The Kubica Trophy - Three Strikes and Your Country's Out!

[CarloSpace]

I'm waiting to see 2004 the most. Sadly I can't tell you who I'm guessing will take the title

I see what you did there but possibly Spain might have one title left that year, because of the Montoya domination in the meantime.

Oh, you're probably right, sadly. It could actually be the first Spanish title depending on Gene/PdlR's results in 98-00.

[James1978]

Montoya might even struggle to win 2001 as he finishes so few races (6 I think) meaning he could be vulnerable to a slower but more reliable car (Verstappen Snr maybe), so he could still be in for 2004. Whatever way it's either him or Alonso (1 point between them in real life so hard to predict). I know what CarloSpace was thinking though (HWNSNBM)!!

[tBone]

1975

Real life champion Niki Lauda was the clear favourite for 1975, but he did not really impress at the start of the season, only finishing 3rd three times in the first races. Jochen Mass had won two of those, but the red-flagged race in Spain only gave him half points. Nevertheless, his 16.5 points put him in the lead, followed Clay Regazzoni (15) Patrick Depailler, Niki Lauda (both 12) and Jody Scheckter (11).

Lauda would then go on a 5-race winning streak and also in the last five races, he would never finish lower than 3rd. The Austrian was already sure of the title after the German GP: with three races to go he was 33 points ahead of Depailler, his nearest competitor. The battle for 2nd in the Kubica Trophy was a lot more interesting, as Depailler - without any race wins - was on 34 points, Regazzoni and Scheckter followed with 32 and Mass was only half a point further behind.

Mass won his third race of the year in Austria, but again it was red flagged early and he only got half points. He did climb to 2nd in the standings, though. Regazzoni won in Italy and put himself in a good position to become runner-up again. He was on 42.5 points, followed by Depailler (38.5), Mass and Scheckter (both 36). Despite Regazzoni's retiring from the final race, he would hang on to 2nd, because Depailler also did not score and neither Mass nor Scheckter won at Watkins Glen.

[James1978]

God, Gijs Van Lennep has scored 2 podiums. The world is coming to an end!!

(And is that a very early first win for Williams I see there?)

[tBone]

God, Gijs Van Lennep has scored 2 podiums. The world is coming to an end!!

Two very happy podiums indeed and, I'm not going to lie, being Dutch myself it was one of the things I was hoping for. Now, let's see whether Lammers or Rothengatter can snatch away some more shock podiums or even a win...

(And is that a very early first win for Williams I see there?)

It certainly is!

[dr-baker]

(And is that a very early first win for Williams I see there?)

It certainly is!

That would be Jacques Laffite in Germany?

[tBone]

1976

I don't think I need to explain on this forum what happened in real life in 1976; it was possibly the most famous title battle in history. With James Hunt out of the equation, Niki Lauda should run away with it despite his near-fatal crash on the Nürburgring, shouldn't he?

Lauda surely started the season in incredibly dominant fashion. The Austrian won five of the first six races and finished 2nd in the other one, which was won by Clay Regazzoni in the other Ferrari. Lauda's lead in the championship was huge after the Monaco GP: he was on 51 points, while Regazzoni, Jody Scheckter and Patrick Depailler were his nearest rivals with 18, 17 and 16 points respectively.

Tyrrell's six-wheeler was proving effective in the next two races: Scheckter led a 1-2 in Sweden - like in real life - and the P34s finished the other way around in France. Lauda scored only 4 points in the meantime, so the Tyrrells creeped back into contention. Lauda would win in Great Britain, but Scheckter limited the damage by finishing 2nd. Harald Ertl was a surprising face on the podium, Lauda's compatriot finishing a fine 3rd in his Hesketh. The German GP was next, where Lauda had his terrifying accident. Scheckter won that race, but he was still 18 points adrift of the reigning champion. Depailler had retired from both the British and German Grands Prix and he would again do so in Austria, putting the Frenchman at a distance from the two remaining title contenders.

Lauda missed the Austrian GP, but both Tyrrells also failed to finish. In fact, it was Jacques Laffite who again secured a surprising win. The Dutch GP was won by Lauda's teammate Regazzoni, but Scheckter closed the gap by another 6 points with a 2nd place. 12 points separated the Austrian and the South African when Lauda was back in the car for the Italian GP. The race was won by Ronnie Peterson, who otherwise had a dismal season. Lauda did well to finish 4th, one place ahead of Scheckter. The gap was 13 points with only three races to go.

Tyrrell secured its third 1-2 of the season in Canada, with Depailler strangely keeping his position ahead of Scheckter. Nevertheless, with Lauda only finishing 5th, Scheckter's title dreams were very alive as the gap was down to 9 points. Depailler's mathematical chances were also gone by this point despite his win. Scheckter won the USA Grand Prix, but Lauda's second place meant that Scheckter would only win the title if Lauda didn't score in Japan, while he had to win the race himself. A 2nd place would still make Lauda champion on countback.

Lauda withdrew from the Japanese Grand Prix due to the dangerous weather conditions. When he did so, Scheckter was leading the race. Perhaps it was karma, perhaps it was simple bad luck, but Scheckter's Tyrrell suffered from overheating problems and the South African dropped down the order, only to finally retire from the race. Lauda was champion, winning his 2nd and Austria's 3rd Kubica Trophy. Unnoticed by many, Noritake Takahara finished his first race in 6th, scoring Japan's first ever point in Formula One.

(And is that a very early first win for Williams I see there?)

It certainly is!

That would be Jacques Laffite in Germany?

It certainly was!

[tBone]

1977

Niki Lauda had won Austria's third championship in 1976, so it was certain that 1977 would get another champion. Main favourite for the title would be real life runner-up Jody Scheckter, driving for the new Wolf team. The South African started the season almost perfectly with five wins in the first six races. After the Monaco GP he had a 27 point lead over his nearest chaser Gunnar Nilsson, who had won in Brazil. Scheckter would fail to finish any of the next four races, however. Nilsson won three of them, while Jacques Laffite won the other one. Nilsson and Scheckter were now both on 45 points, still a long way ahead of Jochen Mass (28 points), Laffite (24) and Patrick Depailler (22).

The Kubica Trophy looked set for another surprisingly close title fight with only seven races to go. Both title protagonists retired from the Austrian GP, but Hans Joachim Stuck's surprise win prevented the other chasers from closing the gap significantly. The gap between Scheckter and Nilsson did open up again in the Netherlands: Scheckter finished 2nd while Nilsson again did not finish. Both drivers again did not score in Italy, which meant that the gap between the South African and the Swede was only 6 points with three races to go.

Nilsson had not finished any of the previous four races and his disastrous streak would go on. The Lotus driver, who had to end his career after this season due to his losing battle with cancer, would not finish another race in 1977. Scheckter did: he won the next two races and secured the title with the Japanese GP still to go. It meant that South Africa would join France, Belgium and Sweden in the group of nations with one Kubica Trophy championship.

Despite the decided championship battle, the Japanese GP was perhaps the most interesting one of the entire season. Depailler gave the iconic Tyrrell P34 one last win in its final race. He was joined on the podium by Laffite - who now equalled Nilsson and Mass on points - and Stuck. Just off the podium was Kunimitsu Takahashi in his privateer Tyrrell, finishing ahead of the newly crowned champion, while Kazuyoshi Hoshino scored his and Kojima's first and only point.

[dr-baker]

Happy to see Hosino score a point in 1977, but sad that Lella Lombardi missed out on points in 1976.

[tBone]

Happy to see Hosino score a point in 1977, but sad that Lella Lombardi missed out on points in 1976.

This championship isn't good for female drivers at it turns out. The only one who isn't excluded is Desiré Wilson, but she failed to qualify on her one attempt in a championship race.

[tBone]

1978

After several struggling seasons, Ronnie "Super Swede" Peterson was the top favourite for the 1978 Kubica Trophy in the iconic Lotus 78. He had a reasonably strong start to the season, but Patrick Depailler had started the season surprisingly well in his Tyrrell. The Frenchman won three of the first five races and was 12 points ahead of Peterson before the Belgian Grand Prix. Peterson had only won one, while the Brazilian GP had yielded the biggest surprises with a win for Clay Regazzoni in his Ensign and Jochen Mass finishing on the podium with an ATS.

The next four races were a big swing of momentum, Peterson winning all four of them while Depailler scored 0 points, his lead in the Kubica Trophy being converted into a deficit of no less than 24 points. The deficit would be reduced to 15 points in the British GP, where the roles were reversed. Neither of the two finished the German GP, enabling reigning champion Jody Scheckter to win his first race of the season, but also enabling Jacques Laffite to finish in the top 4 for the sixth consecutive race. The Ligier driver would continue to do so for three more races, gaining him a very nice points haul, but he would never really get close to challenging for the Trophy.

Peterson won again in Austria, but Depailler limited damage by finishing 2nd. The Frenchman did retire from the Dutch GP, while Peterson made it a back-to-back victory. Peterson's lead was now 27 points over Depailler, meaning that the Swede was sure of winning the championship. Depailler could only equal him on both points and countback, so the only other theoretical option was a shared championship.

In Monza, Ronnie Peterson suffered a bad crash at the start and he would sadly succumb to his injuries later that day. Depailler had finished the race only in 5th position, meaning that Peterson was now sure of winning the title alone. The Swede would become the Kubica Trophy's second ever posthunous champion. The final two races did not change too much in the top of the table anymore, but future Ferrari teammates Scheckter and Villeneuve won both of them and Jabouille scored the first podium with a turbo engine: perhaps a sign of things to come in 1979.

[Nessafox]

Interesting that Scheckter won a race for Ferrari, he was still at Wolf in 1978 if i remember correctly (Irl it was Reutemann driving the Ferrari)

[tBone]

Interesting that Scheckter won a race for Ferrari, he was still at Wolf in 1978 if i remember correctly (Irl it was Reutemann driving the Ferrari)

Woops, slip of the pen there, thanks for pointing it out.

Meanwhile, I've worked out 1979 as well. I won't give away too many spoilers, but Patrick Depailler really robbed himself from a great shot at the Trophy with his hang gliding accident...

[tBone]

1979

1977 Kubica Trophy winner Jody Scheckter was the 1979 real life champion. Since South Africa was still eligible, he was a clear favourite to win it again. Or could this be the first time in history that the real life champion was beaten in the Kubica Trophy? His Canadian teammate Gilles Villeneuve could get close, but Jacques Laffite from France and Swiss Clay Regazzoni might be dangerous dark horses as well...

Ligier opened the season perfectly, with Laffite and Patrick Depailler finishing 1st and 2nd in Argentina and Brazil. The Ferrari duo of Villeneuve and Scheckter did the exact same thing in Brazil and the USA West GP. The other drivers of those teams got their moments to shine as well: Depailler won in Spain, Scheckter in Belgium and Monaco. The top 4 of the championship was well ahead of the rest of the field, but incredibly close together: Scheckter led with 30 points (out of 38), Depailler was 2nd with 25 (out of 29), Villeneuve had 24 (out of 27), just like Laffite. Meanwhile, Regazzoni had only scored 12 points, although he did finish on the podium for the first time in Monaco.

The French GP was won by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the fast, but fragile Renault. Villeneuve was the only one from the top 4 to add points to his tally by finishing 2nd. Scheckter did score a point, but it was dropped because only four races could be kept. Laffite, who had only scored points on three occasions, finished outside the points, while Depailler was out of contention for the rest of the season. He had an injury from a hanggliding accident and would be replaced by one-time Kubica Trophy winner Jacky Ickx for the remainder of the season.

Clay Regazzoni won the British and German Grands Prix, while the Kubica Trophy frontrunners did not score too many points at all. Despite an awful start to the season, the Swiss Williams driver now found himself in serious title contention. He was 2nd at this stage with 32 points, only 5 behind Trophy leader Scheckter, but in front of Laffite (30 points) and Villeneuve (29 out of 35). Once again there was a very close top 4 in the championship, now with Regazzoni instead of Depailler. As it turned out, both Regazzoni and Laffite would keep struggling with poor reliability and neither of them would win another race in 1979.

Those race wins were shared between Villeneuve and Scheckter, winning two races each before the Kubica Trophy got ready for the final race in the USA. Scheckter still led with 56 points (out of 72), Villeneuve followed with 53 (out of 61). The South African had finished all races so far in the second half, while the Canadian had only finished four. Villeneuve then dominated at Watkins Glen, leading a large part of the race. Scheckter did follow him in 2nd, so virtually he would now have 58 points (out of 78), while Villeneuve would end the season on 60 (out of 68). Dropped scores definitely played a big part in this season. Scheckter's last hopes faded 10 laps before the finish, when he had to retire from the race with a puncture. Villeneuve went on to take his fifth win of the season and his maiden Kubica Trophy.

[James1978]

You haven't included the points table tBone!

But I did call it about 1979 - though what a ludicrous points system that was. It's the closest thing to the medal system Bernie wanted to introduce!

Anyway now Villeneuve Jr can't win 1998 I did take a sneak preview of it (looked at the full table on Wikipedia). Unless there's the unlikely event of Japan still being in that year, I can honestly say I don't know how the champion will be decided. Might hinge on whether a DNF beats a did not show up!

[tBone]

Apparently I had switched off BBcode in that post... Should be fixed now. Thanks for pointing it out!

You did call it, but it especially surprised me that Scheckter did lead it until the very last moment. I personally find it a bit disappointing that both Regazzoni and Depailler missed out again with their final real shot at the Trophy. They had been close several times, but not quite close enough...

[tBone]

1980

France had not had a Kubica Trophy winner since Jean Behra in 1956, but it seemed inevitable that a new French era would arrive in 1980. Nevertheless, the season opener was won by a Finn in a Brazilian team: Keke Rosberg shocked the world by winning the Argentinian Grand Prix in a Fittipaldi. The next two races had all-French podiums, though. René Arnoux won both of them, Didier Pironi got a 2nd and a 3rd and Jacques Laffite and Alain Prost both finished in the top 3 once. 1977 champion Jody Scheckter did take a win in the USA - his only podium finish and Ferrari's only win of the season - before the Ligier duo of Pironi and Laffite took over again with wins in Belgium, Monaco and France. After the first half of the season, Pironi had just taken the lead in the Kubica Trophy with 34 points, followed by Arnoux with 30 and Laffite with 21. The title race was shaping up to be a three-way battle.

The French did not conquer Britain, though: none of the three protagonists managed to score, while Derek Daly and Jean-Pierre Jarier gave Tyrrell a memorable 1-2 on home soil. Laffite did very well in the next three races, winning in Germany and finishing 2nd in Austria and the Netherlands. Renault won the latter two races: Jean-Pierre Jabouille scored 9 of his 10 points of the year in Austria and Arnoux won at Zandvoort. Laffite had now taken the championship lead: he had 42 points with three races to go. Arnoux followed just one point down, while Pironi's title challenge had taken a big hit after four races without points. He was 8 points down, on 34 points.

Keke Rosberg did it again in Italy: he won his second race of the season. Pironi finished 2nd and gained a lot on his rivals: Laffite and Arnoux only finished 5th and 6th respectively. The Kubica Trophy top 3 was now within 4 points of each other, with only two races to go. Arnoux did not finish, Laffite again only finished 5th, but Pironi won the Canadian Grand Prix - where Hector Rebaque secured Mexico's first podium since 1971 - and was back in the lead. Laffite was 3 points down, Arnoux also still had a chance with a 7-point gap to bridge. As it turned out, the Kubica Trophy top 3 was exactly the same as the top 3 of the final race, making Didier Pironi France's first champion in 24 years.

[tBone]

1981

Didier Pironi finally won France's second Kubica Trophy in 1980 and French drivers were again the favourites for 1981. Jacques Laffite and Alain Prost had gotten pretty close to winning the real-life championship, so it was likely that the fight for the Trophy would be between the two of them. The first races of the season were anything but straightforward, though. Patrick Tambay - in a Theodore - and Ensign's Marc Surer won the first two races, while Laffite scored only 6 points and Prost none. Prost and René Arnoux secured a Renault 1-2 in Argentina, while there was another happy surprise result to enjoy: Jan Lammers finished 3rd in an ATS. The fourth race of the year - the San Marino GP - had another shock result, Hector Rebaque beating the two Ferraris to conquer his maiden win.

Business returned more or less to usual as the season neared its halfway point. Laffite and Gilles Villeneuve were the fifth and sixth unique winners in 1981 before the latter became the first driver of the year to win more than one race. Prost then won his home race, putting himself back into contention for the Kubica Trophy. Villeneuve was still in the lead with 28 points after eight races, while Laffite was only one point down. Arnoux followed with 25, Surer was still 4th in the championship with 19 points and Prost and Pironi both had 18 points at that stage.

The remaining seven races were all won by either Laffite or Prost, starting with a win for the former in Great Britain, where Slim Borgudd secured ATS' second podium of the year. Prost won in Hockenheim, but Laffite limited damage by finishing 2nd, before extending his lead again with a win in Austria. His lead at that moment was a healthy 18 points over Arnoux, 21 over Villeneuve and 24 over Prost. Laffite would not finish the next two races, which were both won by Prost, so the gap was back down to 6 points with still two races to go. In the meantime, Eliseo Salazar had secured Chile's first ever podium in the Dutch GP.

The battle for the Trophy did end one race before the end: Laffite won while Prost crashed out of the race, running in 2nd position at the time. The latter robbed himself of a theoretical chance to become France's last ever champion at Caesar's Palace, handing the honor to Jacques Laffite, who did finish 2nd in the final race while Prost won once more. Interestingly, Laffite had never finished a race lower than 2nd, while Prost won all the races he finished. The only drivers to beat either of the two in a race in 1981 were Surer and Villeneuve.

[CarloSpace]

Now that France is already gone I can totally see Keke dominating the series for the next 3 seasons. Assuming Johansson wins 1985 in the Ferrari and thus eliminates Sweden, 1986 could be very interesting

[James1978]

Now that France is already gone I can totally see Keke dominating the series for the next 3 seasons. Assuming Johansson wins 1985 in the Ferrari and thus eliminates Sweden, 1986 could be very interesting

An Arrows shootout - Boutsen v Danner I THINK.

Rosberg could struggle to win 1984 as he hardly finished a race in the second half of the season but his most likely challenger is Boutsen but it would just mean Finland/Sweden are out in 1986 instead of 1985.

What that then does to Japan's chances (depending on Boutsen getting Belgium eliminated they could win 3 between 1987 and 1990) could make both 1991 and 1998 just mental.

[tBone]

1982

Keke Rosberg was the real life champion of 1982 and easily the favorite to win the Kubica Trophy as well. He did not disappoint: he won every race he finished, ending the season with an amazing points tally of 99. Rosberg was already crowned champion with three races to go.

Only Manfred Winkelhock led the championship at one moment, because he took his maiden win in the Brazilian GP. Another remarkable win took place in Imola, where Gilles Villeneuve won the last race he would ever compete in. Marc Surer also won his first race, while Roberto Guerrero became the first Colombian to finish on the podium.




1983

1983 was another dominant year for Keke Rosberg. However, he did not start the year well with a disqualification in the season opener in Brazil. Strangely, the drivers who finished behind him did not move up a position, resulting in the first ever race which had finishers, but no winner. Marc Surer had taken 2nd place and won the USA West GP, putting himself in quite a firm lead in the championship.

Rosberg did win the next seven races, leaving the opposition without a realistic shot at the Kubica Trophy. Some more retirements prevented him from taking the Trophy even earlier than in 1982, but he was a double champion with two races to go. Surer had been the only one who stayed even remotely close all season: the Swiss had a very good season for Arrows, winning three races and securing seven more podium finishes. 1983 was also the year where Johnny Cecotto secured Venezuela's first podiums and where Stefan Johansson won his first race.




1984

Before the season, there was once again just one favourite for the Kubica Trophy: Keke Rosberg. He seemed destined to become the second driver in history to win three consecutive Trophies. The Finn started the season pretty well with four wins in the first six races, but Thierry Boutsen was only 4.5 points adrift after the Monaco GP. Neither of them scored in the Canadian and USA East GPs, but Rosberg took a big step to his third Trophy by winning in Dallas, while Boutsen again did not finish.

Rosberg would again retire from three consecutive races after that win, but Boutsen also only managed to finish one. He did win that one, though, but his team mate Surer had also come back into contention with a win and a 2nd place in those three races. Rosberg still led the championship with four races to go - he had 40.5 points - but Boutsen and Surer followed closely, with 36 and 34 points respectively. The race which was not won by the title protagonists, saw Huub Rothengatter take a surprise victory in his Spirit.

The Dutch GP was won by Rosberg, while the Arrows duo did not finish. However, it was the last race of 1984 in which Rosberg would see the checkered flag. Surer also would not finish another race, but Boutsen edged closer with a 3rd place in Italy and a win in the penultimate GP. The difference between the Finn and the Belgian was only half a point when the season finale in Portugal started. Boutsen's dreams ended after only 24 laps, even though Rosberg also would not see the finish. He was a triple champion though and he equaled Emerson Fittipaldi in winning three consecutive Kubica Trophies.




Just how close that season was, could perhaps best be proven by this alternative scenario. Tyrrell got disqualified from all races in 1984 because of their illegal car, but what if they had kept their results? Bellof would have had a pretty impressive season up until the last three races where his team did not start anymore, but Boutsen is the surprisig winner in this scenario. If Tyrrell had not been caught, Thierry Boutsen would have won the 1984 Kubica Trophy!

[Nessafox]

Rothengatter and Spirit winning a race, when you thought you've seen it all in the alt championships.

[dr-baker]

Rothengatter and Spirit winning a race, when you thought you've seen it all in the alt championships.

Yes, that was a pleasant shock!