Winning 4 of the first 5 GPs

[Brian_W_Lawrence]

A question posed elsewhere - when did a driver last win four out of five at the start of the
season?

1952  A Ascari      Ferrari             [1]  (P Taruffi - 1st)

1954  JM Fangio  Maserati/Mercedes-Benz [1]  (JF Gonzalez - 4th)

1963  J Clark       Lotus                    (G Hill - 1st)

1965  J Clark       Lotus                    (G Hill - 2nd)

1969  J Stewart     Matra                    (G Hill - 3rd)

1991  A Senna       McLaren                  (N Piquet - 5th)

1992  N Mansell     Williams            [2]

1994  M Schumacher  Benetton                 (D Hill - 5th)

1996  D Hill        Williams                 (J Villeneuve - 4th)

2002  M Schumacher  Ferrari                  (R Schumacher - 2nd)

2004  M Schumacher  Ferrari             [2]

2009  J Button      Brawn                    (S Vettel - 3rd)

1. Excludes the Indianapolis 500
2. Won first five

Who was the champion driver in every one of those?

 

[Brian_W_Lawrence]

As a follow-up, here is a list of drivers who led the WDC after five events by at least
14 points - Button's current lead over team-mate Barrichello.

1953  A Ascari led M Hawthorn by 14 points

1955  JM Fangio led S Moss by 14 points

1963  J Clark led R Ginther by 22 points

1966  J Brabham led G Hill by 16 points

1969  J Stewart led  G Hill by 20 points

1971  J Stewart led J Ickx by 14 points

1976  N Lauda led J Hunt by 24 points

1988  A Prost led A Senna by 15 points

1991  A Senna led N Piquet by 24 points

1992  N Mansell led R Patrese by 26 points

1994  M Schumacher led D Hill by 29 points

1996  D Hill led J Villeneuve by 21 points

2000  M Schumacher led M Häkkinen by 14 points

2002  M Schumacher led JP Montoya by 21 points

2004  M Schumacher led R Barrichello by 18 points

2005  F Alonso led J Trulli by 18 points

2009  J Button leads R Barrichello by 14 points

Only in 1976 and 1988 has that lead failed to ensure a championship.

 

[FB]

and I think we know what happened in 1976...

Excellent stats Brian, thanks.

 

[teabagyokel]

I believe in 1988 Prost scored more points than Senna, with Senna benefiting from the best 11 scores system. So in all situations but 1976 they've scored more points which (as of 2009) is what counts.

And anyway, in 1976 Lauda lost the title by 1 point despite missing 2 GPs, so that shows the power of a lead like that.