What If?

[FMecha]

'The Kid' would have tested the Arrows in late 1997, followed by another season in F3000, when he wins several races, and gets a drive with the Arrows in 1999, instead of de la Rosa. (de la Rosa and his Repsol cash land him a drive as tester at Jordan, and they gets a drive in 1999 when Damon Hill retires mid season).

He does okay, but fails to score a point, goes back to F3000, does poor and returns home to Fred Gibson Motorsport etc

And... a profile in this website .

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Probably been asked before, but what if Schumacher had not lied his way into the Jordan seat? As we know, Frentzen and Wendlinger had been far more impressive.

[DonTirri]

Here's a few What If's about Finnish Drivers. I will provide my own thoughts about them but do feel free to add your own.

What If... Keke Rosberg hadn't joined McLaren for 1986? (He admitted later it was a mistake and regretted doing it)
He probably would've fought for the title against Prost, effectively being Willams no.1and NOT retired the following year.

What If... Mika Salo hadn't been caught DUI and thus lost any chance for Superlicence in 1990?
He would've gotten an F1 drive for 1991 the latest, probably even Häkkinen's seat at Lotus, and since he WAS considered the better driver of the two back then, probably would've been the double champion instead of Häkkinen.

What If... Häkkinen hadn't crashed in Adelaide 1995?
He wouldn'tve won either of his championships. The crash made him a different driver, he became a lot more careful and focused, starting his "Iceman" routine. He was quick already but had a habit of silly mistakes and was a tad hot-headed.

What If... JJ Lehto didn't have his testing crash?
He would've picked up a few wins in 1994 and continued his career in F1 instead of going to DTM/ITC/FIAGT/CART/Lemans. Probably wouldn'tve amounted to much in the long run though.

What If... Kimi Räikkönen hadn't gotten a superlicense for 2001?
He would've spent a couple of years in the lower categories but he would have made it to F1 by 2004 the latest and most likely drafted to McLaren by 2005. He would also STILL be racing in F1 since he would not have won the 2007 title.

What If... Heikki Kovalainen had won the 2005 GP2 title?
He would've gotten into F1 already in 2006 either at Renault or at Williams, otherwise not much change, he'd still be in Lotus now.

[This]

Probably been asked before, but what if Schumacher had not lied his way into the Jordan seat? As we know, Frentzen and Wendlinger had been far more impressive.

Would replace Wendlinger after his crash in 1994 instead of de Cesaris

[Ferrarist]

Here's another What if:

What if, Fernando Alonso had some very bad luck at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2003 and died after his crash?

[Klon]

Here's another What if:

What if, Fernando Alonso had some very bad luck at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2003 and died after his crash?

I think there would have been a big outcry regarding safety and presumably some small country would have banned motor racing, let's say Norway. This outcry would have led to Mosley gaining a lot credit in the eyes of the public (although not necessarily in F1 fandom) for further improving safety in F1, allowing him to successfully ride through the budget cap thing, finishing the whole saga with a 140,000,000 $ compromise. Regarding sporting results, this is an interesting matter. Perhaps we would have seen the jump of Mark Webber (due to the Briatore connection) to race winner quite a lot sooner. I personally would doubt though that he would have a world championship in him, although 2005 could have been very close, so let's give it to Webber due to benifit of the doubt. However, he would not be able to beat Schumacher in a top car, especially since he is not good enough at controlling Fisichella, his team mate.

Unlike Alonso, he would have stayed at Renault until their downfall after a not quite so successful 2007, where Carlos Ghosn uses Alonso's death in quite a shameful manner to justify leaving. Giancarlo Fisichella becomes Le Mans driver for Pescaloro. McLaren put test driver Pedro De La Rosa in the car for 2007 after doing a semi-decent job of replacing Montoya. Despite winning Fuji 2007, De La Rosa has to go back to being test driver, because Massa and Räikkönen (Ferrari) beat McLaren quite handily in the constructor's title race, despite there being no disqualification for using Ferrari data. Mark Webber gets the McLaren seat for 2008 and wins three races, one of them being Silverstone. After a frustrating 2009, Webber calls it quits and the Button/Hamilton combination comes into play. Meanwhile, David Coulthard continues his Red Bull career until 2009, allowing him to earn the winning fruit of his work by winning the first race for Red Bull in a rainy Malaysia race. Unfortunately, this is his only major success in a otherwise not-as-good-as-it-should be year, being a living punchbag for the other three title contenders. In the most shocking developement, Red Bull signes Vitantonio Liuzzi for 2010, who had a neat 2008 and 2009 with Force India. Vettel has it way easier to win the 2010 title due to this.

Due to the missing rise of motorsport popularity in Spain, we wouldn't have the Valencia Street circuit and Hispania Racing . Instead of HRT, we get Stefan Grand Prix with Jacques Villeneuve and Kazuki Nakajima, the former making quite an impression, finishing tenth in the chaotic 2010 Korean GP.

[Phoenix]

Probably been asked before, but what if Schumacher had not lied his way into the Jordan seat? As we know, Frentzen and Wendlinger had been far more impressive.

He would have gone to European F3 or F3000 while running in the WSC, but with another squad. Joins F1 in 1993 with Sauber, impresses enough and goes to McLaren, winning three straight titles between 1998 and 2000, and then another one in 2003. He finishes his career there, and comes back last year, with the results we already know.

Here's a few What If's about Finnish Drivers. I will provide my own thoughts about them but do feel free to add your own.

What If... Keke Rosberg hadn't joined McLaren for 1986? (He admitted later it was a mistake and regretted doing it)
He probably would've fought for the title against Prost, effectively being Willams no.1and NOT retired the following year.

What If... Mika Salo hadn't been caught DUI and thus lost any chance for Superlicence in 1990?
He would've gotten an F1 drive for 1991 the latest, probably even Häkkinen's seat at Lotus, and since he WAS considered the better driver of the two back then, probably would've been the double champion instead of Häkkinen.

What If... Häkkinen hadn't crashed in Adelaide 1995?
He wouldn'tve won either of his championships. The crash made him a different driver, he became a lot more careful and focused, starting his "Iceman" routine. He was quick already but had a habit of silly mistakes and was a tad hot-headed.

What If... JJ Lehto didn't have his testing crash?
He would've picked up a few wins in 1994 and continued his career in F1 instead of going to DTM/ITC/FIAGT/CART/Lemans. Probably wouldn'tve amounted to much in the long run though.

What If... Kimi Räikkönen hadn't gotten a superlicense for 2001?
He would've spent a couple of years in the lower categories but he would have made it to F1 by 2004 the latest and most likely drafted to McLaren by 2005. He would also STILL be racing in F1 since he would not have won the 2007 title.

What If... Heikki Kovalainen had won the 2005 GP2 title?
He would've gotten into F1 already in 2006 either at Renault or at Williams, otherwise not much change, he'd still be in Lotus now.

1.- Keke wins the title in 1986, but succumbs to Mansell in 1987. Retires after 1988.

2.- He would've driven for Tyrrell in 1991 instead of Stefano Modena. In 1993 he signs as McLaren's test driver, takes up Senna's seat in 1994, and lo and behold, two/three times World Champion! He presses on until 2005.

3.- Nothing. For me, it's like What if Häkkinen hadn't had appendicitis?.

4.- He would have picked up three or four podiums, but not much more. Gets replaced by Herbert for 1995 and struts his stuff around for midfield teams for some years.

5.- He would have gone to F3 and F3000, and would have probably made it to F1 by 2004 as DonTirri says, but as McLaren's test and reserve driver. Gets promoted in mid-2006 and takes the seat in 2007 alongside Alonso and fights hard with him for the championship, only without the blackmailing and Hamilton's saga. He still drives for McLaren until this day, alongside...Fernando Alonso. But no World Championships, even though he comes close in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

6.- Nothing.

Here's another What if:

What if, Fernando Alonso had some very bad luck at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2003 and died after his crash?

Renault employs Franck Montagny, while Interlagos is nowhere to be seen in F1 ever since. Trulli still manages to annoy Briatore and leaves for Toyota. Räikkönen wins in 2005 and Michael Schumacher in 2006. Montagny performs well and stays with Renault until 2009, then leaves for some midfield team.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

What if Ligier hadn't been bought by Alain?

[whatisdeletrazdoing]

What if Ralph Firman's wing hadn't detached at Hungary 2003?

That means no HWNSNBM and the entire F1 world would be turn upside down, collapse under its own weight, and cease to exist entirely!

[David AGS]

Ralph would have finished the season with just a point to his name, and leaves Formula 1. Giorgio Pantano takes his spot for 2004.

Either way, I believe HWNSNBM still would have landed the Minardi drive, as he HWNSNBM brought cash with him.

I liked his personal sponsor from his junior career to the Jordan deal. MOL

[FMecha]

What if Prost were able to run Supertec engine for 2001?

[DanielPT]

What if Prost were able to run Supertec engine for 2001?

Then Prost would've got into points more often and maybe, just maybe, made it to 2002...

[golic_2004]

What if Prost were able to run Supertec engine for 2001?

Then Prost would've got into points more often and maybe, just maybe, made it to 2002...

With the possibility of Tomas Enge racing his 4th grand prix.

[Enforcer]

(Correct me if mentioned before!)

What if the great Ayrton Senna joined Ferrari which was effectively Schumacher's contract in 1996 (which was rumoured), I remember reading it ages ago from'The Life of Senna'.

I think that is difficult to answer though.

Considering what Schumacher did in his first years with Prancing Horse, he wouldn't have achieved better position in 1996 than 3rd. But then he would have won title in 1997 before leaving the sport for good.

I don't think he is kind of person who would have stayed involved in F1 regularly, visited some races, notably in Brazil and of course Bahrain 2010 with other champions.

I'm presuming this is intended to mean that Schumacher doesn't go to Ferrari. The question then is, he doesn't go there, do Rory Byrne, Ross Brawn etc. fail to move to Ferrari too?

Either Schumacher stays at Benetton and potentially wins another WDC with them if they keep their key technical staff. Hard to know what Senna would've done with Ferrari without Brawn and Byrne there. Certainly the '94 and '95 cars were competitive enough that if techincal direction had remained under John Barnard then he might have challenged, but it's difficult to be sure.

The other option is that Schumacher moves to McLaren for 1996 (who wanted him), and either takes his people with him and more or less progresses similar to the way he did at Ferrari, or doesn't and instead reaps the benefit of the post '97 Newey revolution there instead.

[Faustus]

A little easier, what if Williams kept Hulkenberg and Barrichello this year, where would Maldonaldo go?

Williams would have loaned him out to HRT (as was their original intention), wait for Barrichello to gracefully retire at the end of 2011 and bring Maldonado in for 2012.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Barrichello to gracefully retire at the end of 2011.

Rubens would like to disagree.

[Faustus]

What if Rubens Barrichello had been World Champion in 2009?

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

What if Rubens Barrichello had been World Champion in 2009?

Hmm, I still think that Button would have ended up at McLaren and there was little if any chance of Rubens staying on at Mercedes (can you think of that? Rubens and Michael at the same team, but with the tables turned! ). Actually, this is hard, I really doubt any of the top teams would have wanted him. I mean, maybe McLaren, just maybe, but RBR is a definite no, and so is Ferrari. Renault? No, and also, with the chaos that team was in at the beginning of the year, I doubt he would have moved there for any cost. So, IMO, he still would have gone to Williams, with the No. 1! He probably would have started the year strongly, but I think towards the end, he would have been moving further down, due to lost motivation. Hulkenburg upstaging him at Brazil would probably be the last straw. He may have retired at the end of 2010.

But if he did end up at McLaren, I'm afraid Lewis would have had the upper hand throughout. That means Jenson at Williams finally fulfilling that contract!

[Wizzie]

What if McLaren went with Gary Paffert or Pedro De La Rosa over Lewis Hamilton for the 2007 season.

[Faustus]

What if Rubens Barrichello had been World Champion in 2009?

Hmm, I still think that Button would have ended up at McLaren and there was little if any chance of Rubens staying on at Mercedes (can you think of that? Rubens and Michael at the same team, but with the tables turned! ). Actually, this is hard, I really doubt any of the top teams would have wanted him. I mean, maybe McLaren, just maybe, but RBR is a definite no, and so is Ferrari. Renault? No, and also, with the chaos that team was in at the beginning of the year, I doubt he would have moved there for any cost. So, IMO, he still would have gone to Williams, with the No. 1! He probably would have started the year strongly, but I think towards the end, he would have been moving further down, due to lost motivation. Hulkenburg upstaging him at Brazil would probably be the last straw. He may have retired at the end of 2010.

Interesting. I personally think he would have gracefully retired in 2009 as world champion and just maybe we could have had Anthony Davidson back in at Mercedes. I think you're right that Button would have left at the end of the year regardless of the outcome of the championship.

[DOSBoot]

I posted this earlier in the thread, but no one answered it. What if Mark Webber hadn't crashed at Korea in 2010?

[Shadaza]

I posted this earlier in the thread, but no one answered it. What if Mark Webber hadn't crashed at Korea in 2010?

Then Webber would have won the world championship and began 2011 on a higher salary with the number 1 on his car yet still at Red Bull and still 2nd fiddle to Vettel in 2011. However because of the championship win, Ferrari perhaps would be more interested on signing Webber for the 2012 season to partner Alonso. Of course who Redbull would hire for their second seat in 2012 is just as much a mystery as it is in RL.

Sorry if it's been asked before, but what if Schumacher and CO failed to bring championships to ferrari 2000-04?

[mario]

I posted this earlier in the thread, but no one answered it. What if Mark Webber hadn't crashed at Korea in 2010?

I think, to be brutally honest, if Webber had not crashed at the restart, then he'd either have crashed later on or finished in a somewhat lacklustre position. Webber really looked out of sorts in Korea; from his conversations with Bernd Mayländer and other officials about the conditions, his radio communications and his general demeanour, it was clear that he was not comfortable about racing that day. Even the way that he scurried off into the paddock, instead of going to see the guys in the garage, suggested that he just wanted to be gone from there as quickly as possible - compare that to his rivals, most of whom were still prepared to press on with the race.

However, let us consider the scenario where Webber did finish the race - if the rest of the season panned out in the same way, Webber would have needed at least 3rd place (he was 14 points behind in the end). Now, the problem is, if he hadn't crashed, he wouldn't have taken out Rosberg, and it looked like Rosberg could well have finished on the podium in that race - during the interruption, Mercedes modified his suspension system for a wet race, and, given that he was gaining on Webber at the time, probably would have caught and passed him fairly easily.
So, we could easily have had Rosberg on the podium, as well as Alonso (Alonso was looking after his tyres very well - Kravitz noted that the tyres were in great shape, and could probably have been used for another stint), and as both of those drivers seemed to be more comfortable than Webber in those conditions, I suspect that they'd have beaten him to the flag.

The big question, therefore, is where Webber could have finished in relation to Hamilton, who would have also been in the running for a podium finish. It's true that McLaren were struggling with their tyre wear in the latter part of the season - Hamilton's tyres were shot by the end of the race - so Webber might have been able to stay ahead, though that would depend heavily on how well he could have looked after his tyres. It's hard to definitely say that Webber could have definitely got that vital podium finish - I suspect that Hamilton might have beaten him to it, given that Hamilton seemed to be more prepared to risk pushing on in those conditions, whilst Webber seemed hesitant and unwilling to do so.

[Wizzie]

Now, the problem is, if he hadn't crashed, he wouldn't have taken out Rosberg, and it looked like Rosberg could well have finished on the podium in that race - during the interruption, Mercedes modified his suspension system for a wet race, and, given that he was gaining on Webber at the time, probably would have caught and passed him fairly easily.

I still believe that to this day Nico Rosberg could have, should have and would have won that Grand Prix had the accident never happened.

[DanielPT]

Now, the problem is, if he hadn't crashed, he wouldn't have taken out Rosberg, and it looked like Rosberg could well have finished on the podium in that race - during the interruption, Mercedes modified his suspension system for a wet race, and, given that he was gaining on Webber at the time, probably would have caught and passed him fairly easily.

I still believe that to this day Nico Rosberg could have, should have and would have won that Grand Prix had the accident never happened.

And miss on the chance of 'being' Nick Heidfeld? No way! Heidfeld legacy must be kept!

[DOSBoot]

What if Nigel Mansell hadn't injured his back in Japan back in 1987?

What if Clay Raggazoni wasn't paralized in 1980?

What if David Coulthard had stuck around Red Bull for one more year?

What if Sauber decided to concentrate their development on the 2008 season?

What if the illegal water tanks had been ignored in the 1982 Brazilian Grand Prix?

[Waris]

Now, the problem is, if he hadn't crashed, he wouldn't have taken out Rosberg, and it looked like Rosberg could well have finished on the podium in that race - during the interruption, Mercedes modified his suspension system for a wet race, and, given that he was gaining on Webber at the time, probably would have caught and passed him fairly easily.

I still believe that to this day Nico Rosberg could have, should have and would have won that Grand Prix had the accident never happened.

And miss on the chance of 'being' Nick Heidfeld? No way! Heidfeld legacy must be kept!

Heidfeld himself can keep that just fine, methinks...

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

For the CART/Indy fans out there:

What if we had seen the Hanford Device at Indy?

[midgrid]

What if Nigel Mansell hadn't injured his back in Japan back in 1987?

He would have retired from the final two races with mechanical problems after vainly pursuing Berger's Ferrari in any case, and Piquet would have still won the championship.

What if David Coulthard had stuck around Red Bull for one more year?

He would have been slower than Webber and scored much fewer points. As Vettel was still working wonders in the Toro Rosso, Mateschitz decided to drop Coulthard mid-season and replace him with Vettel. Coulthard refused to be demoted to the Toro Rosso drive, so Buemi was called up from GP2 to partner Bourdais. At the end of the year, Bourdais was dropped in favour of Alguersuari for 2010. Coulthard subsequently became a BBC pundit, and was widely accused of anti-Red Bull bias on the various F1 internet forums.

[FMecha]

What if USF1 made it to 2010, with Toyota chassis? Inspired by this.

[JeremyMcClean]

What if USF1 made it to 2010, with Toyota chassis? Inspired by this.

10th in the constructors, with only one point. Why? Well, José María López isn't really talented...

[JeremyMcClean]

He would have been slower than Webber and scored much fewer points. As Vettel was still working wonders in the Toro Rosso, Mateschitz decided to drop Coulthard mid-season and replace him with Vettel. Coulthard refused to be demoted to the Toro Rosso drive, so Buemi was called up from GP2 to partner Bourdais. At the end of the year, Bourdais was dropped in favour of Alguersuari for 2010. Coulthard subsequently became a BBC pundit, and was widely accused of anti-Red Bull bias on the various F1 internet forums.

Vettel working wonders in the crappiest car (well, except for the Renault) in 2009? Strange. And, Coulthard still has Red Bull bias despite being sacked from them?

[midgrid]

He would have been slower than Webber and scored much fewer points. As Vettel was still working wonders in the Toro Rosso, Mateschitz decided to drop Coulthard mid-season and replace him with Vettel. Coulthard refused to be demoted to the Toro Rosso drive, so Buemi was called up from GP2 to partner Bourdais. At the end of the year, Bourdais was dropped in favour of Alguersuari for 2010. Coulthard subsequently became a BBC pundit, and was widely accused of anti-Red Bull bias on the various F1 internet forums.

Vettel working wonders in the crappiest car (well, except for the Renault) in 2009? Strange. And, Coulthard still has Red Bull bias despite being sacked from them?

Wonders is a relative term - I was thinking more along the lines of regular points, rather than more wins. And I wrote "anti-Red Bull bias".

[FullMetalJack]

What if Pedro De La Rosa got that McLaren drive in 2007 over Lewis Hamilton.

[Phoenix]

What if Pedro De La Rosa got that McLaren drive in 2007 over Lewis Hamilton.

No intra-team battles. Alonso wins the title easily, de la Rosa gets a bag of podiums and scores at almost all races, but finishes well behind Alonso and the Ferrari duo, with no race wins. Hamilton gets the nod for 2008 after spending the whole 2007 testing, and here we go again...

[Ferrarist]

What if Red Bull bought Sauber instead of Jaguar in 2005?

A what if that could have led to far-reaching consequences in the ATL Formula One...

[JeremyMcClean]

What if Red Bull bought Sauber instead of Jaguar in 2005?

A what if that could have led to far-reaching consequences in the ATL Formula One...

BMW buys the crew members of Jaguar and basically replace them with their own works team. Not surprisingly, BMW folds after two seasons. The Red Bull-Sauber relationship is good; except that the engines are nothing but crap, so they resort to Cosworths. They middle with the backmarkers for 2005. Oh, and they sign PDLR instead of Villeneuve for 2005, keep in mind it was after Villeneuve's atrocious run with Renault in 2004.

Also, the team uses Bridgestone tyres in 2005. This results in PDLR finishing on the podium and Massa finishing in fourth in Indianapolis, instead of Montiero and Karthikeyan. (It also makes Minardi's season more believable)

The team wasn't that great, so Red Bull doesn't buy Minardi in 2006. And who else to come to the rescue than Spyker, who instead of buying out Midland mid-season, buys out Minardi and keeps the Minardi name, now having Spyker engines for the team. Red Bull improves, but not a whole lot. If this happened in real life Red Bull would be where Toro Rosso is right now. As for the Minardi-Spyker team, they make it to 2011 in great condition (though the Spyker engines are rancid)

In the end, Red Bull is changed, Toro Rosso and Sauber do not exist, and the whole world could have turned upside down... if HWNSNBM wanted it that way.

--------------

What if the 2000 Jordan had been more reliable?

What if Heikki Kovalainen hadn't been sacked from McLaren after 2009? (OK, he did race dismally.. then again so did David Coulthard and he lasted a long time)

What if Rubens Barrichello told Ferrari to f*** off after being given instructions to pull over in Austria 2002?

[Wizzie]

What if Alex Zanardi had decided to stay on as Benetton's test driver after 1992 instead of going to Lotus?

[f1-gast]

Probably Zanardi would have scored point but as the other teammates of schumi they would leave after 2 years, but he would be able to show his tallent.

I just found out that larrousse was actually testing in 1994 Mugen-Honda enignes What if they survived the winter of 94/95 and would start with the Mugen engines ?

[FMecha]

I just found out that Larrousse was actually testing in 1994 Mugen-Honda enignes What if they survived the winter of 94/95 and would start with the Mugen engines ?

Really? If that happens, Larrousse would hire Hideki Noda (under pressure from Mugen - they want Japanese driver ) and with Noda becaming pay-driver, he would partially pay the engine bills.