Senna, Schumacher or Hamilton, who was the greatest Formula 1 driver ever

[SchrodingersCat]

Formula 1's greatest of all time conversation almost always narrows down to the same three names, each representing a distinct era of the sport's history and a distinct kind of genius behind the wheel. Ayrton Senna is remembered above all for a level of raw one lap qualifying pace that many contemporaries and successors alike still describe as simply unmatched, along with a fierce, occasionally reckless will to win that made him one of the most compelling and controversial figures the sport has ever produced before his death at Imola in 1994 cut his career tragically short.

Michael Schumacher rebuilt Ferrari from a struggling midfield outfit into the dominant force of an entire era, winning five consecutive drivers' championships between 2000 and 2004 on top of two earlier titles with Benetton, a combination of raw speed, ruthless racecraft and genuinely obsessive attention to detail across every aspect of car development that redefined what a complete Formula 1 driver actually needed to be.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, matched Schumacher's seven championships across a career that has spanned an even longer stretch at the top of the sport, while also becoming the outright record holder for career race wins and pole positions, doing so across two different eras of dramatically different car regulations and against a rotating cast of elite rivals that arguably represents the deepest overall competition any of the three drivers actually faced.

Raw natural talent, dominant era defining consistency, or record breaking longevity against the deepest competition. Which case actually wins it for you?