The Drivers' World Championship

Sir,

Although I think that Mr. Britton has hit on just about the only valid reason for retaining the Drivers’ World Championship in its present form, I cannot help feeling it would be far better to scrap it altogether. It should prove that its holder is the best driver, but it doesn’t and it cannot. To many other considerations come into it; primarily the car, which has not only to be fast but must be reliable.

Since Fangio’s retirement, and until this year, surely few will quarrel with the suggestion that Moss was his logical successor ? Yet he has never won the Championship. This year we have Graham Hill and Jim Clark, both outstanding, but who is to say which is the better driver? One or other has won all but two of the Championship races, usually through his rival packing up, and out of the four occasions when they have both finished high enough to obtain points Clark has won three times because the Lotus 25 is faster, though it has proved less reliable than the B.R.M. But if the Lotus had ‘finished more races and Clark had won I don’t think it would prove that he was a better driver than Hill unless Hill was driving an exactly similar car. Consequently I don’t feel this so-called Championship proves anything, though it is tending to overshadow the races themselves. Surely this is a pity and it would be better dropped?

Crowborough. R. BAILLIE.