What If?

[JeremyMcClean]

What if Frank Williams was high and chose Deletraz to replace Hill in '97?

Williams gets arrested for marijuana possession.

[Wizzie]

I'm fairly certain it's been asked before but what if Williams picked Bruno Junquiera over Jenson Button for 2000?

[darkapprentice77]

What if Frank Williams was high and chose Deletraz to replace Hill in '97?

Williams gets arrested for marijuana possession.

Maybe he got it from Vic Lee Racing...

[pasta_maldonado]

What if Frank Williams was high and chose Deletraz to replace Hill in '97?

Williams gets arrested for marijuana possession.

Maybe he got it from Vic Lee Racing...

Or Tomas Enge

[Phoenix]

An interesting one: what if Tyrrel had had François Cévert and Gerry Birrell as drivers for 1974? (As I understand, Tyrrell was quite keen on the latter).

[JeremyMcClean]

An interesting one: what if Tyrrel had had François Cévert and Gerry Birrell as drivers for 1974? (As I understand, Tyrrell was quite keen on the latter).

Who?

I think Tyrrell would have done really well with Cevert, he had fantastic potential, I think their 1974 car wasn't too bad, Cevert might have contended for the WDC that year. Considering Cevert (and the lack of any other teams he drove for that I can think of), I think he would have remained loyal to Tyrrell, and - shoot me if I'm crazy - would have won the WDC in 1976 with the six-wheeler. And have that be instantly banned the day after he wins the championship.

[tommykl]

An interesting one: what if Tyrrel had had François Cévert and Gerry Birrell as drivers for 1974? (As I understand, Tyrrell was quite keen on the latter).

Who?

A Formula 2 and touring car racer. He took a class win at Le Mans in 1972 and was just above average in F2, but he died in a crash very similar to that of Helmuth Koinigg, at Rouen.

[mario]

I think that, eventually, there might have been somebody who was willing to develop a turbocharged engine, but it probably wouldn't have been until the early 1980's that somebody might have taken the gamble (perhaps BMW, given that they were working on Formula 2 engines at the time). It would have probably seen the DFV remain in competitive use for longer, since there would have been less of an incentive to switch, and manufacturers wouldn't have flocked to the sport in the numbers that they eventually did (which might have seen more manufacturers switch to things like Group C or rallying instead).

That was what I was thinking also.

Therefore I was wondering if we may have seen a more dangerous F1, had Turbo engines been introduced a few years after they were in reality?

I say this because if turbos were introduced in the early 80's, it might have taken until the mid 80's until manufactures established that turbo's were the way to go & therefore commit themselves to an F1 programe. Once they had done so, we may have seen the development 'war' of turbo's only really kick off in the late 80's / early 90's rather than the mid 80's.

Therefore perhaps this may have been more dangerous, bearing in mind just how much quicker the cars (excluding the engines) would have been by this stage. Also how the technology & computing power would have moved on by then to enable manufactures to develop their turbos engines quicker than they had done in reality.

Of course the argument against this, might be that the FIA may have reacted faster or more firmer in this instance, particularly after the tragedies that befell the rallying scene in 1986. However given how the FIA appeared to have difficultly in 'controlling' turbo F1 engines in reality. It leads me to believe that in our theorical situation, the FIA would have still been trying to get to grips with turbo's when the situation would have become extermely dangerous. Therefore they would have always been one step behind the turbo engine manufactures, until turbos were ban completely for the 1991 season (rather than the 1989 season as happened in reality).

It is certainly possible that the power outputs of the turbo engines could have gone up much more sharply if the turbo era hadn't kicked off quite so early, especially since Bosch was able to transfer design work from other series (Group C in particular, where, like in F1, there were strict fuel consumption limits).

That said, one aspect that really allowed the power outputs to shoot up drastically were the relatively lax restrictions on fuel mixes that the FIA allowed at the time - in the earlier years of the turbo era, one thing that kept the power output down was the fact that the manufacturers had to run very rich air-fuel mixtures (since the evaporative cooling effects of a rich fuel-air mixture prevented knocking). It was the fact that the FIA allowed much more exotic fuels with a much higher resistance to auto-ignition that allowed the power outputs to climb more rapidly - they went from around 550bhp in 1982 to around 900bhp in race trim in 1986, a process that would probably have been much slower without the exotic fuels of the times.
Given that, the supplementary question is whether the FIA might have been stricter on the fuel composition if the turbo era took place several years later (i.e. the late 1980's to the early 1990's) - if so, then the power outputs might not have reached the same heights that they did in the mid 1980's, or at the very least they might have risen more slowly.

[eurobrun]

What if Frank Williams was high and chose Deletraz to replace Hill in '97?

Williams gets arrested for marijuana possession.

Could sombody kindly hand Mr Williams a large bong please?

[Phoenix]

An interesting one: what if Tyrrel had had François Cévert and Gerry Birrell as drivers for 1974? (As I understand, Tyrrell was quite keen on the latter).

Who?

A Formula 2 and touring car racer. He took a class win at Le Mans in 1972 and was just above average in F2, but he died in a crash very similar to that of Helmuth Koinigg, at Rouen.

tommykl, you're a genius

I don't think the P34 was good enough for the WC, much less considering how superior the Ferrari 312T2 was, but Cévert could have well been WDC in 1974 - after all, Scheckter in the best Tyrrell was 3rd that year with 45 points, with Fittipaldi winning the Championship on 55 points.

[ibsey]

they went from around 550bhp in 1982 to around 900bhp in race trim in 1986, a process that would probably have been much slower without the exotic fuels of the times.

Really interesting stuff. Thanks once again Mario, for another one of your great posts.

What if Frank Williams was high and chose Deletraz to replace Hill in '97?

...So that explains why Frank Williams always looks so 'impassive' during the GP's? I wonder what he actually listens too through his headphones, Cypress Hill perhaps?

Seriously though, Deletraz might have done a better job at holding up M Schumi at races like European GP or Austria 1997 than Frentzen did in reality.

Probably been asked before, but what if Williams hadn't sacked Damon Hill after 1996? I for one think he would have won the WDC in 1997 considering how many rookie errors JV made that year, yet still managed to win it.

[pasta_maldonado]

they went from around 550bhp in 1982 to around 900bhp in race trim in 1986, a process that would probably have been much slower without the exotic fuels of the times.

Really interesting stuff. Thanks once again Mario, for another one of your great posts.

What if Frank Williams was high and chose Deletraz to replace Hill in '97?

...So that explains why Frank Williams always looks so 'impassive' during the GP's? I wonder what he actually listens too through his headphones, Cypress Hill perhaps?

Seriously though, Deletraz might have done a better job at holding up M Schumi at races like European GP or Austria 1997 than Frentzen did in reality.

Probably been asked before, but what if Williams hadn't sacked Damon Hill after 1996? I for one think he would have won the WDC in 1997 considering how many rookie errors JV made that year, yet still managed to win it.

Hill would have easily won it, the Williams was easily the best car in the field. Only JV's ineptitude let Schumacher into the title chase

[ibsey]

Hill would have easily won it, the Williams was easily the best car in the field. Only JV's ineptitude let Schumacher into the title chase

Care to comment on what might have happened to Hill beyond winning the WDC in 1997?

I tend to think, he wouldn't have carried on with Williams beyond 1997 as Williams aren't to keen on paying World Champion salaries for its drivers. Perhaps he would have moved straight from Williams to Jordan for 1998 & things would have been identical to what happened in reality (expect Damon would have retired a double WDC).

I don't believe he would have bothered with Arrows for 1998, since IIRC one of the reasons Damon was drawn to Arrows for 1997 was because they had done a vast amout of testing on Bridgestone tyres. So they were supposed to be Bridgestone's front running team for 1997. So once Damon had recongnised how disappointing Arrows were in 1997, I would be highly suprised if he choose them in 1998. I also don't think he would have gone to Mclaren for 1998 as Mclaren didn't seem too keen on paying OTT to secure Damon services either.

but Cévert could have well been WDC in 1974 - after all, Scheckter in the best Tyrrell was 3rd that year with 45 points, with Fittipaldi winning the Championship on 55 points.

I tend to agree with this, unless I am mistaken, Scheckter was still quite inexperienced in 1974 (his 1st full F1 season) & would have been extermely new to a Tyrell team, perhaps still recovering from losing Cevert in tragic circumstances. This is in addition to the huge void Stewart's departure would have left on the team, irrespective of the planning that was done the season before hand.

So I tend to think had Cevert, who had been with Tyrell for a while & had been given guidance under JYS, been with the team for 1974 he could have provided a stronger challenge for the WDC than Scheckter did.

[FullMetalJack]

What if James Hunt was still alive today to see Maldonado's driving?

[JeremyMcClean]

What if James Hunt was still alive today to see Maldonado's driving?

"Now there's Maldonado there, he's in fourth place with Hamilton, and now WHAT is he doing? He's just rammed into the back of Hamilton and Maldonado's lost his front wing! And just look at this idiot. He should get out of F1 before he causes another train wreck, and surely Maldonado can't think of another excuse to get him out of this one."

MW- "So, anyway..."

[ibsey]

What if James Hunt was still alive today to see Maldonado's driving?

Good question

One can only imagine the volume of curse words he would have used to describe Maldonado's driving. F1 would have to been shown after the TV watershed, me thinks.

[FullMetalJack]

What if James Hunt was still alive today to see Maldonado's driving?

Good question

One can only imagine the volume of curse words he would have used to describe Maldonado's driving. F1 would have to been shown after the TV watershed, me thinks.

That's why I wish he was still around. Sometimes his berating of other drivers wasn't really fair, sometimes it was just funny.

[ibsey]

What if James Hunt was still alive today to see Maldonado's driving?

Good question

One can only imagine the volume of curse words he would have used to describe Maldonado's driving. F1 would have to been shown after the TV watershed, me thinks.

That's why I wish he was still around. Sometimes his berating of other drivers wasn't really fair, sometimes it was just funny.

I miss him too as he (& Murray) was so much more entertaining, than the current BBC commentators IMO. It didn't matter to me that Hunt could be outspoken, or the number of mistakes Murray used to make. Because they would keep you entertained & engrossed even during the dull F1 races.

Personally, I love it when Sports commentators (in general) express their opinions. A couple of days ago in the Olympics men's basketball game, Spain v France. One of the BBC commentators had a James Hunt esq rant. He was saying how the Spainish were acting as they had "just been shot", whenever they came into contact with the French players. Stating that this isn't football, & he was ashamed of this behaviour etc.

This 'honest' & 'refreshing' approach to commenating, meant I was hooked on listening to this commentator & wouldn't dare switch channel after this.

[Enforcer]

Hill would have easily won it, the Williams was easily the best car in the field. Only JV's ineptitude let Schumacher into the title chase

Care to comment on what might have happened to Hill beyond winning the WDC in 1997?

I tend to think, he wouldn't have carried on with Williams beyond 1997 as Williams aren't to keen on paying World Champion salaries for its drivers. Perhaps he would have moved straight from Williams to Jordan for 1998 & things would have been identical to what happened in reality (expect Damon would have retired a double WDC).

I don't believe he would have bothered with Arrows for 1998, since IIRC one of the reasons Damon was drawn to Arrows for 1997 was because they had done a vast amout of testing on Bridgestone tyres. So they were supposed to be Bridgestone's front running team for 1997. So once Damon had recongnised how disappointing Arrows were in 1997, I would be highly suprised if he choose them in 1998. I also don't think he would have gone to Mclaren for 1998 as Mclaren didn't seem too keen on paying OTT to secure Damon services either.

I dunno. I know Hill snubbed McLaren in 97 (and possibly in 98) for not offering him enough money, but I think staying at Williams rather than picking between offers from potential new teams would've been a different matter, and unless they were doing something like paying Jacques more than him, he'd have been happy enough to stay. Frank was also prepared to get rid of him was because he thought he bottled it in 1995 and he reckoned Jacques was a better bet. But, if, as in this hypothetical model, he had for whatever reason kept Hill in 1997, and Hill had won the WDC ahead of both JV and a competitive Schumacher in '97, Frank might have rethought his view on Hill and kept him for 1998, and I think Hill would've been happy to stay. As Villenueve did though, Hill would've struggled to drag the car to a couple of podiums here and there. He might have stayed on until 1999, but if he had he'd have endured his real life struggles, whether at Williams or not. But I think he'd have decided "right, double World Champion, I'm nearly 40, and that wasn't a nice season. Car was bad. Frank wasn't happy. I wasn't happy. Time to call it quits" and retired at the end of 1998.

The issue then is Frentzen. He'd been a long-term target, so do Williams take him in 1998 and sack JV after only 2 years, or wait until 1999? Presumably JV leaves in 1999 to go to BAR anyway if Williams had kept him until the end of 98. But I think he'd have been there in 1998. So, Frentzen comes in alongside Zanardi in 1999 because JV's gone and Hill's retired. Maybe, having established himself as team leader ahead of the struggling Zanardi, Frentzen would've done better at Williams than he did IRL and would've taken the role Ralf had IRL at Williams in the early 2000s . Or maybe he struggles with the team anyway, and they replace him with Montoya in 2001 instead of replacing Button.

Then there's the impact on Jordan. Would they have had their nearly year in 1999 without Frentzen? Would Ralf have been the team-leader in 1998 which might have made him more interested in staying in 1999?

[SchumiTheMeister]

I'm sorry if it's already been wrote but:
What if DC stayed at McLaren for the 2005 season?
And what if JB stayed with Williams in 2001?

[S951]

What if DC stayed at RB for 09 & 10 with webber with the finger staying at STR

[DOSBoot]

What if DC stayed at RB for 09 & 10 with webber with the finger staying at STR

Good question. Hmmm. Since David was way behind Webber in 2008, I assume Webber would be the agressor in 2009. David would consistently score points, and pick up a few podiums, but would go with a winless season in 2009, and finish 5th overall. Webber, would take 3 more wins in China, Silverstone, and Abu Dahbi, but due to Button's dominace in the first half of the season, and Webber's slump in the second half, he settels for a very close 2nd in the drivers championship. Vettel has to stick with a fledging Torro Rosso, but would have picked up some good points finishes for the team. Brawn GP stil win the constructors championship.

In 2010, Couthard wins two races, but but is overshadowed by Webber. Who takes 4 more wins in Maylasia, Turkey, Japan, and Brazil. Comfortably winning the drivers championship. Red Bull win the constructors championship. David retires at the end of the season after finishing 4th overall. Vettel has a slightly better year with Torro Rosso, but still is regulated to the occasional points finish. He moves to Red Bull in 2011. The rest goes as it is.

[JeremyMcClean]

What if DC stayed at RB for 09 & 10 with webber with the finger staying at STR

Webber wins the 2010 championship and Button runs away with 2009, with DC playing supporters' role in 2009, and in 2010, attempts to go all out, saying "this is my year!" for the billionth time before ending up finishing 5th. McLaren, as a result, wins the constructors' despite having their best driver finishing 3rd. (Surely that has to be a first, right?) Meanwhile, Vettel is ruing the day that he turned down the Red Bull drive and has now self-destructed his career at STR. However, Merc, being disappointed with Schumacher, fires him after one season so that Vettel can be in the second Merc. With Vettel's input, Merc becomes a race-winner but still finishes 5th in the Constructors' in 2011 and is no different in terms of pace than in 2012. (I'm fairly certain Rosberg still would have won in China.) Meanwhile, STR hires Alguersuari to replace Vettel in 2011 after winning the 2010 GP2 Championship, and end up firing Buemi after the 2011 season. They replace him with Vergne for 2012, leaving Ricciardo without a seat for the time being. Alguersuari is no better than Vergne, given the pace of the car. At Red Bull, with Coulthard "retiring" after 2010, and with Vettel abandoning ship from the Red Bull programme, want to hire an experienced driver for 2011, and they hire none other than Michael Schumacher. He gets sacked mid-season for a piss-poor performance and is replaced by Barrichello. He doesn't do much better, and for 2012, hires Kimi Raikkonen. He is now battling with Alonso and Webber for the WDC, having won three times already at Australia, Bahrain and Canada, making McLaren look like fools. Lotus hire Grosjean and Petrov for 2012 and do no better in terms of pace, though Petrov nearly wins at Valencia. Meanwhile, Coulthard is eying a comeback, with rumours speculating he will come back with either Sauber (if Perez goes to Ferrari) or Ferrari, or maybe Williams. Nobody knows for sure.

Hopefully I haven't made you laugh on the floor by now...

[DOSBoot]

What if Alain Prost stuck with the Mugen engines instead of choosing Peugeot after buying Ligier in 1997?

[Wizzie]

What if Alain Prost stuck with the Mugen engines instead of choosing Peugeot after buying Ligier in 1997?

Their fortunes might have improved very slightly but since the chassis and gearbox were both absolute shite anyway, Mugen would have in all likelyhood left for Jordan at the end of 1998.

[David AGS]

Just putting my $50c worth,

The Peugeot engine was a works deal, and the Mugen Honda was a customer engine. So, the best option financially was the Peugeot, but not on performance.

Jordan did want to keep the engine for 1998, but got the Japanese deal at the end.

[Wizzie]

Just putting my $50c worth,

The Peugeot engine was a works deal, and the Mugen Honda was a customer engine. So, the best option financially was the Peugeot, but not on performance.

Jordan did want to keep the engine for 1998, but got the Japanese deal at the end.

Considering how good the Peugeot was in the back of the Jordan in 97, it couldn't have been that far off if not on par or slightly better than the Mugen Honda.

[James1978]

"JeremyMcClean" McLaren, as a result, wins the constructors' despite having their best driver finishing 3rd. (Surely that has to be a first, right?)

Ferrari won the constructors championship in 1983 with Arnoux 3rd and Tambay 4th in the drivers championship.

[ibsey]

Here's one which hopefully hasn't yet been asked?

What if Mika Salo, had ignored the team orders given to him at Hockenhiem 1999 & won that race ahead of Irvine?

I'm particular interested in peoples thoughts on how this may have affected Mika's career thereafter. Sure Ferrari, probably would have sacked him on the spot & it is therefore unlikely he might have got the Ferrari engined Sauber drive in 2000. However, Mika would have therefore been a grand prix winner & might have been a more attractive propostion to BMW Williams for instance?

Given just how competitive the BMW Williams package became throughout the early 2000's, could Mika have done enough to keep his seat ahead of Montoya & prove to be a stronger challenge for the WDC, than the real Williams drivers were in reality?

Perhaps we could ask a simliar question about, what if Massa hadn't helped Alonso at Hockenheim in 2010? Where would he have been today? Perhaps more importantly 2 years on from that incident, did Massa do the right thing, considering his appartent dip in confidence & form since. However in return, Ferrari have kept Massa on since then (despite the constant rumors).

Finally What if slick tyres remained after 1997? Would we have seen any drivers perform any differently?

[ibsey]

Finally What if slick tyres remained after 1997? Would we have seen any drivers perform any differently?

Just to add a bit more to this. JV stated how he disliked the new grooved tyres, ever since he 1st tried them in 1997, & indeed got into trouble with the FIA over his comments on them. Also IMO he never looked to be quite as comfortable on the post 1997 tyres as he had on the pre 1997. Even allowing for the poorer cars he endured.

Simliarly I recall at the start of 1999 serveral drivers stated their dislike for the new 'super hard' tyres with the extra 4th groove. In fact Damon Hill sighted the those tyres as a big reason, as to why he retired from F1, i.e. he had lost the feeling through the car.

Interestingly before the introduction of grooved tyres in 1998, Hakkinen & Coulthard appeared to be quite closely matched as team mates. However after 1998, Hakkinen appeared to destroy Coulthard thereafter. I know, there might have been serveral factors which contributed towards this, i.e. Mika had just won his 1st GP thus gained confidence, perhaps Mclaren (particularly Ron Dennis) gave Mika 'extra' support as DC claimed? Also perhaps Mika up his game more than DC once Mclaren started winning regularly etc. However how much of this performance difference could be attributted towards Mika being able to get more out of the grooved tyres than DC was able too?

To give my 2 cents, personally I tend to think naturally gifted drivers like (Mika, M Schumi, Alesi, etc) were able to get used to the new grooved tyres, or at least extract a lap time from them, quicker than the drivers who didn't have as much natural ability. However there wasn't any real difference once all the drivers got used to them?

[QuickYoda41]

Here's one which hopefully hasn't yet been asked?

What if Mika Salo, had ignored the team orders given to him at Hockenhiem 1999 & won that race ahead of Irvine?

I'm particular interested in peoples thoughts on how this may have affected Mika's career thereafter. Sure Ferrari, probably would have sacked him on the spot & it is therefore unlikely he might have got the Ferrari engined Sauber drive in 2000. However, Mika would have therefore been a grand prix winner & might have been a more attractive propostion to BMW Williams for instance?

Given just how competitive the BMW Williams package became throughout the early 2000's, could Mika have done enough to keep his seat ahead of Montoya & prove to be a stronger challenge for the WDC, than the real Williams drivers were in reality?

I can imagine Salo driving for a team like Williams in 2000, but I doubt he'd have been able to be spectecular enough to be chosen over Montoya. Button's season was promising, but Sir Frank just wanted Montoya too badly at that time. Salo's only chance would've been beating Ralf in 2000, but IMO Salo was always too inconsistent, and couldn't have beaten the German.

[WaffleCat]

Here's one which hopefully hasn't yet been asked?

What if Mika Salo, had ignored the team orders given to him at Hockenhiem 1999 & won that race ahead of Irvine?

I'm particular interested in peoples thoughts on how this may have affected Mika's career thereafter. Sure Ferrari, probably would have sacked him on the spot & it is therefore unlikely he might have got the Ferrari engined Sauber drive in 2000. However, Mika would have therefore been a grand prix winner & might have been a more attractive propostion to BMW Williams for instance?

Given just how competitive the BMW Williams package became throughout the early 2000's, could Mika have done enough to keep his seat ahead of Montoya & prove to be a stronger challenge for the WDC, than the real Williams drivers were in reality?

I can imagine Salo driving for a team like Williams in 2000, but I doubt he'd have been able to be spectecular enough to be chosen over Montoya. Button's season was promising, but Sir Frank just wanted Montoya too badly at that time. Salo's only chance would've been beating Ralf in 2000, but IMO Salo was always too inconsistent, and couldn't have beaten the German.

After that he could go to Benetton like how Button did,but I could see him staying on there to at least 2003,where they start becoming competitive again with Renault.

[Wizzie]

What if Red Bull signed Sebastien Loeb instead of Sebastian Vettel for 2009 and beyond?

[mario]

What if Red Bull signed Sebastien Loeb instead of Sebastian Vettel for 2009 and beyond?

I think that Red Bull's intention was to sign Loeb alongside, rather than directly replacing, Vettel (let us not forget that Vettel had effectively been earmarked for the parent team whilst he was working as BMW's test driver back in 2007, so it is unlikely that Loeb would have displaced Vettel). It would have been a pretty big publicity coup, but probably wouldn't have worked out all that well.

Loeb himself, although he was interested in the idea he was concerned over his physical fitness, is on record as saying that he doesn't think he would have been fit enough to have done a full race weekend - he would have been in his mid 30's at the time, but, unlike some of the current drivers on the grid of a similar age, he hasn't been doing the same amount of exercise as they have. Even if he was able to get his fitness levels up to scratch - which is doubtful - then, although he his lap times were reported to be quite consistent (once fuel and component wear was taken into consideration), he would probably have struggled a bit for pace.
Given that, it is unlikely that he would have been willing to commit to a full season with Red Bull, especially since the FIA repeatedly refused to give Loeb a super licence, even after he had taken part in those tests, because they felt that he lacked sufficient experience in open wheeled racing cars. There would be little logic for Red Bull to sign Loeb up unless the FIA were willing to give him a licence, and unfortunately they were not willing to budge on that matter.

[ibsey]

What if Red Bull signed Sebastien Loeb instead of Sebastian Vettel for 2009 and beyond?

Interesting you say that, as I've always wondered how easy the tranistion between rally driving & F1 would be in reality? So would have loved to have seen Loeb given a decent crack at F1.

From my experiences on Gran Tusrimo 5, circuit racing & rallying driving seem to require a slightly different skill set (i.e. rallying seems to require a more 'instinctive' approach to finding the limit).

Therefore I am wondering whether there has been any drivers, within the last 30 odd years, who had initally climbed the motorsport ladder in rallying & then have subsquently participated in F1 with some success? Or vice versa.

Obviously Rakkionen, did OK in his 2 years in WRC & there has been a few other F1 drivers who have had a crack at a rally car such as, Senna around 1985 / 1986 or Kubica around 2010 / 2011 & even Martin Brundle around 1996. But would be interested to explore just how interchangable the two styles might be?

Anyway after reading Autosport's 1982 special edition magazine I'm full of What if questions today. What if the 1979 points system wasn't in place, I haven't done the maths, but would any one else have been WDC?

Perhaps we could also ask, what if the best out of 11 scores weren't in place up to 1991, again would we have any other WDC than we did in reality. I've heard that Prost would have won the 1988 title if all the scores counted.

Also what if Brabham, particularly Patrese's car, hadn't decided to sacrife their 1982 season, by deciding to test the unreliable BMW turbo's engines during race weekends. Instead of sticking with the reliable Cosworth powered engines, which ultimately won the championship with Keke?

What with all the subsquent events of 1982 I'm fairly certain we would have seen Piquet win the WDC, if both drivers had the Cosworths from the start. But would Patrese still have won the WDC if Brabham exclusively used Cosworth powered engines on his car. Whislt using Piquet's car to test the unreliable BMW engines.

[pasta_maldonado]

Anyway after reading Autosport's 1982 special edition magazine I'm full of What if questions today. What if the 1979 points system wasn't in place, I haven't done the maths, but would any one else have been WDC?

I've just finished reading that too, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 1982 remains my most favourite season, simply because so many teams were capable of winning a race. (Yet, I wasn't alive to watch it first time around, as I only came about 14 years later ) Interesting what Dernie said about the FW08 4-wheeler. The skirts extended all the way past to the rear axle, so the amount of ground effects downforce generated was huge, plus you got the advantage of better mechanical grip from the extra set of wheels. I'm not sure whether all 4 would have been driven though, and I think it's a real shame Williams didn't race test it, because we were denied a chance to see the it in action.

Anyway, Wikipedia says that had they not used the awful points system, Scheckter would have won with 60 points, Villeneuve would come second with 53, and Jones would come third with 43. Also , no-one else would be affected. Does anyone know why that points system was used? My guess is that it was used to try and combat unreliability.

[Dj_bereta]

What if Christian Fittipaldi stayed in F-1 instead of going to Cart?

[ibsey]

What if Christian Fittipaldi stayed in F-1 instead of going to Cart?

I think he may have stayed within the midfield of F1 with Arrows (or teams simliar to them) for the majority of his career before moving to Cart racing by 2000?

Perhaps he might have got his 'big break' with someone like Jordan in 1997 (replacing Rubens) where perhaps he would have been capable of a few podium finishes. However I'm not sure he ultimately had the talent to set F1 alight with glory. Good but not brilliant is how I tend to think of Christian Fittipaldi's time in F1.

Here's one...

What if Nelson Piquet Jnr hadn't admitted his part in 'Crash' gate in Singapore 2008?

Just been reading Pat Symmonds interview in this month's Motorsport Magazine. Very interesting stuff indeed. He basically says, that there was a bit of talk in the press over 'crashgate' in the immediate aftermath of it. However Alonso won the following race in Japan, fair & squarely. Thus putting an end to press speculation over Renualt's action's in Singapore 2008.

[JeremyMcClean]

What if Christian Fittipaldi stayed in F-1 instead of going to Cart?

I think he may have stayed within the midfield of F1 with Arrows (or teams simliar to them) for the majority of his career before moving to Cart racing by 2000?

Perhaps he might have got his 'big break' with someone like Jordan in 1997 (replacing Rubens) where perhaps he would have been capable of a few podium finishes. However I'm not sure he ultimately had the talent to set F1 alight with glory. Good but not brilliant is how I tend to think of Christian Fittipaldi's time in F1.

Here's one...

What if Nelson Piquet Jnr hadn't admitted his part in 'Crash' gate in Singapore 2008?

Just been reading Pat Symmonds interview in this month's Motorsport Magazine. Very interesting stuff indeed. He basically says, that there was a bit of talk in the press over 'crashgate' in the immediate aftermath of it. However Alonso won the following race in Japan, fair & squarely. Thus putting an end to press speculation over Renualt's action's in Singapore 2008.

Furthermore, what if Alonso was rubbish at Japan 2008 and didn't win? Surely the media would have found out sooner than in real life if that had happened...

[ibsey]

Furthermore, what if Alonso was rubbish at Japan 2008 and didn't win? Surely the media would have found out sooner than in real life if that had happened...

That was what I was thinking also. Therefore I wonder what, if any, effect this may have had on the penalties towards those responsible if the above had occured?

But, as was the case, the media didn't find out about it until Piquet Jnr blew the whistle almost a year later. Therefore, assuming no-one outside of the team ever found out about the horrid affair & therefore Pat Symmonds & Flavio kept their jobs. Whislt some of Renualt sponsors didn't walk out on them, as soon as they found out about it etc (even if they were likely to leave them anyway).

Would Renualt / Lotus have been even more competitive with Pat Symmonds & Flavio still leading them & possibly a heathier budget, post 2009?

The legend that is Taki Inoue almost drove for Minardi at the beginning of 1996 but his sponsors pulled out. Therefore what if they hadn't? What sort of 'antics' would Taki have got up to that year in the Minardi? Also would that have deprived a certain Johnny Carwash of a seat later in the year?