Biggest upturns and downturns in form (Polished Turds & Falls From Grace)
#1
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:15
Which examples stick out in your mind as example of team/drivers going from absolutely nowhere to being contenders, or the opposite where they've been leading the pack only to become backmarkers the following year?
Benneton after Schumacher won two titles with them seemed to fall apart... And they did the same when they were known as Renault when Alonso left them too to go to McLaren in 2007
#3
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:42
*runs for the door*
#4
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:43
McLaren 2009 zero to hero
BMW 2008 hero to zero
#5
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:45
Ferrari between 1979 and 1980 is a contender (113 points and first in WCC to 8 points and 10th).
#6
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:47
McLaren 2012 - McLaren 2013. How they managed to screw up that badly despite the rules not being changed at all is beyond me.
#7
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:48
Ferrari between 1979 and 1980 is a contender (113 points and first in WCC to 8 points and 10th).
beat me to it
Williams 87-88 also pretty spectacular (1st with 137 to 7th with 20)
#8
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:50
Ferrari were 1-2 in the WDC in 1979. In 1980 they were struggling to score points; Jody Scheckter even had a DNQ.
Wasn't the first time Ferrari headed towards the back of the grid. After an easy 1961, they found the British teams had finally got engines for 1962, and were sucking hind tit. Then Mrs F stuck her oar in and most of the staff quit. Of the permanent teams, they went from first to last.
On the other hand, BRM had gone from last to first. One measly podium in 1961 turned into the world title in 1962. And the last racing team to win the BBC Sports Team of the Year award.
Williams in 1987 were utterly dominant, but because they wouldn't hire a dog-slow Japanese driver, got stiffed by Honda and were stuck with a lawn mower.
#9
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:52
08-09 McLaren was a giant fall from grace.
#10
Posted 11 October 2015 - 14:58
in season, McLaren MP4-1C in 1980?
Qualified 22-23 finished 1-2 at Long Beach, retired both cars at the next race, then double DNQ at Monaco
#11
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:07
#12
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:11
+1 Williams 97-98
Not forgetting that awful livery as well...
#13
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:14
08-09 McLaren was a giant fall from grace.
Dont really see it as that - new regs and Ferrari were just as bad that year despite having the best car in 08
Edited by shmoo, 11 October 2015 - 15:15.
#14
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:25
in season, McLaren MP4-1C in 1980?
Qualified 22-23 finished 1-2 at Long Beach, retired both cars at the next race, then double DNQ at Monaco
That was 1983 and not 1980, althought 1980 was a pretty bad year for them as well. In 1983, after the race, Lauda was fuming because he reckoned they would have won Monaco and not that (*&%$/ Rosberg...
(In his biographies, Niki was not exactly a fan of Keke).
#15
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:26
in season, McLaren MP4-1C in 1980?
Qualified 22-23 finished 1-2 at Long Beach, retired both cars at the next race, then double DNQ at Monaco
That was 1983. And they only had DDNQ at Monaco because the grid was restricted to 20. That was down to their Michelins - they took an age to heat up, but once they did they were grippier than gorilla glue.
Helped that John Watson was poetry in motion at getting through traffic.
#16
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:28
Lotus 2013-2014 should deserve a mention.
#17
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:52
Arrows 1999-2000 was a notable upturn. They didn't win races or have podiums, but they went from absolute last row of the grid in 1999 with a terrible car/engine to challenging for points fairly regularly in 2000, and this is when points went down to 6th position only. They ran in the top 3 on merit a couple of times as well, no mean feat with a customer "Supertec" (old Renault) engine.
Williams 1978-79 is another upturn. The FW06 they used in '78 and for the first 4 races of '79 was decent, it had a couple podiums, but it was never a real frontrunner. The FW07 that replaced it was arguably the best car of the ground effects era in its multiple iterations over the next 3 years, winning 15 races between '79 and '81.
#18
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:58
#19
Posted 11 October 2015 - 15:58
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#20
Posted 11 October 2015 - 17:10
Arrows 1999-2000 was a notable upturn. They didn't win races or have podiums, but they went from absolute last row of the grid in 1999 with a terrible car/engine to challenging for points fairly regularly in 2000, and this is when points went down to 6th position only. They ran in the top 3 on merit a couple of times as well, no mean feat with a customer "Supertec" (old Renault) engine.
Williams 1978-79 is another upturn. The FW06 they used in '78 and for the first 4 races of '79 was decent, it had a couple podiums, but it was never a real frontrunner. The FW07 that replaced it was arguably the best car of the ground effects era in its multiple iterations over the next 3 years, winning 15 races between '79 and '81.
Not really. Minardi were still slower than Arrows in 99 (not by much though) and the 2000 car was specifically designed to do well at the faster tracks like Sepang, A1-Ring, Hockenheim and Monza but wasn't particularly close to scoring points at most tracks. Certainly I'd say on balance over the year McLaren, Ferrari, Jordan, Williams, Benetton and even BAR were faster with Sauber close company, which doesn't make for much improvement though it was very entertaining to watch Verstappen fighting with the big boys on occaision.