Championship Pecking Order

gethinceri

Lance Stroll Fan. Alfa Romeo Fan.
Contributor
So The Artist..... and I began chewing the fat over the offspring of champions, and it may be that we have differing views of how motor racing championships stack up against one another.

My top 5 would be:
F1 WDC
Le Mans 24 Hour
Indianapolis 500
World Rally Championship
Formula E (but only because it's the future)

What are yours, and why?
 
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The Le Mans series, a yes, the Indy car series a yes, but individual races, no, far too much luck determines the winner and Le Mans winners are just part of a team of drivers and lack of supreme talent can be covered up.
So, F1WDC
Indycar Series
Formula E is still too Micky Mouse to be taken seriously
World Rally is a different sport rather like Rugby and Football so discounted as would the son of Usain Bolt competing in a field event.
 
gethinceri - I don't think i'd disagree with your list, although I think that it's difficult to rank different types of motorsport. For example, is the WRC a lesser championship than F1? It's less popular, for sure, but an F1 driver can't walk into WRC and instantly win.

I would tend to agree with you that the Indy 500 and Le Mans 24 hours hold special places - Le Mans far more than Sportscar championships - although in recent years, Le Mans has been devalued by the domination of Toyota. (Graham Hill's win at Le Mans far outweighs Alonso's wins at Le Mans.

In sportscars terms, Tom Kristensen would sit alongside F1 drivers like Schumacher, Hamilton and Fangio. Alonso's wins look more like a Jacques Villeneuve.

The WRC is an interesting beast - I think that it belongs below F1, but only because of the level of competition. The domination that, first Loeb, and now Ogier have demonstrated far surpass anything that we've seen from Mercedes or Ferrari in recent F1 history.
 
it really is horses for courses even in some single seater championships. because put scott dixon in a F1 car he would struggle but put F1 driver in a indycar v Scott dixon & he would win. i would back Ashley Sutton or Colin Turkington in a BTCC car v almost any one in motorsport

on prestige, formula e isnt there yet until you get qualifying sorted, as it turning championships into lotteries. Le mans has lost its prestige in the last 5 years. indy 500 is a huge race that might be the toughest race to win. as you need pace, strategy & luck

WRC drivers will always have my undying respect as there bravery is off the chart
 
it really is horses for courses even in some single seater championships. because put scott dixon in a F1 car he would struggle but put F1 driver in a indycar v Scott dixon & he would win. i would back Ashley Sutton or Colin Turkington in a BTCC car v almost any one in motorsport

on prestige, formula e isnt there yet until you get qualifying sorted, as it turning championships into lotteries. Le mans has lost its prestige in the last 5 years. indy 500 is a huge race that might be the toughest race to win. as you need pace, strategy & luck

WRC drivers will always have my undying respect as there bravery is off the chart
It seems that the F1 driver in any race will be the favorite. Not every driver, of course. But is there any race more difficult than F1? That's a rhetorical question, though.
 
But is there any race more difficult than F1?
i love F1, i wouldnt be here if i didnt but i
i will say that compared to some motorsports F1 can be quite straight forward to win, as unless it wet its rare that we have unexpected variables.

the indy 500 is a tough race to win because you could be leading the championship but cant find set up & be also ran, the fastest car on pole, leading the race & if a caution comes at wrong time its all over. then added youve got to fuel save, tyre save, not overheat, have spatial awareness to backmarkers or rivals

then WRC 1 minor error or lapse in concentration & rally is over car probably written off
 
All the things you cite above also happen in F1, all of them.
all of them happen yes. but predictability is iffy. most races are 1 stop races. the indy 500 could be 7 stops. & we are talking about F1 where the last verstappen finished but not on the podium was September 2019
 
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