Formula 1's unseen championship fight

Twenty three years ago, Formula 1 held a separate championship for its second tier of teams - back then it was those without turbos. Now, Edd Straw applies the same logic to 2010's new teams

The 2010 new teams battle was all about resurrections. It was about the resurrection of Heikki Kovalainen's grand prix career after two years playing second fiddle to Lewis Hamilton at McLaren. And it was about the resurrection of the Lotus name in F1. So why shouldn't AUTOSPORT stage a resurrection of its own?

In 1987, the Jim Clark Cup and the Colin Chapman Trophy rewarded the best normally-aspirated performers in an era dominated by turbos. The premise was simple – points were awarded on the same lines as those given to the front-runners, creating a division two championship. Jonathan Palmer and Tyrrell won that season, and if you apply that structure to create a championship for new teams in 2010, Kovalainen and Lotus were runaway victors.

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