Formula One Alternate - Knockout Chase (Up to 2001)

[Samster]

An alternative championship that uses the knockout style chase for the championship system used by NASCAR since 2014. Formula One's version of this will cover the final five races of each season with three phases. I will start with the 1973 championship as this is the point where we consistently have enough Grands Prix to make the system work. I will also use the post 2010 points system for all championships.

For those unfamiliar with the concept.

Phase 1
10 drivers will qualify for the opening phase which covers the first two Grands Prix of the chase.
All drivers that have won at least one Grand Prix before the chase begins automatically qualify.
Any remaining spots in the chase will go to the highest drivers in the championship without any victories.
In the unlikely event that more than ten drivers have won a Grand Prix (This is yet to happen and impossible until we get more than 15 Grands Prix in a championship) then the chase spots go to the drivers with the most victories then the drivers higher in the championship.
All qualified drivers start the chase with 300 points plus one bonus point for every victory they have so far in the championship.
Drivers that missed races earlier in the season but are eligible for the chase are still allowed to run but only if they enter the first Grand Prix of the chase. Otherwise their spot will go to the next driver down in the championship.

Phase 2
The top seven after the opening two Grands Prix of the chase make it through to this phase covering the third and fourth Grands Prix.
All qualified drivers start this phase with 350 points plus one bonus point for every victory they have so far in the championship.

Phase 3
The top four after Phase 2 make it to the season finale for the 'championship showdown'.
All qualified drivers start the final Grand Prix with 400 points plus one bonus point for every victory they have so far in the championship.
The driver with the most points after the Grand Prix of course wins the championship.

Champions

Pre Chase Era (1950-1972) (Using Post 2010 Points System)
1950 Giuseppe Farina
1951 Juan Manuel Fangio
1952 Alberto Ascari
1953 Alberto Ascari
1954 Juan Manuel Fangio
1955 Juan Manuel Fangio
1956 Juan Manuel Fangio
1957 Juan Manuel Fangio
1958 Mike Hawthorn
1959 Jack Brabham
1960 Jack Brabham
1961 Phil Hill
1962 Graham Hill
1963 Jim Clark
1964 Graham Hill
1965 Jim Clark (Tied for points with Graham Hill)
1966 Jack Brabham
1967 Denny Hulme
1968 Graham Hill
1969 Jackie Stewart
1970 Jochen Rindt
1971 Jackie Stewart
1972 Emerson Fittipaldi

Chase Era (1973-Present)
1973 Ronnie Peterson
1974 Emerson Fittipaldi
1975 Niki Lauda
1976 James Hunt
1977 Alan Jones
1978 Mario Andretti
1979 Gilles Villeneuve
1980 Alan Jones
1981 Alain Prost
1982 Alain Prost
1983 Nelson Piquet
1984 Alain Prost
1985 Keke Rosberg
1986 Alain Prost
1987 Gerhard Berger
1988 Alain Prost
1989 Alessandro Nannini
1990 Nelson Piquet
1991 Ayrton Senna
1992 Gerhard Berger
1993 Ayrton Senna
1994 Gerhard Berger
1995 Damon Hill
1996 Damon Hill
1997 Jacques Villeneuve
1998 Mika Hakkinen
1999 Mika Hakkinen
2000 Michael Schumacher
2001 Michael Schumacher

Total Chase Appearances
Nelson Piquet 12/13
Alain Prost 12/13
Gerhard Berger 11/13
Ayrton Senna 10/10
Mika Hakkinen 9/10
Carlos Reutemann 8/9
Michael Schumacher 8/10
Jacques Laffite 8/11
Niki Lauda 8/11
Riccardo Patrese 8/16
David Coulthard 7/7
Jean Alesi 7/12
Michele Alboreto 7/14
Jody Scheckter 6/7
Damon Hill 6/7
John Watson 6/10
Nigel Mansell 6/12
Jacques Villeneuve 5/6
Clay Regazzoni 5/7
Alan Jones 5/8
Keke Rosberg 5/8
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 5/8
Rubens Barrichello 5/9
Rene Arnoux 5/10
Didier Pironi 4/5
Giancarlo Fisichella 4/5
Ralf Schumacher 4/5
Mario Andretti 4/6
Patrick Depailler 4/6
Jochen Mass 4/8
Emerson Fittipaldi 4/8
Eddie Irvine 4/8
Martin Brundle 4/9
Eddie Cheever 4/9
Thierry Boutsen 4/10
Gilles Villeneuve 3/4
Mark Blundell 3/4
Stefan Johansson 3/5
Elio de Angelis 3/5
Alessandro Nannini 3/5
Jarno Trulli 3/5
Ronnie Peterson 3/6
James Hunt 3/6
Patrick Tambay 3/7
Olivier Panis 3/7
Johnny Herbert 3/9
Derek Warwick 3/10
Denny Hulme 2/2
Gunnar Nilsson 2/2
Alexander Wurz 2/3
Carlos Pace 2/5
Jackie Stewart 1/1
Francois Cevert 1/1
Peter Revson 1/1
George Follmer 1/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 1/1
Kimi Raikkonen 1/1
Mike Hailwood 1/2
Jean-Pierre Beltoise 1/2
Tom Pryce 1/2
Jenson Button 1/2
Nick Heidfeld 1/2
Christian Fittipaldi 1/3
Eric Bernard 1/3
Derek Daly 1/3
Jean-Pierre Jabouille 1/3
Roberto Moreno 1/4
Jacky Ickx 1/4
Erik Comas 1/4
Stefano Modena 1/5
Satoru Nakajima 1/5
Alex Caffi 1/5
Hans-Joachim Stuck 1/5
Teo Fabi 1/5
Mika Salo 1/5
Ivan Capelli 1/6
Jonathan Palmer 1/6
Pierluigi Martini 1/6
Andrea de Cesaris 1/14

McLaren 52/59
Ferrari 47/58
Williams 39/47
Benetton 25/32
Lotus 22/44
Tyrrell 20/52
Ligier/Prost 17/49
Brabham 15/40
Renault 10/15
Jordan 10/22
Arrows 8/48
Sauber 6/18
Shadow 3/14
Wolf 2/3
BAR 2/6
BRM 2/7
Minardi 2/33
Parnelli 1/1
Penske 1/2
Hesketh 1/5
Stewart 1/6
Fittipaldi 1/8
Toleman 1/10
Scuderia Italia 1/11
Larrousse 1/15
March 1/25

[Samster]

1973
The inaugural Chase for the Formula One World Championship begins at the German Grand Prix. James Hunt and Arturo Merzario would have qualified had they entered the German Grand Prix while Jacky Ickx's one off with McLaren saves his position after Ferrari cut down their schedule. Clay Regazzoni surprisingly qualifies in the unfancied BRM through consistency rather than speed while George Follmer qualifies for Shadow in his only F1 season.

1973 Contenders
1. Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell) 304
2. Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus) 303
3. Denny Hulme (McLaren) 301
4. Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) 301
5. Peter Revson (McLaren) 301
6. François Cevert (Tyrrell) 300
7. Jacky Ickx (Ferrari) 300
8. Carlos Reutemann (Brabham) 300
9. Clay Regazzoni (BRM) 300
10. George Follmer (Shadow) 300

A win and a 2nd gets Stewart off to a great start with the only other driver to score in both the German and Austrian Grands Prix being non-chase contender Jose Carlos Pace. Follmer unsurprisingly fails to progress after failing to finish both Grands Prix but McLaren winners, Hulme and Revson both join him as shock losses. Ickx easily progresses in 4th despite only competing at Germany and remains in contention as Ferrari return for Italy.

After Phase 1.
1. Jackie Stewart 347
2. Ronnie Peterson 326
3. François Cevert 318
4. Jacky Ickx 315
5. Carlos Reutemann 312
6. Emerson Fittipaldi 311
7. Clay Regazzoni 308
8. Denny Hulme 305
9. Peter Revson 303
10. George Follmer 300

Phase 2 Contenders
1. Jackie Stewart 355
2. Emerson Fittipaldi 353
3. Ronnie Peterson 352
4. François Cevert 350
5. Jacky Ickx 350
6. Carlos Reutemann 350
7. Clay Regazzoni 350

After a disappointing Phase 1, defending champion Fittipaldi strikes back with a pair of 2nds at Italy and Canada which give him a comfortable lead after Phase 2. Reutemann manages to pip Cevert to prevent an all Lotus/Tyrrell finale. Revson actually scored the most points of anyone this phase but he was already knocked out after Phase 1.

After Phase 2
Emerson Fittipaldi 389
Jackie Stewart 377
Ronnie Peterson 377
Carlos Reutemann 362
François Cevert 360
Jacky Ickx 354
Clay Regazzoni 350

Championship Finale
1. Jackie Stewart 405
2. Emerson Fittipaldi 403
3. Ronnie Peterson 403
4. Carlos Reutemann 400

After Cevert's fatal practice accident, Stewart elects to immediately retire thus giving his chance at a third title away unless none of the other contenders fail to score. However Peterson would win the final round in the USA with Reutemann the closer contender in 3rd and Fittipaldi down in 6th. Ronnie Peterson is the 1973 champion!

1. Ronnie Peterson 428
2. Carlos Reutemann 415
3. Emerson Fittipaldi 411
4. Jackie Stewart 405

Champion, Ronnie Peterson

[James1978]

This sounds interesting but I'll have to see how a few of these work before I will make any champion predictions!

[Bleu]

2013 will be the easiest to predict!

[Samster]

1974

Chase Qualification proved to be more competitive in 1974 with no one winning more than twice. Clay Regazzoni easily qualifies on points despite failing to win during the regular season while Mike Hailwood manages to qualify the third McLaren. Ferrari and Tyrrell also qualify both of their cars. Jean-Pierre Beltoise actually tied with Jacky Ickx on 40 points for the final chase spot but qualifies ahead of the Belgian thanks to his 2nd place at South Africa compared to Ickx's pair of 3rds allowing BRM to again sneak a car into the chase.

Chase Contenders
Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren) 302
Niki Lauda (Ferrari) 302
Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) 302
Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell) 302
Denny Hulme (McLaren) 301
Carlos Reutemann (Brabham) 301
Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) 300
Mike Hailwood (McLaren) 300
Patrick Depailler (Tyrrell) 300
Jean-Pierre Beltoise (BRM) 300

Phase 1
The schedule for the chase is exactly the same as in 1973. Regazzoni takes his first win of the season in Germany while Reutemann wins his 2nd in Austria. Both Fittipaldi and Lauda take two consecutive DNFs at the worst possible time however they are both saved from being shock eliminations thanks to their bonus points and by Depailler and Beltoise suffering the same fate. Hailwood also fails to make it through after getting dumped by McLaren after Germany. This means that the seven remaining drivers all have at least one victory each.

1. Carlos Reutemann 341
2. Clay Regazzoni 335
3. Jody Scheckter 320
4. Denny Hulme 319
5. Ronnie Peterson 314
6. Emerson Fittipaldi 302
7. Niki Lauda 302
8. Mike Hailwood 300
9. Patrick Depailler 300
10. Jean-Pierre Beltoise 300

Phase 2
Emerson Fittipaldi 352
Jody Scheckter 352
Niki Lauda 352
Ronnie Peterson 352
Carlos Reutemann 351
Denny Hulme 351
Clay Regazzoni 351

Fittipaldi and Peterson dominate Phase 2 both taking a victory and a podium a piece. Regazzoni and Scheckter also took a podium each though the latter only qualifies on countback as Hulme's pair of sixths are enough to allow him to tie for points with Scheckter. After scoring the most in Phase 1 Reutemann has a poor Phase 2 only managing a 9th in Canada while Lauda once again fails to finish either race. Thus our four finalists all come from separate teams as McLaren, Lotus, Ferrari and Tyrrell are all represented.

1. Emerson Fittipaldi 395
2. Ronnie Peterson 392
3. Clay Regazzoni 369
4. Jody Scheckter 367
5. Denny Hulme 367
6. Carlos Reutemann 353
7. Niki Lauda 352

Phase 3
Emerson Fittipaldi 403
Ronnie Peterson 403
Jody Scheckter 402
Clay Regazzoni 401

The season finales at Watkins Glen proves to be an anti-climax as only Fittipaldi manages to score any points, securing the title with just a 4th place. Peterson and Scheckter both fail to finish while Regazzoni can only manage 11th. The final is won by the already eliminated Reutemann with non chasers Pace and Hunt making up the podium.

Emerson Fittipaldi 415
Ronnie Peterson 403
Jody Scheckter 402
Clay Regazzoni 401

Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi


1975

With Canada off the schedule, the chase will begin at the British Grand Prix for 1975. Lauda easily qualifies by taking four victories with no one else managing more than one. Reutemann is easily the highest non-winner joining his Brabham teammate Pace while Regazzoni also joins his Ferrari teammate on points. McLaren and Tyrrell also maintain their 100% chase record. Making up the final two spots are Hesketh's Hunt and more surprisingly Parnelli's Andretti both joining Mass and Pace as first-time contenders. Jacky Ickx would have qualified instead of Andretti but lost his drive at Lotus just before the chase began while his teammate and 1973 champion, Peterson fails to qualify altogether.

Chase Contenders
Niki Lauda (Ferrari) 304
Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren) 301
James Hunt (Hesketh) 301
Carlos Pace (Brabham) 301
Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell) 301
Jochen Mass (McLaren) 301
Carlos Reutemann (Brabham) 300
Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) 300
Patrick Depailler (Tyrrell) 300
Mario Andretti (Parnelli) 300

Phase 1
Fittipaldi and Reutemann both take a victory each but no other points. Lauda and Depailler were the only drivers to score in both races though the latter fails to advance as his were only a pair of 9ths. Regazzoni is the surprise faller as he was the only contender that failed to score. Andretti unsurprisingly is the other driver eliminated. Once again, all the remaining drivers have been winners this season.

1. Emerson Fittipaldi 326
2. Carlos Reutemann 325
3. Niki Lauda 323
4. Carlos Pace 319
5. Jody Scheckter 316
6. James Hunt 313
7. Jochen Mass 307
8. Patrick Depailler 304
9. Mario Andretti 301
10. Clay Regazzoni 300

Phase 2
Niki Lauda 354
Emerson Fittipaldi 352
Carlos Reutemann 351
James Hunt 351
Carlos Pace 351
Jody Scheckter 351
Jochen Mass 351

Vittorio Brambilla manages to become the first ever non chaser to win a Grand Prix during the chase by taking the Austrian Grand Prix while the eliminated Regazzoni wins in Italy. Hunt shocks everyone by not only getting Lord Hesketh into the final but also scoring the most points with a 2nd and a 5th. Lauda and Fittipaldi join him with the final spot as in 1974 being settled by a tie-breaker with Reutemann qualifying ahead of Mass thanks to his win and two 2nds compared with the German's win and two 3rds. Scheckter's mediocre pair of 8ths fail to advance him while Pace fails to finish either race. Once again, each of the remaining contenders come from different teams with Hesketh, Ferrari, McLaren and Brabham all represented.

1. James Hunt 379
2. Niki Lauda 377
3. Emerson Fittipaldi 372
4. Carlos Reutemann 363
5. Jochen Mass 363
6. Jody Scheckter 359
7. Carlos Pace 351

Phase 3
Niki Lauda 404
Emerson Fittipaldi 402
James Hunt 401
Carlos Reutemann 401

Lauda dominates the final at Watkins Glen with Fittipaldi remaining his closest contender in 2nd, Hunt rounds off a strong campaign for Hesketh by finishing 4th and securing 3rd in the title race ahead of Reutemann who failed to finish. Lauda takes his first title.

1. Niki Lauda 429
2. Emerson Fittipaldi 420
3. James Hunt 413
4. Carlos Reutemann 401

Champion, Niki Lauda


1976

The 1976 Chase will begin at the Dutch Grand Prix before covering Italy, Canada, USA and the inaugural Japanese Grand Prix. Niki Lauda of course would have been the lead qualifier for the chase but his near fatal accident in Germany prevented him from taking part in the opening chase race and allowing Gunnar Nilsson to take the final chase spot for Lotus. Tyrrell and McLaren once again qualify both cars, Regazzoni also continues his 100% chase record by qualifying the other Ferrari. Carlos Pace is Brabham's lone contender, Jacques Laffite get's the new Ligier team into the chase in their first attempt and John Watson manages to get Roger Penske in by winning the final regular season race. Finally Tom Pryce makes what will turn out to be his only ever chase appearance for Shadow.

Chase Contenders
James Hunt (McLaren) 303
Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell) 301
Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) 301
John Watson (Penske) 301
Jochen Mass (McLaren) 300
Patrick Depailler (Tyrrell) 300
Jacques Laffite (Ligier) 300
Tom Pryce (Shadow) 300
Carlos Pace (Brabham) 300
Gunnar Nilsson (Lotus) 300

Phase 1
Regazzoni gets off to a great start as Ferrari's lone challenger with a pair of 2nds. Hunt was the winner at Zandvoort however, non-chaser Ronnie Peterson won in Italy. Scheckter is also solidly through with a pair of 5ths as is first time chaser, Pryce who also scored at both races. Depailler finally makes it past Phase 1 at his third attempt also with a pair of top tens while Mass was lucky to secure the last spot with a lone 9th place as Watson, Nilsson and Pace all failed to score at all.

1. Clay Regazzoni 337
2. James Hunt 328
3. Jody Scheckter 321
4. Tom Pryce 316
5. Jacques Laffite 315
6. Patrick Depailler 314
7. Jochen Mass 302
8. John Watson 301
9. Gunnar Nilsson 300
10. Carlos Pace 300

Phase 2
James Hunt 354
Jody Scheckter 351
Clay Regazzoni 351
Tom Pryce 350
Jacques Laffite 350
Patrick Depailler 350
Jochen Mass 350

Hunt dominates Phase 2 by winning in both Canada and the USA, while Scheckter and Mass also score top fives in both races to secure their spots in the final. Despite leading Phase 1 and scoring in both Phase 2 races, Regazzoni fails to advance as Depailler's lone 2nd in Canada is enough to get him through to ensure a straight fight in the final between the McLarens and Tyrrells. Laffite and Pryce fail to continue their solid Phase 1 form by scoring no further points.

1. James Hunt 404
2. Jody Scheckter 381
3. Jochen Mass 372
4. Patrick Depailler 368
5. Clay Regazzoni 365
6. Tom Pryce 350
7. Jacques Laffite 350

Phase 3
James Hunt 406
Jody Scheckter 401
Jochen Mass 400
Patrick Depailler 400

As in real life, the title fight went down to the very finish, only this time Hunt's main rival turned out to be none other than Patrick Depailler who very nearly pulled off the biggest upset in the chase's history thus far, the Tyrrell driver actually finishing ahead of Hunt on the road. But it was Hunt's bonus points for his six victories over the season that allowed him to come through and passing Alan Jones and Clay Regazzoni for 3rd in the dying laps was what ultimately secured him the title. For the second time in this season's chase, a non-chaser was the winner of the Grand Prix as Mario Andretti won for Lotus. The other contenders, Mass and Scheckter were non-factors as both crashed out in the treacherous conditions.

Yep you heard right Patrick Depailler came within a couple of laps of stealing a world championship! And would have done so without winning a race.

James Hunt 421
Patrick Depailler 418
Jody Scheckter 401
Jochen Mass 400

Champion, James Hunt

[Samster]

1977

A very competitive race into the chase as no less than 8 drivers took victories in order to qualify. Andretti scored the most wins with three and along with Nilsson, Lotus qualify both cars for the chase for the first time since 1973. Ferrari and McLaren also qualify both cars. Jones makes his first appearance in the chase at the last minute by winning in Austria for Shadow. Stuck also makes the chase for Brabham with a pair of podiums in the final two regular season races allowing him to boot 1976 runner up Depailler out. Tyrrell therefore loose their 100% chase record with neither car qualifying. Single car teams, Ligier and newcomers, Wolf make up the remaining two spots with Laffite and Scheckter respectively.

Chase Contenders
Mario Andretti (Lotus) 303
Jody Scheckter (Wolf) 302
Niki Lauda (Ferrari) 302
Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) 301
Gunnar Nilsson (Lotus) 301
Jacques Laffite (Ligier) 301
James Hunt (McLaren) 301
Alan Jones (Shadow) 301
Jochen Mass (McLaren) 300
Hans-Jo Stuck (Brabham) 300

Phase 1
Lauda opens with a near perfect Phase 1 with a win and 2nd, the only other contender to score in both races was Laffite. Andretti fails to finish the Dutch GP but wins in Italy while Scheckter and Jones both take a 3rd each. Meanwhile defending champion Hunt shockingly fails to advance after failing to finish either race. Joining him were Nilsson who suffered the same fate as Hunt and Stuck whom could only manage a single 7th.

1. Niki Lauda 345
2. Mario Andretti 328
3. Jacques Laffite 323
4. Jody Scheckter 317
5. Alan Jones 316
6. Jochen Mass 312
7. Carlos Reutemann 309
8. Hans-Jo Stuck 306
9. James Hunt 301
10. Gunnar Nilsson 301

Phase 2
Mario Andretti 354
Niki Lauda 353
Jody Scheckter 352
Carlos Reutemann 351
Alan Jones 351
Jacques Laffite 351
Jochen Mass 350

Lauda provides a bit of a dilemma as in real-life he left Ferrari two races early once he secured the title after the US Grand Prix. Since there would have been no way for him to secure the title till the final with this format Lauda would surely have finished the season. But since I have no way of determining how well he would have done in this universe Ferrari just sack him due to their declined relationship ending his chances of a 2nd title there and then. However his 4th in the US Grand Prix is still enough to technically qualify him for the final. The eliminated Hunt wins the US Grand Prix while Scheckter comfortably gets Wolf to the final in their first season with a 3rd in the USA and a win in Canada, Andretti was the only other driver to score in both races. Mass makes it to the final again with just a 3rd in Canada while Jones benefits from Lauda's lack of ride to qualify on a technicality, giving Shadow their first appearance in the final. Reutemann and Laffite join Lauda in failing to advance.

1. Jody Scheckter 392
2. Mario Andretti 374
3. Niki Lauda 365
4. Jochen Mass 365
5. Alan Jones 363
6. Carlos Reutemann 359
7. Jacques Laffite 357

Phase 3
Mario Andretti 404
Jody Scheckter 403
Alan Jones 401
Jochen Mass 400

Andretti looked set to take the title by qualifying on pole but a poor start and collision ends his chances on lap 2. This left Hunt out front to take another post-elimination victory. Mass looked set to take a winless championship by running behind his teammate in 2nd before an engine failure ended his hopes. With Scheckter's Wolf dropping back to 10th by the end, this left Jones, the man who made the final on a technicality and only got to race this season after Tom Pryce's death, to cruise to the upset of the century, securing the title for Shadow with a mere 4th place!

1. Alan Jones 413
2. Mario Andretti 404
3. Jody Scheckter 404
4. Jochen Mass 400

Champion, Alan Jones

[James1978]

With Peterson's death and Andretti struggling after it, I reckon Reutemann will probably win 1978.

[Samster]

1978

Andretti and Reutemann easily make the chase by scoring all but three of the regular season wins between them. Having already made three previous chases, Depailler finally qualifies by actually winning something while Lauda and Peterson also took a win apiece. No less than three single car teams make the chase this year as Ligier and Wolf maintain their 100% chase records with Laffite and Scheckter respectively while Fittipaldi makes his first chase since 1975 and his first since joining his brother's team. Watson and rookie, Pironi complete the chase contenders. A lot of big names fell short this season, namely the previous two champions, Alan Jones having moved to the reformed Williams team and James Hunt for a sub par McLaren team. McLaren therefore lose their 100% chase record as Patrick Tambay also misses. Gilles Villeneuve also disappointingly falls well short in the 2nd Ferrari.

Chase Contenders
Mario Andretti (Lotus) 305
Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) 303
Ronnie Peterson (Lotus) 301
Niki Lauda (Brabham) 301
Patrick Depailler (Tyrrell) 301
Jacques Laffite (Ligier) 300
John Watson (Brabham) 300
Jody Scheckter (Wolf) 300
Emerson Fittipaldi (Fittipaldi) 300
Didier Pironi (Tyrrell) 300

Phase 1
Peterson gets off to a near perfect start by winning Austria and finishing 2nd to Andretti in the Dutch GP. Fittipaldi surprises everyone by scoring the most out of the none Lotus drivers with a pair of top fives. Watson and Laffite are also through by scoring in both races while Lauda and Depailler make it with a podium each. Reutemann is this season's shock elimination as his disqualification from Austria for being push started out of the gravel trap ultimately costs him his shot at the title. Scheckter and Pironi join him in elimination by failing to score.

1. Ronnie Peterson 344
2. Mario Andretti 330
3. Emerson Fittipaldi 322
4. Patrick Depailler 319
5. John Watson 318
6. Niki Lauda 316
7. Jacques Laffite 314
8. Carlos Reutemann 309
9. Jody Scheckter 300
10. Didier Pironi 300

Phase 2
Mario Andretti 356
Ronnie Peterson 352
Patrick Depailler 351
Niki Lauda 351
Emerson Fittipaldi 350
John Watson 350
Jacques Laffite 350

Lauda leads after Phase 2 thanks to his win in Italy, Watson is right behind having completed a Brabham 1-2 in Italy. This gives Brabham two cars in the final for the first ever time. Andretti has a disappointing pair of races a lone 6th means he only makes the final thanks to his six bonus points for his earlier victories. Fittipaldi is the only contender to score in both races and his consistency gets him into the final as this year's underdog barely edging out Laffite. Depailler is also eliminated after failing to score while Reutemann will be left frustrated at his Phase 1 elimination as his 3rd in Italy and victory in the USA gave him far more points than any of the remaining contenders. Finally the paddock was left in mourning after the death of Peterson, whom died from complications with his broken leg from the Italy pile up. After Cevert in the inaugural chase, the Swede is the second (and last) contender to die during the chase.

1. Niki Lauda 376
2. John Watson 368
3. Mario Andretti 364
4. Emerson Fittipaldi 364
5. Jacques Laffite 362
6. Ronnie Peterson 352
7. Patrick Depailler 351

Final
Mario Andretti 406
Niki Lauda 402
John Watson 400
Emerson Fittipaldi 400

The championship final is held in Canada at the new Ile Notre-Dame circuit. It turns out to be the most pathetic final thus far in chase history as none of the contenders would be a factor for the win. In fact Lauda, Watson and Fittipaldi would all drop out in the opening laps meaning Andretti had the title wrapped up by lap 8 eventually finishing a lowly 10th. Non-chaser, Gilles Villeneuve would make his home crowd go wild by taking his maiden victory, followed by chase eliminees, Scheckter and Reutemann. The latter has to be extremely gutted as he would have easily won the title if only he'd made it past Phase 1.

1. Mario Andretti 407
2. Niki Lauda 402
3. John Watson 400
4. Emerson Fittipaldi 400

Champion, Mario Andretti


1979

A very competitive regular season with the Ferraris of Scheckter and Villeneuve along with Laffite's Ligier winning two races each. Regazzoni and Jones win a race each allowing Williams into the chase for the first time. Jabouille is the first driver ever to qualify solely by winning a race being only 14th in points by the end of the regular season, his victory in France allows him to qualify at the expense of his teammate Rene Arnoux, nonetheless Renault are in the chase for the first time. Reutemann and Watson easily qualify on points, but defending champion, Andretti along with Pironi only make the chase by default. Both Patrick Depailler and Jean-Pierre Jarier had qualified but both were out due to injury during the start of the chase.

Chase Contenders
Jody Scheckter (Ferrari) 302
Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) 302
Jacques Laffite (Ligier) 302
Clay Regazzoni (Williams) 301
Alan Jones (Williams) 301
Jean-Pierre Jabouille (Renault) 301
Carlos Reutemann (Lotus) 300
John Watson (McLaren) 300
Mario Andretti (Lotus) 300
Didier Pironi (Tyrrell) 300

Phase 1

Jones scores a perfect Phase 1 winning both the Austrian and Dutch GPs. Laffite and Scheckter tie for 2nd, the former with a pair of 3rds, the latter with a 2nd and 4th. Villeneuve, Regazzoni, Pironi and Watson all make it through by virtue of actually scoring some points as all three of Jabouille, Reutemann and Andretti failed to finish either race and thus fail to advance.

1. Alan Jones 351
2. Jody Scheckter 332
3. Jacques Laffite 332
4. Gilles Villeneuve 320
5. Clay Regazzoni 311
6. Didier Pironi 306
7. John Watson 302
8. Jean-Pierre Jabouille 301
9. Carlos Reutemann 300
10. Mario Andretti 300

Phase 2
Alan Jones 353
Jody Scheckter 352
Jacques Laffite 352
Gilles Villeneuve 352
Clay Regazzoni 351
Didier Pironi 350
John Watson 350

The 1979 chase is proving to be a hotly contested one as Ferrari bites back. All three of Scheckter, Villeneuve and Regazzoni finish both races in the top 4. Despite winning in Canada, Jones is only 4th and the final qualifier with a score that would have him leading in most seasons. None of the rest of the contenders got even close to qualifying for the final leaving us with a straight fight between the Ferraris and the Williams.

1. Jody Scheckter 389
2. Gilles Villeneuve 388
3. Clay Regazzoni 381
4. Alan Jones 380
5. Didier Pironi 361
6. John Watson 358
7. Jacques Laffite 352

Phase 3
Alan Jones 404
Jody Scheckter 403
Gilles Villeneuve 402
Clay Regazzoni 401

Though it was Jones that qualified on pole, the US Grand Prix ended up being dominated by Villeneuve on a rainy track, the Canadian taking the lead at the start and never looking back. Jones briefly was a threat once the track started to dry but a pitstop error resulting in Jones' right rear wheel falling off ended his chances. In the end none of the other three contenders made the finish meaning that Villeneuve would easily clinch the title in just his second full season.

1. Gilles Villeneuve 427
2. Alan Jones 404
3. Jody Scheckter 403
4. Clay Regazzoni 401

Champion, Gilles Villeneuve

[Samster]

I'm introducing a new rule for chase qualification. Drivers are no longer eligible for the chase if they miss more than three Grands Prix.

1980

Six drivers took wins during a competitive regular season. Arnoux and Piquet make their first chase appearances by taking their maiden victories while Williams and Ligier also qualify both cars with victories. The six winners were well clear of the rest of the field on points, meanwhile the remaining four spots were hotly contested by about 10 drivers. In the end Arrows' consistency earns them their first chase appearance as both Patrese and Mass qualify. Daly qualifies for Tyrrell giving us four first-time contenders for the year and Villeneuve manages to squeeze the awful Ferrari into the final spot. Just missing out were the two Fittipaldis, the two McLarens again, including rookie Alain Prost, Jean-Pierre Jarier yet again misses out in the second Tyrrell and Elio de Angelis for Lotus despite a 2nd place in Brazil. Finally Jody Scheckter's 100% chase record is finally tarnished at the hands of the hapless Ferrari, he was down in 18th when the chase began.

Chase Contenders
Alan Jones (Williams) 303
Rene Arnoux (Renault) 302
Nelson Piquet (Brabham) 301
Carlos Reutemann (Williams) 301
Didier Pironi (Ligier) 301
Jacques Laffite (Ligier) 301
Riccardo Patrese (Arrows) 300
Jochen Mass (Arrows) 300
Derek Daly (Tyrrell) 300
Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) 300

Phase 1

Having only scored one single point during the regular season, Jean-Pierre Jabouille takes Austria for Renault. Piquet takes a win at the Dutch GP which along with a 5th in Austria gives him the lead after Phase 1. Reutemann and Laffite score identical results both scoring a 3rd and 4th. Arnoux also scores in both races while Jones only manages a lone 2nd to leave him fifth in points. Villeneuve surprisingly gets the Ferrari through by scoring minor points in both races. None of the rest of the contenders managed to score with Pironi taking the final spot in Phase 2 by virtue of his bonus point for winning in Belgium. Mass even has the dishonor of being the first ever contender to DNQ a chase race in Austria.

1. Nelson Piquet 336
2. Carlos Reutemann 328
3. Jacques Laffite 328
4. Rene Arnoux 322
5. Alan Jones 321
6. Gilles Villeneuve 310
7. Didier Pironi 301
8. Riccardo Patrese 300
9. Jochen Mass 300
10. Derek Daly 300

Phase 2
Alan Jones 353
Nelson Piquet 352
Rene Arnoux 352
Carlos Reutemann 351
Jacques Laffite 351
Didier Pironi 351
Gilles Villeneuve 350

Jones has a near perfect Phase 2 taking 2nd in Italy and a win in Canada. Reutemann continues his consistent chase with another two podiums and joins his teammate. Piquet wins in Italy but fails to finish Canada while Pironi recovers from nearly failing to advance from Phase 1 by taking the last spot in the final. Arnoux and Laffite have a disappointing Phase 2 and fail to advance only with Villeneuve who surprises everyone by again not scoring the least points despite by far the worst car of the contenders.

1. Alan Jones 396
2. Carlos Reutemann 384
3. Nelson Piquet 377
4. Didier Pironi 374
5. Gilles Villeneuve 360
6. Jacques Laffite 357
7. Rene Arnoux 353

Final
Alan Jones 404
Nelson Piquet 403
Carlos Reutemann 401
Didier Pironi 401

A thrilling final as the podium is eventually swept by the contenders. However Jones very nearly choked the title away by going off on the first corner but stormed back through the field managing to take the advantage back from his teammate, Reutemann before halfway and inherited the lead of the race when non-chaser Bruno Giacomelli sadly retired from an electrics failure. Jones eventually lead home Reutemann in a Williams 1-2 in both the race and the championship with Pironi completing the podium. After being Jones' main threat for most of the season, Piquet ends up fourth by failing to finish. This makes Jones the first double champion of the chase era.

1. Alan Jones 429
2. Carlos Reutemann 419
3. Didier Pironi 416
4. Nelson Piquet 403

Champion, Alan Jones


1981

Another highly contested chase qualification. Piquet this time takes the most wins while Reutemann scored the most points. Villeneuve manages two wins for a still sub-par Ferrari, Watson manages to get McLaren in while Prost makes the chase for the first time for Renault. Laffite fails to win a race but easily qualifies on points by taking five podiums and entering the chase 3rd in points. De Angelis and Cheever join Prost as first time contenders for Lotus and Tyrrell and Patrese takes the final spot for Arrows. Didier Pironi fails to make the chase for the first time in his career despite joining Ferrari while Hector Rebaque was surprisingly the closest non-qualifier though disappointingly considering he was driving a Brabham.
Chase Contenders
Nelson Piquet (Brabham) 303
Carlos Reutemann (Williams) 302
Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) 302
Alan Jones (Williams) 301
Alain Prost (Renault) 301
John Watson (McLaren) 301
Jacques Laffite (Ligier) 300
Elio de Angelis (Lotus) 300
Eddie Cheever (Tyrrell) 300
Riccardo Patrese (Arrows) 300

Phase 1
Piquet's chase gets off to a good start with a pair of podiums and Jones isn't too far behind by taking a 3rd and 4th. Laffite begins his chase with his first victory of 1981 while Prost wins the Dutch GP. De Angelis does well advance in the unfancied Lotus 87 by scoring in both races and Reutemann and Watson are the final two to advance, both taking a single points finish. The rest of the contenders all failed to score, the most surprising being Villeneuve failing to reach as far as he did in a much worse car last season. As with Jochen Mass last season, Cheever had the embarrassment of opening his chase with a DNQ.

1. Nelson Piquet 336
2. Alan Jones 328
3. Alain Prost 326
4. Jacques Laffite 325
5. Elio de Angelis 316
6. Carlos Reutemann 312
7. John Watson 309
8. Gilles Villeneuve 302
9. Riccardo Patrese 300
10. Eddie Cheever 300

Phase 2
Nelson Piquet 353
Carlos Reutemann 352
Alain Prost 352
Alan Jones 351
Jacques Laffite 351
John Watson 351
Elio de Angelis 350

The most competitive Phase 2 we have has thus far with all contenders covered by only 9 points. Prost and Laffite secure their spots in the final with a victory each. De Angelis meanwhile, shocks everyone by making the final for Lotus without any podiums as he and Piquet were the only contenders to score in both races.
This leaves the two Williams of defending champion Jones and regular season winner Reutemann surprisingly out of the final along with Watson's McLaren despite all three of them taking a podium each.

1. Alain Prost 377
2. Jacques Laffite 376
3. Nelson Piquet 371
4. Elio de Angelis 370
5. Alan Jones 369
6. John Watson 369
7. Carlos Reutemann 368

Final
Nelson Piquet 403
Alain Prost 403
Jacques Laffite 402
Elio de Angelis 400

With Watkins Glen going bankrupt, the final instead will take place at the unpopular Caesar's Palace circuit for the first time. The two Williams drivers respond to their shock elimination by sweeping the front row with Piquet the top contender in 4th just ahead of Prost. Laffite and de Angelis both qualify outside the top ten. In the race Prost managed to jump up to 2nd by lap 3 but would be unable to challenge Jones for the victory. With Villeneuve's Ferrari holding up the cars behind, Prost's championship chances were left unthreatened as Piquet was left struggling with heat exhaustion holding off Laffite for 5th while de Angelis had dropped out after just two laps. After all the excitement of the previous phases the final ended up being rather anti-climatic but in only his second season, Prost takes his first championship!

1. Alain Prost 421
2. Nelson Piquet 413
3. Jacques Laffite 410
4. Elio de Angelis 400

Champion, Alain Prost

[James1978]

Predictions for 1982 to date:

1982 Alboreto if he gets in, ROsberg if not
1983 Piquet
1984 Prost
1985 Rosberg
1986 Prost
1987 Berger
1988 Prost
1989 Boutsen
1990 Piquet
1991 Patrese
1992 Berger
1993 Senna
1994 Hill
1995 Schumacher
1996 Schumacher
1997 Villeneuve
1998 Hakkinen
1999 Irvine
2000 Schumacher
2001 Schumacher
2002 Schumacher
2003 Raikkonen
2004 Barrichello
2005 Alonso
2006 Alonso
2007 Raikkonen
2008 Massa
2009 Vettel
2010 Vettel
2011 Vettel
2012 Alonso
2013 Vettel
2014 Hamilton

[Samster]

1982

Pironi heads into the chase as championship favourite as the only driver with more than three podiums. McLaren get two cars into the chase for the first time since 1977 with both Watson and the returning Lauda winning two races. Renault also get both cars in for the first time with Prost winning the opening two and Arnoux making it at the last minute by winning the final regular season race in France knocking out Derek Daly in the process. Brabham are the other team with both cars in as Piquet and Patrese win a race each. The final spots are made up by non-winners, Rosberg, de Angelis and first time contender, Alboreto.

Chase Contenders
Didier Pironi (Ferrari) 302
John Watson (McLaren) 302
Alain Prost (Renault) 302
Niki Lauda (McLaren) 302
Riccardo Patrese (Brabham) 301
Nelson Piquet (Brabham) 301
Rene Arnoux (Renault) 301
Keke Rosberg (Williams) 300
Michele Alboreto (Tyrrell) 300
Elio de Angelis (Lotus) 300

Phase 1
The chase gets off to a dreadful start as chase favourite, Pironi suffers career ending injuries in practice for the German Grand Prix, ending his season. As for the rest, Rosberg is the only contender to score in both races, taking a pair of podiums. The wins were taken by a pair of first time winners, non-chaser, Patrick Tambay won for Ferrari in Germany having started the season late as replacement for the late Gilles Villeneuve while de Angelis took Lotus' first victory since 1978 in Austria. Arnoux makes it through with just a 2nd in Germany while Lauda only needed a 5th in Austria to advance as 4th in points. Alboreto is the last contender to score any top fives as Prost and Watson are lucky to advance with minor points. The two Brabhams of Patrese and Piquet join Pironi in elimination by failing to finish either race.

1. Keke Rosberg 333
2. Elio de Angelis 325
3. Rene Arnoux 319
4. Niki Lauda 312
5. Michele Alboreto 312
6. Alain Prost 306
7. John Watson 304
8. Didier Pironi 302
9. Riccardo Patrese 301
10. Nelson Piquet 301

Phase 2
Niki Lauda 352
Alain Prost 352
John Watson 352
Elio de Angelis 351
Rene Arnoux 351
Keke Rosberg 350
Michele Alboreto 350

Phase 2 is again hotly contested. Rosberg finally took the first victory of his season and his career at Dijon while Arnoux won in Italy. Prost and Lauda join them in the final by completing the Dijon podium, the latter just edging out chase underdog Alboreto who was the only contender besides Rosberg to score in both races. Watson and de Angelis join him in elimination.

1. Keke Rosberg 379
2. Rene Arnoux 376
3. Alain Prost 370
4. Niki Lauda 367
5. Michele Alboreto 366
6. John Watson 364
7. Elio de Angelis 359

Final
Rene Arnoux 402
Alain Prost 402
Niki Lauda 402
Keke Rosberg 401

Back to Caesars Palace for the final, the front row is swept by the two Renaults, Prost ahead of Arnoux. Rosberg can only manage 6th with Lauda further back in 13th. Prost led from pole but Arnoux found his way past in the opening laps. Prost then retook the lead on lap 15 and soon after Arnoux's chances came to an end with engine failure. With Rosberg only running fifth and Lauda still deep in the back it looked like Prost would have an easy path to his second title. However Prost would pick up a vibration on his tires allowing Alboreto, Watson and Eddie Cheever to get by. Prost eventually finished 4th only three seconds ahead of Rosberg but its enough for him to become the first driver to win two consecutive titles in the chase era. Lauda eventually joined Arnoux in retirement leaving both in a tie for 3rd. Meanwhile Alboreto whom had come within one point of making the final was the comfortable winner of the Grand Prix, meaning that all but one of the chase races had been won by a first time winner.

1. Alain Prost 414
2. Keke Rosberg 411
3. Rene Arnoux 402
4. Niki Lauda 402

Champion, Alain Prost


1983

Prost goes into the chase as the clear points leader with three wins. Arnoux, now with Ferrari is the only other multiple winner. His teammate Tambay makes the chase for the first time giving Ferrari two cars for the first time since 1979. Piquet, Rosberg, Watson and Alboreto are the other race winners, the latter making the chase because of his Detroit victory. Completing the chase on points are Lauda, Laffite and Cheever meaning that McLaren, Williams and Renault join Ferrari in having two cars in the chase.

Chase Contenders
Alain Prost (Renault) 303
Rene Arnoux (Ferrari) 302
Patrick Tambay (Ferrari) 301
Nelson Piquet (Brabham) 301
Keke Rosberg (Williams) 301
John Watson (McLaren) 301
Michele Alboreto (Tyrrell) 301
Jacques Laffite (Williams) 300
Eddie Cheever (Renault) 300
Niki Lauda (McLaren) 300

Phase 1
Arnoux gets off to a great start with 2nd in Austria then a win in the Dutch GP giving him easily the best points haul from Phase 1. Prost won in Austria while Tambay and Piquet score a podium each. Watson is the only contender besides Arnoux to score in both races with a 9th to back up his Zandvoort podium. Alboreto just barely advances as his bonus point for winning Detroit edges him past Lauda. The Williams pair of Rosberg and Laffite are also eliminated, the latter failing to finish either race.

1. Rene Arnoux 345
2. Alain Prost 328
3. Patrick Tambay 319
4. John Watson 318
5. Nelson Piquet 316
6. Eddie Cheever 312
7. Michele Alboreto 309
8. Niki Lauda 308
9. Keke Rosberg 305
10. Jacques Laffite 300

Phase 2
Alain Prost 354
Rene Arnoux 353
Patrick Tambay 351
John Watson 351
Nelson Piquet 351
Michele Alboreto 351
Eddie Cheever 350

Piquet has a perfect Phase 2, securing his place in the final. Arnoux and Prost take a podium each while Cheever surprisingly edges out Tambay for the final spot in the final by beating the Frenchman to third in Italy, giving Renault two cars in the final for the 2nd season in a row. Watson and Alboreto both fail to finish either race, joining Tambay in elimination.

1. Nelson Piquet 401
2. Rene Arnoux 373
3. Alain Prost 372
4. Eddie Cheever 366
5. Patrick Tambay 363
6. John Watson 351
7. Michele Alboreto 351

Final
Alain Prost 404
Nelson Piquet 403
Rene Arnoux 403
Eddie Cheever 400

The championship heads to South Africa for the final. Piquet is the highest qualified contender as he takes the outside pole alongside the eliminated Tambay. Arnoux is a row behind in 4th behind Piquet's teammate, Riccardo Patrese. Prost is right behind in 5th while Cheever is all the way back in 14th. Piquet immediately passed Tambay for the lead at the start with his teammate Patrese backing him up behind while Arnoux dropped out on lap 9 with engine failure. This gave Prost 3rd but he too would drop out with engine failure on lap 35 all but assuring Piquet of the title with Cheever already lap down. As a result Piquet elects to conserve his car and allows Patrese through to take his first win of the year from Andrea de Cesaris's Alfa Romeo. Piquet finished 3rd with Cheever eventually winding up a distant 6th. This easily gives Piquet his first championship and the first for Brabham in the chase era.

1. Nelson Piquet 418
2. Eddie Cheever 408
3. Alain Prost 404
4. Rene Arnoux 403

Champion, Nelson Piquet

[Samster]

1984

The McLarens of Prost and Lauda easily qualify after dominating most of the season. Piquet won two races for Brabham but only finished two other races. Rosberg and Alboreto also took a win each, the latter again only making the chase thanks to his victory in Belgium at the expense of Nigel Mansell. Despite not winning anything, de Angelis finished the regular season 2nd in points behind Prost. Making up the rest of the chase grid are Arnoux, Tambay and first-timers Warwick and Senna, the latter a rookie for Toleman.

Chase Contenders
Alain Prost (McLaren) 304
Niki Lauda (McLaren) 303
Nelson Piquet (Brabham) 302
Keke Rosberg (Williams) 301
Michele Alboreto (Ferrari) 301
Elio de Angelis (Lotus) 300
Rene Arnoux (Ferrari) 300
Derek Warwick (Renault) 300
Patrick Tambay (Renault) 300
Ayrton Senna (Toleman) 300

Phase 1
Lauda gets a great start to his chase, winning Austria and taking 2nd in the Dutch GP and is the only contender to score in both races. Prost won the Dutch GP while Piquet and Alboreto both finished on the podium in Austria. De Angelis seems to have lost his regular season consistency at the worst moment but a lone 4th at Zandvoort allows him to advance. Tambay and Arnoux just barely make it into Phase 2 with minor points ahead of Rosberg. Warwick and Senna fail to finish either race and are also eliminated from their maiden chases.

1. Niki Lauda 346
2. Alain Prost 329
3. Nelson Piquet 320
4. Michele Alboreto 316
5. Elio de Angelis 312
6. Patrick Tambay 308
7. Rene Arnoux 306
8. Keke Rosberg 305
9. Derek Warwick 300
10. Ayrton Senna 300

Phase 2
Alain Prost 355
Niki Lauda 354
Nelson Piquet 352
Michele Alboreto 351
Elio de Angelis 350
Patrick Tambay 350
Rene Arnoux 350

Lauda continues his consistent chase with victory in Italy and 4th at the vastly shortened Nurburgring. This time however he had close competition in Alboreto who scores a pair of 2nds. Prost makes the final with a lone win at the Nurburgring while Piquet's lone 3rd is enough to get him the final spot in the chase beating Arnoux at the German circuit. De Angelis and Tambay both fail to finish either race.

1. Niki Lauda 391
2. Michele Alboreto 387
3. Alain Prost 380
4. Nelson Piquet 367
5. Rene Arnoux 360
6. Elio de Angelis 350
7. Patrick Tambay 350

Phase 3
Alain Prost 406
Niki Lauda 405
Nelson Piquet 402
Michele Alboreto 401

The final this time is held in Portugal. Piquet gained the initial advantage by qualifying his Brabham on pole ahead of Prost. Alboreto is down in 8th and Lauda surprisingly only 11th. But it would be Prost that led home a McLaren 1-2 in both the race and the championship while Piquet dropped down to just 6th. Alboreto managed a respectable 4th. This means that Prost is already a triple champion in just his fifth season and before he has even won any of his four real life titles.

1. Alain Prost 431
2. Niki Lauda 423
3. Michele Alboreto 413
4. Nelson Piquet 410

Champion, Alain Prost

[Samster]

1985

With four wins, Prost easily qualifies for the fifth consecutive time. Alboreto wasn't far behind on points going into the chase. The Lotus pair of Senna and de Angelis took a victory each while Rosberg and Piquet overcome their inconsistency by qualifying with a victory. Lauda manages to qualify at the 11th hour by winning the Dutch GP having been nowhere near on points before then. He knocked out Nigel Mansell. Johansson makes his first chase in the 2nd Ferrari quite solidly on points while Tambay and Laffite just squeeze in, the latter having tied with Mansell on points but qualified by virtue of a pair of podiums to give Ligier their first chase appearance since 1981.

Alain Prost (McLaren) 304
Michele Alboreto (Ferrari) 302
Elio de Angelis (Lotus) 301
Ayrton Senna (Lotus) 301
Keke Rosberg (Williams) 301
Nelson Piquet (Brabham) 301
Niki Lauda (McLaren) 301
Stefan Johansson (Ferrari) 300
Patrick Tambay (Renault) 300
Jacques Laffite (Ligier) 300

Phase 1

Prost and Senna both get off to great starts with a victory and a 3rd each. Alboreto on the other hand having come into the chase only 14 points behind Prost has a disaster, failing to finish either race and is eliminated as a result. Piquet is the only other driver to score in both races while Rosberg, Johansson, de Angelis and Tambay make Phase 2 on one points finish each. Lauda and Laffite join Alboreto in failing to finish either race and failing to advance.

1. Alain Prost 344
2. Ayrton Senna 341
3. Nelson Piquet 329
4. Keke Rosberg 313
5. Stefan Johansson 310
6. Elio de Angelis 309
7. Patrick Tambay 306
8. Michele Alboreto 302
9. Niki Lauda 301
10. Jacques Laffite 300

Phase 2
Alain Prost 355
Ayrton Senna 352
Nelson Piquet 351
Keke Rosberg 351
Elio de Angelis 351
Stefan Johansson 350
Patrick Tambay 350

Surprisingly its Rosberg who scores the most points this phase, scoring a pair of podiums. Prost also manages to score both races. Senna's 2nd at Brands Hatch is enough to qualify him for the final while Johansson surprises everyone by taking the final spot with just a 4th in South Africa, edging out de Angelis by just a point and giving the final drivers each from separate teams. Piquet and Tambay fail to score. Nigel Mansell who just barely failed to qualify for the chase finally broke his victory duck and swept both of the races in this phase.

1. Keke Rosberg 384
2. Alain Prost 378
3. Ayrton Senna 370
4. Stefan Johansson 362
5. Elio de Angelis 361
6. Nelson Piquet 351
7. Patrick Tambay 350

Final
Alain Prost 405
Ayrton Senna 402
Keke Rosberg 401
Stefan Johansson 400

For the first time, the final takes place in Adelaide. Senna took the advantage from qualifying by taking pole with Rosberg taking third behind his teammate, Nigel Mansell. Prost starts 4th alongside Rosberg while Johansson is far behind the other contenders down in 15th. After Prost retired early on with engine failure the race would be between Senna, Rosberg and Lauda. Lauda eventually crashed out on the Brabham Straight while Senna dropped out soon later from the lead with an engine misfire leaving Rosberg to win the race and his first championship. Despite a bad race Johansson is the surprise runner up having salvaged fifth in a race of attrition.

1. Keke Rosberg 426
2. Stefan Johansson 410
3. Alain Prost 405
4. Ayrton Senna 402

Champion, Keke Rosberg

[Samster]

1986

Mansell finally makes a chase at his sixth attempt and does so with style, both by having the most wins and the most points. Piquet, Prost and Senna are the only other winners during the regular season, all of them having scored double the points of the rest of the field. Rosberg makes his fifth consecutive chase, this time for McLaren while, Arnoux qualifies for Ligier in what will surely turn out to be his final chase appearance. No one else had scored more than 40 points including the two Ferraris, whose lack of reliability nearly left them out of the chase. Finally Brundle and Berger join Mansell as first time chasers for Tyrrell and Benetton respectively.

Chase Contenders
Nigel Mansell (Williams) 304
Nelson Piquet (Williams) 303
Alain Prost (McLaren) 302
Ayrton Senna (Lotus) 302
Keke Rosberg (McLaren) 300
Rene Arnoux (Ligier) 300
Stefan Johansson (Ferrari) 300
Martin Brundle (Tyrrell) 300
Gerhard Berger (Benetton) 300
Michele Alboreto (Ferrari) 300

Phase 1
Prost and Piquet take the victories in Austria and Italy respectively while Mansell and Alboreto easily qualify with a 2nd place each. However it is Johansson who surprises by coming out of Phase 1 with the points lead having scored a pair of 3rds. Berger and Rosberg are the final two to advance by scoring points in both races. The shock elimination this season is Senna who failed to finish either race. Joining him were Arnoux and Brundle who only managed a point each.

1. Stefan Johansson 330
2. Nelson Piquet 328
3. Alain Prost 327
4. Nigel Mansell 322
5. Michele Alboreto 318
6. Gerhard Berger 316
7. Keke Rosberg 314
8. Ayrton Senna 302
9. Rene Arnoux 301
10. Martin Brundle 301

Phase 2
Nigel Mansell 354
Nelson Piquet 354
Alain Prost 353
Stefan Johansson 350
Michele Alboreto 350
Gerhard Berger 350
Keke Rosberg 350

Phase 2 proved to be very competitive as Mansell, Prost and Piquet all finished both races in the top five. Mansell won in Portugal but Berger scored a surprise victory in Mexico to secure the last spot in the final. The Ferraris of Alboreto and Johansson only manage a 5th and 6th in Portugal respectively, not enough to save them while Rosberg failed to finish either race.

1. Nigel Mansell 389
2. Alain Prost 389
3. Nelson Piquet 381
4. Gerhard Berger 375
5. Michele Alboreto 360
6. Stefan Johansson 358
7. Keke Rosberg 350

Final
Nigel Mansell 405
Nelson Piquet 404
Alain Prost 403
Gerhard Berger 401

All of the contenders qualified in the top six with the Williams pair sweeping the front row, Mansell ahead of Piquet. Prost lined up 4th behind the eliminated Senna. Mansell immediately lost the lead to Senna at the start and more crucially also fell behind Piquet and Rosberg, the former taking the lead from Senna later that same lap. Rosberg soon took the lead from Piquet who would compromise his championship chances with a spin on lap 23. Prost also suffered a setback with a puncture, handing the championship advantage back to Mansell. Meanwhile, Berger dropped out of the race with engine failure on lap 40 having not factored much into the otherwise intense championship battle. Piquet charged back through the field, passing Mansell for second place on lap 44, but Prost closed on the two Williams cars and, with 25 laps to go, all three of the remaining championship contenders were running together in positions 2, 3 and 4. The battle became one for the lead on lap 63 when Rosberg suffered a right rear tire failure and retired from the race, this season's final now looking like the most competitive in chase history!

At this point Piquet was leading from Prost then Mansell. However on the very next lap, Mansell suffered his famous championship costing puncture leaving him out of the race. For the final 18 laps, the championship was down to Piquet and Prost. However fearing the same would happen to Piquet, Williams called him in for a tire change leaving Prost in the lead. On new tires Piquet quickly reeled in Prost but he would ultimately fall four seconds short thus giving Prost his 4th title in just seven attempts and his first in a season where he won in real life.

1. Alain Prost 428
2. Nelson Piquet 422
3. Nigel Mansell 405
4. Gerhard Berger 401

Champion, Alain Prost

[Samster]

1987

The Williams pair again dominate the regular season, Mansell with four wins to Piquet's three. Senna and Prost are the only other winners with two each. Johansson maintains his 100% chase record, this time qualifying for McLaren, Berger qualifies again, now with Ferrari while the rest of the chase are made up of first time contenders. Boutsen and Fabi both qualify for Benetton, Nakajima gets the second Lotus in despite being Senna's designated whipping boy and Palmer surprisingly gets the non-Turbo Tyrrell in just ahead of Michele Alboreto's Ferrari, the Italian's unreliable car this time being too much for him to qualify.

Chase Contenders
Nigel Mansell (Williams) 304
Nelson Piquet (Williams) 303
Ayrton Senna (Lotus) 302
Alain Prost (McLaren) 302
Stefan Johansson (McLaren) 300
Thierry Boutsen (Benetton) 300
Gerhard Berger (Ferrari) 300
Teo Fabi (Benetton) 300
Jonathan Palmer (Tyrrell) 300
Satoru Nakajima (Lotus) 300

Phase 1
Prost's chase gets off to a great start by winning Portugal and taking 2nd in Spain. Piquet takes a third and a fourth allowing him ahead of teammate Mansell who took a lone win in Spain. Johansson also took a pair of top fives including a podium in Spain. Berger took a 2nd in Portugal while Senna surprisingly only managed a 7th and a 5th but its enough to get him to Phase 2. Fabi is the final driver to advance despite not actually making it to the flag at either race, he completed enough laps in Portugal to be classified 4th. There were no real surprises in the eliminations however. Nakajima scored a pair of low points positions but it wasn't enough for him to advance. Palmer scored a single point while Boutsen failed to score at all despite being classified at both races. I believe this might be the first time everyone in Phase 1 was classified in at least one race.

1. Alain Prost 345
2. Nelson Piquet 330
3. Nigel Mansell 329
4. Stefan Johansson 325
5. Ayrton Senna 318
6. Gerhard Berger 318
7. Teo Fabi 312
8. Satoru Nakajima 306
9. Jonathan Palmer 301
10. Thierry Boutsen 300

Phase 2
Nigel Mansell 355
Alain Prost 353
Nelson Piquet 353
Ayrton Senna 352
Stefan Johansson 350
Gerhard Berger 350
Teo Fabi 350

Mansell scores the most points by taking a win in Mexico but his injuries from his practice crash in Japan prevent him from taking part in the final. Berger took his first win of the season to easily secure his spot in the final while Piquet and Senna both qualify with a 2nd each. Mansell's absence allows Johansson to make his second final in three years, continuing his great reputation in the chase. Fabi isn't much of a surprise elimination but after scoring the most points in Phase 1, Prost ends Phase 2 as the lowest scoring contender leaving him out of the final for the first time since his rookie season.

1. Nigel Mansell 380
2. Gerhard Berger 375
3. Nelson Piquet 371
4. Ayrton Senna 370
5. Stefan Johansson 365
6. Teo Fabi 360
7. Alain Prost 359

Final
Nelson Piquet 403
Ayrton Senna 402
Gerhard Berger 401
Stefan Johansson 400

Ferrari chose the best possible time to come good as even before his competition had all eliminated themselves, Berger was dominating the race with only a first lap challenge from Piquet getting in his way. Senna made a late charge in an attempt to catch Berger but the Austrian had enough in hand to easily keep him at bay. Ultimately the Brazilian's late charge would count for nothing as he was later disqualified due to oversized brake ducts. Johansson and Piquet both eventually succumbed to braking issues after not really factoring in the championship battle. Thus Berger takes his first championship in just his third full season and the most surprising winner since Alan Jones won for Shadow in 1977 but still a well deserved one having swept the final two races.

1. Gerhard Berger 426
2. Nelson Piquet 403
3. Ayrton Senna 402
4. Stefan Johansson 400

Champion, Gerhard Berger

[Samster]

1988

Senna sets a record for most preseason victories by taking 7 of 11 while McLaren's dominance allows Prost to take the rest. Defending champion, Berger is easily best of the rest with Boutsen and Piquet close together in points. Warwick and Cheever use their consistency to get both of the Arrows in the chase giving the team their first appearance in the chase since 1981. Alboreto makes up for last season's failure by comfortably making the chase seventh in points. The final two spots go to first time contenders as Nannini joins Boutsen in the second Benetton while Capelli secures his position by taking a podium in the final regular season race in Belgium. His qualification means that March finally make their first appearance in the chase despite having been in the sport on and off since before the chase era began. Just missing out were Mauricio Gugelmin in the second March, Jonathan Palmer for Tyrrell and Satoru Nakajima in the second Lotus while the Williams pair of Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese, struggling with the Judd engine get nowhere near the chase.

Chase Contenders
Ayrton Senna (McLaren) 307
Alain Prost (McLaren) 304
Gerhard Berger (Ferrari) 300
Thierry Boutsen (Benetton) 300
Nelson Piquet (Lotus) 300
Derek Warwick (Arrows) 300
Michele Alboreto (Ferrari) 300
Ivan Capelli (March) 300
Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) 300
Eddie Cheever (Arrows) 300

Phase 1
Our friend, Jean-Louis Schlesser very nearly caused a disaster for Senna as his infamous incident with the Brazilian in Italy which allowed the only non-McLaren victory of the season caused him to come within a point of a shock elimination along with a mediocre sixth in Portugal. In fact only Senna's hoard of seven bonus points saved him from the choke of chase history. As for the rest it was Berger and Prost who won in Italy and Portugal respectively but Alboreto and to everyone's amazement Capelli actually scored the most points by taking a second and fifth each, Prost ahead thanks to his four bonus points. Warwick and Boutsen also advance each taking a pair of solid points finishes. As said earlier, Cheever's podium in Italy got him within a point of knocking Senna out while Nannini only scored a single ninth place. Piquet is somewhat of a surprise elimination as he fails to finish either race.

1. Alain Prost 329
2. Michele Alboreto 328
3. Ivan Capelli 328
4. Gerhard Berger 325
5. Derek Warwick 324
6. Thierry Boutsen 323
7. Ayrton Senna 316
8. Eddie Cheever 315
9. Alessandro Nannini 302
10. Nelson Piquet 300

Phase 2
Ayrton Senna 357
Alain Prost 355
Gerhard Berger 351
Michele Alboreto 350
Ivan Capelli 350
Derek Warwick 350
Thierry Boutsen 350

Phase 2 saw a return to business as usual for McLaren as Prost and Senna won Spain and Japan respectively and both ended up over 20 points clear of the rest of the contenders. Berger and Boutsen were the only other contenders to even score anything thus they make up the final two spots in the final with the vague hope of pulling off the ultimate upset should the McLarens fail to finish.

1. Alain Prost 398
2. Ayrton Senna 394
3. Gerhard Berger 371
4. Thierry Boutsen 367
5. Michele Alboreto 350
6. Ivan Capelli 350
7. Derek Warwick 350

Final
Ayrton Senna 408
Alain Prost 406
Gerhard Berger 401
Thierry Boutsen 400

Thanks to Berger tuning up his turbo boost to its maximum limit, the final isn't a complete McLarenWINSLOL as he is able to pass both Senna and Prost and open up a small lead until he eventually got Arnouxed out of the race. Thus McLaren were left to their usual 1-2 and we were robbed of even getting a fight amongst them with Senna not even getting close to his thanks to his faulty gearbox. Boutsen predictably failed to factor in the title fight and eventually finished a lapped fifth. Therefore Prost takes his fifth championship in nine attempts.

1. Alain Prost 431
2. Ayrton Senna 426
3. Thierry Boutsen 410
4. Gerhard Berger 401

Champion, Alain Prost

[Samster]

1989

McLaren dominate the pre-season again but this time they aren't the only winners as Mansell and Boutsen sneak in three wins between them for Ferrari and Williams respectively. In the second Williams, Patrese makes his first chase since 1982 while Nannini and Piquet qualify for Benetton and Lotus respectively. Warwick and Cheever both make the chase again for Arrows while the final spot goes to first-timer Alex Caffi for sophomore team, Scuderia Italia. Gerhard Berger meanwhile is a shock failure to qualify having failed to finish a single race of the season by this point.

Chase Contenders
Ayrton Senna (McLaren) 305
Alain Prost (McLaren) 303
Nigel Mansell (Ferrari) 302
Thierry Boutsen (Williams) 301
Riccardo Patrese (Williams) 300
Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) 300
Nelson Piquet (Lotus) 300
Eddie Cheever (Arrows) 300
Derek Warwick (Arrows) 300
Alex Caffi (Scuderia Italia) 300

Phase 1

Prost again opens his chase with a win in Italy and a second in Portugal while non-chaser, Gerhard Berger finally opened his 1989 account by achieving matching results. As for the rest of the contenders, well....
Only the Williams pair of Boutsen and Patrese and Nannini for Benetton actually scored any points. This means that for the second year in succession, Senna is saved from a shock Phase 1 elimination as he and Mansell are through thanks to their bonus points while Cheever's podium in the US GP gets him through on countback past Piquet, Warwick and Caffi.

1. Alain Prost 346
2. Thierry Boutsen 316
3. Riccardo Patrese 312
4. Alessandro Nannini 312
5. Ayrton Senna 305
6. Nigel Mansell 302
7. Eddie Cheever 300
8. Nelson Piquet 300
9. Derek Warwick 300
10. Alex Caffi 300

Phase 2
Ayrton Senna 355
Alain Prost 354
Nigel Mansell 352
Thierry Boutsen 351
Riccardo Patrese 350
Alessandro Nannini 350
Eddie Cheever 350

This time its Prost who very nearly chokes away his chances with the infamous Suzuka incident where he closed the door on his teammate leaving him out of the race and only a third in Spain to fall back on. His bonus points kept him ahead of Boutsen for the fourth spot in the final. Senna swept both races on the track but his disqualification from Japan gave Nannini his maiden victory and his place in the final. Patrese was the only contender to score in both races allowing him to keep Williams' chances alive. Cheever only manages an eighth and is eliminated along with Mansell who has still failed to finish a race in the chase.

1. Ayrton Senna 380
2. Riccardo Patrese 378
3. Alessandro Nannini 375
4. Alain Prost 369
5. Thierry Boutsen 366
6. Eddie Cheever 354
7. Nigel Mansell 352

Final
Ayrton Senna 406
Alain Prost 404
Alessandro Nannini 401
Riccardo Patrese 400

Predictably McLaren swept the front row with Senna taking pole from Prost while Nannini and Patrese both made up row 3. At the start Prost briefly overtakes Senna before the Brazilian promptly took it back while Nannini jumped to third. However in the appalling conditions, Prost pulled into the pits due to safety concerns, giving up his chance at a record breaking sixth title.

After the race was halted for Letho's accident and the subsequent arguments over whether the race should continue, the decision was eventually given to resume and Senna in the sole remaining McLaren ran away from the field ahead of Pierluigi Martini's Minardi then Nannini and the Williams duo. Eventually the three would pass Martini and match Senna's pace. However disaster would strike as Senna would choke away his chance at finally taking his first title by plowing into the lapped car of Martin Brundle. This would leave Boutsen in the lead from teammate and contender Patrese with Nannini in third, the championship now surprisingly between the two Italians.

Eventually Patrese would spin, allowing his championship rival through into 2nd. Nannini wasn't done there however as he was making inroads into Boutsen's lead thanks to his teammate, Emanuele Pirro getting in the Belgian's way. However once he was past the Benetton, Boutsen pulled away again to win the race, surely fuming that his Phase 2 elimination ultimately cost him the championship. Nannini would have to settle for second place but it would be enough to allow him to take a mega-upset championship win as he was safely ahead of Patrese!

1. Alessandro Nannini 419
2. Riccardo Patrese 415
3. Ayrton Senna 406
4. Alain Prost 404

Champion, Alessandro Nannini

[James1978]

Berger and Nannini champions? Great stuff!!

[James1978]

Actually 1994 should be interesting now with both title contenders colliding in Australia, and the race winner Mansell not eligible. Will Berger's 2nd be enough or does he struggle in previous races and not get in?

[Samster]

Berger and Nannini champions? Great stuff!!

Conclusive proof of how potentially ridiculous this chase system can be.

Actually 1994 should be interesting now with both title contenders colliding in Australia, and the race winner Mansell not eligible. Will Berger's 2nd be enough or does he struggle in previous races and not get in?

I know this much, Schumacher's two race ban in Italy and Portugal would actually cost him his place in the chase as those happened to be the opening two races, ironically caused by Benetton appealing the original penalty of missing Germany and Hungary which would have allowed him to still make the chase.

[dr-baker]

Actually 1994 should be interesting now with both title contenders colliding in Australia, and the race winner Mansell not eligible. Will Berger's 2nd be enough or does he struggle in previous races and not get in?

I know this much, Schumacher's two race ban in Italy and Portugal would actually cost him his place in the chase as those happened to be the opening two races, ironically caused by Benetton appealing the original penalty of missing Germany and Hungary which would have allowed him to still make the chase.

I wonder what may have happened if this championship really had been in place in 1994, because I believe (or was led to believe at the time) that at least part of the reason for the appeal was to allow Schumacher to race in his home race. Whether the Chase format might have led to a difference in the risk management of having the appeal is open to conjecture...

[Samster]

1990

Despite Prost's move to Ferrari, he and Senna still dominate the regular season winning all but two races between them with the Williams pair of Boutsen and Patrese taking a win each. Berger comes into the chase third in points but without any wins despite now driving the dominant McLaren while Piquet's move to Benetton proves to be a successful one having come into the chase in fourth. Mansell's poor reliability nearly sees him miss yet another chase while defending champion, Nannini has found himself outclassed by his new Benetton teammate. With the big four teams having each got both of their cars in the final two spots go to the impressive Alesi, the Tyrrell driver having had a great start to his first full season and the final spot goes to rookie, Bernard giving Larrousse their first ever chase appearance with some consistent points gathering.

Chase Contenders
Ayrton Senna (McLaren) 405
Alain Prost (Ferrari) 404
Thierry Boutsen (Williams) 401
Riccardo Patrese (Williams) 401
Gerhard Berger (McLaren) 400
Nelson Piquet (Benetton) 400
Jean Alesi (Tyrrell) 400
Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) 400
Nigel Mansell (Ferrari) 400
Eric Bernard (Larrousse) 400

Phase 1
Senna and Mansell win the two races with Prost taking a pair of podiums to keep him in contention. Berger is also consistent with a third and fourth while Patrese, Piquet and Nannini also score a pair of points finishes. Boutsen is the surprise elimination after failing to finish either race, joining him are Alesi and Bernard.

1. Ayrton Senna 448
2. Alain Prost 437
3. Nigel Mansell 437
4. Gerhard Berger 427
5. Riccardo Patrese 417
6. Nelson Piquet 416
7. Alessandro Nannini 412
8. Jean Alesi 404
9. Thierry Boutsen 401
10. Eric Bernard 400

Phase 2

Ayrton Senna 356
Alain Prost 354
Nigel Mansell 351
Riccardo Patrese 351
Gerhard Berger 350
Nelson Piquet 350
Alessandro Nannini 350

Prost and Piquet this time score the wins but this phase proves to be rather more choke prone as Patrese is the only contender to score in both races. Mansell makes the final with just a second in Spain joining his Ferrari teammate. McLaren on the other hand having been the quickest team for most of the year have a disaster, Senna chokes away yet another title as rather than sealing it for him as in real life, his Japan collision with Prost cost him his place in the final while Berger isn't able to do any better. Nannini joins them in elimination after his career ending helicopter crash leaves him out of the final two races.

1. Alain Prost 379
2. Nelson Piquet 375
3. Riccardo Patrese 373
4. Nigel Mansell 369
5. Alessandro Nannini 365
6. Ayrton Senna 356
7. Gerhard Berger 350

Final
Alain Prost 355
Nelson Piquet 351
Riccardo Patrese 351
Nigel Mansell 351

The eliminated McLarens sweep the front row with the Ferraris taking row two, Mansell ahead of Prost. Patrese and Piquet aren't far behind taking 6th and 7th respectively behind Jean Alesi's Tyrrell. Piquet would jump into 5th at the start passing both Alesi and Patrese with the top four holding position in the opening laps. On lap 2 Berger missed a gear selection allowing Mansell past before holding Prost up enough for Piquet to get by. Piquet soon got by Berger as well while Senna and Mansell began to break away from the field.

On lap 43 however Mansell went up an escape road, costing him his championship advantage as he was passed by Piquet, he then decided to take on new tires which gave him enough of a pace advantage to have a chance of reeling in his title rivals. On lap 62, a gearbox issue caused Senna to crash into a wall giving Piquet the race lead with Mansell closing in fast as the title looked like it would be down to those two. Mansell attacked on the last lap with a desperate passing attempt at the end of the straight but was too far behind to make the pass. Thus Piquet would take his second win of the season and with it his second championship title and Benetton's second consecutive. Prost completed the podium and his victory bonus points were enough to give him runner up despite finishing behind Mansell. Patrese never really factored in the championship battle and finished down in sixth.

1. Nelson Piquet 376
2. Alain Prost 370
3. Nigel Mansell 369
4. Riccardo Patrese 359

Champion, Nelson Piquet

[Samster]

1991

Senna and Mansell win all but two regular season races between them which are taken by Patrese and Piquet. Berger again scores the most points out of those without any wins while Prost and Alesi easily qualify despite their 'Ferrari trucks'. The rest of the chase spots go to first-timers. Moreno qualifies the second Benetton however he will switch to Jordan for the chase making him the first driver since Jacky Ickx in 1973 to drive the chase for a different team to that he qualified with. De Cesaris finally makes a chase at his 11th attempt with the new Jordan team while Modena qualifies for the first time with Tyrrell.

Chase Contenders
Ayrton Senna (McLaren) 306
Nigel Mansell (Williams) 303
Riccardo Patrese (Williams) 301
Nelson Piquet (Benetton) 301
Gerhard Berger (McLaren) 300
Alain Prost (Ferrari) 300
Jean Alesi (Ferrari) 300
Andrea de Cesaris (Jordan) 300
Roberto Moreno (Benetton) 300
Stefano Modena (Tyrrell) 300

Phase 1
The Williams pair of Mansell and Patrese win the races in Italy and Portugal while Senna takes a pair of seconds. Piquet also scores in both races while the Ferraris of Prost and Alesi take a third each. Meanwhile Berger just scrapes through with a fourth ahead of de Cesaris' pair of low points scores. There were no real surprises in the eliminated as Moreno and Modena join de Cesaris in failing to advance.

1. Ayrton Senna 342
2. Nigel Mansell 328
3. Riccardo Patrese 326
4. Nelson Piquet 319
5. Alain Prost 315
6. Jean Alesi 315
7. Gerhard Berger 312
8. Andrea de Cesaris 310
9. Roberto Moreno 301
10. Stefano Modena 300

Phase 2
Ayrton Senna 356
Nigel Mansell 354
Riccardo Patrese 352
Nelson Piquet 351
Alain Prost 350
Jean Alesi 350
Gerhard Berger 350

Mansell and Berger take a win each but they are trumped by Senna, Patrese and Berger all taking a pair of top fives. However as punishment for his 'truck' comment Ferrari decide to boot Prost from the team and out of the championship allowing Berger into the final giving us a McLaren vs Williams final. Alesi and Piquet are also eliminated.

1. Ayrton Senna 384
2. Riccardo Patrese 382
3. Alain Prost 380
4. Nigel Mansell 379
5. Gerhard Berger 375
6. Jean Alesi 362
7. Nelson Piquet 357

Final
Ayrton Senna 406
Nigel Mansell 405
Riccardo Patrese 402
Gerhard Berger 401

And I believe for the first time ever the championship contenders sweep the top four on the grid. Senna on pole from Berger with Mansell and Patrese on row two. However the torrential rain threatens to create some upsets. At the start Patrese lost a couple of places then on lap three, Berger ran wide and fell behind Mansell. Mansell then proceeded to close the gap to Senna but the higher number of accidents from the rain prevented him from overtaking thanks to the yellow flags. On lap 16 Mansell and Berger both spun off in separate incidents. Moments later the race was halted due to the awful weather and the result was counted back to lap 14 meaning that Mansell and Berger were still classified on the podium. This meant half points were handed out. Therefore Senna finally took his first world championship! All of the contenders were classified in the top five with Berger's third just enough to allow him to take third in the championship from Patrese by a half point while Mansell would be a close runner up for the second consecutive year.

1. Ayrton Senna 418.5
2. Nigel Mansell 414
3. Gerhard Berger 407.5
4. Riccardo Patrese 407

Champion, Ayrton Senna

[Samster]

1992

The regular season was very much MansellWINSLOL as the mustache takes a record eight wins! The remaining three were taken by the McLaren duo of Senna and Berger. Patrese fails to win anything, only managing to be the second half of six Williams 1-2s. Schumacher easily qualifies in his first full season along with Benetton teammate, Brundle who makes his first chase in six years and second overall. Alboreto qualifies for Footwork Arrows having scored in all but one race ahead of Alesi's unreliable Ferrari. The remaining two spots again go to first-time chasers, Hakkinen for Lotus and Comas for Ligier. On a side note thanks to their absence from the championship, this is the first chase without Prost or Piquet since 1979!

Chase Contenders
Nigel Mansell (Williams) 308
Ayrton Senna (McLaren) 302
Gerhard Berger (McLaren) 301
Riccardo Patrese (Williams) 300
Michael Schumacher (Benetton) 300
Martin Brundle (Benetton) 300
Michele Alboreto (Footwork) 300
Jean Alesi (Ferrari) 300
Mika Hakkinen (Lotus) 300
Erik Comas (Ligier) 300

Phase 1
Schumacher chooses the best time to take his maiden victory by winning in Belgium and following that up with a third in Italy to lead going into Phase 2. Senna wins Italy along with a fifth in Belgium while Brundle surprisingly emerges third in points having taken a fourth and a second. Mansell only manages one single second having failed to finish Italy while Patrese also took a pair of top fives. Berger only manages a fourth in Italy but its enough to avoid a surprise elimination while Hakkinen just squeezes in past Alboreto. Alesi predictably fails to finish either race while Comas had the misfortune of suffering his mega Spa shunt.

1. Michael Schumacher 340
2. Ayrton Senna 337
3. Martin Brundle 330
4. Nigel Mansell 326
5. Riccardo Patrese 325
6. Gerhard Berger 313
7. Mika Hakkinen 308
8. Michele Alboreto 306
9. Jean Alesi 300
10. Erik Comas 300

Phase 2
Nigel Mansell 358
Ayrton Senna 353
Michael Schumacher 351
Gerhard Berger 351
Martin Brundle 350
Riccardo Patrese 350
Mika Hakkinen 350

Some major surprises during this second phase. Mansell won Portugal while Patrese finally broke his 1992 duck in Japan but neither finish the other race. This meant that Berger took the lead going into the final with a pair of seconds while Brundle surprisingly makes the final with a fourth and third. Therefore with only a single podium, Senna fails to advance leaving McLaren's chances in the hands of Berger while Schumacher having impressed in Phase 1, screws up in Phase 2 by only managing a lone seventh. Hakkinen is unsurprisingly the other elimination.

1. Gerhard Berger 387
2. Nigel Mansell 383
3. Martin Brundle 377
4. Riccardo Patrese 375
5. Ayrton Senna 368
6. Mika Hakkinen 360
7. Michael Schumacher 357

Final
Nigel Mansell 409
Gerhard Berger 401
Riccardo Patrese 401
Martin Brundle 400

Mansell predictably takes pole with the eliminated Senna alongside. Patrese and Berger qualify on row two while Brundle only manages to qualify eighth. However, Mansell did not pull away as usual. Senna was right with him and tried to pass him on lap 8. He went wide and Mansell retained the lead. The top two were pulling away from Patrese and the rest but Senna could not attack Mansell. The gap stayed at less than a second. Then, on lap 19, entering the final corner, Senna crashed into the back of Mansell resulting in both drivers retiring and ending Mansell's title hopes unless none of the other contenders finished in the top five.

Patrese was now leading under immense pressure from Berger. Berger tried to pass around the outside but he too went wide. While Patrese did not pit, Berger pitted, followed 5 laps later by Schumacher. Berger rejoined 4 seconds ahead. Behind them, Brundle had got ahead of Alesi in the stops. On lap 51, Patrese, nearly 20 seconds ahead, coasted to a halt with an engine failure and ending his chance at the title. This left Berger to win the race just ahead of Schumacher meaning that like in 1987, the Austrian would take a surprise second title! Brundle completed the podium allowing him to be the runner up.

1. Gerhard Berger 426
2. Martin Brundle 415
3. Nigel Mansell 409
4. Riccardo Patrese 401

Champion, Gerhard Berger

[Samster]

1993

Prost returns from sabbatical to start his era of ProstWINSLOL as lead Williams driver. He doesn't quite break Mansell's regular season record but still manages seven wins. Senna managed three despite the under powered McLaren-Cosworth while in his first full season Damon Hill qualifies the second Williams by winning the final regular season race in Hungary. Schumacher again fails to win during the regular season but is far ahead in points over the rest of the drivers led by his Benetton teammate Patrese who ends his career with his fifth consecutive chase. Ligier get two cars in for the first time since 1980 as Brundle and first-time contender Blundell are both comfortably in just ahead of defending champion, Berger now with Ferrari. The Scuderia again only get one car in the chase as poor reliability leaves Alesi only 13th in points going into the chase causing the French-Sicilian to miss out for the first time since becoming a full-time driver. The final two spots go to more first time chasers, Johnny Herbert for Lotus for what will surely be their final chase appearance for the original team and Christian Fittipaldi finally giving Minardi their first ever appearance in their ninth season. Fittipaldi in fact was in by tie-breaker as Sauber's J.J. Letho scored the same amount of points and an identical best four finishes and it was the Minardi driver's superior finishing record that qualified him. Everyone's favourite 'lucky bastard', Michael Andretti of course got no where near the chase ultimately falling 16 points short.

Chase Contenders
Alain Prost (Williams) 307
Ayrton Senna (McLaren) 303
Damon Hill (Williams) 301
Michael Schumacher (Benetton) 300
Riccardo Patrese (Benetton) 300
Mark Blundell (Ligier) 300
Martin Brundle (Ligier) 300
Gerhard Berger (Ferrari) 300
Johnny Herbert (Lotus) 300
Christian Fittipaldi (Minardi) 300

Phase 1
Hill shocks everyone by putting in the perfect start to his first ever chase and swept both Belgium and Italy. The others' lack of consistency during this phase gave him a near 30 point lead. Despite scoring less points for his lone third, Prost still comes out second in points thanks to his seven bonus points. The Benetton pair of Schumacher and Patrese score the same amount of points, the former with a second and the latter the only contender asides from Hill to score in both races. Senna isn't far from failing to advance, only managing a lone fourth place while Herbert and Brundle make up the final two spots for Phase 2. Berger is the only surprise faller, his Ferrari's poor reliability ending his championship defense though he at least completed enough laps to score a single point in Belgium. Fittipaldi comes within one position of getting his plucky Minardi into Phase 2 despite cartwheeling over the line for his only points! Finally like Berger, Blundell failed to finish either race.

1. Damon Hill 351
2. Alain Prost 322
3. Michael Schumacher 318
4. Riccardo Patrese 318
5. Ayrton Senna 315
6. Johnny Herbert 310
7. Martin Brundle 306
8. Christian Fittipaldi 304
9. Gerhard Berger 301
10. Mark Blundell 300

Phase 2
Alain Prost 357
Damon Hill 353
Ayrton Senna 353
Michael Schumacher 350
Riccardo Patrese 350
Johnny Herbert 350
Martin Brundle 350

Qualification for the final is relatively straight forward. The drivers who started this phase in the top four ended it in exactly the same position. Schumacher and Senna took the wins but were trumped in points by Prost and Hill's consistency. Despite also scoring in both races, Brundle fails to make his second final while Patrese and Herbert fail to score.

Alain Prost 393
Damon Hill 380
Ayrton Senna 378
Michael Schumacher 375
Martin Brundle 360
Riccardo Patrese 350
Johnny Herbert 350

Final
Alain Prost 407
Ayrton Senna 404
Damon Hill 403
Michael Schumacher 401

For only the second time ever the championship contenders make up the top four on the grid, Senna from Prost ahead of Hill and Schumacher. However despite being in direct competition at the front, that is how the order stayed for the entire race asides from pitstops. The only drama was Schumacher's engine failure dropping him out of fourth. Thus Senna's victory allowed him to leapfrog Prost for his second title and denying the Frenchman the chance of a record breaking sixth title.

1. Ayrton Senna 429
2. Alain Prost 425
3. Damon Hill 418
4. Michael Schumacher 401

Champion, Ayrton Senna

[Samster]

1994

Well here it is, the year where I have absolutely no clue who will win the championship. First of all we have the issue of Michael Schumacher. As discussed earlier he would have missed the first two races of the chase after Benetton's appeal against his two race-ban had failed. Initially he was to miss Germany and Hungary during the regular season which under this system would have had no impact on his championship campaign once the chase points had been set. The question is, would Benetton have bothered with an appeal with this in mind? Would they have risked ending up missing races in the chase instead as was what happened? Well seeing as I have no way of determining how Schumacher would have done in Italy and Portugal then I have no option but to just use the results as they were and assume that Benetton were shortsighted enough to risk Schumacher's championship with the appeal. Thus Schumacher is thrown out of the chase by missing the opening two races.

Another factor is that both David Coulthard and Jos Verstappen scored enough points to qualify but missed too many races. Using the rule I introduced before 1980 they would be ruled ineligible for the chase and thrown out, before they would have been kept in just by showing up for Italy. This leaves Williams with just Hill and Benetton unrepresented in the chase for the first time since taking over Toleman.

With all that out of the way I can set the rest of 1994's chase grid. Schumacher's absence leaves Hill and Berger as the only drivers to qualify via victory. Alesi is next in points giving Ferrari two cars for the first time since 1991. Hakkinen is back in the chase again after missing most of 1993 and its his first appearance for McLaren. The real shock this year is rookie Panis, driving the slow but reliable Ligier. His fluke second in Germany allowed him to leapfrog from no where into chase contention. He is just ahead of fellow first time contender, Barrichello who gives Jordan their first appearance since their debut season. Blundell is another surprise qualifier for Tyrrell, this year general midfielders while Brundle is the last of the top ten in points going into the chase surprisingly low down given he is in a McLaren. He would have just barely made it in by virtue of a second place in Monaco ahead of Verstappen but the eliminations discussed above allow another two first-time chasers. Rookie, Frentzen gives Sauber their first appearance after the team barely missed out last season while Martini finally makes his first chase in his sixth full season giving Minardi their second chase appearance. His four points for eighth in Belgium allow him to scrape ahead past Christian Fittipaldi for Footwork and Ukyo Katayama for Tyrrell.

Chase Contenders
Damon Hill (Williams) 303
Gerhard Berger (Ferrari) 301
Jean Alesi (Ferrari) 300
Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) 300
Olivier Panis (Ligier) 300
Rubens Barrichello (Jordan) 300
Mark Blundell (Tyrrell) 300
Martin Brundle (McLaren) 300
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Sauber) 300
Pierluigi Martini (Minardi) 300

Surely the most unimpressive chase grid ever what with a bunch of drivers from midfield teams making the chase by default.

Phase 1
With Schumacher away, Hill dominated the opening two races of the chase. Hakkinen is next in points having scored a pair of thirds while Barrichello is a surprise third by virtue of a pair of fourths. Berger and Brundle also comfortably advance, as for the rest of the contenders well... they only scored one measly point between them, that being for Panis' 10th in Italy. So for the first time, more than three drivers failed to score anything during a chase phase. The final berth in Phase 2 will therefore go on countback and it is Alesi who is given a lifeline by virtue of his second place in Britain. Thus Blundell, Frentzen and Martini fail to advance.

1. Damon Hill 353
2. Mika Hakkinen 330
3. Rubens Barrichello 324
4. Gerhard Berger 319
5. Martin Brundle 318
6. Olivier Panis 301
7. Jean Alesi 300
8. Mark Blundell 300
9. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 300
10. Pierluigi Martini 300

Phase 2
Damon Hill 355
Gerhard Berger 351
Mika Hakkinen 350
Rubens Barrichello 350
Martin Brundle 350
Olivier Panis 350
Jean Alesi 350

With Schumacher's return, he and Hill went back to swapping positions around in the top two. Schumacher won at Jerez while Hill won in Japan. Hakkinen continued his impressive chase by scoring another podium plus a seventh. The two Ferraris take the final two spots and it looks like after everything we still ended up with the best four in the final (bar Schumacher of course). Panis plucks away another two points but this time it isn't enough to survive his way into the final while Barrichello and Brundle both fail to score.

1. Damon Hill 398
2. Mika Hakkinen 371
3. Jean Alesi 366
4. Gerhard Berger 361
5. Olivier Panis 352
6. Rubens Barrichello 350
7. Martin Brundle 350

Final
Damon Hill 406
Gerhard Berger 401
Mika Hakkinen 400
Jean Alesi 400

With easily the best car of the final contenders, this is surely Hill's title to lose. However, Mansell in the last of his races in his late season return to Williams took pole from Schumacher with Hill and Hakkinen qualifying on the second row. The Ferraris qualified deep in the back, Alesi in 8th and Berger down in 11th. Schumacher took the lead at the start with Hill also getting by Mansell behind him. The order remained the same until lap 36. Hill was catching Schumacher when the Benetton driver went off the track at the East Terrace corner, hitting a wall with his right side wheels before pulling back onto the track. Hill had rounded the fifth corner of the track when Schumacher pulled across the track ahead of him to the left. At the next corner Hill attempted to pass Schumacher; the two collided when Schumacher turned in. Schumacher was eliminated on the spot. Hill attempted to continue the race and pitted immediately, but retired from the race with irreparable damage to the car's front left suspension wishbone. This left Hill having to rely on the other contenders failing to finish to take the title.

Thus Mansell would inherit the lead of the race a couple of seconds ahead of Berger with Hakkinen another ten back. Alesi was down in ninth at this point, well out of contention. The top two would remain in that order till the finish with Berger winning his third title never put under threat even before Hakkinen's eventual brake failure. Alesi could only manage a mediocre sixth but its enough to make him the 1994 runner up behind his teammate. So unbelievably Gerhard Berger is now a triple world champion all taken thanks to faster contenders choking in the last race!

1. Gerhard Berger 419
2. Jean Alesi 408
3. Damon Hill 406
4. Mika Hakkinen 400

Champion, Gerhard Berger

[James1978]

Berger triple champion is good but not as good as Boutsen being one in the single race elimination championship.

95 could be interesting too. No front-runners save Hill finished in Australia but does he have enough bad races before then to put him out? Can't see how Panis, Morbidelli or Blundell could get through, so if Hill fails to get through to Oz, Schumacher gets it by default.

[Samster]

1995

Schumacher makes up for his disaster last season by taking six victories during the regular season. Hill takes three wins while Herbert and Alesi score victories for the first time in their careers. Though they failed to win, defending champion Berger and Coulthard in his first full season were never in doubt to make the chase. Sophomore drivers, Frentzen and Panis maintain their 100% chase records despite having only driven for midfield teams while the McLarens only just qualify. Due to his poor finishing record this season Hakkinen was four points behind his teammate Blundell despite the Brit missing two races and only makes the chase at the last minute by finishing second in Italy. This gave him the same amount of points as Rubens Barrichello but qualifies on result countback.

Chase Contenders
Michael Schumacher (Benetton) 306
Damon Hill (Williams) 303
Johnny Herbert (Benetton) 302
Jean Alesi (Ferrari) 301
Gerhard Berger (Ferrari) 300
David Coulthard (Williams) 300
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Sauber) 300
Olivier Panis (Ligier) 300
Mark Blundell (McLaren) 300
Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) 300

Phase 1
Schumacher gets off to a great start taking second in Portugal and winning at the Nurburgring. Coulthard opened his first chase by taking his maiden victory followed by a third. Alesi is also solid with a fifth and a second. Hill only manages a podium while Herbert is underwhelming during this phase but nevertheless advances with no trouble along with Berger. None of the eliminated drivers are a real surprise other than maybe Frentzen making it over Hakkinen. Both McLarens are eliminated along with Panis whose fortune is the opposite of last season, faster car but no finishes.

1. Michael Schumacher 349
2. David Coulthard 340
3. Jean Alesi 329
4. Damon Hill 318
5. Johnny Herbert 318
6. Gerhard Berger 312
7. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 308
8. Mika Hakkinen 304
9. Mark Blundell 302
10. Olivier Panis 300

Phase 2
Michael Schumacher 357
Damon Hill 353
Johnny Herbert 352
David Coulthard 351
Jean Alesi 351
Gerhard Berger 350
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 350

Schumacher sweeps both races during this phase held entirely in Japan. Herbert surprisingly comes out of this phase second in points with a sixth and a third. By making the podium at Aida, Coulthard and Hill make the final a straight fight between Williams and Benetton. Again there are no surprises in the eliminated as the Ferraris and Frentzen fail to advance despite all scoring decent points. This chase is proving to be rather predictable so far.

1. Michael Schumacher 407
2. Johnny Herbert 375
3. David Coulthard 369
4. Damon Hill 368
5. Gerhard Berger 362
6. Jean Alesi 361
7. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 360

Final
Michael Schumacher 409
Damon Hill 403
Johnny Herbert 402
David Coulthard 401

Our final time at Adelaide. The Williams pair swept the front row with Hill taking pole from Coulthard. Schumacher is right behind in third while Herbert only manages eighth. Coulthard took the lead at the start while Schumacher dropped to fifth behind the Ferraris though he'd soon get back past. Of course we all know what would eventually happen to Coulthard.

After the first round of pitstops however, something nearly as farcial occurs as Schumacher and Alesi collide, almost certain to cost the German his chance at his first title! This left Hill and Herbert now as the top two. However Herbert would suffer a transmission failure with just twelve laps to go leaving Hill as the only contender still running. He has his first title wrapped up as long as he finishes in the top six and this he achieves by taking victory by a whopping two laps over Olivier Panis!

1. Damon Hill 428
2. Michael Schumacher 409
3. Johnny Herbert 402
4. David Coulthard 401

Champion, Damon Hill

[Samster]

1996

WILLIAMSWINLOL. The regular season is dominated by Hill who takes seven victories while his rookie teammate, Villeneuve manages two. Schumacher and Panis also take a victory each. Alesi fails to win anything but comes into the chase a clear third in points. Hakkinen has a much better showing this season and is only a few points away from Schumacher in fifth. Coulthard now in the second McLaren is only four further points behind Hakkinen marking a clear improvement for the team as a whole. Berger has a disappointing season and only comes into the chase in seventh with just over half the points of his Benetton teammate. Barrichello makes his second chase in four attempts for Jordan while his former teammate Irvine makes the chase for the first time having switched to Ferrari. Despite his string of DNFs, Irvine is well clear of the rest of the field in points.

Chase Contenders
Damon Hill (Williams) 307
Jacques Villeneuve (Williams) 302
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 301
Olivier Panis (Ligier) 301
Jean Alesi (Benetton) 300
Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) 300
David Coulthard (McLaren) 300
Gerhard Berger (Benetton) 300
Rubens Barrichello (Jordan) 300
Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) 300

Phase 1
Villeneuve gets his first chase off to a great start by winning Hungary and taking second in Belgium. Hill also scores solid points with second in Hungary and fifth in Belgium. Schumacher takes his second Ferrari victory in Belgium while Alesi and Hakkinen continues their consistent seasons, both taking a third and a fourth. Panis surprisingly advances in the unfancied Ligier with only a single fifth while the final Phase 2 spot goes down to a tiebreaker between Berger and Barrichello. Berger takes it by virtue of his two podiums earlier in the season. Joining Barrichello in elimination are Coulthard and Irvine who both fail to finish either race.

1. Jacques Villeneuve 345
2. Damon Hill 335
3. Michael Schumacher 328
4. Jean Alesi 327
5. Mika Hakkinen 327
6. Olivier Panis 311
7. Gerhard Berger 308
8. Rubens Barrichello 308
9. David Coulthard 300
10. Eddie Irvine 300

Phase 2
Damon Hill 357
Jacques Villeneuve 353
Michael Schumacher 352
Olivier Panis 351
Jean Alesi 350
Mika Hakkinen 350
Gerhard Berger 350

Schumacher and Villeneuve again take the victories with Schumacher shocking everyone by leading into the final in the unfancied Ferrari. Alesi easily joins them in the final with a second and a fourth while Hill surprisingly the last driver to get through to the final having only taking a lone second in Portugal. No real surprise eliminations as Hakkinen, Berger and Panis all fail to advance.

1. Michael Schumacher 392
2. Jacques Villeneuve 384
3. Jean Alesi 380
4. Damon Hill 375
5. Mika Hakkinen 365
6. Gerhard Berger 358
7. Olivier Panis 352

Final
Damon Hill 407
Jacques Villeneuve 404
Michael Schumacher 403
Jean Alesi 400

The final takes place for the first time at Suzuka. Williams again sweep the front row though its Villeneuve who takes pole from Hill. Schumacher is again starting the final in third while Alesi only manages ninth. Villeneuve makes a poor getaway and drops down to sixth as Hill takes the lead from Berger, Hakkinen then Schumacher. Meanwhile Alesi spun off at the second corner ending his championship chances on the opening lap. On the third lap, Berger attempted to overtake Hill at the final chicane, only to damage his front wing. Thereafter, Hill gradually pulled away, with Schumacher overtaking Hakkinen for second during the first round of pit stops. Villeneuve passed Irvine, set the fastest lap of the race and ran fourth before his right rear wheel came off on lap 37, putting him out of the race and leaving the championship between Hill and Schumacher. The two contenders plus Hakkinen would remain close until the finish but Hill remained in the lead and thus took his second consecutive title.

1. Damon Hill 432
2. Michael Schumacher 421
3. Jacques Villeneuve 404
4. Jean Alesi 400

Champion, Damon Hill

[Samster]

1997

Villeneuve may have won five races to Schumacher's four but the Ferrari driver actually came into the chase with a 41 point lead. Alesi once again comes into the chase third in points with no victories just ahead of Frentzen in the second Williams. Despite missing three races midseason, the limit a driver can miss and still be chase eligible, Berger was fifth in points. Herbert surprisingly is sixth in points thanks to some consistent results in the Sauber just ahead of first time contender Fisichella, Irvine and Hakkinen. Despite winning the opening race, Coulthard was only 11th in points coming into the chase and would have had to rely on that win to qualify were it not for Olivier Panis' absence due to his leg injuries. Rookie Ralf Schumacher barely misses out by five points while Damon Hill, the champion of the last two seasons was a full 25 points away down in 13th in points having joined Arrows.

Chase Contenders
Jacques Villeneuve (Williams) 305
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 304
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams) 301
Gerhard Berger (Benetton) 301
David Coulthard (McLaren) 301
Jean Alesi (Benetton) 300
Johnny Herbert (Sauber) 300
Giancarlo Fisichella (Jordan) 300
Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) 300
Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) 300

Phase 1
Having barely scored enough points to make the chase, Coulthard manages to get off to a great start by winning in Italy and taking second in Austria. He just outscores Villeneuve who won in Austria. Frentzen has a solid Phase 1 with a pair of thirds while Fisichella continues to impress in his first full season by taking a pair of fourths and easily advancing to Phase 2. Schumacher has an underwhelming phase only managing a pair of sixths. Alesi and Berger make the final two advance spots in the Benettons. Irvine, Herbert and Hakkinen fail to advance with just minor points.

1. David Coulthard 344
2. Jacques Villeneuve 340
3. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 331
4. Giancarlo Fisichella 324
5. Michael Schumacher 320
6. Jean Alesi 318
7. Gerhard Berger 308
8. Eddie Irvine 304
9. Johnny Herbert 304
10. Mika Hakkinen 302

Phase 2
Jacques Villeneuve 356
Michael Schumacher 354
David Coulthard 352
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 351
Gerhard Berger 351
Giancarlo Fisichella 350
Jean Alesi 350

Villeneuve and Schumacher take a win each but it is Frentzen who comes out with the most points having taken a third and second. Alesi takes the fourth spot in the final by scoring a second and fifth. Berger, Fisichella and Coulthard fail to advance.

1. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 384
2. Jacques Villeneuve 381
3. Michael Schumacher 379
4. Jean Alesi 378
5. Gerhard Berger 367
6. Giancarlo Fisichella 356
7. David Coulthard 353

Final
Jacques Villeneuve 407
Michael Schumacher 405
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 401
Jean Alesi 400

Villeneuve, Schumacher and Frentzen all manage to set identical lap times in qualifying while Alesi is all the way down in tenth. Schumacher managed to take the lead at the start while Frentzen would eventually fall behind the McLarens. Villeneuve went into lap 48 less than a second behind Schumacher. Partway through the lap he attempted to overtake Schumacher at the Dry Sack corner. Braking later than Schumacher, Villeneuve held the inside line and was ahead on the track when Schumacher turned in on him resulting in a collision. Schumacher was out of the race having lost another championship and the contact of course is deemed deliberate resulting in his disqualification from the championship.

With 22 laps remaining, Villeneuve was able to continue but the damage from the contact meant that he had been caught by the McLarens by the final lap. Since the McLarens had already been eliminated from the championship Villeneuve didn't fight them and thus Hakkinen finally took his maiden victory from Coulthard. However with the top six only covered by four seconds, Villeneuve was less than three seconds ahead of his teammate Frentzen who had finished sixth. A little longer and Frentzen may have stole the title! Nevertheless Villeneuve is champion. Alesi the other contender failed to factor at all finishing way down in 13th.

1. Jacques Villeneuve 422
2. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 409
DSQ Michael Schumacher 405
3. Jean Alesi 400

Champion, Jacques Villeneuve

[Samster]

1998

1998 of course sees a return of MCLARENWINSLOL as Schumacher is the only other driver to get a look in for victories. Of the none winners, Irvine is well clear of the rest of the pack which is led by defending champion Villeneuve. Wurz impressively enters the chase sixth in points for his first full season as he and Benetton teammate Fisichella split the Williams pair. Frentzen disappointingly scoring less than half the points of his teammate. Despite their poor start to the season, Jordan managed to get both cars into the chase for the first time in their existence as 28 points was all they needed to pip the Saubers for the last two spots at the last minute. Ralf's qualification means we have two brothers in the chase for the first time. Its also the first time that the chase is made up of five two car teams.

Chase Contenders
Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) 306
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 304
David Coulthard (McLaren) 301
Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) 300
Jacques Villeneuve (Williams) 300
Alexander Wurz (Benetton) 300
Giancarlo Fisichella (Benetton) 300
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams) 300
Ralf Schumacher (Jordan) 300
Damon Hill (Jordan) 300

Phase 1
Full of surprises here as Hill emerges as the points leader thanks to his surprise victory in the attrition filled Belgian Grand Prix and his fourth in Hungary. The rest of the contenders weren't exactly consistent. Michael and Coulthard 1-2ed Hungary but of course had their infamous collision in Belgium. Frentzen was one of the few drivers to finish in the top five at both races. Ralf and Villeneuve take a podium each to advance while Hakkinen very nearly choked his title chance away at the first elimination being very lucky that Irvine failed to finish either race and that the Benettons form was declining in the latter part of the season.

1. Damon Hill 337
2. Michael Schumacher 329
3. David Coulthard 325
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 322
5. Ralf Schumacher 320
6. Jacques Villeneuve 315
7. Mika Hakkinen 314
8. Giancarlo Fisichella 304
9. Eddie Irvine 300
10. Alexander Wurz 300

Phase 2
Mika Hakkinen 356
Michael Schumacher 355
David Coulthard 351
Damon Hill 351
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 350
Ralf Schumacher 350
Jacques Villeneuve 350

Michael has a great phase, winning Italy and taking second at the Nurburgring to lead into the final. Hakkinen also takes a win to maintain his one bonus point advantage for the final. The pair are well clear of the rest of the contenders as Coulthard and Frentzen score just enough to scrape into the final past the surprising Ralf Schumacher who misses out by a single point. Hill fails to continue his recent excellent form into this Phase and joins his teammate in elimination while Villeneuve doesn't even get close, ending his underwhelming championship defense.

1. Michael Schumacher 398
2. Mika Hakkinen 393
3. David Coulthard 366
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 366
5. Ralf Schumacher 365
6. Damon Hill 361
7. Jacques Villeneuve 354

Final
Mika Hakkinen 407
Michael Schumacher 406
David Coulthard 401
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 400

Schumacher takes pole with Hakkinen alongside and Coulthard in third while Frentzen takes fifth behind Irvine. However Schumacher's chances take a hit as he stalls on the grid and is forced to start from the back. This gave Hakkinen the lead which he would never lose until the flag and he easily won his first title. Schumacher's now slim chance was killed off completely as a puncture left him stranded on lap 32 after recovering to third. Coulthard would finish third behind Irvine while Frentzen managed to finish fifth just behind Hill to leave Schumacher just fourth in points. In four consecutive appearances in the final Schumacher has been defeated everytime. Will he ever become a champion?

Mika Hakkinen 432
David Coulthard 416
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 410
Michael Schumacher 406

Champion, Mika Hakkinen

[Samster]

1999

Hakkinen has the most wins but Irvine actually had a 23 point lead into the chase. Frentzen and Coulthard also took a win each during the regular season. Michael Schumacher took two wins before breaking his leg in Britain leaving him out of the chase. His brother Ralf is the best of the drivers that didn't win and is far clear from the drivers behind in points. Fisichella maintains his 100% chase record while Barrichello gets Stewart into the chase for the first and only time. Despite his struggles this season, Hill makes the chase fairly comfortably and so too does Wurz despite a downturn in form since the last season. Thanks to Michael's absence, Trulli makes the chase for the first time also giving Alain Prost his first appearance as a team owner.

Chase Contenders
Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) 304
Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) 303
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan) 301
David Coulthard (McLaren) 301
Ralf Schumacher (Williams) 300
Giancarlo Fisichella (Benetton) 300
Rubens Barrichello (Stewart) 300
Damon Hill (Jordan) 300
Alexander Wurz (Benetton) 300
Jarno Trulli (Prost) 300

Phase 1
For the second season in a row, a Jordan driver comes out of Phase 1 as the championship leader as Frentzen was third in Belgium and won in Italy. Coulthard isn't far behind as he won in Belgium. Ralf and Irvine also take a pair of top fives while Hakkinen was second behind his teammate in Belgium but crashed out in Italy. This resulted in him infamously bawling his eyes out thinking he'd be eliminated. However none of Fisichella, Wurz or Trulli managed to score any points and they were the ones eliminated. Barrichello and Hill are the final two to advance.

1. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 341
2. David Coulthard 336
3. Ralf Schumacher 328
4. Eddie Irvine 323
5. Mika Hakkinen 322
6. Rubens Barrichello 313
7. Damon Hill 309
8. Giancarlo Fisichella 300
9. Alexander Wurz 300
10. Jarno Trulli 300

Phase 2
Mika Hakkinen 354
Eddie Irvine 353
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 352
David Coulthard 352
Ralf Schumacher 350
Rubens Barrichello 350
Damon Hill 350

Despite both having a horrible time at the Nurburgring Irvine and Hakkinen are back at the top of the standings heading into the final. That race was won by non-chaser, Johnny Herbert in the second Stewart while Irvine won in Malaysia with the help of the returning Michael Schumacher. Barrichello joined his teammate on the podium at the Nurburgring and followed with a fifth in Malaysia to get Stewart into the final to everyone's amazement. Ralf also scrapes through despite only taking a lone fourth edging out Frentzen who had retired from the lead at the Nurburgring and struggled in Malaysia costing Jordan the chance to make their first ever final. Coulthard and Hill both failed to finish and join Frentzen in elimination meaning that the top two of Phase 1 both failed to make the final.

1. Eddie Irvine 384
2. Mika Hakkinen 379
3. Rubens Barrichello 375
4. Ralf Schumacher 362
5. Heinz-Harald Frentzen 360
6. David Coulthard 352
7. Damon Hill 350

Final
Eddie Irvine 404
Mika Hakkinen 404
Rubens Barrichello 400
Ralf Schumacher 400

Michael Schumacher took pole from Hakkinen while the rest of the contenders are a fair way back on the grid. Irvine is only fifth behind Coulthard and Frentzen while Ralf was down in ninth and Barrichello only 13th. Hakkinen beat Schumacher off the line, with Olivier Panis charging into third ahead of Irvine, Coulthard and Frentzen. The Finn quickly built a comfortable lead, and it became clear that the Ferraris could not match him. After Panis' alternator broke on lap 20, Coulthard passed Irvine for third during the first round of pit stops and held him up to allow Hakkinen to pull further ahead. However, on lap 34, he made a mistake and spun into a wall, losing his nose. He pitted and rejoined a lap down, just in front of Schumacher. The Scot deliberately held up the German driver, before retiring several laps later with a hydraulic failure.

Hakkinen eventually took the flag five seconds ahead of Schumacher and, with it, his second Drivers' Championship. Irvine finished a minute and a half behind Schumacher in third with Ralf not far behind in fifth behind Frentzen. Barrichello failed to factor at all and only managed eighth having been out driven by his teammate in the last three races.

1. Mika Hakkinen 429
2. Eddie Irvine 419
3. Ralf Schumacher 410
4. Rubens Barrichello 404

Champion, Mika Hakkinen

[Samster]

2000

McLaren and Ferrari take all the wins between them during the regular season. Of the rest Fisichella has the most points going into the chase just ahead of Ralf Schumacher. Villeneuve solidly gets BAR into the chase for the first time while Salo surprisingly enters the chase eighth in points for Sauber meaning that the Finn is in the chase for the first time in his career. Rookie, Button makes the chase for Williams and Trulli beats his teammate, Frentzen for the final spot.

Chase Contenders
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 305
Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) 303
David Coulthard (McLaren) 303
Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 301
Giancarlo Fisichella (Benetton) 300
Ralf Schumacher (Williams) 300
Jacques Villeneuve (BAR) 300
Mika Salo (Sauber) 300
Jenson Button (Williams) 300
Jarno Trulli (Jordan) 300

Phase 1
Schumacher and Hakkinen dominate Phase 1, Hakkinen wins Belgium and Schumacher wins Italy. Both also took a second. Ralf easily advances with a pair of thirds while the rest of the contenders are rather messy. Coulthard is able to come out fourth in points with just a lone fourth place in Belgium, likewise Button is fifth with only a lone fifth. Salo surprisingly gets through with just a ninth and seventh and Villeneuve takes the last transfer spot. Barrichello, Fisichella and Trulli all fail to score and are eliminated.

1. Michael Schumacher 348
2. Mika Hakkinen 345
3. Ralf Schumacher 330
4. David Coulthard 315
5. Jenson Button 310
6. Mika Salo 308
7. Jacques Villeneuve 306
8. Rubens Barrichello 301
9. Giancarlo Fisichella 300
10. Jarno Trulli 300

Phase 2
Michael Schumacher 356
Mika Hakkinen 354
David Coulthard 353
Ralf Schumacher 350
Jenson Button 350
Mika Salo 350
Jacques Villeneuve 350

Schumacher sweeps both races while Hakkinen only manages a lone second in Japan. Coulthard scores a pair of top fives while Villeneuve shocks everyone by getting BAR into the final with a fourth and sixth! Button takes fifth in Japan but it is not enough to get him into the final in his first season. Salo scores a single point while Ralf has a disaster and fails to finish either race.

1. Michael Schumacher 406
2. David Coulthard 378
3. Mika Hakkinen 372
4. Jacques Villeneuve 370
5. Jenson Button 360
6. Mika Salo 351
7. Ralf Schumacher 350

Final
Michael Schumacher 408
Mika Hakkinen 404
David Coulthard 403
Jacques Villeneuve 400

Schumacher takes pole from Hakkinen with Coulthard right behind. Villeneuve also puts in a decent effort by qualifying sixth behind Rubens Barrichello and a surprising Alexander Wurz. And Hakkinen blows it by jumping the start, he is given a penalty and drops to the back of the field but Coulthard also managed to get by Schumacher for the lead keeping McLaren's chances alive. However Schumacher would take the lead back during the first pitstops. By the halfway point Hakkinen was back in the top five and challenging Villeneuve for fourth which he would eventually take. The positions would remain essentially unchanged for the remainder of the race though Coulthard kept Schumacher honest till the end. Hakkinen would climb no higher than fourth behind Barrichello while Villeneuve, who was never going to factor in the battle nevertheless was best of the rest with a valiant fifth place. Therefore Michael Schumacher finally takes his first drivers title!

1. Michael Schumacher 433
2. David Coulthard 421
3. Mika Hakkinen 416
4. Jacques Villeneuve 410

Champion, Michael Schumacher

[Samster]

Time to start bringing this up to date.

2001

Michael Schumacher dominates the regular season, taking 6 of the 12 races and never finishing a race below 2nd. Coulthard, Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher are the other winners. Filling out the rest of the contenders are Barrichello in the second Ferrari, Villeneuve's BAR and Sauber getting both cars in the chase for the first time. Despite his impressive performances, Montoya's lack of finishes almost see him miss the chase. Finally despite a strong start to the season, Jordan are lucky to get a car into the chase as Trulli makes it in on countback ahead of Panis' BAR while Frentzen had already been sacked from the team.

Chase Contenders
Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 306
Ralf Schumacher (Williams) 303
David Coulthard (McLaren) 302
Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) 301
Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 300
Nick Heidfeld (Sauber) 300
Jacques Villeneuve (BAR) 300
Kimi Raikkonen (Sauber) 300
Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) 300
Jarno Trulli (Jordan) 300

Phase 1

Michael sweeps both the Phase 1 races while the rest of the top five emerge in almost the same order as they came in. Both Saubers manage to edge into Phase 2 as Raikkonen's 7th in Hungary trumps Villeneuve's 8th and 9th. Montoya disappointingly is eliminated with only an 8th in Hungary to show for his efforts while Trulli fails to finish either race.

1. Michael Schumacher 356
2. David Coulthard 335
3. Rubens Barrichello 328
4. Mika Hakkinen 323
5. Ralf Schumacher 321
6. Nick Heidfeld 308
7. Kimi Raikkonen 306
8. Jacques Villeneuve 306
9. Juan Pablo Montoya 304
10. Jarno Trulli 300

Phase 2

Michael Schumacher 358
Ralf Schumacher 353
David Coulthard 352
Mika Hakkinen 351
Rubens Barrichello 350
Nick Heidfeld 350
Kimi Raikkonen 350

Michael is less sucessful this phase but a 4th and 2nd are enough for him to emerge from Phase 2 with a clear lead. After a tough season, Hakkinen makes the final by winning at Indy. Barrichello and Ralf join them in the final at the surprise expense of Coulthard, the man who had been Michael's closest rival during the regular season. Ralf's higher tally of wins allowing him to squeeze out the Scot by a single point.

1. Michael Schumacher 388
2. Mika Hakkinen 376
3. Rubens Barrichello 368
4. Ralf Schumacher 368
5. David Coulthard 367
6. Nick Heidfeld 358
7. Kimi Raikkonen 356

Final
Michael Schumacher 408
Ralf Schumacher 403
Mika Hakkinen 402
Rubens Barrichello 400

Schumacher sticks his Ferrari on pole and manages to have Montoya in between him and his brother and teammate on the second row. Hakkinen is next meaning all the contenders start in the top five. However Schumacher dominates the race and easily wins his second title having led the points all season. He is joined on the podium by Montoya and Coulthard while the other three contenders are only able to make up the rest of the top six. Hakkinen's 4th is enough to make him the runner up for his final season.

1. Michael Schumacher 433
2. Mika Hakkinen 414
3. Ralf Schumacher 411
4. Rubens Barrichello 410

Champion, Michael Schumacher

[Aislabie]

Because I really hope to see this Championship return, I'm going to make predictions for all the seasons to date:

2002: Michael Schumacher
2003: Michael Schumacher
2004: Kimi Raikkonen
2005: Fernando Alonso
2006: Felipe Massa
2007: Kimi Raikkonen
2008: Felipe Massa
2009: Sebastian Vettel
2010: Sebastian Vettel
2011: Sebastian Vettel
2012: Fernando Alonso
2013: Sebastian Vettel
2014: Lewis Hamilton
2015: Nico Rosberg
2016: Max Verstappen