The Formula One Cup Series, 1981-present

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Aislabie
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Joined: 14 Feb 2016, 11:06

The Formula One Cup Series, 1981-present

Post by Aislabie »

The year is 1981, and the FIA are taking control of Formula One. They have done away with the antiquated World Championship of Drivers and are instead bringing in a Championship format that is decades ahead of its time: The Formula One Cup Series.

In addition to the FIA now sanctioning every Grand Prix that will make up the season, they are making a raft of changes to how the Championship is conducted. The old format of having the winner be whoever scores most points over their best 12 races has been done away with: instead, the World Champion will have to perform well throughout the season with a guaranteed Championship decider at the last race of the season.

This will be done with a seven-race playoff series to finish the season: the top ten drivers (usually the top ten on points, but race winners will automatically progress) will advance to the playoffs, with two lowest-scoring drivers eliminated at the Round of 10, Round of 8 and Round of 6 stage to leave a Championship Final for the top four drivers at the last race of the season.

Additionally, the old system of points for the top six drivers has been completely abandoned: instead, Formula One will award points to the top fifteen classified finishers at any given Grand Prix, incentivising drivers to fight for position all the way down the field. The points system shall be: 25 - 20 - 16 - 13 - 11 - 10 - 9 - 8 - 7 - 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1.

This is a new era for Formula One.
- - - - - - - - - -

Formula One Cup Series Champions

1981 - Season Summary
  • Cup Champion - Image Alain Prost (Renault, 1st title)
    Constructors Cup - Image Williams
    Regular Season Leader - Image Carlos Reutemann (Williams)

1982 - Season Summary
  • Cup Champion - Image Michele Alboreto (Tyrrell, 1st title)
    Constructors Cup - Image Ferrari
    Regular Season Leader - Image John Watson (McLaren)
Last edited by Aislabie on 17 Apr 2020, 11:20, edited 2 times in total.
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Aislabie
Posts: 1940
Joined: 14 Feb 2016, 11:06

The Formula One Cup Series, 1981

Post by Aislabie »

Lockdown has hit HARD. I'm hoping to get through roughly one of these per day until I'm allowed to go outside again, or until we finish 2019.

Regular Season
  • Image - United States Grand Prix West - Image Alan Jones
  • Image - Brazilian Grand Prix - Image Carlos Reutemann
  • Image - Argentine Grand Prix - Image Nelson Piquet
  • Image - San Marino Grand Prix - Image Nelson Piquet
  • Image - Belgian Grand Prix - Image Carlos Reutemann
  • Image - Monaco Grand Prix - Image Gilles Villeneuve
  • Image - Spanish Grand Prix - Image Gilles Villeneuve
  • Image - French Grand Prix - Image Alain Prost

Standings
  1. Image Carlos Reutemann - 125 points (2 wins)
  2. Image Alan Jones - 91 points (1 win)
  3. Image Nelson Piquet - 86 points (2 wins)
  4. Image Gilles Villeneuve - 72 points (2 wins)
  5. Image Jacques Laffite - 66 points
  6. Image John Watson - 59 points
  7. Image Elio de Angelis - 53 points
  8. Image Riccardo Patrese - 47 points
  9. Image Rene Arnoux - 47 points
  10. Image Didier Pironi - 44 points
  11. Image Mario Andretti - 43 points
  12. Image Alain Prost - 41 points (1 win)
  13. Image Nigel Mansell - 40 points
  14. Image Marc Surer - 39 points
  15. Image Eddie Cheever - 35 points
  16. Image Patrick Tambay - 33 points
  17. Image Hector Rebaque - 20 points
  18. Image Patrick Tambay - 20 points
  19. Image Bruno Giacomelli - 20 points
  20. Image Chico Serra - 14 points
  21. Image Keke Rosberg - 11 points
  22. Image Jean-Pierre Jarier - 9 points
  23. Image Siegfried Stohr - 7 points
  24. Image Ricardo Zunino - 6 points
  25. Image Michele Alboreto - 4 points
  26. Image Jan Lammers - 4 points
  27. Image Slim Borgudd - 3 points
  28. Image Piercarlo Ghinzani - 3 points
  29. Image Eliseo Salazar - 2 points
  30. REST - 0 points

Doesn't this just show the magic of the "Win-And-You're-In" format? Going into the final race of the Regular Season, Renault's Alain Prost was stuck all the way down in 17th. He was one of the many drivers with only one route into the playoffs: to win the French Grand Prix. But, like an absolute mad lad, he did exactly that. His regular season - only two finishes, a 1st and a 3rd - was the absolute opposite of his Renault teammate Rene Arnoux - five finishes, none of them on the podium; but they both scraped into the playoffs.

- - -

Playoffs

Round of 10
  • Image - British Grand Prix - Image John Watson
  • Image - German Grand Prix - Image Nelson Piquet

Standings
  1. Image John Watson - 35 points (1 win)
  2. Image Jacques Laffite - 32 points
  3. Image Nelson Piquet - 25 points (1 win)
  4. Image Carlos Reutemann - 20 points (Total: 145)
  5. Image Alain Prost - 20 points (Total: 61)
  6. Image Rene Arnoux - 10 points
  7. Image Elio de Angelis - 9 points
  8. Image Gilles Villeneuve - 6 points (Total : 78)
  9. Image Riccardo Patrese - 6 points (Total: 53)
  10. Image Alan Jones - 5 points

And doesn't this just go to show how quickly things can change? Alan Jones, one of the very top drivers in the Regular Season, has fallen at the first hurdle in the Playoffs. Gilles Villeneuve survives by the skin of his teeth thanks to total points across the season being used as a tie-breaker, bur he'd certainly prefer to be a little bit safer in the next round.

Round of 8
  • Image - Austrian Grand Prix - Image Jacques Laffite
  • Image - Dutch Grand Prix - Image Alain Prost

Standings
  1. Image Nelson Piquet - 36 points
  2. Image Jacques Laffite - 25 points (1 win, Total: 123)
  3. Image Alain Prost - 25 points (1 win, Total: 86)
  4. Image Elio de Angelis - 20 points (Total: 82)
  5. Image Rene Arnoux - 20 points (Total: 77)
  6. Image Carlos Reutemann - 11 points
  7. Image John Watson - 10 points
  8. Image Gilles Villeneuve - 0 points

Just like that, Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve and McLaren's John Watson fall out of Championship contention. This really does go to show the danger of poor reliability coming at the wrong time; even if you dominate the Regular Season, a double-DNF in a playoff round will likely be terminal.

Round of 6
  • Image - Italian Grand Prix - Image Alain Prost
  • Image - Canadian Grand Prix - Image Jacques Laffite

Standings
  1. Image Jacques Laffite - 25 points (1 win, Total: 148)
  2. Image Alain Prost - 25 points (1 win, Total: 111)
  3. Image Elio de Angelis - 23 points
  4. Image Carlos Reutemann - 22 points
  5. Image Nelson Piquet - 21 points
  6. Image Rene Arnoux - 0 points

It doesn't get much closer than that! The 1981 Canadian Grand Prix became one of the most dramatic the sport has ever seen, thanks almost entirely to the drama unfolding in the Playoff race. At the front of the field, Jacques Laffite led the way, but if the rapidly advancing John Watson was able to catch and pass him, then he'd fall out of the Championship Four. Then further back was a three-way joust for the last two spots: de Angelis, in sixth, had to keep Mario Andretti behind him. Piquet, in fifth, needed to catch and pass Bruno Giacomelli's Alfa. And Carlos Reutemann had a big scare when his Williams bit the dust a few laps from the end - but he only dropped as far as tenth.

But now we know our Championship Four:

  • Image Elio de Angelis (Lotus)
  • Image Jacques Laffite (Ligier)
  • Image Alain Prost (Prost)
  • Image Carlos Reutemann (Williams)

Championship Final
  • Image - Caesars Palace Grand Prix - Image Alan Jones

Standings
  1. Image Alain Prost - 20 points
  2. Image Jacques Laffite - 10 points
  3. Image Carlos Reutemann - 8 points
  4. Image Elio de Angelis - 0 points

With the Championship Four's points tallies all reset to 500, the race for the Championship was completely even at the start of the decider in Las Vegas. So, did the first ever four-way shootout for a World Championship have all the drama we might have hoped? Well not exactly, as Prost ended up more than a minute ahead of his nearest Championship challenger. That said, there was still the constant jeopardy of reliability: by the end of the race, Prost had eased off so far that he'd been caught and almost past by Giacomelli. Just imagine how that might have played out if they had tangled?

And it's worth remembering the fairy tale nature of this Championship win: with only one race left of the regular season, Prost had been rooted all the way down in 17th place. Eight races later, he returned to the Renault garage in Las Vegas as a World Champion.


- - -

Final Championship Standings

Formula One Cup Series
  1. Image Alain Prost - 520 points (3 wins)
  2. Image Jacques Laffite - 510 points (2 wins)
  3. Image Carlos Reutemann - 508 points (2 wins)
  4. Image Elio de Angelis - 500 points
  5. Image Nelson Piquet - 179 points (3 wins)
  6. Image Alan Jones - 170 points (2 wins)
  7. Image John Watson - 133 points (1 win)
  8. Image Gilles Villeneuve - 94 points (2 wins)
  9. Image Rene Arnoux - 77 points
  10. Image Didier Pironi - 69 points
  11. Image Eddie Cheever - 63 points
  12. Image Marc Surer - 61 points
  13. Image Mario Andretti - 59 points
  14. Image Riccardo Patrese - 58 points (Best: 2nd)
  15. Image Bruno Giacomelli - 58 points (Best: 3rd)
  16. Image Hector Rebaque - 57 points
  17. Image Nigel Mansell - 53 points
  18. Image Andrea de Cesaris - 41 points
  19. Image Jean-Pierre Jarier - 38 points
  20. Image Patrick Tambay - 33 points
  21. Image Derek Daly - 22 points
  22. Image Siegfried Stohr - 20 points
  23. Image Slim Borgudd - 19 points (Best: 6th)
  24. Image Michele Alboreto - 19 points (Best: 9th)
  25. Image Keke Rosberg - 17 points
  26. Image Chico Serra - 14 points
  27. Image Eliseo Salazar - 12 points
  28. Image Brian Henton - 6 points
  29. Image Ricardo Zunino - 6 points
  30. Image Jan Lammers - 4 points
  31. Image Piercarlo Ghinzani - 3 points
  32. REST - 0 points

Constructors Cup
  1. Image Williams - 326 points (4 wins)
  2. Image Brabham - 236 points (3 wins)
  3. Image Renault - 208 points (3 wins)
  4. Image McLaren - 174 points (1 win)
  5. Image Ligier - 167 points (2 wins)
  6. Image Ferrari - 163 points (2 wins)
  7. Image Lotus - 158 points
  8. Image Alfa Romeo - 117 points
  9. Image Tyrrell - 81 points
  10. Image Arrows - 78 points
  11. Image Theodore - 54 points
  12. Image Ensign - 47 points
  13. Image Osella - 32 points
  14. Image Fittipaldi - 31 points
  15. Image ATS - 23 points
  16. Image March - 17 points
  17. Image Toleman - 6 points
User avatar
Aislabie
Posts: 1940
Joined: 14 Feb 2016, 11:06

The Formula One Cup Series, 1982

Post by Aislabie »

Regular Season
  • Image - South African Grand Prix - Image Alain Prost
  • Image - Brazilian Grand Prix - Image Alain Prost
  • Image - United States Grand Prix West - Image Niki Lauda
  • Image - San Marino Grand Prix - Image Didier Pironi
  • Image - Belgian Grand Prix - Image John Watson
  • Image - Monaco Grand Prix - Image Riccardo Patrese
  • Image - Detroit Grand Prix - Image John Watson
  • Image - Canadian Grand Prix - Image Nelson Piquet
  • Image - Dutch Grand Prix - Image Didier Pironi

Standings
  1. Image John Watson - 113 points (2 wins)
  2. Image Didier Pironi - 103 points (2 wins)
  3. Image Keke Rosberg - 80 points
  4. Image Michele Alboreto - 66 points
  5. Image Riccardo Patrese - 62 points (1 win)
  6. Image Alain Prost - 59 points (2 wins)
  7. Image Nelson Piquet - 56 points (1 win)
  8. Image Elio de Angelis - 56 points
  9. Image Niki Lauda - 51 points (1 win)
  10. Image Derek Daly - 43 points
  11. Image Eddie Cheever - 42 points
  12. Image Marc Surer - 41 points
  13. Image Nigel Mansell - 38 points
  14. Image Jochen Mass - 34 points
  15. Image Andrea de Cesaris - 29 points
  16. Image Mauro Baldi - 24 points
  17. Image Rene Arnoux - 22 points
  18. Image Jean-Pierre Jarier - 22 points
  19. Image Eliseo Salazar - 21 points
  20. Image Manfred Winkelhock - 21 points
  21. Image Gilles Villeneuve - 20 points
  22. Image Carlos Reutemann - 20 points
  23. Image Jacques Laffite - 17 points
  24. Image Raul Boesel - 16 points
  25. Image Chico Serra - 15 points
  26. Image Slim Borgudd - 15 points
  27. Image Brian Henton - 15 points
  28. Image Bruno Giacomelli - 10 points
  29. Image Patrick Tambay - 8 points
  30. REST - 0 points

What a strange and tragic Regular Season; while the whole Formula One paddock mourns the loss of Gilles Villeneuve and salutes the retirement of Carlos Reutemann, the old adage that the show must go on certainly applies. It wasn't just Reutemann who went missing out of the previous year's Championship Four - Jacques Laffite had a horrendous Regular Season in which he only saw the chequered flag twice, and never in a better finishing position than sixth. He would not be making it to the Playoffs.

- - -

Playoffs

Round of 10
  • Image - British Grand Prix - Image Niki Lauda
  • Image - French Grand Prix - Image Rene Arnoux

Standings
  1. Image Didier Pironi - 36 points
  2. Image Niki Lauda - 33 points (1 win)
  3. Image Alain Prost - 30 points
  4. Image Derek Daly - 20 points
  5. Image Elio de Angelis - 13 points
  6. Image Keke Rosberg - 11 points
  7. Image Michele Alboreto - 10 points
  8. Image John Watson - 0 points (Total: 113)
  9. Image Riccardo Patrese - 0 points (Total: 62)
  10. Image Nelson Piquet - 0 points (Total: 56)

That was an exceptionally strange round of playoff races where, as it turned out, even a single point would have been enough to avert disaster. Some truly shocking reliability saw three of the ten drivers fail to finish either race, with the resulting elimination battle coming down to who had scored fewest points across the entire season.

Round of 8
  • Image - German Grand Prix - Image Patrick Tambay
  • Image - Austrian Grand Prix - Image Elio de Angelis

Standings
  1. Image Keke Rosberg - 36 points
  2. Image Elio de Angelis - 25 points (1 win)
  3. Image Michele Alboreto - 13 points
  4. Image Niki Lauda - 11 points
  5. Image Alain Prost - 8 points
  6. Image John Watson - 7 points
  7. Image Derek Daly - 0 points
  8. Image Didier Pironi - 0 points

Another bizarre playoff round, seemingly characterised by the race to be least bad. In the end, it was Derek Daly who lost that race. While all that was going on, the Formula One community again had its thoughts with Didier Pironi, who suffered a horrific injury at the German Grand Prix.

Round of 6
  • Image - Swiss Grand Prix - Image Keke Rosberg
  • Image - Italian Grand Prix - Image Rene Arnoux

Standings
  1. Image Keke Rosberg - 33 points (1 win)
  2. Image Alain Prost - 20 points
  3. Image Michele Alboreto - 20 points
  4. Image John Watson - 16 points (Total: 136)
  5. Image Niki Lauda - 16 points (Total: 111)
  6. Image Elio de Angelis - 10 points

Finally the Playoff race got into full swing and once again the final race of the Round of 6 was a thriller: this time, the person on the cusp was John Watson, who needed to hold off a charging Michele Alboreto to stay in contention. As it turned out, he managed that and squeaked through on the total points rule, which will have riled Niki Lauda somewhat.

But we now know out Championship Four:

  • Image Michele Alboreto (Tyrrell)
  • Image Alain Prost (Renault)
  • Image Keke Rosberg (Williams)
  • Image John Watson (McLaren)

Championship Final
  • Image - Caesars Palace Grand Prix - Image Michele Alboreto

Standings
  1. Image Michele Alboreto - 25 points
  2. Image John Watson - 20 points
  3. Image Alain Prost - 13 points
  4. Image Keke Rosberg - 11 points

And the absolute underdog wins it! I don't think anyone can have gone into the race weekend thinking that Michele Alboreto was about to become a World Champion, but that's exactly what happened. When Alain Prost took pole position it looked as though it would be back-to-back titles for the Frenchman, but his nearest challenger on the grid was Alboreto. However, the Italian got himself clear of the field and build a near 30-second lead that he carried all the way to the finish line and an unlikely World Championship.

- - -

Standings

Cup Series
  1. Image Michele Alboreto - 525 points (1 win)
  2. Image John Watson - 520 points (2 wins)
  3. Image Alain Prost - 513 points (2 wins)
  4. Image Keke Rosberg - 511 points (1 win)
  5. Image Didier Pironi - 139 points (2 wins)
  6. Image Niki Lauda - 111 points (2 wins)
  7. Image Elio de Angelis - 104 points (1 win)
  8. Image Patrick Tambay - 95 points (1 win)
  9. Image Rene Arnoux - 92 points (2 wins)
  10. Image Derek Daly - 80 points
  11. Image Riccardo Patrese - 73 points (1 win)
  12. Image Nelson Piquet - 69 points (1 win)
  13. Image Eddie Cheever - 68 points
  14. Image Marc Surer - 64 points
  15. Image Nigel Mansell - 62 points
  16. Image Brian Henton - 51 points
  17. Image Mauro Baldi - 50 points
  18. Image Andrea de Cesaris - 48 points
  19. Image Bruno Giacomelli - 47 points
  20. Image Jochen Mass - 40 points
  21. Image Jacques Laffite - 35 points
  22. Image Chico Serra - 34 points
  23. Image Eliseo Salazar - 30 points
  24. Image Manfred Winkelhock - 26 points
  25. Image Jean-Pierre Jarier - 22 poitns
  26. Image Gilles Villeneuve - 20 points
  27. Image Carlos Reutemann - 20 points
  28. Image Raul Boesel - 19 points
  29. Image Mario Andretti - 16 points
  30. Image Slim Borgudd - 15 points
  31. Image Roberto Guerrero - 8 points
  32. Image Derek Warwick - 7 points
  33. Image Rupert Keegan - 4 points
  34. Image Geoff Lees - 4 points
  35. REST - 0 points

Constructors Cup
  1. Image Ferrari - 275 points (3 wins)
  2. Image Williams - 273 points (1 win)
  3. Image McLaren - 266 points (4 wins)
  4. Image Renault - 222 points (4 wins)
  5. Image Tyrrell - 200 points (1 win)
  6. Image Lotus - 170 points (1 win)
  7. Image Brabham - 147 points (2 wins)
  8. Image Arrows - 114 points
  9. Image Ligier - 103 points
  10. Image Alfa Romeo - 95 points
  11. Image March - 63 points
  12. Image ATS - 56 points
  13. Image Fittipaldi - 34 points
  14. Image Osella - 22 points
  15. Image Ensign - 8 points
  16. Image Toleman - 7 points
  17. Image Theodore - 2 points
Abbaschand
Posts: 4
Joined: 28 Mar 2018, 10:59

Re: The Formula One Cup Series, 1981-present

Post by Abbaschand »

I don't know how you did it, but you managed to make the Caesars Place races somewhat interesting!
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