Motor racing is essentially a science; it's about nuts and bolts, numbers on lap charts, and stopwatches. But sometimes other influences seem to play a part. Fate and coincidence loom large in many tragic stories in the sport's history, and rarely more poignantly than in the case of Albert Francois...

Between them, Jackie Stewart and Alain Prost accounted for seven World Championships and 78 grands prix victories. So why is it, when we look back, that neither of them was ever regarded as the fastest man of his era? Or that they were overshadowed on that score in their day...