TheMann said:
I can only see this if it was all identical cars. Perhaps the host city of the games lines up the vehicles?
You could treat it like
IROC, Porsche Challenge, or
Formula Vee/
Formula Junior. If the entrants are all amateurs (no car companies or sponsorships allowed), this keeps cost down; if the formula is tight enough, it also helps control complexity, & so cost. (It also improves competitiveness.)
You could also make it kart racing, which was actually my first thought.
I don't see why there's a supposition this has to be F1-level. If the idea is to use amateur drivers, why wouldn't it more closely resemble midget or sprint? Or NASCAR?
You do have to decide if you want road racing (circuit or oval) or rallying. You also have to decide if you want to include motorcycles & trucks.
TheMann said:
Berlin (1936) would host the events at the Nurburgring, in all likelihood.
Amateurs on the Green Hell?


That's more like "Death Race". And that's a looong lap. Limit them to the
Südschleife? Or use AVUS. For Munich, agreed, it's almost mandatory.
TheMann said:
Perhaps for this one they build the new Nurburgring a decade earlier than OTL in order to not get criticisms about the track's safety.
Very possible. Which would be great for both F1 drivers & fans, since it could stay on the calendar. (You'd probably have to pass a special law to allow cutting the trees, tho.)
TheMann said:
London (1948) games would probably have the events at the Crystal Palace circuit in London
Not Brands or Silverstone? (It does depend on the type of cars, I suppose.)
TheMann said:
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal or Circuit Mont-Tremblant north of the city.
I'm wondering of CGV was even open yet.
TheMann said:
2004 (Athens): Circuit needed here, too. But again, lots of places where a big-time circuit would look really good.
There was a prewar Greek GP circuit, name of which escapes me. Maybe it was an F2/non-championship venue. Depending on the cars, it could be upgraded or restored.
TheMann said:
I can see these being the medal winners......
1936: Tazio Nuvolari (Italy), Bernd Rosemeyer (Germany), Hans Stuck (Germany)
1948: Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina), Stirling Moss (UK), Alberto Ascari (Italy)
1952: Stirling Moss (UK), Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina), Alberto Ascari (Italy)
1956: Juan Manuel Fangio (Argentina), Mike Hawthorn (UK), Jean Behra (France)
1960: Bruce McLaren (New Zealand), Jack Brabham (Australia), Phill Hill (USA)
1964: Jim Clark (UK), Jack Brabham (Australia), Graham Hill (UK)
1968: Jackie Stewart (UK), Denny Hulme (New Zealand), Jacky Ickx (Belgium)
1972: Jackie Stewart (UK), Emerson Fittipaldi (Brazil), Francois Cevert (France)
1976: Mario Andretti (USA), Niki Lauda (Austria), Clay Regazzoni (Switzerland)
1980: Gilles Villeneuve (Canada), Nelson Piquet (Brazil), Alan Jones (Australia)
1984: Alain Prost (France), Niki Lauda (Austria), Stefan Bellof (Germany)
1988: Ayrton Senna (Brazil), Alain Prost (France), Michele Alboreto (Italy)
1992: Ayrton Senna (Brazil), Michael Schumacher (Germany), Nigel Mansell (UK)
1996: Michael Schumacher (Germany), Jacques Villeneuve (Canada), Mika Hakkinen (Finland)
2000: Mika Hakkinen (Finland), Michael Schumacher (Germany), Jacques Villeneuve (Canada)
2004: Michael Schumacher (Germany), Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia), Fernando Alonso (Spain)
2008: Lewis Hamilton (UK), Kimi Raikkonen (Finland), Mark Webber (Australia)
Of those, I'd only disagree with Moss 195 ; Fangio would have to crash to lose, pretty much. Which presumes pro drivers are even allowed...
I'd look hard at
Hans Herrmann,
Karl Kling, or
Hans Klenk in '52 & '56, Surtees, Jim Hall, &
Gendebien in '60 & '64, Donohue in '68 & '72 (maybe '76 too), Stuck & Redman in '72 & '76, Paul Newman if he gets the bug a bit sooner, Steve McQueen if he isn't busy trying to surpass Newman as a film star (maybe Garner, too), & A.J. just about til he drops dead behind the wheel.
PhilKearny said:
there far fewer of them and they tried to make a business out of it, if for no other reason than taxes. Cunningham built and sold cars, for example.
Of the GP privateers, Cunningham was a rarity. Most of the "gentleman racers" were just that: rich kids with a need for speed.
PhilKearny said:
the cost of motor sports is literally several orders of magnitudes greater than most Olympic sports
I refuse to believe a Formula Vee racer, never mind a kart, costs more to buy & operate for one race than an Olympic yacht... And the cost for DTC or the equivalent is for an entire season... Lots of hobby racers campaign very competitive drag cars without sponsorship; ISTM that's nearer the model.