LUIS .
Ayrton will of been proud of that speech you just made , and as a fan of his im proud too .
He kept the gas pedal down because his desire to win and be the fastest and the best was greater than his fear of dying doing the job he loved . Racing was his heartbeat and without racing , senna's heart was gone . Without a steering wheel in his hand he had no sense of direction . And that is what makes him the best for me , he lived for racing and race he indeed did .And the most important thing was that he got his wish , he always said that if he was to crash heavily , he would want it to end quick , he didnt want to be in a wheelchair never to race again . it was either die on track or retire . Its just a shame he had to leave us in such a violent manner .
Rest easy Ayrton Senna .
4 months ago
The only additon I could think of for that list would be Stirling Moss, whom I believe to be one of the finest drivers of all time.
I doubt any two people would agree on an exact order, but I think we can all agree that they are all fine drivers, in their own rights, own styles and own times.
4 months ago
Dagni made me stop and think a bit more about the best drivers. I have to drop Michael back another notch to fifth behnd Jim Clark. I don't know how I overlooked him to begin with. I was at Laguna Seca, in California, USA, just doing my first support race when I saw Clark step into a privateer Lotus 19 Coventry Climax and on his FIRST FLYING LAP EVER AT THE TRACK SET A NEW LAP RECORD! Every one was stunned. This was after Dan Gurney, Stirling Moss, Denny Hulme, Bruce McClaren, Mark Donahue, Jo Siefert, Brian Redgrave, and many others had raced there in very capable machinery. Clark immediatley outdid them all! Moreover he was very approachable and willing to spend a couple of minutes chatting with me in the pits later that day. When you look at the fact the Clark drove only 72 GP races before losing his life at Hockenheim in a Formula 2 race, and still won 2 championships he becomes even more impressive. He might well slot in ahead of Senna and Moss on my list--see my earlier post. He is most certainly ahead of Michael Schumacher.
4 months ago
Teg, I see those flights of fancy are in full force.
3 months ago
Paul, referring to an earlier post of yours about Michaels's "bravery" I have this to point out. Real bravery is something associated with those who drove before Jackie Stewart pushed hard for safety improvements at the F1 tracks--and rightly so. J. Villenueve drove a Lotus 25 briefly for fun and his comment was that he was full of admiration for the drivers of those earlier F1 cars, and went on to say that the drivers of today wouldn't think of doing the things they do in present day F1 cars if they had to drive cars of the earlier eras. You didn't crash heavily and walk away then. Mostly you were carted away in a rubber bag. Yet they all drove as though they were wearing seat belts, weren't faced with trees lining the roadway, and wore suits that wouldn't last five seconds in a fire.
Current F1 cars promote "bravery" with a relatively sure knowledge that the odds of survival are now very, very high and likely without facing serious injuries. Witness the now famous Kubica crash, proving that the number of exceptions are minuscule. Indeed, I think this is well earned progress and I applaud it. I'll dig up a commentary on Jim Clark's talent made by his contemporary, Jackie Stewart and post it in a day or two. I must say that the subject "Top Ten" is a lively one. Great fun! And Paul, please, while honest disagreement can often can lead to revelations a comment like "flights of fancy" is nothing more than a balloon full of air. No substance!
about 1 month ago
F1 means the fastest cars in the world... means the fastest drivers... the most skilled one's.... NOT RECORDS.
RECORDS is something held by those drivers who practice the sport, but a RECORD means TEAM + DRIVER + STRATEGY + RIVALS = ?
the fastest driver, the most skilled and the best driver EVER is for F1(recognized by Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Bernie Ecclestone, Max Mosley, Gerhard Berger and Michael Schumacher) is AYRTON SENNA DA SILVA.
The drivers i just said right now have testimonials in video... just search in youtube LOL.
Senna was and is the best, F1 just said it. Now... WHO said Michael Schumacher was the best ? his fans?(including me)
MS was an AMAZING DRIVER, plus had a GREAT TEAM(with the best car), a CUTTING EDGE STRATEGY and NO RIVALS TO RACE AGAINST.
Is just MINDLESS to say that MS is better than Senna, MS is my favorite driver, but Senna still be my hero.
Senna had SUPERB rivals with POOR team(only 1 year with the best car), also poor strategy, Senna was pure speed, AND Senna still hold the record of crashes, his car crashed 29% of his races.
115 races Senna have finished, from 161 he started, also 89 podiums and 65 poles...
I need to remember that EVERY RIVAL, Schumacher race against, HE LOST ?
Hill... Villeneuve... Hakkinnen... Alonso... WHO THE H*LL IS HILL AND VILLENEUVE?!?!? LOL.
SChumacher got records.
Senna was the best.
No more word.
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