CHAMPIONS WITHOUT HAVING A BETTER CAR

CHAMPIONS WITHOUT HAVING THE BEST CAR

All champions won titles with competitive cars, that's proven. But there is a select group of drivers who were champions in cars that were good, but weren't necessarily the best of their seasons.

In this analysis, the reliability, consistency and speed of the car were taken into account. The conclusion of this survey contradicts those who wrongly generalize: "If he was a champion, it's because he had the best car."

1) Fangio in 1951:

Giuseppe Farina, the previous year's champion for Alfa Romeo, came 4th in the 1951 championship with 19 points, behind the two Ferrari drivers, Alberto Ascari (25 points) and Froilan Gonzalez (24 points), with Gonzalez running one race unless Farina. This fact leads us to think that Alfa Romeo was losing its position as the best car in F1.

From the middle of the season onwards, the Ferrari team was very strong, taking advantage of the fact that Alfa Romeo had announced its withdrawal from F1. Fangio was champion of the season, already showing at that time that he was a genius and everything suggests that Ferrari was a little superior to Alfa Romeo and the overwhelming dominance of the Maranello team in 1952 and 1953 would prove this.

Championship:

Fangio (Alfa Romeo) 31

Ascari (Ferrari) 25

Gonzalez (Ferrari) 24

Farina (Alfa Romeo) 19

Race-by-race comparison: Ferrari 3 x 2 Alfa Romeo

2) Fittipaldi in 1974:

In 1974, McLaren started the year well, then Ferrari improved its car in the races in the European part of the season, and McLaren had to make modifications to the air intakes, intake trumpets and rear suspension (Source Anuário Motores 74 pg 12 and 48) to get closer to the Ferrari. Everything indicates that the Italian team was the best car of the season, with 10 poles, 3 one-two starts and 2 one-two finishes, while McLaren had 2 poles and NO one-two finishes at the start or finish. Niki Lauda's problems and mistakes lost him 20 points (avoidable accidents in Germany and Canada and the flat tire in England), otherwise the Austrian could have been the champion. So the dispute was between Clay Regazzoni and Emerson Fittipaldi, and the Brazilian was the first champion of the New Zealand team. Just the fact that the Swiss, who was a much inferior driver to the Brazilian, was 3 points behind the champion, already shows that Ferrari was very strong this season.

Championship:

Fittipaldi (McLaren) 55

Regazzoni (Ferrari) 52

Lauda (Ferrari) 38

Hulme (McLaren) 20

Race-by-race comparison: Ferrari 8 x 6 McLaren

3) Piquet in 1981:

In 1981 Brabham had a good car with air suspension, but overall for the season the Williams, who dominated SOLO EFFECT at the time, designed by Patrick Head was slightly superior to Brabham. Evidence of this is the Williams drivers: Reutemann (49 points) and Jones (46 points), who were less talented than the Brazilian, had almost the same number of points as Piquet (50 points). The Argentine was clearly "passed over" within the Williams team at the end of the year, if not for this Reutemann could have been the champion of that season. Nelson made some mistakes at the beginning of the year, but later he dosed his momentum, and mixed speed, technique and intelligence to be champion.

Championship:

Piquet (Brabham) 50

Reutemann (Williams) 49

Alan Jones (Williams) 46

Rebaque (Brabham) 11

Race-by-race comparison: Williams 7 x 5 Brabham

NOTE: In 1983, despite Brabham taking 3rd place in the Constructors' World Championship, there was a lot of balance between Brabham, Renault and Ferrari. In fact, Ricardo Patrese made a mistake, he had a lot of problems that year and didn't help Brabham score (he only scored 13 points) and this created the false impression that Brabham was inferior to Renault and Ferrari.

4) Rosberg in 1982:

The 1982 season was very balanced and had many crashes, however Ferrari was the best car of the year due to its reliability compared to the other cars. But Villeneuve and Pironi's accidents ended the Italian team's chances of winning the drivers' title. Alain Prost led the championship, had a chance of winning the title, but had 7 breakdowns during the season and failed to become champion. Then Keke Rosberg, with an aspirated Williams Ford Cosworth, was the best of the rest and became champion with a low number of points, winning just ONE race of the season at the 1982 Swiss GP (held in France). It was a lucky break for the Finn, but we can't help but include him on this list.

Championship:

Rosberg (Williams) 44

Pironi (Ferrari) e Watson (McLaren) 39

Derek Daly (Williams) 8

Race-to-race comparison: Ferrari 9 x 6 Williams (*)

(*) Williams was disqualified in Brazil.

5) Prost in 1986:

If anyone still doubts the genius of Frenchman Alain Prost, I suggest reviewing the 1986 season. Competing against the 4 best F1 drivers at that time: Piquet, Mansell, Senna and Rosberg and having the second best car in F1 in his hands, the Frenchman destroyed his teammate Keke Rosberg, who had defeated Mansell the previous year in Williams. In 86 Mansell became the driver to be beaten in F1 and led most of the championship ahead of two-time champion Nelson Piquet, who was considered the best driver in the first half of the 80s, all the drivers mentioned were of a very high level. Prost was champion in the last race of the year in a spectacular fight against Mansell and Piquet in the Williams/Honda, which was the best car of that season.

Championship:

Prost (McLaren) 72

Mansell (Williams) 70

Piquet (Williams) 69

Rosberg (McLaren) 22

Race to Race Comparison: Williams 6 x 3 McLaren

6) Senna in 1991:

McLaren was constructors' champion in 1991, but under normal conditions the Williams team should have won. Nigel Mansell missed out on two easy wins due to driver (Canada) and mechanic errors at the pit stop (Portugal). These 19 lost points made Williams lose the constructors' title that in fairness should have been hers. It's an exercise in assumption, but without these human errors, Leão would arrive in Japan with 80 points against Senna's 83 in the title race.

McLaren took more pole positions, but Williams was clearly faster at race pace, even pushing or ahead of Senna in several races (Bra, Can, Mex, Fra, Ing, Ale, Hun, Bel, Ita, Por, Esp and Aus), this can be shown in Williams' 8 fastest laps compared to McLaren's only 4. In terms of reliability, Williams had 8 breaks, while McLaren had 7, not counting the races that Senna had breaks (Bra and Bel) and completed. But in the middle of the year, McLaren still had two dry failures (Ing and Ale) that made them lose a lot of points. The difference in points between Senna and Mansell does not represent the battle that was this season and Williams' overwhelming dominance in 92 and 93 would prove that in 91 they were already very strong.

Championship:

Senna (McLaren) 96

Mansell (Williams) 72

Patrese (Williams) 53

Berger (McLaren) 43

Race to Race Comparison: Williams 9 x 6 McLaren

7) Schumacher in 1995:

Schumacher pulverized the competition in 1995, helped by the errors by Hill (four retirements due to errors) and Coulthard (five retirements due to errors), only Damon Hill lost around 36 points and the difference between him and Schumacher at the end of the year it was 33 points, meaning Hill could have been the champion if he hadn't made so many mistakes. Someone could claim that Benetton was the constructors' champion so it was the best car and Herbert won in England and Italy, but it is worth explaining that Johnny only won these races due to the problems of Hill, Schumacher, Coulthard, Alesi and Berger. During the season, Williams had 12 poles and 17 podiums, while Benetton had 4 poles and 15 podiums. In fact, Hill and Coulthard were still evolving as drivers and even at the height of their careers, they never came close to Schumacher's talent. Once again, Williams' overwhelming dominance in 96 only proves that in 95 they already had the best car.

Championship:

Schumacher (Benetton) 102

Hill (Williams) 69

Coulthard (Williams) 49

Herbert (Benetton) 45

Race-by-race comparison: Williams 8 x 5 Benetton

NOTE: In 1994, Benetton started the year better, but then with the improvements to the car, Williams ended the year better, which is why I consider it a tie between Benetton and Williams.

8) Hamilton in 2018:

The 2018 season is clear proof that the car that scored the most points cannot be chosen as the best of the season. Inadvertently, many people fall for this "prank"...

It was a balanced season, Ferrari was better in some races, Mercedes was better in others, as in some races the German car had problems with the formation of 'bubbles' in the tires, however overall in the season, analyzing race by race, Ferrari was slightly higher. When analyzing this season, many people forget Vettel's festival of mistakes (Azerbaijan, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, USA and Brazil), which made him lose around 76 points, apart from the 24 points that Hamilton gained. with These mistakes, all of this cost Ferrari the driver's and constructor's titles. Hamilton had a superb season, he showed progress as a driver, he was very consistent and regular, definitively writing his name as one of the best in the history of F1, the same is not true. can be said about Vettel. If there are still doubts, just see that Bottas, Hamilton's teammate, came in a modest 5th place in the championship, behind Vettel, Raikkonen and Verstappen, having his worst year at Mercedes.

Championship:

Hamilton (Mercedes) 408

Vettel (Ferrari) 320

Raikkonen (Ferrari) 251

Bottas (Mercedes) 247

Race-by-race comparison: Ferrari 8 x 6 Mercedes

NOTE: In 2008, Hamilton's McLaren was not the best car either, as Ferrari was slightly better, but the breakdowns and problems of Kimi and Massa, balanced the fight in the championship between them. That's why I didn't put it on this list.

8) Verstappen in 2024:

The 2024 season was quite balanced, with 7 different winners, 22 starting grids with more than 10 cars in the same second. Red Bull was the dominant car in the first third of the season, and then McLaren took over as the best car, but with a small margin in relation to the competition. But McLaren's mistake in not playing a team game (Hungary), Norris' mistakes (Italy and Brazil), the controversial punishment applied to Norris (USA), combined with the improvement of Ferrari and Mercedes, hindered any chance of a reaction from Lando Norris in the championship, and the title ended up deservedly going to Max Verstappen. The Dutchman had a spectacular season, as he knew how to get the most out of his car on tracks where he didn't have the best equipment, and even won an unlikely race in the rain at the Brazilian GP, starting from 17th place, in the best Senna and Schumacher style. Max's performance this season removed all doubts, for those who still doubt whether he is a brilliant driver or not.

Championship:

Verstappen (Red Bull) 437

Norris (McLaren) 374

Leclerc (Ferrari) 356

Perez (Red Bull) 192

Race-by-race comparison: McLaren 9 x 7 Red Bull

NOTE: In 2021, Red Bull was well balanced with Mercedes, which is why it was not included in this list, even though Red Bull was not the constructors' champion.