Podium Bans Alternate Championship

[Aislabie]

How does the Podium Bans championship work?

This is a very simple Alternate Championship in which podium finishers will be banned for the coming race(s):

1. If you finish first, you get banned for three races.
2. If you finish second, you get banned for two races.
3. If you finish third, you get banned for one race.
4. If a shared drive earns a podium place, then both drivers receive that ban - unless one of the shared drivers is banned, in which case the car that the unbanned driver started the race with will be presumed to be theirs to the end of the race.

The only races I will be excluding will be Indy 500s because they were a silly inclusion in the first place, and bans will carry over from season to season.

List of World Drivers Champions.
1950 - Nino Farina
1951 - Juan Manuel Fangio
1952 - Alberto Ascari
1953 - Mike Hawthorn
1954 - Jose Froilan Gonzalez
1955 - Juan Manuel Fangio (2)
1956 - Stirling Moss
1957 - Harry Schell
1958 - Shared: Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss (2')
1959 - Maurice Trintignant
1960 - Innes Ireland
1961 - Shared: Dan Gurney, Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips
1962 - Bruce McLaren
1963 - Graham Hill
1964 - Shared: Graham Hill (2') and John Surtees
1965 - Jack Brabham
1966 - John Surtees (2')
1967 - Jim Clark
1968 - Graham Hill (3')
1969 - Jacky Ickx
1970 - Jackie Stewart
1971 - Jackie Stewart (2)
1972 - Denny Hulme
1973 - Emerson Fittipaldi

' denotes that this tally includes a shared Championship.

Driver Career Statistics Sheet - coming soon

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

On this occasion, an easy Championship win for Giuseppe Farina. His win at the British Grand Prix meant that he had served his ban by the back-end of the season, allowing him to add a second victory to his points tally at Monza, and overhaul the lead of Luigi Fagioli. Fangio had also been in Championship contention, but failed to finish the race.

The podium bans also create new race winners in the form of Louis Rosier (Automobiles Talbot-Darracq) and Peter Whitehead (Atlantic Stable, privateer).

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

This is a pretty interesting season, featuring as it does Louis Rosier's best efforts to prove that slow and steady might just win the race after all. Luigi Villoresi and Felice Bonetto both change history to become Grand Prix winners, but ultimately it was Fangio's performance in the two races he entered this season that stole the show. Going into the Spanish Grand Prix, only Rosier could stop him from taking the crown, but the Frenchman came in third behind 1950 Champion Farina and the second placed Toulo de Graffenried.

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

Another excellent Formula One season, and one that ended with Alberto Ascari delivering massively under pressure with a clutch victory at his home Grand Prix. He overcame excellent seasons from Piero Taruffi and past-Champion Giuseppe Farina to secure his maiden Drivers Championship.

There was also a little bit of weirdness: Robert Manzon, Dennis Poore (in his first ever race) and Rudi Fischer all became Grand Prix winners.

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

What a season! Juan Manuel Fangio and Felice Bonetto both dominated with two wins each for Maserati, but it was Britain's Mike Hawthorn who managed to game the Championship system most effectively to secure an all-time record 21 points in the season. Bonetto's rise to a three-time race winner should leave him with a strong legacy.

Not too much weirdness further down the order, but it will be interesting to see if Fangio can overcome the three-race ban with which he will start the coming season.

[James1978]

So ideally you want to finish 4th all the time?

[Rob Dylan]

4th every race until the last race in which you win. Unless you're planning on winning two in a row, in which you might as well just win every race you can.

[Aislabie]

So ideally you want to finish 4th all the time?

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)
The British Grand Prix fastest lap was shared six ways for... reasons.

- - -

By far and away the most open season we've had so far, with eight drivers from the season's eight races: Nino Farina, Maurice Trintignant, Karl Kling, Jose Froilan Gonzalez, Juan Manuel Fangio, Hans Herrmann, Mike Hawthorn and Luigi Musso as the season's eight winners. From those worthy names, three men also recorded a second place, but with the addition of one and one sixth of a fastest lap, Gonzalez was crowned the 1954 Champion.

Kling and Herrmann were the two additions to the real-life pantheon of race winners in this universe.

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

Good lord the shared drives this season... Although it did have some rather funny consequences as we went into the Dutch Grand Prix with nine drivers banned which was quite something. We also see a meteoric entry into Formula One by Eugenio Castellotti who has won his first two classified finishes, missing out on the championship by dint of Alberto Ascari beating him to the fastest lap at Monaco.

Speaking of Alberto Ascari, he is a great loss for the sport as the 1952 Champion and four-time Grand Prix winner. This one has been quite the uncomfortable reminder of how deathy this era of motorsport was.

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

An entire Championship that ended up hinging on one fast lap from a car that didn't finish the opening race. That car belonged to Stirling Moss, and he notched up his first Drivers Championship by one point from the defending two-time champion Fangio.

This was also a season of some weirdness, including outright race wins for Paul Frere and Ron Flockhart, as well as a shared race win - the first one in Formula One - for Alfonso de Portago, who handed his car over to Peter Collins, who may ironically have been better off living to drive another race. This took us one step further than 1954: the 1956 season had an incredible eight winners from seven races.

[WaffleCat]

Seeing Eugenio Castellotti win all three of his classified finishes in this championship has now officially validated my superfan/old-timey crush status of him.

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

Be honest, nobody can have seen that one coming. Harry Schell, Formula One Drivers Champion: the American threaded the needle between driving pretty well, but also trying not to get banned, and did it with consummate success. Almost another season without a repeat winner (I always find those to be glorious fun) but the double-win for Fangio still wasn't enough to net him a third Championship title.

This was also the season during which F1 lost Eugenio Castellotti, and can I say again bathplug old-timey motorsport for being so deathy.

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

1958 was a fantastic season, but one splattered with the blood of its own drivers as Luigi Musso, Peter Collins, and Stuart Lewis-Evans all lost their lives during races; eventual co-champion Mike Hawthorn would also lose his life following the end of the season, because this is F1 and we can't have nice things. We also had our first three-win season from Stirling Moss, but one that was not enough to take the title on its own as consistent mid-points finishes and fastest lap points from Mike Hawthorn made their mark through the season.

Not much to add to that really, other than clarifying that I won't be applying tiebreakers in these championships, partly because of the slightly creative way I'm having to deal with fastest lap points and partly because I like the idea of co-champions.

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 (+1, FLap)

- - -

Ah 1959, that classic title battle between (*checks notes*) Maurice Trintignant and Bruce McLaren? The two title protagonists came into the final round behind Phil Hill and the season's only double winner (*rechecks notes*) Masten Gregory, but they overcame those front-runners with a masterful display at Sebring. Ultimately, it was McLaren who won the battle but Trintignant the war as the Frenchman grabbed the fastest lap point to avoid another year of co-champions.

Honestly with this season it would be easier to highlight where there wasn't weirdness than where there was, such as Stirling Moss taking full points in his only classified finish of the season. We also bid farewell to yet another notable driver, Jean Behra this time who got spat off the top of the AVUS Wall of Death.

[Aislabie]

Points System
8 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

And we have a Crafton. An excellent season from Ireland saw him notching up three straight second places from his last three eligible races to squash the challenges of the season's two double winners in Brabham and Moss. Also, we're going to see a whole lot of ties at the top of the table - like the three-way tie for second - now that we've waved goodbye to fastest lap points for the coming 60 years or so.

Big wins also for Cliff Allison and Henry Taylor too down in the Championship midtable. What a time we are having.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

So you know that thing I said about us having more ties now that we're not having fastest lap points? Well, say hello to a three-way joint Championship shared between the Ferrari duo of Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips (bathplug you, old F1; RIP Wolfgang) and Porsche's Dan Gurney.

We are also lucky enough to see yet another driver win their maiden Grand Prix - well done Giancarlo Baghetti.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

Stunning seasons from Bruce McLaren and Tony Maggs were the main narratives of this season - although two wins from Jim Clark gave the pair of them some stiff competition. The ultimate showdown arrived at East London though, as Bruce McLaren and Tony Maggs raced for the Grand Prix win, with the additional prize that whomever crossed the line first would be the Drivers Champion. And it was McLaren, the flying Kiwi, who took both prizes.

We also have the beautiful alternate reality in which the phrase "Trevor Taylor, Grand Prix winner" can exist.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

That was so close to the Jo Bonnier championship run of dreams (also, he finally achieved the win that a podium ban robbed him of earlier in his career, so that was nice). But ultimately, the Graham Hill's three-race season of two wins and a second place was too much for anyone to quite catch up with - including Jim Clark, whose bans fell at the worst possible times for his Championship charge.

However, we also need to welcome Gerhard Mitter to the Grand Prix winners' club, which is fun.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

What an incredible season of Formula One. After the Dutch Grand Prix put Hill and Surtees out of sync with one another, both drivers looked unbeatable. When he arrived in Mexico, Surtees knew exactly what he had to do to win the Championship: he needed a win, and only Jim Clark looked like a threat on the entry list. Sure enough, Clark led from lights to lap 63, but this was a 65 lap race and on lap 64 his Lotus started dropping like a stone. His lead was inherited by the driver who'd been shadowing him all day... Dan Gurney? Surtees was behind him, but had been recovering from a shocking first lap and would have to settle for a joint title, shared with Hill.

We also welcome Peter Arundell to the lofty ranks of Grand Prix winners.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

Jack Brabham really made the podium ban rules work for him this season. Rarely was he the fastest driver, nor sat in the fastest car, but he was more than able to sweep up when the faster cars and drivers were either banned or just miles up the road. It was this latter habit that allowed him an extra race compared to the second-placed Stewart, allowing him to all but sew up the Championship at Watkins Glen. Even then, if Jim Clark was able to win in Mexico he would have taken his maiden Championship, but as has so often been the case, his Lotus deserted him when he most needed it to propel him.

It did however make way for Mike Spence, Grand Prix winner.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

This should have been Denny Hulme's to lose, it really should. But his Brabhams kept exploding, which really was not conducive to his Championship prospects. And instead of handing over his win to reigning champion and team owner Jack Brabham in Mexico, he held onto first place and thereby handed the title to John Surtees outright. The debrief must have been quite something after he pulled that little stunt.

As a side-note, the field-sizes were not great this season, with only five of the nine races even managing to produce six classified finishers.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

At last, justice for the flying Scotsman as Jim Clark piloted his Lotus to a race win in Mexico City to snatch top spot in the standings from Jack Brabham. Another interesting subplot was the return of Pedro Rodriguez, a man who could and should have been a Championship challenger had he not been absent from Canada, Italy and the United States. Even then, had he been able to get past Mike Spence he would have taken a share in the title, even as he finished two laps behind the dominant Clark. But it wasn't to be, and Clark would finally get the Championship he'd been owed for years.

And perhaps more importantly, we have Chris Amon, Grand Prix winner.

[dr-baker]

Disappointed that Maria Teresa de Filippis still failed to score in this alternative championship, although I think she got close to doing so in Belgium 1958, in what was actually her only race finish. It'll be interesting to see how many points Lella Lombardi scores in addition to her real-life solitary 1/2 point.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

Well Graham Hill is chugging along towards GOAThood. Three more Grand Prix wins and a third Drivers Championship; he overcame a strong challenge from fellow Brit Jackie Stewart in what was a fairly British-dominated season. We also see Brian Redman and Dickie Attwood added to the pantheon of Grand Prix winners, which is great.

Unfortunately, 1968 was another horribly killy year in which we lost Clark, Spence, Scarfiotti and Schlesser. That's off the back of 1967, where we lost Bandini, Geki, Anderson, Berger and Raby, which was off the back of a 1966... ah sod it. Just know that I'm not enjoying the deathiness very much on this run-through of F1 history.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

What an incredible title battle that was. Jackie Stewart's bans from the end of 1968 railroaded his season rather, but while he watched on from the sidelines an incredible four-way title battle unfolded. The eventual Champion was Brabham's Jacky Ickx, who capitalised on some mixed pace to maximise his points while minimising his bans. Just one point behind him was a two-way tie between Jean-Pierre Beltoise (Matra) and Denny Hulme (McLaren) - though of those two only Beltoise came into the season finale with a chance at the title, a chance that would be denied by the Kiwi claiming the Grand Prix win. However, the driver who must have been ruing a missed chance was Frank Williams' driver, Piers Courage: to take at least a share in the Championship, he needed only to take a podium - but the Mexican Grand Prix was his only non-podium finish all season. And then there was Bruce McLaren: twice a race winner earlier in the season, and twice a competitive qualifier at the Glen and in Mexico City - but on both occasions his Cosworth engines gave out, forcing him to take a brace of DNSes.

A truly incredible title battle, and one with so many protagonists. And let it not be forgotten firstly that Piers Courage is now officially a Grand Prix winner, and also that former Grand Prix winner Gerhard Mitter was tragically lost at the German Grand Prix.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

If it wasn't for a swathe of driver prominent deaths - Bruce McLaren, Piers Courage, Jochen Rindt - then this would have been a contender for the best season in the Championship's history, right up there with the likes of 1959, 1964 and 1969. As it is, it's was still an outstanding title battle. There were a few contenders chasing leader Jackie Stewart, but the one who came closest was Matra's bearded Frenchman, Henri Pescarolo. He arrived with a season tally of 18 points, accumulated not through wins but through consistent low-level points finishes and only two podiums.

Rather gallingly for him, by the time he watched Jackie Stewart succumb to reliability issues (meaning that Pescarolo needed only to finish fourth for a share and third for an outright Championship), Pescarolo's own Matra was somewhat sickly. Despite this, he hauled it to the finish, but Hulme, Beltoise, Oliver and Surtees all made it to the finish first, leaving Pescarolo one point short.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

What an outstanding season this one was. It is unusual that a reigning champion comes into the season unbanned, but Jackie Stewart did so and immediately cashed in with a second place behind only Mario Andretti. Later in the season, he would add two more wins to that haul to put himself out of reach of all but two drivers: Emerson Fittipaldi and Clay Regazzoni. Those two drivers would start the United States Grand Prix on the front row, needing a victory (Fittipaldi) or second place (Regazzoni, if Fittipaldi didn't win) to secure the title. However, both started poorly: Regazzoni dropped behind Stewart's teammate Francois Cevert, but still further behind fell Fittipaldi, whose sickly Lotus fell to bits entirely by Lap 12 of the race, having to be nursed home ten laps down. Regazzoni, however, held his second place and provisional Championship lead right up until he was forced to pit on Lap 35; it was at this point that he got stuck behind New Zealand's Howden Ganley. Ganley, oblivious to the implications of his driving, held Regazzoni behind and even began to gap him in order to secure a successful title defence for Jackie Stewart.

Stewart becomes the first driver to defend an outright Championship with another outright Championship - a historic achievement. Please ignore the butchered 1972 bans on the right hand side; I sorted the results but not the bans because I had a brain fart. I'll edit in a new image in the morning

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

There would ultimately be no three-peat for Jackie Stewart this season, although that isn't to say that he was anything short of excellent: of his three race finishes, only one of them was not a Grand Prix victory. However, the Championship did not go to the winningest driver, but to the most consistent: Yardley McLaren's Denny Hulme, who notched up a trio of second-places behind Cevert, Fittipaldi and Cevert again after already winning the Argentine Grand Prix ahead of Jacky Ickx for Ferrari - a result which, had it been reversed, would have seen the Belgian claim his second Drivers Championship.

The most surprising winner this year though has to be old fart Graham Hill, a 43-year-old in a profoundly disappointing Brabham managing to sneak a win at Monza ahead of track specialist Peter Gethin.

[Rob Dylan]

Hill winning Monza 1972, it's the stuff dreams are made of.

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

This was an amazing and ultimately tragic season, and one in which the Championship battle was almost over by the time everyone arrived at Watkins Glen. Three drivers could overhaul Jackie Stewart's 30 points: Denny Hulme, Jacky Ickx and Francois Cevert, who all arrived on 22 points: nothing short of a win would do. Cevert's bid ended in tragedy when he died in a horrific practice accident, but Ickx and Hulme could still make their Championship charge if they could steal the win. However, neither of them would. Nor would polesitter Carlos Reutemann. Instead, the dominant car would be the Hesketh March of James Hunt. Hunt's excellence earned Fittipaldi his Championship by being the second first-time winner in as many races after Jackie Oliver's surprise win for Shadow at Mosport.

[James1978]

Merzario wins a race!!!!

[Aislabie]

Merzario wins a race!!!!

I am looking forward to finally totting up stuff like that, because he'll be by no means the weirdest

[Aislabie]

Points System
9 - 6 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1

- - -

And speaking of Podium Bans, it turns out I had a season left that I had yet to upload, and what a season it is. Defending Champion Emerson Fittipaldi makes it two outright titles in successive years, which just doesn't happen in Podium Bans - and yet this is the second time this decade. It could and probably should have been Niki Lauda, but his trio of late-season DNFs cost him everything