Grand Prix Rejects

There are two different ways I subconsciously look at champions, I've realised. There are the people I think of as champions, integral parts of F1 history—Fangio, Clark, Prost, Senna, Hakkinen, Schumacher—and there are people who had the most points at the end of their season(s), like Hawthorn, Scheckter, and Piquet. This isn't about deserving it—Villeneuve is a True Champion—it's just about the predestined-to-be-champion-that-year aura some people give off and others don't. Hunt happened to be champion of 1976, but 1980 feels, in retrospect, predetermined to be for Alan Jones. It's not necessarily about a close battle either—Hamilton counts, and whilst you can't know, I don't think Massa would have that tone if he took 2008. Their subsequent career probably has a lot to do with it.

So does anyone else feel this, or is it just me? Is it just a rebranding of being inspiring or possibly of being a "great"? Do some seasons feel more magical and historic than others?

Well, sometimes the legend of a championship doesn't lie within the driver, but within the team (Brawn for example)

I think it has to do with attaching memories to emotions, rather than expectation.
You are more likely to remember Sato overtaking Alsonso than Boutsen getting a podium in an Arrows. Most champions who aren't considered as 'great champions' were often overshadowed by other drivers at the same moment (Scheckter being a very good example)