- 17 Aug 09, 18:45#143758
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
From F1 Live:
Sebastian Vettel would still have a real chance of winning the 2009 title had F1's points system changed prior to the start of the season.
That is the claim of Bernie Ecclestone, who failed to have his desired 'medals' scoring system introduced this year due to a lack of support by the teams.
To Germany's Auto Bild, the F1 chief executive said that with the current 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points scoring system, Red Bull's Vettel is "too far behind" to mount a challenge to Jenson Button's 23-point lead in the remaining seven races of 2009.
"If the medals system that I proposed would be in (effect) now, he (Vettel) would still be in the title fight," 78-year-old Ecclestone said.
The Briton's reasoning is that, even if Vettel is unbeaten for the remainder of the season, Button could finish the races in second place and still comfortably be champion.
If the number of wins was the decisive tally, however, Vettel would be trailing Button by a factor of four 'gold medals'.
Ecclestone added: "I think Vettel is capable of five more victories, but with these stupid points (system) it's not going to be enough."
It must be pointed out however that a points systems rewards constancy over the course of a season, with podium positions contributing greatly to the championship campaign.
Under a medals system where only victories count, a driver could become champion with a few wins and no podium positions, while a rival continuously racked up podium finishes but no victories.
23 points currently stand between Button and Vettel with seven races to go. Over the last three races, Button scored nine points while Vettel recorded 18 despite retiring once.
Mark Webber is now 19.5 points behind Button, having scored 24 points over the last three races but only winning once so far this season. Therefore, in Webber's case, the points system sees him as the current runner-up while a medals system would see him far behind despite reaching the podium often.
The championship is far from settled if the Red Bull push can be maintained against the Brawn team.
D.B. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM
Sebastian Vettel would still have a real chance of winning the 2009 title had F1's points system changed prior to the start of the season.
That is the claim of Bernie Ecclestone, who failed to have his desired 'medals' scoring system introduced this year due to a lack of support by the teams.
To Germany's Auto Bild, the F1 chief executive said that with the current 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 points scoring system, Red Bull's Vettel is "too far behind" to mount a challenge to Jenson Button's 23-point lead in the remaining seven races of 2009.
"If the medals system that I proposed would be in (effect) now, he (Vettel) would still be in the title fight," 78-year-old Ecclestone said.
The Briton's reasoning is that, even if Vettel is unbeaten for the remainder of the season, Button could finish the races in second place and still comfortably be champion.
If the number of wins was the decisive tally, however, Vettel would be trailing Button by a factor of four 'gold medals'.
Ecclestone added: "I think Vettel is capable of five more victories, but with these stupid points (system) it's not going to be enough."
It must be pointed out however that a points systems rewards constancy over the course of a season, with podium positions contributing greatly to the championship campaign.
Under a medals system where only victories count, a driver could become champion with a few wins and no podium positions, while a rival continuously racked up podium finishes but no victories.
23 points currently stand between Button and Vettel with seven races to go. Over the last three races, Button scored nine points while Vettel recorded 18 despite retiring once.
Mark Webber is now 19.5 points behind Button, having scored 24 points over the last three races but only winning once so far this season. Therefore, in Webber's case, the points system sees him as the current runner-up while a medals system would see him far behind despite reaching the podium often.
The championship is far from settled if the Red Bull push can be maintained against the Brawn team.
D.B. © CAPSIS International
Source: GMM
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
