Top Britons in F1 according to The Times

The Times put together a Sporting Power 100 over the last six weeks.

Six names made it onto the list, which focussed on “most influential people today in British sport.” Who made the list and, just as important, who didn’t?

78. Anthony Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton’s father and manager, which gives you an idea who else might be found further along the list.

Read Anthony Hamilton’s entry in the Sporting Power 100

67. Max Mosley

Despite being embroiled in a tawdry sex scandal and facing calls to resign from several F1 teams and the largest automobile clubs, Max Mosley clung to power in an FIA Senate vote thanks to his block of loyal supporters. That may not equal fair governance, but it certainly equals power.

Read Max Mosley’s entry in the Sporting Power 100

66. Ron Dennis

Enjoy the irony of arch-enemies Mosley and Dennis appearing alongside each other. The McLaren team boss is reducing his responsibility for running the F1 team after nearly 30 years at the helm, so expect to see Martin Whitmarsh moving up in his place the next time The Times does this list.

Read Ron Dennis’s entry in the Sporting Power 100

15 Roger Mosey

Not a directly F1-related figure, but a very important one for Formula 1 fans in Britain and other countries. As director of BBC Sport, he’s the one who makes the decisions about how the corporation covers F1 this year. Read what he’s had to say about BBC’s F1 coverage in 2009.

Read Roger Mosey’s entry in the Sporting Power 100

13 Bernie Ecclestone

At 78, Ecclestone is the oldest man on the list. To an average human being this would scream “succession plan!” but if Ecclestone’s got one he’s not sharing. Whatever your complaints about how he’s running the sport today – and I’ve got plenty – his original vision of bringing it to a greater international audience and adopting a professional attitude to safety improvements made F1 as popular as it is today.

Read Bernie Ecclestone’s entry in the Sporting Power 100

11 Lewis Hamilton

F1’s youngest world champion, who The Times reckon will see total career earnings in excess of $1bn, credit crunch notwithstanding. The acid test of a driver’s power is how long he can hold the racing driver market in paralysis when he hasn’t got a contract – as Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso have done recently. But with Hamilton pledging his career to McLaren, the team that nurtured him from the age of 13, it doesn’t look likely to happen soon.

Read Lewis Hamilton’s entry in the Sporting Power 100

Who’s missing?

The first name I thought of that should’ve been on the list is Donington Park owner Simon Gillett. If he’s done his sums right we’ll still have a British Grand Prix in 2010, if not the man at number 13 will take it away.

A few years ago Frank Williams would have been a shoo-in on a list like this, but the days when his team was thought of as an F1 powerhouse like McLaren are behind us – at least, for now.

Who do you think should have made the list? Who’s too high and too low? Share your opinion below.

You can read the full list, including all those non-motor racing types, here, but annoyingly they’ve chosen to split it across 20-odd pages.

Images (C) Red Bull/GEPA, www.mclaren.com