Six Degrees of Sir Jack Brabham

As regular readers will probably know, I am particularly given to obsessiveness - except when it comes to the updating of blogs, of course. This week I have reacquainted myself with the venerable game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. It is a fine and noble pursuit, but I'm not terribly good at it, not least, it seems, because I haven't seen Flatliners. I can usually get there, but in a rather-too-roundabout way to be elegant. If only there were a version of the Six Degrees of Separation oeuvre which concerned something I knew more about!

So, I got to thinking, if there were to be a Formula 1 version, who would be our Kevin Bacon. My working hypothesis - and this post is very much an exercise in thinking out loud, if I'm honest - is that it is Jack Brabham. As well as three world titles and a career which spanned races in three decades, Sir Jack also founded a very successful eponymous team. If that wasn't enough, two of his sons - Gary and David - went on to compete in Formula 1 themselves, although Gary never qualified for a Grand Prix.

Here are the rules I set myself. Connections may be via teammates, old team colleagues, contractual ties or blood relations. My first challenge was to see if I could link each of the 24 drivers in 2010-vintage Formula 1 back to Sir Jack Brabham in six moves or fewer. As you can see, it has proved successful. Next, I'll be looking to do the remaining 26 Formula 1 world champions, although I expect Jack Brabham to prove fairly easy in that regard.

Until I find an obvious flaw in the system, I fully expect Six Degrees of Jack Brabham to be the hottest game of the summer. Or not.

JENSON BUTTON was teammate of Rubens Barrichello, who was teammate of Martin Brundle, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

LEWIS HAMILTON drove for McLaren under Ron Dennis, who was a mechanic for Sir Jack Brabham.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER was teammate of Nelson Piquet, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

NICO ROSBERG was teammate of Kazuki Nakajima, son of Satoru Nakajima, teammate of Stefano Modena, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

SEBASTIAN VETTEL drove for BMW, who supplied engines to Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

MARK WEBBER was teammate of David Coulthard, who was teammate of Damon Hill, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

FERNANDO ALONSO was teammate of Giancarlo Fisichella, who was teammate of Jenson Button, who was teammate of Rubens Barrichello, who was teammate of Martin Brundle, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

FELIPE MASSA was teammate of Michael Schumacher, who was teammate of Riccardo Patrese, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

ROBERT KUBICA drove for BMW, who supplied engines to Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

VITALY PETROV was teammate of Robert Kubica, who drove for BMW, who supplied engines to Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

RUBENS BARRICHELLO was teammate of Martin Brundle, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

NICO HULKENBERG was teammate of Rubens Barrichello, was teammate of Martin Brundle, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

ADRIAN SUTIL was teammate of Giancarlo Fisichella, who was teammate of Jenson Button, who was teammate of Rubens Barrichello, who was teammate of Martin Brundle, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

VITANTONIO LIUZZI was teammate of David Coulthard, who was teammate of Damon Hill, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

SEBASTIEN BUEMI was teammate of Sebastien Bourdais, who was teammate of Sebastian Vettel, who drove for BMW, who supplied engines to Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

JAIME ALGUERSUARI was teammate of Sebastien Buemi, who was teammate of Sebastien Bourdais, who was teammate of Sebastian Vettel, who drove for BMW, who supplied engines to Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

JARNO TRULLI was teammate of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who was teammate of Damon Hill, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

HEIKKI KOVALAINEN drove for McLaren under team boss Ron Dennis, who was a mechanic for Sir Jack Brabham.

PEDRO DE LA ROSA was teammate of Kimi Raikkonen, who was teammate of David Coulthard, who was teammate of Damon Hill, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

KAMUI KOBAYASHI was teammate of Jarno Trulli, who was teammate of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who was teammate of Damon Hill, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

TIMO GLOCK drove for Virgin Racing, designed by Nick Wirth, who was team principal of David Brabham, son of Sir Jack Brabham.

LUCAS DI GRASSI drove for Virgin Racing, designed by Nick Wirth, who was team principal of David Brabham, son of Sir Jack Brabham.

BRUNO SENNA is the nephew of Ayrton Senna, who was teammate of Satoru Nakajima, who was teammate of Stefano Modena, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.

KARUN CHANDHOK teammate of Bruno Senna, is the nephew of Ayrton Senna, who was teammate of Satoru Nakajima, who was teammate of Stefano Modena, who drove for Brabham, the team established by Sir Jack Brabham.