Ben Anderson's alternative BBV10s driver moves top 10

As always, Ben Anderson's approach to our most recent Bring Back V10s top 10 debate caused a stir, and not just among the rest of the panel! The response from all of you has been mixed, with some believing Ben is mad, and others gradually coming around to his way of thinking!

You might have heard Ben mention that he had two lists when he was preparing for the show, and in the end he decided to submit the one that he felt was more 'out there'. So we've got hold of the list he didn't put forward, to see how what he calls his 'sensible' top 10 compares!

To help you all follow along, for each entry on this new list, we've included where Ben placed it in the list he submitted, and where they were ranked in our combined scores.

Ok Ben, over to you:

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As I explained on the podcast, I genuinely found this to be the most challenging ‘top 10’ to put together since we began this format on Bring Back V10s.

In the end I had two lists - one (which I submitted) that tried to take account of various, subjective factors that influenced the significance (or not!) of a particular move in my eyes.

I placed a lot of weight on the apparent risk of a move, how novel it was for the era, then tried to weigh that against how it ultimately worked out for the parties involved.

My list proved quite controversial with my colleagues! But I still don’t get why they all put Senna to Williams at #1. I mean, the guy died at the wheel in his third race for them...

Anyway, those who listened to the show will know I had two versions of my list - the other of which I considered more ‘sensible’. I found it a bit too reductionist to submit to be honest with you, as it basically reduces the ‘top’ moves of the era down to how successful they turned out to be and plays down (but doesn’t completely eliminate) other factors like newsworthiness and risk etc.

I discounted 10 moves instantaneously on account of what I term objective failure, in that they quite obviously flopped or massively underachieved in terms of results:

FAILURES

Jacques Villeneuve, Williams to BAR

Damon Hill, Williams to Arrows

Nigel Mansell to McLaren

Michael Andretti to McLaren

Juan Pablo Montoya to McLaren

Alain Prost fired by Ferrari

Alex Zanardi to Williams

Ayrton Senna, McLaren to Williams

Jean Alesi, Tyrrell to Ferrari

Damon Hill, Arrows to Jordan

That left me with 11 moves, of which Juan Pablo Montoya to Williams just missed out on the top 10.

10 David Coulthard (Williams to McLaren)

Ben's original ranking: N/A
Final episode ranking: 16th

The most successful non-title winner move, DC achieved slightly better results than Montoya at Williams.

9 Alain Prost (McLaren to Ferrari)

Ben's original ranking: 5th
Final episode ranking: 4th

A seismic transfer that just didn’t quite deliver the title it merited.

8 Kimi Raikkonen (Sauber to McLaren) 

Ben's original ranking: N/A
Final episode ranking: 12th

Ron Dennis's punt on an exciting young driver could so easily have delivered the 2005 title.

7 Nigel Mansell quits F1 

Ben's original ranking: 7th
Final episode ranking: 9th

Jacques Villeneuve in reverse, so it was bad F1-wise but successful Stateside.

6 Jacques Villeneuve (Indycar to Williams)

Ben's original ranking: N/A
Final episode ranking: 14th

Easily the most successful IndyCar punt of this era

5 Alain Prost to Williams

Ben's original ranking: 3rd
Final episode ranking: 10th

Not quite a Niki Lauda-esque 1980s comeback but Prost won the title after a year on the sidelines.

4 Nigel Mansell (Ferrari to Williams)

Ben's original ranking: 4th
Final episode ranking: 7th

Unusual in going back to a former team, where Mansell had a tense history, and turning it into a championship.

3 Michael Schumacher (Benetton to Ferrari)

Ben's original ranking: N/A
Final episode ranking: 2nd

An era defining move, seismic because he was a double champion, and by far the most successful ultimately.

2 Damon Hill promoted by Williams

Ben's original ranking: 1st
Final episode ranking: 6th

Much more of a punt considering the data than Jordan/Benetton took on Schumacher and the ultimate underdog success story of the era.

1 Michael Schumacher (Jordan to Benetton)

Ben's original ranking: 2nd
Final episode ranking: 3rd

THE young driver punt of the era, ultimately. Schumacher helped transform an underdog team into champions - and went on to become a legend.

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To finish off, let's see how our overall top 10 would have looked if Ben had submitted this list instead!

10 Raikkonen to McLaren (up 2)
9 Villeneuve to Williams (up 5)
8 Mansell quits (up 1)
7 Hill to Williams (down 1)
6 Mansell to Williams (up 1)
5 Hill to Arrows
4 Prost to Ferrari
3 Schumacher to Benetton
2 Schumacher to Ferrari
1 Senna to Williams

Over to you then - what do you think of Ben's 'sensible' list??