(Daniel Baricevic is BPL's motorsport columnist)

With the start of the 2012 Formula 1 season less then a month away, DANIEL BARICEVIC rates the 12 best drivers to ever grace the circuits of the world's premier motorsport championship.

12. Nelson PIQUE (BRA)

Starts: 204; Wins: 23; Championships: 1981, 1983, 1987

One of only eight drivers to win three or more world championships, Nelson Piquet came onto the F1 scene in 1979 and instantly dominated his legendary Austrian team mate Niki Lauda at Brabham - effectively forcing Lauda into retirement.

Piquet drove for Brabham until 1985, winning two championships with the BMW-powered outfit before signing a lucrative deal with Williams, though his time there was less successful. He won one further world championship in 1987, but his rivalry with team mate Nigel Mansell regularly cost the team points.

For all his driving talent however, his temperament sometimes overshadowed his thrilling aggression and outright speed. He attacked Mansell, calling him an "uneducated blockhead," not before stating that his compatriot Ayrton Senna, "didn't like women."

11. Jack BRABHAM (AUS)

Starts: 128 Wins: 14 Championships: 1959, 1960, 1966

Known for his tough, uncompromising driving style, Brabham won three world championships, and in 1966 became the only driver ever to win one using his own car.

His edgy driving style paid homage to his hillclimb-racing upbringing in Australia. Remarkably, he won his third world title at the age of 40.

10. Fernando ALONSO (ESP)

Starts: 177 Wins: 27 Championships: 2005, 2006

Fernando Alonso was the man who cut short Michael Schumacher's dominance of F1 by becoming Spain's first world champion in 2005. Alonso's sheer pace and fortitude brought him a second title in 2006, before leaving Renault for a tumultuous time at McLaren.

Since joining Ferrari in 2010, Alonso has consistently out-performed his team mate Felipe Massa, whilst many believe the car is letting him down in his hunt for a third world title.

In 2011, Alonso's brilliant driving made an inferior Ferrari compete with the Red Bull's and McLaren's.

9. Sebastian VETTEL (GER)

Starts: 81 Wins: 21 Championships: 2010, 2011

At only 24 years of age, Vettel has already done it all. He holds virtually all the F1 ‘youngest' records, the major ones being youngest world champion and youngest to ever win a race.

The German is now a double world champion after winning back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. He showed pure domination in 2011, blowing away all opposition and wrapping up the title in Japan with four rounds to spare.

The scariest thing for the rest of the paddock is that he has plenty of years left.

8. Stirling MOSS (GBR)

Starts: 66 Wins: 16 Championships: None

If you're not an F1 fan, you're probably asking yourself why a man who never won a world championship made it onto the list.

He did however finish runner-up four times (1955-58) in an era considered the most dangerous in motorsport history. He played second fiddle to the great Juan Manuel Fangio, which is certainly no embarrassment.

When Fangio retired, Moss held the title as the best driver in the world until his crash at Goodwood in 1962 left him in a coma for a month and partially paralysed in the left side of his body for six months, forcing him into retirement.

7. Niki LAUDA (AUT)

Starts: 171 Wins: 25 Championships: 1975, 1977, 1984

Lauda began his career as a ‘pay-driver' in F1 after unremarkable performances in lower categories failed to earn him a place on the grid. However in 1973, strong performances for the BRM team earned him a drive with Italian giants Ferrari.

Lauda won the world championship in 1975, he would have won it also in 1976 if not for an accident that almost killed him at the Nurburgring. The crash left him with a severely burnt head and damaged lungs due to inhaling toxic gases.

He returned in 1977 to once again win the world championship with Ferrari, before leaving for Brabham. He retired in 1979 only to return in 1984, when he amazingly became world champion for the third time.

6. Jackie STEWART (GBR)

Starts: 99 Wins: 27 Championships: 1969, 1971, 1973

Jackie Stewart showed why often the smoothest drivers (ones who can look slowest) are usually the quickest.

Those lucky enough to see him drive to three world championships describe his smooth driving style and fearlessness in wet conditions as being keys to his success.

Since his retirement, Stewart has been pivotal to improving driver safety.

5. Jim CLARK (GBR)

Starts: 72 Wins: 25 Championships: 1963, 1965

Clark has been described as the most natural talent in Formula 1 ever. Cruelly, he was killed at the age of just 32, in a Formula 2 crash at Germany's Hockenheim circuit in 1968.

Before his death, he had won more Grand Prix's and held more pole positions than any other driver in history. Although stats show he only won two titles, poor car reliability and competing in uncompetitive machines resulted in missed opportunities for the Scotsman.

There may be others with better numbers now, but in an era where driver deaths were common, his stats until his death and accounts of his pure driving ability means he simply could not be excluded from this list.

4. Juan Manuel FANGIO (ARG)

Starts: 51 Wins: 24 Championships: 1951, 1954-57

Whilst it's true that Fangio usually drove the best cars on the grid, he is another from an era where death was almost an accepted part of the sport. He won a remarkable 47 per cent of the races he started, showing his dominance at the time.

Nicknamed ‘El-Maestro,' Fangio is the only driver to have won world championships with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati).

Six statues of Fangio stand at racing circuits around the world, including ones at the iconic Monaco, Monza and Nurburgring tracks.

3. Alain PROST (FRA)

Starts: 199 Wins: 51 Championships: 1985-86, 1989, 1993

A winner of four world championships, ‘The Professor's' driving style and wits certainly matched his nickname.

Prost modelled his relaxed style behind the wheel on two former greats, Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark. He had an ability to preserve his tyres and brakes to keep them fresh for the closing stages of the race, whilst being able to keep pace with the leaders throughout.

However, he will best be known for his epic battles with Ayrton Senna during the late 1980's and early 1990's. The rivalry came to a head at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, where Senna deliberately crashed his car into Prost on the first corner of the opening lap, handing the world championship to the Brazilian. Ironically, the year before at the same venue, the two came together, resulting in Prost becoming world champion in equally controversial circumstances.

Apart from his brilliant talent behind the wheel, Prost gave fans value for money with his rivalry with the great Senna.

2. Michael SCHUMACHER (GER)

Starts: 286 Wins: 91 Championships: 1994-95, 2000-2004

The stats show that the German is by far the most successful Formula One driver of all time, his five championships in a row in the early part of the last decade was an amazing achievement, however many question the superiority of the Ferrari over the rest of the paddock.

There is no denying Schumacher's talent, his consistent speed and ability to pull out ridiculously quick lap times out of nowhere was (and sometimes still is) a sight to behold.

Schumacher's pure ruthlessness may have lost him a few fans over the years - one only has to ask Rubens Barrichello, a former team mate of his, about Hungary 2010.

His fan base is still probably the biggest going around in F1 today, and though they are unlikely to see him recapture his glory days, it is unlikely any driver ever will match his statistics. Although a certain young countrymen of his currently driving a Red Bull might have something to say about that.

1. Ayrton SENNA (BRA)

Starts: 161 Wins: 41 Championships: 1988, 1990-91

Regarded by most as the greatest driver to ever live, Ayrton Senna's raw pace and passion were like none before him.

Although highly successful, Senna seemed to be in a dilemma with himself on occasion. He was a staunch Christian, who helped the disadvantaged and needy in Brazil, but on the other hand had no problem crashing into Prost at high speed on purpose, putting both their lives in danger.

His death at just age 34 in a crash at Imola cut short a simply outstanding career, but the debate of whether he was the greatest will continue.

Others may have more wins or championships, but his peers, including Schumacher, say he was the greatest. And that's good enough for me.