The driver or the car?

DON'T PANIC - this is not another 'was it Mansell or was it the Williams?' thread.

What I recall from years ago is that the theory was, it is THE CAR that sets the practice time, not the driver. So if a team switched drivers between cars, after practice but before the race, the car kept its position and the drivers gained or lost places depending on which car they swapped into.

My question is, when did this practice begin and when was the last evidence of it in top level racing?

I seem to remember in 1973 Stewart tried 006/2 with the bluff nose, and 005 with a 72 type chisel nose (numbered 5T) and then picked the highest of the two times, but was that the car or the driver? because I can't remember if anyone else drove the T car that weekend. That doesn't help, does it? I'll get me coat

Originally posted by Barry Boor
My question is, when did this practice begin and when was the last evidence of it in top level racing?

AFAIK this practice has currently been reintroduced in the sheikh's A1GP series.
Whether it's 'top level racing' - I'll leave that to anybody's taste.

I think the practice applied only to some races, Barry, even by the 1950s