The Olympic-like medal system has been proposed by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, with gold, silver and bronze medals going to the top three finishers in each race. At the end of the season, the drivers with the most gold medals would be crowned champion.
Ecclestone said the system is aimed at making the driver with the most race wins be the champion.
The FIA analysis showed that the medal system would have changed the results of the top three championship positions 37 times out of 59, and that the world champion would have been a different driver in 13 occasions.
It would also give a title to three drivers who were never world champions - Stirling Moss, Didier Pironi and Felipe Massa.
Under the medals system, four-time champion Alain Prost would have won five crowns, one more than Ayrton Senna and Jim Clark. Nigel Mansell would have added two titles to his achievements.
The FIA also noted that the former Brabham team would not have won any drivers' championships under Ecclestone's ownership.
Results of the FIA analysis:
In the overall assessment the list of World Championships per driver would be altered as follows:
1958 Stirling Moss instead of Mike Hawthorn 1964 Jim Clark instead of John Surtees 1967 Jim Clark instead of Denny Hulme 1977 Mario Andretti instead of Niki Lauda 1979 Alan Jones instead of Jody Scheckter 1981 Alain Prost instead of Nelson Piquet 1982 Didier Pironi instead of Keke Rosberg 1983 Alain Prost instead of Nelson Piquet 1984 Alain Prost instead of Niki Lauda 1986 Nigel Mansell instead of Alain Prost 1987 Nigel Mansell instead of Nelson Piquet 1989 Ayrton Senna instead of Alain Prost 2008 Felipe Massa instead of Lewis Hamilton Michael Schumacher 7 1994 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Juan Manuel Fangio 5 1951 1954 1955 1956 1957 Alain Prost 5 1981 1983 1984 1985 1993 Jim Clark 4 1963 1964 1965 1967 Ayrton Senna 4 1988 1989 1990 1991 Jack Brabham 3 1959 1960 1966 Jackie Stewart 3 1969 1971 1973 Nigel Mansell 3 1986 1987 1992 Instead of the existing totals: Michael Schumacher 7 1994 1995 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Juan Manuel Fangio 5 1951 1954 1955 1956 1957 Alain Prost 4 1985 1986 1989 1993 Jack Brabham 3 1959 1960 1966 Jackie Stewart 3 1969 1971 1973 Niki Lauda 3 1975 1977 1984 Nelson Piquet 3 1981 1983 1987 Ayrton Senna 3 1988 1990 1991Key notional changes to be noted:
Brabham under the ownership of Bernie Ecclestone would have won no Drivers' Championships. Stirling Moss would have been the first British World Champion.
Jim Clark would have won four titles, rather than two. He would have won three consecutive titles in 1963-64-65.
Mario Andretti and Alan Jones would each have won two titles instead of one.
Niki Lauda would have lost two of his three championships and would have just one title to his name.
It should be noted, however, that the 1977 result is skewed by the fact that Lauda left Ferrari as soon as he had won the title and did not compete in the final races. If the scoring system had been different the result would almost certainly not have favoured Andretti.
Nelson Piquet would have lost all three of his World Championships.
All four World Champions between 1981-1984 would have been different.
Alain Prost would have won five World Championships but they would be different to the four that he actually claimed. His titles were won in 1985, 1986, 1989 and 1993. With the medal system they would have been 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1993. He would have won three consecutive titles in 1983-85.
Nigel Mansell would have won three World Championships instead of one, adding to 1986 and 1987 to his 1992 triumph.
Ayrton Senna would have won the 1989 title and thus would have had four consecutive titles between 1988 and 1991.
The duration of the World Championship battles
The duration of the World Championship battle would have been altered in 22 of the 59 seasons. The medal system would have had no effect in 37 of the 59 World Championships.
Fourteen World Championship battles would have been shorter (1955, 1970, 1978, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004).
Eight World Championship battles would have lasted longer (1973, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1990, 1991, 2001 and 2005).
In terms of World Championship final race showdowns, there would have been five lost (1955, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2000) but six gained (1977, 1979, 1980, 1990, 1991 and 2005).
The full results of the study can be downloaded here.
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