Champion elimination alt. REVERSED!

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 11 Nov 2018, 16:35

Lewis Hamilton has clinched the 2018 championship so it's about time to get this one going. The point of the championship is the same old - win a championship and you're eliminated from all future seasons of F1 racing. The twist here is that I'm working through the history in reverse order so 2018 will be Hamilton's first and last season in F1 - for now. If he wins the championship next year the history will literally be written all over again. Fun times ahead doing this over every autumn.. :deletraz:

For storytelling purposes I will also work down every individual season in reverse order. I will also call every retired/severely injured/killed driver a rookie once they "join" the series and don't mean any disrespect with it.

All that said, I've gone through this all the way to early 60's and I can guarantee you a lot of proud reject moments and some unpredictable seasons!

LIST OF CHAMPIONS
2018 - Lewis Hamilton
2017 - Sebastian Vettel
2016 - Nico Rosberg
2015 - Kimi Räikkönen
2014 - Daniel Ricciardo
2013 - Fernando Alonso
2012 - Jenson Button
2011 - Mark Webber
2010 - Robert Kubica
2009 - Rubens Barrichello
2008 - Felipe Massa
2007 - Nick Heidfeld
2006 - Michael Schumacher
2005 - Ralf Schumacher
2004 - Juan Pablo Montoya
2003 - David Coulthard
2002 - Jarno Trulli
2001 - Mika Häkkinen

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 11 Nov 2018, 17:27

2017

Max Verstappen emerged as he early season favourite after winning three of the first six races and leading the championship after Malaysian GP with 14 points over Bottas. Vettel, despite retiring in Japan, was in third just 19 points off Max. Singapore however shuffled the pack as Vettel, Verstappen and Räikkönen retired on lap 1. Ricciardo won before Bottas and Sainz Jr, who was the first podium finisher of Formula 1.5 participants this season.

Points after Singapore 7/20:
1. Bottas -- 118
2. Verstappen -- 114
3. Vettel -- 95
4. Räikkönen -- 75
5. Ricciardo -- 71
6. Pérez -- 54
...

In the summer Bottas found the speed he had been missing since winning the season opener in Abu Dhabi. Four wins in seven races since Singapore increased his lead over Vettel to 47 points. Verstappen meanwhile only scored 29 points during these races and dropped to fifth in the standings.

Points after Canada 14/20:
1. Bottas -- 263
2. Vettel -- 216
3. Ricciardo -- 174
4. Räikkönen -- 158
5. Verstappen -- 143
6. Ocon -- 90
...

From Monaco onwards Vettel upped his game; wins in Monaco, Spain, Bahrain and China meant he had closed the gap to Bottas (who had retired in Spain and struggled overall despite winning in Russia) and the German was actually leading the championship by six points heading into the season decider. This meant that if either of the two won in Australia, that driver would be the champion. In the end it was Vettel who capped his incredible end to the season with a win and was crowned the world champion while Bottas finished second.

2017 STANDINGS
1. Sebastian Vettel -- 359 (9 wins, 4 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
2. Valtteri Bottas -- 346 (6 wins, 6 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
3. Daniel Ricciardo -- 234 (2 wins, 5 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
4. Kimi Räikkönen -- 233 (4 x 2nd, 7 x 3rd)
5. Max Verstappen -- 195 (3 wins, 1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
6. Sergio Pérez -- 133 (1 x 3rd)
7. Esteban Ocon -- 116 (1 x 4th)
8. Carlos Sainz Jr. -- 72 (1 x 3rd)
9. Felipe Massa -- 68 (2 x 5th)
10. Nico Hülkenberg -- 59 (4 x 5th)
11. Lance Stroll -- 52 (1 x 3rd)
12. Romain Grosjean -- 44 (1 x 5th)
13. Fernando Alonso -- 28 (1 x 5th)
14. Kevin Magnussen -- 27 (1 x 6th)
15. Stoffel Vandoorne -- 19 (2 x 6th)
16. Jolyon Palmer -- 13 (1 x 5th)
17. Daniil Kvjat -- 11 (2 x 8th)
18. Pascal Wehrlein -- 9 (1 x 7th)
19. Marcus Ericsson -- 2 (2 x 10th)

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 11 Nov 2018, 18:28

2016

#ROSBERGWINSLOL

The German rookie replaced Bottas at Mercedes and dominated the season from the go. The only drama of the season was at Red Bull's when Max Verstappen was moved to Toro Rosso in a shock move after winning the Spanish GP in favour of Daniil Kvjat who had been largely disappointing (outscored 15-68 by Sainz Jr.) so far in the season.

2016 STANDINGS
1. Nico Rosberg -- 438 (14 wins, 1 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
2. Daniel Ricciardo -- 326 (3 wins, 6 x 2nd, 6 x 3rd)
3. Max Verstappen -- 267 (3 wins, 6 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
4. Kimi Räikkönen -- 237 (5 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
5. Sergio Pérez -- 151 (2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
6. Valtteri Bottas -- 141 (1 x 2nd)
7. Nico Hülkenberg -- 119 (1 x 3rd)
8. Felipe Massa -- 98 (1 x 3rd)
9. Fernando Alonso -- 88 (2 x 3rd)
10. Carlos Sainz Jr. -- 80 (2 x 4th)
11. Romain Grosjean -- 48 (2 x 4th)
12. Jenson Button -- 43 (1 x 5th)
13. Daniil Kvjat -- 41 (1 x 2nd)
14. Kevin Magnussen -- 15 (1 x 6th)
15. Esteban Gutiérrez -- 10 (3 x 9th)
16. Felipe Nasr -- 7 (1 x 7th)
17. Jolyon Palmer -- 5 (1 x 9th)
18. Marcus Ericsson -- 2 (1 x 9th, 11th)
19. Pascal Wehrlein -- 2 (1 x 9th, 12th)
20. Stoffel Vandoorne -- 2 (1 x 9th)
21. Esteban Ocon -- 1 (1 x 10th)

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 11 Nov 2018, 21:00

I did this in 2010, so I will be interested to see how the 8 years in between changes things. However I believe once you get back to 1993 it will be the same whatever happens as Prost, Mansell and Senna will always win 1993 to 1991 backwards respectively as they all stopped racing for whatever reason in that 1993-95 period.

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 11 Nov 2018, 21:41

James1978 wrote:I did this in 2010, so I will be interested to see how the 8 years in between changes things. However I believe once you get back to 1993 it will be the same whatever happens as Prost, Mansell and Senna will always win 1993 to 1991 backwards respectively as they all stopped racing for whatever reason in that 1993-95 period.

Predictions back to 1994 (whited out for those who don't want to be spoiled):

2015 Raikkonen
2014 Ricciardo
2013 Webber
2012 Alonso
2011 Button
2010 Very close between Massa and Kubica.
2009 Barrichello
2008 Whichever of Massa/Kubica doesn't win 2010
2007 HEIDFELD!!!!!
2006 Michael Schumacher
2005 Ralf Schumacher (seemed to remember he won the No Real Champions championship even though Montoya and Fisichella were ahead of him in real life)
2004 Montoya
2003 Coulthard
2002. God knows. You have no Ferrari, no Williams, no McLaren and Button best of the rest out. Think you're looking at Trulli or Fisichella!!
2001 Hakkinen
2000 Villeneuve
1999 Irvine
1998 Think Frentzen will shade it on better consistency than Hill or the Benetton drivers.
1997 Alesi
1996 Hill
1995 Herbert
1994 Berger

Actually come to think of it, 1997 backwards would be the same as the one I did if that was the case!!

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 11 Nov 2018, 21:57

James1978 wrote:I did this in 2010, so I will be interested to see how the 8 years in between changes things. However I believe once you get back to 1993 it will be the same whatever happens as Prost, Mansell and Senna will always win 1993 to 1991 backwards respectively as they all stopped racing for whatever reason in that 1993-95 period.

Oh, hadn't realised a similar thread was buried in the Flat Broke forum! You are absolutely right that Prost, Mansell and Senna will probably always win those years. Let's hope so at least so we wouldn't have to go through all those pre-90's years again

I can also tell you that though your predictions are good, there will be some surprises down the line 8-)

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 12 Nov 2018, 19:57

I honestly thought the old thread got killed in the site move TBH, never thought to look in Flat Broke!! I can't really remember what happened once you got back to the 70s/60s and especially 50s anyway! I can only remember all the champions for definite back to 1980.

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 13 Nov 2018, 21:40

2015
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg)

Kimi Räikkönen started the season strong with wins in first two races but retirements in Mexico and USA, and poor race in Sochi left him trailing in the championship. Instead Force India's Sergio Pérez was leading the standings after five races following his win in Sochi. Shoutout to the US GP where Verstappen won for Toro Rosso and was accompanied by Pérez and Button on podium. Only 9 drivers finished so Rossi (who had replaced Merhi temporarily) was able to net two points for Marussia!

Points after Russia 5/19:
1. Pérez -- 71
2. Räikkönen -- 58
3. Kvjat -- 51
4. Bottas -- 45
5. Verstappen -- 43
6. Massa -- 40
7. Ricciardo -- 40
...

Next five races saw five different winners when Räikkönen (Japan), Ricciardo (Singapore), Massa (Italy), Grosjean (Belgium) and Kvjat (Hungary) took victories. This meant that the first 10 races had seen 8 different winners! Räikkönen was the only multiple winner with three victories. Next one to three wins was Massa who won the next two in Britain and Austria to climb into third in points. With only seven races to go, it was all to play for since everyone had had both excellent and abysmal races. Britain was also a double points race for Marussia: Merhi in 9th and Stevens in 10th.

Points after Austria 12/19:
1. Bottas -- 139
2. Räikkönen -- 136
3. Massa -- 129
4. Kvjat -- 128
5. Pérez -- 126
6. Ricciardo -- 97
...

After Bottas' victory in Canada, Red Bull scored a memorable 1-2 finish in Monaco. Kvjat won the race and was only 8 points behind leading Räikkönen but wasn't able to challenge the two Finns in the championship battle. Red Bull's speed faded badly towards the end of season with Kvjat dropping behind Massa in the strandings. Räikkönen and Bottas however traded positions on the top position but a three win streak for Räikkönen leading into the Melbourne decider meant the Ferrari driver lead the Bottas by 22 points. Unfortunately there was not to be any fight for the title when Bottas had to withdraw from the race due to injury. Räikkönen was the champion before the race even started. Felipe Nasr was the star of the weekend with a brilliant second place finish for Sauber, backed by Ericsson in fifth.

2015 STANDINGS
1. Kimi Räikkönen -- 262 (6 wins, 3 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
2. Valtteri Bottas -- 240 (3 wins, 7 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
3. Felipe Massa -- 223 (4 wins, 2 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
4. Daniil Kvjat -- 183 (2 wins, 2 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
5. Daniel Ricciardo -- 172 (1 win, 2 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
6. Sergio Pérez -- 164 (1 win, 2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
7. Nico Hülkenberg -- 116 (3 x 3rd)
8. Romain Grosjean -- 115 (1 win)
9. Max Verstappen -- 109 (1 win, 1 x 3rd)
10. Felipe Nasr -- 77 (1 x 2nd)
11. Carlos Sainz Jr. -- 65 (1 x 4th)
12. Pastor Maldonado -- 63 (2 x 4th)
13. Jenson Button -- 45 (1 x 3rd)
14. Marcus Ericsson -- 41 (1 x 5th)
15. Fernando Alonso -- 35 (1 x 4th)
16. Roberto Merhi -- 2 (1 x 9th, 11th)
17. Alexander Rossi -- 2 (1 x 9th, 12th)
18. Will Stevens -- 1 (1 x 10th)

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 13 Nov 2018, 22:16

2014
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Räikkönen)

Felipe Massa was the star of the first third of the season and lead in points until Belgium (helped by the double points round of season opener Abu Dhabi). The winner in Belgium was Ricciardo who was now leading Massa by three points. The third contender was Valtteri Bottas who had won in Russia and been a consistent podium runner. In July the Finn found the sweet spot of his Williams as he racked three straight wins in Germany, Britain and Austria to take the lead from Ricciardo. Meanwhile Massa had began to fall behind.

Points after Austria 12/19:
1. Bottas -- 226
2. Ricciardo -- 221
3. Massa -- 185
4. Alonso -- 144
5. Button -- 142
6. Magnussen -- 92
...

After Bottas' three wins, it was Ricciardo's turn to win three in a row. Monaco victory in particular was an important one after Bottas, running sixth at the moment, had to retire due to engine problems. A lot of other retirements marked big points for Marussia and Caterham: Bianchi was 7th, Ericsson 9th and Kobayashi 10th.

Following Ricciardo's streak we saw only new winners in the last four races as Alonso (China, Malaysia), Pérez (Bahrain) and Magnussen (Australia) got to taste the champagne. Ricciardo had actually crossed the finish line first in his home GP but was disqualified after the race, gifting the victory to Magnussen. The penalty had no effect on the championship as Ricciardo had already clinched the title two round earlier in Bahrain.

2014 STANDINGS
1. Daniel Ricciardo -- 332 (8 win, 3 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
2. Valtteri Bottas -- 298 (4 wins, 3 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
3. Fernando Alonso -- 262 (2 wins, 4 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
4. Felipe Massa -- 223 (3 wins, 2 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
5. Jenson Button -- 217 (5 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
6. Nico Hülkenberg -- 186 (1 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
7. Kevin Magnussen -- 141 (1 win, 1 x 3rd)
8. Sergio Pérez -- 135 (1 win)
9. Jean-Éric Vergne -- 76 (1 x 4th)
10. Daniil Kvjat -- 59 (2 x 6th
11. Romain Grosjean -- 36 (1 x 4th)
12. Pastor Maldonado -- 25 (1 x 6th)
13. Adrian Sutil -- 10 (1 x 7th)
14. Jules Bianchi -- 6 (1 x 7th)
15. Esteban Gutiérrez -- 6 (1 x 9th)
16. Kamui Kobayashi -- 3 (1 x 9th, 11th)
17. Marcus Ericsson -- 3 (1 x 9th, 12th)
18. Max Chilton -- 2 (1 x 9th)

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 14 Nov 2018, 20:26

2013
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Räikkönen, Ricciardo)

Rookie Mark Webber won the first race of his career in Brazil and he traded wins with Romain Grosjean in the first six races. In Singapore both retired (Webber on the last lap from second) which allowed Alonso to grab the third win of his career. Subsequently he joined Grosjean in the points leader position.

Points after Singapore 7/19:
1. Grosjean -- 111
2. Alonso -- 111
3. Webber -- 93
4. Massa -- 76
5. Pérez -- 65
6. Hülkenberg -- 60
7. Button -- 60
...

After his Singapore victory Alonso went on a magnificent run of form in the European races as he finished in top-2 in every race but Monaco where he was left out of podium in fourth. Webber won three races in the span of eight too and was Alonso's closest rival while Grosjean had reliability problems.

Points after Spain 15/19:
1. Alonso -- 277
2. Webber -- 249
3. Grosjean -- 173
4. Massa -- 156
5. Button -- 141
6. Pérez -- 109
7. Hülkenberg -- 101
...

Alonso's rather healthy lead was enough and he clinched the title already in China with a victory after Webber's retirement due to a loose wheel. Quite an unexciting season overall. Wins only for the top three with Massa being the closest challenger in the second Ferrari. All drivers scored points for the second time ever (previously in 2015) and you can expect this trend to continue.

2013 STANDINGS
1. Fernando Alonso -- 337 (7 wins, 4 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
2. Mark Webber -- 301 (7 wins, 4 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
3. Romain Grosjean -- 229 (5 wins, 2 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
4. Felipe Massa -- 207 (5 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
5. Jenson Button -- 175 (1 x 2nd, 5 x 3rd)
6. Sergio Pérez -- 144 (2 x 3rd)
7. Nico Hülkenberg -- 125 (1 x 2nd)
8. Paul di Resta -- 122 (1 x 2nd)
9. Adrian Sutil -- 95 (1 x 2nd)
10. Jean-Éric Vergne -- 52 (1 x 3rd)
11. Esteban Gutiérrez -- 49 (1 x 5th)
12. Pastor Maldonado -- 42 (5 x 7th)
13. Valtteri Bottas -- 33 (1 x 6th)
14. Jules Bianchi -- 2 (1 x 9th)
15. Charles Pic -- 2 (2 x 10th, 2 x 11th)
16. Heikki Kovalainen -- 2 (2 x 10th)
17. Giedo van der Garde -- 1 (1 x 10th, 3 x 11th)
18. Max Chilton -- 1 (1 x 10th, 1 x 12th)

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 19 Jan 2019, 20:39

2012
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Räikkönen, Ricciardo, Alonso)

First half of the season saw two main contenders rise above the rest. Having come so close to a win in previous season, McLaren's Jenson Button was finally able to take his maiden victory in the season opener. Three more wins by the Hungarian Grand Prix saw him leading the championship by a single point over Ferrari's Felipe Massa, who had finished every single race in the top-5, winning twice. Webber, having won twice as well, had been struggling for consistency and reliability but was still third in points, though over 60 points behind.

Points after Hungary 10/20:
1. Button -- 169
2. Massa -- 168
3. Webber -- 105
4. Hülkenberg -- 91
5. Grosjean -- 77
6. di Resta -- 68
7. Kobayashi -- 63
...

Button won the next race in Germany but hit a rough patch afterwards and could find podium until six races later in China, where he won. Massa on the other continued to score decent points and swapped the points leader position with Button a couple of times until Button reclaimed following his China victory. Meanwhile Webber had finally found his consistency and was scoring a podium after podium, along with wins in Silverstone and Monaco. Most of the wins however went to some of the more unfamiliar faces as Grosjean, Pérez, Maldonado and rookie Schumacher took victories during the summer.

Checo's next win came in the penunltimate round of the championship in Malaysia. Webber finished second (as so many times before in the season) and actually took the championship lead for the first time all season. Button and Massa were 8th and 9th respectively which meant that Button was trailing Webber by 6 points heading into Melbourne. Massa was further 18 points back - only a win in Australia and a zero for Webber would make him a champion. All drivers in the top-11 of the championship had scored podiums but inconsistency had left them out of the title chase which had been wide open all season.

Points after Malaysia 19/20:
1. Webber -- 260
2. Button -- 254
3. Massa -- 236
4. Grosjean -- 175
5. Hülkenberg -- 161
6. di Resta -- 144
7. Pérez -- 139
...

Massa had to be considered an outsider in the championship battle and given his recent results (only 18 points in the last four races) he was a longshot. The math for Button and Webber however was easy: in the simplest terms, winner takes it all.

Button was the fastest in qualifying, boosting his championship hopes. Webber was in second row after Grosjean and Schumacher had beaten him in qualifying. Massa continued his abysmal form and was sitting in 11th, only Caterhams, Marussias and Pérez (no time) behind him.

Button lead the pack off the line and looked in control as Webber got away slower, made contact with Vergne and Hülkenberg in T1, dropping him further back. Massa looked uncompetitive all race and his championship hoeps came to an end finally on lap 46 from P8. Webber however had charged back and was giving his all after claiming second position on lap 23. Button however was unphased despite the pressure applied to him. A win was all he needed and he delivered in the end. Webber got second in front of his home crowd but that was simply not enough - he had lost the championship by one point.

2012 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. Jenson Button       279 (7 wins, 3 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 2. Mark Webber         278 (4 wins, 5 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 3. Felipe Massa        236 (2 wins, 5 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 4. Romain Grosjean     175 (3 wins, 1 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
 5. Nico Hülkenberg     161 (1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 6. Paul di Resta       154 (1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 7. Sergio Pérez        151 (2 wins, 1 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 8. Kamui Kobayashi     141 (2 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
 9. Michael Schumacher  117 (1 win, 1 x 3rd)
10. Bruno Senna         109 (2 x 3rd)
11. Pastor Maldonado    102 (1 win, 1 x 2nd)
12. Jean-Éric Vergne     73 (2 x 5th)
13. Timo Glock           13 (1 x 7th)
14. Heikki Kovalainen    12 (1 x 8th)
15. Vitali Petrov        10 (1 x 8th)
16. Jérôme d'Ambrosio     4 (1 x 8th)
17. Charles Pic           4 (2 x 9th)
18. Narain Karthikeyan    1 (1 x 10th)

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 20 Jan 2019, 01:27

now that is a season I would watch

Massa and Pérez each getting two wins? The championship barely more than a point difference most of the time? Schumacher winning in Valencia?

Ok, I know 2012 was a great season regardless, but this would also have been fantastic

Gertrand Bachot · Post by **Gertrand Bachot** » 20 Jan 2019, 09:18

Rob Dylan wrote:now that is a season I would watch Massa and Pérez each getting two wins? The championship barely more than a point difference most of the time? Schumacher winning in Valencia?

Ok, I know 2012 was a great season regardless, but this would also have been fantastic

How could you forget the great Narain Karthikeyan scoring points?

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 20 Jan 2019, 10:00

Gertrand Bachot wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:now that is a season I would watch Massa and Pérez each getting two wins? The championship barely more than a point difference most of the time? Schumacher winning in Valencia?

Ok, I know 2012 was a great season regardless, but this would also have been fantastic

How could you forget the great Narain Karthikeyan scoring points?

Or the fact that Pedro de la Rosa still didn't score any points

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 20 Jan 2019, 13:41

Rob Dylan wrote:
Gertrand Bachot wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:now that is a season I would watch Massa and Pérez each getting two wins? The championship barely more than a point difference most of the time? Schumacher winning in Valencia?

Ok, I know 2012 was a great season regardless, but this would also have been fantastic

How could you forget the great Narain Karthikeyan scoring points?
Or the fact that Pedro de la Rosa still didn't score any points

Bruno Senna of all people also scored two podiums :pantano:

My favourite fact of this universe however is that Hülkenberg hasn't (and won't) won a race whereas Pérez for example has four across three season

That guy can't get a break even in alt. championships.

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 20 Jan 2019, 16:21

2011
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Ricciardo, Alonso, Button)

#WEBBERWINSLOL

Determined to bounce back after previous year's bitter disappointment, Red Bull's Mark Webber came into the season in flying form winning the first six races. In Monza he crashed out, gifting the win to Schumacher who was fifth in points coming into the race. After Italy Webber returned to form winning the next 7 races and clincing the championship in Monaco.

Points after Monaco 14/19:
1. Webber -- 325
2. Massa -- 195
3. Sutil -- 135
4. Schumacher -- 134
5. di Resta -- 103
6. Alguersuari -- 97
7. Kobayashi -- 75
...

Webber didn't stop there but instead added another three wins, extending his streak to 10 straight race wins - a record surely never going to be beaten? In the last two races he finished second which meant he scored 436 of the total 475 available. Renault drivers Petrov and Heidfeld, who had replaced disappointing Senna mid-season, won the last two races.

2011 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. Mark Webber         436 (16 wins, 2 x 2nd)
 2. Felipe Massa        251 (9 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
 3. Michael Schumacher  183 (1 win, 5 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 4. Adrian Sutil        160 (5 x 3rd)
 5. Paul di Resta       133 (1 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 6. Vitali Petrov       132 (1 win, 2 x 3rd)
 7. Kamui Kobayashi     117 (1 x 2nd)
 8. Jaime Alguersuari   105 (4 x 3rd)
 9. Nick Heidfeld       102 (1 win, 1 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
10. Sébastien Buemi      90 (4 x 4th)
11. Sergio Pérez         84 (1 x 3rd)
12. Rubens Barrichello   53 (1 x 5th)
13. Pastor Maldonado     28 (2 x 6th)
14. Bruno Senna          23 (1 x 5th)
15. Heikki Kovalainen     9 (4 x 9th)
16. Jarno Trulli          8 (1 x 8th)
17. Pedro de la Rosa      2 (1 x 9th)
18. Jérôme d'Ambrosio     2 (2 x 10th)
19. Vitantonio Liuzzi     1 (1 x 10th)

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 21 Jan 2019, 09:25

I just can't believe Renault are dropping Heidfeld for some rookie next year. Heidfeld came in over halfway through the season and was right by Petrov in the standings by the end, winning a bloody race! To be without a drive after winning in your debut season in Formula 1 just shows it up for all its problems

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 21 Jan 2019, 18:18

Rob Dylan wrote:I just can't believe Renault are dropping Heidfeld for some rookie next year. Heidfeld came in over halfway through the season and was right by Petrov in the standings by the end, winning a bloody race! To be without a drive after winning in your debut season in Formula 1 just shows it up for all its problems

It's crazy right? Even more crazy is the fact that isn't any rookie but a Polish rally driver! Like what were they thinking?

2010
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Alonso, Button, Webber)

The Polish rally driver looked to be a great signing by Renault as Kubica won the season opener in Abu Dhabi and added a couple of 3rd place finishes in the next two races. Schumacher won in Brazil, Massa in Korea then Schumacher again in Japan after Kubica and Massa retired in the first laps. With two wins and another 2nd place finish from Korea, Schumi was leading the championship.

Points after Japan 4/19:
1. Schumacher -- 68
2. Kubica -- 55
3. Kobayashi -- 42
4. Massa -- 39
5. Alguersuari -- 35
6. Barrichello -- 34
7. Heidfeld -- 31
...

Next race in Singapore was won by Barrichello. Heidfeld's season was cut short in the same race following his retirement and was replaced by de la Rosa. Kubica finished second and took the championship lead but lost it three rounds later in Hungary to winner Massa who had won in Italy too. Schumi had troubles even finding podium and had dropped behind the two main challengers.

Points after Hungary 8/19:
1. Massa -- 122
2. Kubica -- 113
3. Schumacher -- 102
4. Barrichello -- 77
...

Massa won again in Germany but hit a rough patch aftewards. The two races in Silverstone and Valencia? They were won by none other than Rubens Barrichello. Silverstone saw a very unlikely top-3 as he was accompanied by Kobayashi and Sutil on podium. Barrichello's two wins closed his gap to the leaders - after Valencia he was only 22 points off leader Massa.

Points after Valencia 11/19:
1. Massa -- 157
2. Kubica -- 149
3. Barrichello -- 135
4. Schumacher -- 130
5. Kobayashi -- 102
6. Hülkenberg -- 82
7. Petrov -- 75
...

The most consistent driver of the season had so far been Kubica. The pole had climbed to podium in every race he had finished but three retirements had hindered him. After Silverstone however he never retired again. Wins in Canada, Monaco, China and Malaysia clinched him the title with two races left of the season before adding another one in Australia. Massa won the season finale in Bahrain, solidifying his second place in the championship. Barrichello was unable to continue his incredible form, two 4th places his best finishes in the rest of the season, dropping him to fourth behind Schumacher who had won in Turkey and Spain.
Karun Chandhok, who had replaced pointless Sakon Yamamoto in HRT was among the stars of the second half with his brilliant points finishes.

2010 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. Robert Kubica       314 (7 wins, 4 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
 2. Felipe Massa        283 (5 wins, 4 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
 3. Michael Schumacher  236 (4 wins, 2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 4. Rubens Barrichello  189 (3 wins)
 5. Adrian Sutil        161 (1 x 2nd, 5 x 3rd)
 6. Kamui Kobayashi     116 (2 x 2nd)
 7. Jaime Alguersuari   111 (1 x 3rd)
 8. Nico Hülkenberg     105 (2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 9. Vitali Petrov       104 (3 x 2nd)
10. Vitantonio Liuzzi    98 (3 x 3rd)
11. Sébastien Buemi      87 (1 x 2nd)
12. Pedro de la Rosa     42 (1 x 4th)
13. Nick Heidfeld        31 (1 x 3rd)
14. Heikki Kovalainen    19 (1 x 7th)
15. Jarno Trulli          6 (1 x 8th)
16. Karun Chandhok        6 (3 x 9th)
17. Lucas di Grassi       5 (1 x 8th)
18. Bruno Senna           3 (3 x 10th)
19. Timo Glock            2 (1 x 9th)

IRL Massa had more podiums and less retirements than Kubica so I was quite shocked at the gap that Kubica was able to take this one! And what's not to love about Barrichello's wins, in a 2010 Williams!

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 21 Jan 2019, 19:23

This series just makes me madder and madder. Hamilton clearly spent years in that Mercedes building it up to the car it is, and now Schumacher, clearly past it, just jumps in and wins a bunch of races in a fantastic chassis. There's no justice really.

And a poor season for Petrov. Renault were stuck for choice with three star drivers, but in hindsight they probably should have kept Heidfeld and dropped Petrov. Instead now Heidfeld's going to the new BMW team in 2009, and they're promising to win the championship next year! What with Mercedes being bought out by Ross Brawn (..........), Barrichello is making a gamble in going there. However, I expect him to win by a mile next season, what with Massa out for injuries.

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 23 Jan 2019, 18:14

2009
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Räikkönen, Alonso, Button, Webber, Kubica)

As Rob noted, Ross Brawn bought out Mercedes' struggling team and signed Rubens Barrichello as team's only driver. Barrichello started the season with a win and despite next three races were won by three different drivers (Buemi, Trulli, Glock), the Brazilian was in control of the championship. Glock's situation was a curious one too. He was signed by Toyota but fever and its complications had forced him out of the first three races. Kobayashi, his replacement, started the season with two podium finishes but it wasn't enough to convince Toyota to keep him for the entire season after Glock won in his Toyota dèbut.

Barrichello was mr. consistency, although not always the fastest one on track. Fisichella (who won right after being let go by Ferrari in favour of Luca Badoer), Kovalainen and Massa (who in turn replaced Badoer) won a race each in the summer making it seven different winners in nine races. Barrichello was the only one with more than one win and victories in Great Britain, Monaco and Spain meant that he was the champion with four rounds to go. FIght for second however would be a great one with six drivers having a realistic chance at it.

Points after Spain 13/17:
1. Barrichello -- 99
2. Kovalainen -- 56
3. Heidfeld -- 56
4. Glock -- 51
5. Trulli -- 46
6. Fisichella -- 45
7. Massa -- 42
...

Trulli and Barrichello won the next races while Fisichella and Massa had the worst results of the six challengers. In Malaysia Kovalainen, who was second with a five point lead over Glock, spun off in lap 1 and looked to lose his position. Luckily for him the race was cut short by heavy rain so the top-3 of Heidfeld, Glock and Trulli could only gain half points on Kovalainen.

Points after Malaysia 16/17:
1. Barrichello -- 119,5
2. Kovalainen -- 68
3. Glock -- 67
4. Heidfeld -- 64
5. Trulli -- 59
6. Fisichella -- 48
7. Massa -- 46
...

Kovalainen, whose form had dropped significantly in the second half of the season, retired again right at lap 1 in Australia. Second place was up for grabs. Barrichello was the winner with the Toyotas following in tow after starting from pit lane. Trulli would have needed the win to pass Kovalainen in the standings so it was Timo Glock who took the silver medal despite missing the first three rounds of the season. Heidfeld only finished seventh, dropping him behind Trulli by one point and losing the bronze by just two points to Kovalainen.

2009 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. Rubens Barrichello   129,5 (8 wins, 4 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 2. Timo Glock            73   (1 wins, 2 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
 3. Heikki Kovalainen     68   (1 wins, 2 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
 4. Jarno Trulli          67   (3 wins, 1 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
 5. Nick Heidfeld         66   (1 win, 3 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 6. Giancarlo Fisichella  49   (1 win)
 7. Felipe Massa          46   (1 win, 4 x 2nd)
 8. Kazuki Nakajima       30   (2 x 4th)
 9. Sébastien Buemi       29   (1 win)
10. Adrian Sutil          24   (1 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
11. Sébastien Bourdais    18,5 (1 x 3rd)
12. Nelson Piquet Jr.     16,5 (1 x 4th)
13. Kamui Kobayashi       12   (2 x 3rd)
14. Vitantonio Liuzzi      9   (1 x 5th)
15. Romain Grosjean        3   (1 x 7th)
16. Jaime Alguersuari      1   (1 x 8th)

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 23 Jan 2019, 19:40

Buemi's 7th place in Brazil getting converted to a win is probably the craziest result of all the results yet. Like, I recall him and Bourdais never really bettered their results in Australia and were in the doldrums for the rest of the season. Barrichello was expected to win 2009 under the circumstances, but at least we can now see Massa win his rightful 2008 championship

So instead of two Brits winning in '08 and '09, we'll get two Brazilians!

That is unless Kovalainen somehow makes up a huge number of points in the deficit to take a surprise win :lol:

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 23 Jan 2019, 19:44

Rob Dylan wrote:Buemi's 7th place in Brazil getting converted to a win is probably the craziest result of all the results yet. Like, I recall him and Bourdais never really bettered their results in Australia and were in the doldrums for the rest of the season. Barrichello was expected to win 2009 under the circumstances, but at least we can now see Massa win his rightful 2008 championship

So instead of two Brits winning in '08 and '09, we'll get two Brazilians!

That is unless Kovalainen somehow makes up a huge number of points in the deficit to take a surprise win

Don't count out Quick Nick, he had no retirements all season and might be a dark horse... :vergne:

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 04 Feb 2019, 23:54

2008
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Räikkönen, Alonso, Button, Webber, Kubica, Barrichello)

After coming so close so many times before (twice second, twice third and twice fourth in the championship with 15 wins) Ferrari's Felipe Massa started the 2008 season as the favourite to take the title. Only 11 drivers turned up to the season opener in Brazil, the lowerst number yet, so there wasn't much to choose from in terms of challengers. BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld had shown glimpses of speed in the past few seasons and was looking to finally get a full season in a competitive car. Toyota's Timo Glock and Jarno Trulli had had a strong season in 2009, finishing 2nd and 4th respectively in the championship. Last year's third, Heikki Kovalainen would also be a strong contender on his second season as McLaren's sole driver.

Massa began his title chase strongly. Wins in Brazil and China were an excellent start but after only managing seventh, despite starting from pole, in a bizarre race in Singapore (won by Timo Glock after a safety car caused by Nelson Piquet Jr. shuffled the pack) the championship was still wide open. Piquet of course had come into the race hot after his win in Suzuka so such an amateur mistake was a very curious one.

Points after Singapore 4/18:
1. Massa -- 28
2. Heidfeld -- 25
3. Glock -- 24
4. Piquet Jr. -- 15
5. Trulli -- 13
6. Nakajima -- 12
7. Bourdais -- 12
...

Massa returned to form after Singapore. In Monza he was third after Kovalainen and Heidfeld to the disappointment of the tifosi but wins in Belgium and Valencia made up for it. Next race in Hungary was comfortably going Massa's way as well but an engine failure from the lead with only three laps to go made the championship ever more interesting. Kovalainen took his second win of the season but was only fourth in points after rather inconsistent results. Glock was second in Hungaroring, his fourth podium in eight races but he wasn't a match either for Mr. Consistency, Nick Heidfeld. The german had had four second places and never finishing below fifth position thus far in the season. Steady points income had made him Massa's main rival despite never being on top of the leaderboard on outright speed.

Points after Hungary 8/18:
1. Massa -- 54
2. Heidfeld -- 49
3. Glock -- 46
4. Kovalainen -- 42
5. Piquet Jr. -- 28
6. Trulli -- 26
7. Bourdais -- 21
...

Piquet Jr. took his second win of the season in the next race in Germany. Massa and Heidfeld joined him on podium, solidifying the two as the main title challengers. Next up was a rainy weekend in Silverstone which Felipe Massa surely would like to forget. Numerous spins and mistakes in the race hindered the Brazilian's progress as he crossed the finish line in seventh. Nick Heidfeld however was the master of the changing conditions, grabbing his first victory of the season and ascending him to the lead in the championship by one point over Massa!

Next race in Magny Cours saw their roles reversed as Heidfeld finished seventh after a difficult weekend with Massa winning the race. Kovalainen with another podium was chasing them and managing to extend the gap to Toyota drivers in the championship. Next race in Canada was another curious one as the safety car shuffled the pack in the middle of the race. Massa had further problems with his pit stop, finishing the race eventually in fourth. Heidfeld, who was looking to find his prime pace, took the win ahead of Coulthard (his first podium) and Glock. With six races to go the championship could hardly get any closer. If only Kovalainen wouldn't have retired in the early stages of the season, he would be up there too. Still, he wasn't too far either at this point.

Points after Hungary 12/18:
1. Massa -- 79
2. Heidfeld -- 77
3. Kovalainen -- 64
4. Glock -- 58
5. Trulli -- 48
6. Piquet Jr. -- 43
7. Coulthard -- 31
...

Soon most of the drivers would be too far however. After Canada Massa went on to win in Monaco, Turkey, Spain and Bahrain, all from pole position, and looked like no one could stop him. Heidfeld was collecting decent points but with two races to go was already 18 points behind Massa. Only two wins for him and a maximum of one points for Massa would save the BMW Sauber driver. Kovalainen had already dropped further 21 points behind after mediocre results. The starlet of this stretch of four races was Williams' Japanese ace Kazuki Nakajima who scored impressive brace of second place finishes in Monaco and Spain.

Points after Bahrain 16/18:
1. Massa -- 119
2. Heidfeld -- 101
3. Kovalainen -- 80
4. Glock -- 73
5. Trulli -- 68
6. Piquet Jr. -- 45
7. Nakajima -- 43
...

So, the maths was simple. Two points for Massa and he would finally be crowned a world champion. In Malaysia he qualified on pole again but a crucial mistake on lap 30 when he spun off from the lead of the race opened the game again. Heidfeld, however, was far from his best cruising in third behind Kovalainen and Trulli. Third would also be his final position which made Massa the world champion. In the last race of the season in Australia Massa spun once again, this time on lap 1, dropping him to the back of the pack. Kovalainen was leading from Heidfeld but a safety car period with ten laps to go reversed the order. Heidfeld won, rising him to only within two points from champion Massa in the standings. Unfortynately it wasn't enough - despite his consistency of never finishing a race below seventh position and never retiring, his speed just wasn't a good enough match for the Ferrari driver.

2008 STANDINGS

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 1. Felipe Massa         119 (9 wins, 1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 2. Nick Heidfeld        117 (3 wins, 6 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 3. Heikki Kovalainen     98 (3 wins, 3 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
 4. Jarno Trulli          76 (3 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
 5. Timo Glock            73 (1 win, 2 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 6. Nelson Piquet Jr.     49 (2 wins, 1 x 3rd)
 7. Kazuki Nakajima       49 (2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 8. David Coulthard       44 (1 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 9. Sébastien Bourdais    36 (1 x 3rd)
10. Giancarlo Fisichella  14 (1 x 5th)
11. Adrian Sutil           5 (2 x 7th)
12. Anthony Davidson       2 (1 x 7th)
13. Takuma Sato            2 (2 x 8th)

Fun fact: Had I run the season in the correct order from Australia to Brazil, Heidfeld would have been leading the championship before the season finale by four points (113-109)

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 05 Feb 2019, 22:16

That was remarkably close, I thought Massa would have walked it! 2007 must surely be Mr Slightly Bored's though/

BTW there was no race at Abu Dhabi in 2008. :-)

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 06 Feb 2019, 20:45

James1978 wrote:BTW there was no race at Abu Dhabi in 2008.

Excellent point! Fixed.

2007
(Eliminated: Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg, Räikkönen, Alonso, Button, Webber, Kubica, Barrichello, Massa)

With Massa retiring after his title, there was only one favourite for the 2007 season. Ferrari and McLaren left the championship briefly which made BMW Sauber and Nick Heidfeld as the pairing to beat with Renault's Kovalainen and Fisichella probably their main rival.

Heidfeld started the season with a bang, winning the opener in Brazil. Toro Rosso's Vitantonio Liuzzi won the next one (yes, really) in China in wet conditions with Heidfeld claiming second. In the next race in Japan Heidfeld was on course to finish fourth before retiring with three laps to go. He was classified eigth in the end in the race won by Kovalainen. Red Bull's David Coulthard finished second and claimed the championship lead following a pair of third place finishes in the first two races.

Points after Japan 3/17:
1. Coulthard -- 20
2. Heidfeld -- 19
3. Liuzzi -- 16
4. Kovalainen -- 15
5. Trulli -- 12
6. Fisichella -- 10
7. Nakajima -- 5
...

After Japan Heidfeld went on a winning streak, taking six of the seven races to his name. #HEIDFELDWINSLOL is not something you'll see every day. The only race he missed was at Nürburgring, a race won by none other than Alexander Wurz. In Indianapolis Heidfeld retired, giving Heikki Kovalainen the chance to stand on top of the podium. The Finn had been collecting decent points consistently (much like Heidfeld the year before) and wasn't that far from the German.

Points after USA 11/17:
1. Heidfeld -- 85
2. Kovalainen -- 71
3. Fisichella -- 48
4. Coulthard -- 47
5. Trulli -- 38
6. Wurz -- 36
7. Schumacher -- 29
...

Heidfeld however was clearly the best driver in the grid and took another four wins in the last six races, clinching the title with his win in Malaysia. Kovalainen was almost as clear second in the championship before teammate Fisichella. To round up the season I just want to give a shoutout to Super Aguri and Takuma Sato who finished third in Spain, the team's first podium!

2007 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. Nick Heidfeld        133 (11 wins, 2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 2. Heikki Kovalainen    103 (2 wins, 5 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 3. Giancarlo Fisichella  85 (1 win, 3 x 2nd, 5 x 3rd)
 4. David Coulthard       60 (1 win, 2 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 5. Jarno Trulli          59 (3 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 6. Alexander Wurz        58 (1 win, 1 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 7. Ralf Schumacher       44 (1 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
 8. Takuma Sato           30 (1 x 3rd)
 9. Vitantonio Liuzzi     24 (1 win)
10. Anthony Davidson      22 (2 x 5th)
11. Adrian Sutil          15 (1 x 4th)
12. Scott Speed           10 (1 x 4th)
13. Christijan Albers      7 (2 x 8th)
14. Kazuki Nakajima        5 (1 x 4th)
15. Sakon Yamamoto         3 (1 x 6th)

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 09 Feb 2019, 09:18

Heidfeld being so close in 2008 was surprising, but the dark horse none of us mentioned was Nelson Piquet Jr. What a topsy-turvy season, with two wins and yet such a lack of pace at other events.

Great to see Quick Nick win in 2007 though. Even with almost every other contender in front of him removed, Heikki couldn't win a championship, and will retire without one.

Toro Rosso seem to quickly be adopting the Jordan position in this F1 Championship - they have a skill at pulling out surprising wins in terrible cars. Liuzzi winning in China is as crazy as Buemi in Brazil '09 almost. I'm looking forward to the futures of these rookies Wurz and Ralf Schumacher.

2006, what should we be expecting? Schumacher the elder to destroy the field, with a smattering of Fisichella, Montoya and de la Rosa wins. And don't forget Coulthard!

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 08 Mar 2019, 19:07

2006
(Eliminated: Rosberg, Räikkönen, Alonso, Button, Webber, Kubica, Barrichello, Massa, Heidfeld)

Ex-Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher made comeback to the championship, this time spearheading Ferrari's efforts after the Maranello squad had taken a year off in 2007. Schumacher showed that his ability had only increased during the break as he won the season opener in Brazil. Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella, another championship favourite finished second ahead of another driver making a comeback - McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa.

Schumacher retired in the next race in Japan with Fisichella winning the race, giving the Italian the championship lead. Fisichella would hold on to it until Turkey when Schumacher tied him after three straight victories in China, Italy and Istanbul.

Points after Turkey 5/18:
1. M Schumacher -- 40
2. Fisichella -- 40
3. de la Rosa -- 25
4. Trulli -- 18
5. R. Schumacher -- 12
6. Liuzzi -- 11
7. Speed -- 11
...

Next race in Hungary was won by de la Rosa with Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher leavind the younger Schumacher out of podium in fourth. After that it was however all Michael as the Ferrari driver won 9 of the 12 remaining rounds. Fisichella was usually second and only managed one win in the penultimate round in Malaysia.

This season also saw first win for rookie Juan Pablo Montoya who replaced Pedro de la Rosa after France. At the time de la Rosa was sitting third in the championship, 14 points behind Fisichella but apparently that was not enough for mr. Dennis. Oh, and Yuji Ide scored a point while Montagny and Yamamoto did not.

2006 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. Michael Schumacher   147 (13 wins, 2 x 3rd)
 2. Giancarlo Fisichella 123 (2 wins, 10 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
 3. David Coulthard       58 (2 x 2nd)
 4. Jarno Trulli          56 (1 x 2nd, 5 x 3rd)
 5. Ralf Schumacher       55 (1 win, 1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 6. Juan Pablo Montoya    40 (1 win, 3 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 7. Pedro de la Rosa      40 (1 win, 1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 8. Vitantonio Liuzzi     36 (3 x 5th)
 9. Scott Speed           35 (4 x 5th)
10. Jacques Villeneuve    33 (2 x 3rd)
11. Christian Klien       28 (1 x 3rd)
12. Christijan Albers     13 (2 x 6th)
13. Tiago Monteiro        11 (1 x 5th)
14. Robert Doornbos       10 (1 x 5th)
15. Takuma Sato            9 (1 x 4th)
16. Yuji Ide               1 (1 x 8th)

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 11 Mar 2019, 14:03

This championship never fails to entertain. That inter-team Toro Rosso battle ended with 36 and 35 points between the two drivers - fantastic.

I expected Schumacher to dominate, but 10 2nd places from Fisichella shows that he must be one of the favourites to win in 2005. Only a surprise Ralf / Jarno / Juan Pablo stint could beat that, I think.

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 11 Mar 2019, 19:58

Rob Dylan wrote:This championship never fails to entertain. That inter-team Toro Rosso battle ended with 36 and 35 points between the two drivers - fantastic.

I expected Schumacher to dominate, but 10 2nd places from Fisichella shows that he must be one of the favourites to win in 2005. Only a surprise Ralf / Jarno / Juan Pablo stint could beat that, I think.

I didn't pay much attention to that Toro Rosso fight but now that you mentioned it, the battle between Speed and Liuzzi was very exciting! Here's a graph of how the battle evolved during the season:

All I can say about 2005 is that it will be a classic and things will only get more exciting once we approach the early 2000's and late 90's :vergne:

Aislabie · Post by **Aislabie** » 12 Mar 2019, 15:30

CarloSpace wrote:All I can say about 2005 is that it will be a classic and things will only get more exciting once we approach the early 2000's and late 90's

All I can say is if my man Tiago Monteiro doesn't do well, I'm gon' be pissed

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 12 Mar 2019, 20:35

With Schumacher and Barrichello both missing from Indy, he's got at least one win competely covered. Not to mention the fact that he finishes almost every race of the season. I'm going to put 10 Zimbabwean Dollars on Monteiro to win the season.

Aislabie · Post by **Aislabie** » 12 Mar 2019, 22:59

Rob Dylan wrote:With Schumacher and Barrichello both missing from Indy, he's got at least one win competely covered. Not to mention the fact that he finishes almost every race of the season. I'm going to put 10 Zimbabwean Dollars on Monteiro to win the season.

I don't know if I'd go that far - for consistency it's pretty hard to look past the Toyotas for 2005. Although if Montoya hadn't missed those two races I reckon he'd be our winner.

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 14 Mar 2019, 16:41

2005
(Eliminated: Räikkönen, Alonso, Button, Webber, Barrichello, Massa, Heidfeld, M. Schumacher)

Before the 2005 season it was difficult to name a single favourite for the championship. Fisichella had finished in top-3 two years in a row and stayed at Renault. Montoya, who had joined the series with a bang last season would get a full season in the ultra-fast McLaren. Rumours had it that Toyota had made great progress over the winter and had one of the best cars on the grid, as well as a proven pairing in Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli. The "great team of the past", Red Bull also had two drivers on the grid with David Coulthard looking to improve his 3rd position from last year alongside Christian Klien.

Season opener in China showed glimpses of every contender's pace. Fisichella-Montoya-Coulthard was the top-3 in qualifying but only Fisichella could remain on podium come race day. He was second as Ralf Schumacher took the victory with Klien continuing his good form from last year in third. Fisichella won in Japan and Montoya in Brazil. The Colombian was on his way to a comfortable victory in Belgium too until crashing with only four laps to go with Antônio Pizzonia while lapping the Williams driver. This gifted the win to Sauber's promising Jacques Villeneuve who had made the most of the difficult damp conditions. He was joined on podium by Ralf Schumacher and Tiago Monteiro. This was the first podium for Jordan, in only their fourth race!

Points after Belgium 4/19:
1. R. Schumacher -- 30
2. Fisichella -- 26
3. Villeneuve -- 21
4. Klien -- 21
5. Coulthard -- 13
6. Monteiro -- 12
7. Montoya -- 11
...

Watching the standings, there seems to be one name missing - where is Jarno Trulli? A number of accidents and other issues had had a terrible effect on the Toyota driver as he only had two points from the first four races. His luck would turn around though as he scored a podium in each of the next three races. One driver however found an even better form as Montoya showed his speed after Spa heartbreak. Four wins in five races and he was back in the title chase, chasing Fisichella who had now taken the championship lead. If Montoya was clearly the fastest driver on the grid mid-season, Fisichella was clearly the second fastest as he had finished second in every race that Montoya had won so far.

Points after Great Britain 9/19:
1. Fisichella -- 63
2. R. Schumacher -- 58
3. Montoya -- 51
4. Klien -- 33
5. Villeneuve -- 29
6. Trulli -- 28
7. Coulthard -- 28
...

Top-3 looked to be getting away from the rest of the pack. Trulli was determined to catch them and took his first win of the season in France. US GP was a bizarre one with only Jordan and Minardi drivers starting the race. North American tour was completed in Canada when Ralf Schumacher took the win and championship lead in a race that saw his main rivals retire from the lead one by one. First Fisichella, then Montoya due to black flag and finally Trulli. Red Bull drivers Coulthard and Klien joined him on podium. This would also be Klien's last podium of the season as he was outrageously replaced by Vitantonio Liuzzi for the next four races.

At Nürburgring it was Ralf's turn to retire and lose his championship lead back to Fisichella who finished second after Coulthard. Ralf however bounced back with two second place finishes in Monaco and Spain (won by Montoya and Trulli) to regain the championship lead. Montoya, who had won more races than anyone else (6) was still only 18 points behind but would need a miracle against his more consistent rivals. Trulli and Coulthard also had a mathematical chance at the title.

Points after Spain 15/19:
1. R. Schumacher -- 90
2. Fisichella -- 89
3. Montoya -- 72
4. Trulli -- 59
5. Coulthard -- 54
6. Villeneuve -- 46
7. Klien -- 39
...

Montoya's title chase would however come to and end before the next race weekend even started. He was injured while playing tennis and had to sit out both San Marino and Bahrain GP's. His replacement? Alexander Wurz who had impressed in his rookie season in 2007. He came, he saw and he conquered the San Marino grand prix and handed the McLaren seat to Pedro de la Rosa for the Bahrain GP.

Ralf was only fifth in Imola but still managed to extend his lead since Fisichella retired early on. Fisico would also retire in Bahrain where Toyota took a 1-2 victory meaning that he was 13 points behind with two races to go. In Malaysia Fisichella retired again and the drivers' championship was decided. Trulli lead the field over the finish line, Montoya was second and the 2005 World Champion Ralf Schumacher was third. Fisichella won the final race of the season to solidify his second place in the championship over Trulli who had made a decent comeback to finish third in the championship. In fact, after Canada Trulli scored by far the most points (51 to 37 by Schumacher) but his poor results from the first half of the season prevented him from a greater result.

Three wins by Ralf Schumacher is also the lowest number of wins that the championship has been won so far. Just goes to show how much the 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 system rewarded consistency.

2005 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. Ralf Schumacher      111 (3 wins, 4 x 2nd, 6 x 3rd)
 2. Giancarlo Fisichella  99 (2 wins, 8 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 3. Jarno Trulli          89 (4 wins, 1 x 2nd, 4 x 3rd)
 4. Juan Pablo Montoya    86 (6 wins, 1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 5. David Coulthard       75 (1 win, 3 x 2nd)
 6. Jacques Villeneuve    59 (1 win, 1 x 2nd)
 7. Christian Klien       48 (2 x 3rd)
 8. Tiago Monteiro        45 (1 win, 1 x 3rd)
 9. Narain Karthikeyan    25 (1 x 2nd)
10. Takuma Sato           24 (1 x 3rd)
11. Christijan Albers     19 (1 x 3rd)
12. Alexander Wurz        10 (1 win)
13. Vitantonio Liuzzi      9 (1 x 4th)
14. Patrick Friesacher     7 (1 x 4th)
15. Pedro de la Rosa       6 (1 x 3rd)
16. Antônio Pizzonia       6 (1 x 5th)
17. Robert Doornbos        5 (2 x 7th)

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 15 Mar 2019, 22:55

This Wurz character is really impressing me. He's had two wins now, and still no drive for a team, never mind a top team!

Congratulations to Schumacher 2, I genuinely expected Fisi or Montoya to win it. Maybe the most unexpected championship yet for me

So, 2004... we're losing Schumacher, Barrichello, Raikkonen, Ralf, Alonso, my goodness.

So, is this Montoya's year? Though I would actually really love a Trulli victory. Bring it on! At the very least that's 13 Schumacher wins that need to be dished out elsewhere.

Aislabie · Post by **Aislabie** » 16 Mar 2019, 02:48

Rob Dylan wrote:So, is this Montoya's year? Though I would actually really love a Trulli victory. Bring it on! At the very least that's 13 Schumacher wins that need to be dished out elsewhere.

I would have thought so - from memory, he and Williams crushed the Formula 1.5 championships that year, which usually means consistently finishing fourth and fifth kinda area. When you take out all the real front-runners from this season IRL, he's going to be collecting about half a dozen wins.

Sorry, I should stop using my brain-spreadsheet to issue spoilers

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 16 Mar 2019, 07:19

Aislabie wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:So, is this Montoya's year? Though I would actually really love a Trulli victory. Bring it on! At the very least that's 13 Schumacher wins that need to be dished out elsewhere.

I would have thought so - from memory, he and Williams crushed the Formula 1.5 championships that year, which usually means consistently finishing fourth and fifth kinda area. When you take out all the real front-runners from this season IRL, he's going to be collecting about half a dozen wins.

Sorry, I should stop using my brain-spreadsheet to issue spoilers

But spoilers give you that sweet sweet downforce.

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 16 Mar 2019, 16:55

2004
(Eliminated: Räikkönen, Alonso, Button, Webber, Barrichello, Massa, Heidfeld, M. Schumacher, R. Schumacher)

Juan Pablo Montoya was seen as the clear favourite heading into the 2004 season. The Colombian had won six races the previous year and had shown that he has what it takes to challenge for the title. He handled the pressure well, winning the championship opener in Brazil before adding another win and two second place finishes to claim the early lead in the championship.

Pundits were suggesting that the star of late-2005, Jarno Trulli, would be Montoya's main challenger. The Italian had stayed at Toyota but left the team after only two rounds following rather poor results. Renault, who had replaced Sauber-bound Giancarlo Fisichella with Jacques Villeneuve were quick to react and sacked Villeneuve in favour of Trulli after Chinese GP, so Trulli only missed one Grand Prix. Villeneuve, who was sitting fourth in the championship at the time of his sacking, would however miss the rest of the season.

All this turmoil played right into the hands of a surprise contender: Takuma Sato. The Japanese BAR driver had spent the past seasons in the midfield but now he was flying. One pole position, two wins and further two second place finishes tied him to the championship lead with Montoya after four rounds. Good old reliable Fisichella was third following three podium finishes.

Points after Italy 4/18:
1. Montoya -- 36
2. Sato -- 36
3. Fisichella -- 22
4. Coulthard -- 15
5. Villeneuve -- 14
6. Trulli -- 10
7. Panis -- 5
...

Fisichella won the next race in Belgium but his overall speed wasn't enough to challenge for top positions consistently, although he was able to slowly reduce the gap to Sato. Montoya looked like the strongest driver on the grid again but a black flag from the lead in Indianapolis gave a lifeline to his rivals. Sato would go on to win the race. This stretch of races also saw first wins of the season for Coulthard and Trulli.

Points after USA 10/18:
1. Montoya -- 72
2. Sato -- 64
3. Fisichella -- 55
4. Coulthard -- 54
5. Trulli -- 34
6. Klien -- 24
7. Panis -- 21
...

Montoya won the next race in Canada, only to be disqualified yet again, making Fisichella the eventual winner. Coulthard and Jordan's Timo Glock joined him on podium. Glock of course was subbing in for Giorgio Pantano, who had replaced Glock earlier in the season. Pantano actually would fail to score more points all season than Glock did in this one race.

The series returned to Europe and like last year, Jarno Trulli was the man in charge back on the old continent. Three straight victories in Nürburgring, Monaco and Barcelona while other top drivers had problems of all sorts helped the Italian Renault driver to get back into the mix in the standings. Without his disqualifications Montoya would however lead the championship very comfortably.

Points after Spain 14/18:
1. Montoya -- 86
2. Fisichella -- 79
3. Sato -- 72
4. Coulthard -- 67
5. Trulli -- 64
6. Klien -- 33
7. Panis -- 31
...

In the end, the disqualifications didn't matter. Montoya won three of the last four races, clinching the title with his victory in Malaysia. Deserved title for a driver who was clearly the best of the season. The fight for second was a lot more interesting. Fisichella was as consistent as ever and was scoring decently in the top-5 basically every race. Takuma Sato was trying his best but his Honda engine expiring with only three laps to go in Malaysia ended his hopes of second place.

Therefore FIsichella's main rival would be Jarno Trulli. Trulli added another win and two 2nd place finishes to reduce the gap to only two points before the season finale. Trulli's five wins to Fisichella's two also meant that the Sauber driver basically couldn't afford to let Trulli to finish on podium - at least if he wasn't ahead of him. On pure pace though Fisichella's Sauber had no chance against the superior Renault. Fisico fought valiantly but could only finish fifth. Trulli meanwhile completed his late season form by finishing second - and claiming the second place in the championship.

Just like in 2005 Trulli was the best driver of the second half. In the last nine races Trulli scored 72 points while the second best driver Montoya scored just 47. If only Trulli could perform right from the start... Shoutout for the Hungarian racing god too who put his Minardi in places it didn't belong to, absolutely thrashing his teammate Gimmi Bruni in the standings.

2004 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. Juan Pablo Montoya   119 (7 wins, 4 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
 2. Jarno Trulli          98 (5 wins, 4 x 2nd)
 3. Giancarlo Fisichella  96 (2 wins, 2 x 2nd, 5 x 3rd)
 4. Takuma Sato           86 (3 wins, 5 x 2nd)
 5. David Coulthard       83 (1 win, 2 x 2nd, 5 x 3rd)
 6. Olivier Panis         45 (2 x 3rd)
 7. Christian Klien       45 (1 x 2nd)
 8. Cristiano da Matta    27 (1 x 3rd)
 9. Antônio Pizzonia      18 (2 x 3rd)
10. HWNSNBM               16 (3 x 5th)
11. Jacques Villeneuve    14 (2 x 4th)
12. Marc Gené              9 (1 x 4th)
13. Timo Glock             9 (1 x 3rd)
14. Ricardo Zonta          7 (1 x 6th)
15. Giorgio Pantano        5 (1 x 6th)
16. Gianmaria Bruni        4 (1 x 7th)

CarloSpace · Post by **CarloSpace** » 17 Sep 2019, 08:27

2003
(Eliminated: Räikkönen, Alonso, Button, Webber, Barrichello, Heidfeld, M. Schumacher, R. Schumacher, Montoya)

2003 saw limited changes in the top teams' driver lineups. The highest profile change was Fisichella's switch to Jordan who had joined the sport in 2004. He was replaced by rookie Heinz-Harald Frentzen at Sauber. The other championship hopefuls Coulthard, Trulli and Sato remained at McLaren, Renault and BAR respectively.

The three favourites started the season as expected with Coulthard winning in Japan with Trulli and Sato joining him on podium. Sato however was replaced shortly after by Jacques Villeneuve with the Japanese driver moving to test driver duties.

Rookie Frentzen surprised everyone by winning the next race in Indianapolis. Monza saw another surprise result as WIlliams team made a one-off appearance with Marc Gené who went on to win the race. Humbling performance by the reigning championship team who shortly after announced their full withdrawal from F1 for the foreseeable future. Despite these results the main championship battle looked to be between Trulli and Coulthard after the first couple of races.

Points after Hungary 4/16:
1. Trulli -- 24
2. Coulthard -- 20
3. da Matta -- 15
4. Frentzen -- 13
5. Fisichella -- 12
6. Gené -- 10
7. Kiesa -- 10
...

Following Coulthard's victory in Hungary, the scot went on to win in Germany, Britain and France as well to lead the championship. Trulli was clearly the second fastest, scoring second in every race he finished. Toyotas had shown the best consistency with Panis even winning in Canada in a race that only saw four finishers. Da Matta had only scored two podiums but thanks to these results the Toyotas were within striking distance from Coulthard and Trulli.

Points after Canada 9/16:
1. Coulthard -- 52
2. Trulli -- 40
3. da Matta -- 35
4. Panis -- 32
5. Frentzen -- 29
6. Villeneuve -- 23
7. Verstappen -- 21
...

Panis however could only manage to gather 11 points from the remaining seven races. Da Matta won in Spain (Firman and Wilson completing the podium!) and scored consistently in five other races but that wasn't enough to realisitcally challenge the top two. Coulthard continued to win whenever he finished and was the deserving World champion. Trulli was fast but his Renault just wasn't fast enough to match the McLaren driver. The driver of the driver however could be rookie Heinz-Harald Frentzen who showed a lot of promise, winning two races and finishing fourth in the championship.

2003 STANDINGS

Code: Select all

 1. David Coulthard       98 (8 wins, 2 x 2nd)
 2. Jarno Trulli          84 (2 wins, 7 x 2nd)
 3. Cristiano da Matta    69 (1 win, 3 x 3rd)
 4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 55 (2 wins, 1 x 2nd, 3 x 3rd)
 5. Olivier Panis         43 (1 win, 2 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 6. Giancarlo Fisichella  39 (1 win, 2 x 3rd)
 7. Jacques Villeneuve    36 (1 x 2nd, 1 x 3rd)
 8. Jos Verstappen        34 (1 x 2nd)
 9. Raplh Firman          33 (1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
10. Antônio Pizzonia      30 (1 x 2nd, 2 x 3rd)
11. Justin Wilson         22 (1 x 3rd)
12. Nicolas Kiesa         13 (2 x 5th)
13. Marc Gené             10 (1 win)
14. Takuma Sato            6 (1 x 3rd)
15. HWNSNBM                5 (1 x 4th)

Next up 2002 which is absolutely mental with 10 drivers missing :deletraz:

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 20 Sep 2019, 20:40

CarloSpace wrote:Monza saw another surprise result as WIlliams team made a one-off appearance with Marc Gené who went on to win the race.

I love the concept of the F1 circus turning up at Monza and finding Williams already there, who dump Gené into the car and finish a lap ahead of Villeneuve in 2nd, then just don't do anything until 2001

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 29 Sep 2019, 19:23

Rob Dylan wrote:
CarloSpace wrote:Monza saw another surprise result as WIlliams team made a one-off appearance with Marc Gené who went on to win the race.
I love the concept of the F1 circus turning up at Monza and finding Williams already there, who dump Gené into the car and finish a lap ahead of Villeneuve in 2nd, then just don't do anything until 2001

Isn't it 1999 with Zanardi?