What If?

[WeirdKerr]

Heres one for Cynon:

WHAT IF Tony George's 25 and 8 idea at Indy for 1996 had been OK'd by everyone in CART?

Im reckoning the CART teams would still have won the Indy 500.

explain the 25 and 8 thing???

[mario]

Jack Brabham might of still won the title because the Lotus cars were not really reliable, but the Ford deal would of been normal as ever as Lotus still lost the title and would still take a risk to win.

I guess that you're right, and the usual problems with the frailty of the Lotus cars would have still crippled Clark's assault on the title - but, at the very least, it's hard to see how the Lotus 43 wouldn't have done better with the much lighter Repco V8 (some sources put the weight of the H16 around the 250kg mark). You also wonder if having a much lighter, and slightly less powerful, engine would mean that the components would not have been so overstressed - given Chapman's desire to produce as light a car as possible, he might have tried to compensate for the heavy engine by going right to the limit, and over, with other components in the hope of reducing the overall weight.

But the way the lotus cars were, if the car didnt have mechanical problems, then Jim Clark could of won every single race as their were only 11 races that year. The H16 engine was a good engine, but just to big for F1 standards (and like you said Mario the stress of the components) and very thirsty engine (and back then the engines were not fuel friendly)

What if Cosworth never produced the DFV 3.0L V8 Ford engine in 1967?

It's plausible, given that Ford originally rejected Chapman's request for funding (it's only because Walter Hayes put Chapman in touch with a senior engineer at Ford that he was able to convince Ford to back the project). Given that Cosworth already had a conceptual design for the DFV, just lacking funding, I reckon that Chapman probably would have secured the funding from somebody to complete the engine, just that it might have taken one or two more years to come to fruition, and development might have initially been slower (due to lower resources).

In the meantime, the Repco V8 engine might have remained competitive for a year or two longer, since it was probably the most fuel efficient, lightest and reliable engine in the field at the time - though its limited capacity for development would mean that its successful lifespan would still be limited (which became evident when they tried to compete with the power of the DFV - the engine was overstressed, and their once strong reliability vanished).

[ADx_Wales]

Heres one for Cynon:

WHAT IF Tony George's 25 and 8 idea at Indy for 1996 had been OK'd by everyone in CART?

Im reckoning the CART teams would still have won the Indy 500.

explain the 25 and 8 thing???

From 1980 to 1995 Indycar was a championship run by the teams that took part in it, one of the rounds being the Indy500 that was run by the owners of the Indianapolis oval and the American equivalent of the BRDC (known as USAC, United States Automobile Club).

By 1991 the ownership of the Indy speedway fell into the hands of Tony George, who was of the agenda that the premier american Open-Wheel series (IndyCar) should be an All-American championship, in some cases it was understandable, from other perspectives, Tony George was a nutcase.

Indycar had made its first visit to Surfers Paradise, Australia, engines and chassis were being brought in from Britain, and there was soon to be a majority of non-US drivers taking part, indeed 1993 saw Nigel Mansell turn up to a championship he didn't really belong in, along with an influx of recent-and-yet-to-be F1 Rejects. This in turn caused the lack of "home grown" talent to get into the championship, the greatest example of this is now-NASCAR stalwart(?) Tony Stewart, he had been coming through the single-seater ranks deserving of a seat, only to be thwarted by the likes of F1 Rejects and F3000 Midfield runners.

Tony George would announce the USAC based championship in 1994, and by 1996 the Indy Racing League would kick off, and only race on American soil, providing the turns were all going in the right direction (the right direction being left).

This would provide the decent drives for those home grown drivers deserving of a gridslot at the brickyard, but in order to provide them with that luxury, Tony George GUARANTEED that the proposed 25 IRL drivers would get first dibs on the 1996 Indy 500 Grid, thus leaving 8 slots open for everyone else, including the 1996 CART PPG Indycar runners. CART were livid, they would no longer take part in the Indy 500, and tried to run their own "US500" somewhere else.

For the 1996 IRL season the cars were essentially 1995 Indycars, but for 1997 the teams were to change to all v8 stock-block engine(much akin to NASCAR) from the All-American engine companies Infiniti (Nissan, go figure), and the General Motors linked Oldsmobile. Tony Stewart was now a front runner in this series, it wasn't long however, 2 seasons of open-wheel ovals-only racing for Stewart to switch to NASCAR, which had fed off the rip in the open-wheel universe, and is clearly now the more "popular" series.

CART drove their US500 campaign to the wall, scheduling it to run on the same day as the Indy 500, a big mistake considering that NASCAR also have their 600 Mile spectacular at Charlotte on the same day, the Race would switch to an August weekend, and by 2001 the concept of an "alternative500" was dropped, CART would then become Champcar, which would later become Defunct and all its remaining teams would have reverted to a "re-merged" series by 2008.

The Rip is not properly sewn back together.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

The thing is, that I've watched the 1998-2000 US 500 (or Michigan 500) and the 1998-2000 Indy 500. I can only say, that the CART race was far more spectacular in all three years compared to Indy. That's not to say that the Indy races were non-eventful (Robby Gordon swearing when he ran out fuel XD), but the CART races had be up on my feet second after second. Shame CART committed suicide (Yeah, I know I've said that too many times, I'll stop, promise).

[Bleu]

In 1997 there was 35 drivers starting Indy 500 due to that rule.

[IdeFan]

Ironically despite Tony George's intentions of an all american all oval championship, Indycar is now dominated by foreign drivers (the highest placed American driver in 2010 was 7th) uses an Italian chassis (Dallara) Japanese engines (Honda) and is more than 50% road courses (9/17 in 2010, 10/17 in 2011).

So while Indycar might have "won" the war, they havn't won at all because what we're left with is essentially CART, but not quite as good.

[FullMetalJack]

What if Minardi had got the Mugen Honda engine deal in 1995?

What if Berger hadn't survived his Imola crash in 1989?

[Vepe]

What if Berger hadn't survived his Imola crash in 1989?

The chicanes at Imola would have been built earlier, thus preventing Razenbergers and Sennas deaths 5 years later.

[madmark1974]

What if Berger hadn't survived his Imola crash in 1989?

An interesting point, bearing in mind it was an Italian car on Italian soil, perhaps it was just because he 'got away with it' that further
safety improvements weren't immediately bought into place - I imagine the uproar from the Italian media would have been huge.

I don't recall hearing much about if he had any bad physical injuries in the crash besides being burnt, so maybe nothing in the regulations would
have been changed with regards to driver head protection, etc, but I agree with the above post, and let's face it, that corner needed changing
even before any of those incidents happened, never mind after Berger's crash ...

[FMecha]

What if Minardi had got the Mugen Honda engine deal in 1995?

Ligier would turn to either Peugeot or Yamaha*... because Renault pulled plug due to Ligier's backmarkership.

*Proably badged as Judd, like what Pacific planned in 1996, since Yamaha had works commitment with Tyrrell.

[ADx_Wales]

What if Mario Andretti had time to do the Monaco GP in 1989?

Berger's grilling in the 640 meant that for the Monaco GP they needed to find a replacement driver, Mario Andretti was the first and only name Maranello looked for in their Phone book, however there was an Indycar race stopping him from taking part, nobody else was deemed suitable by Ferrari to take part around the streets of the Meditteranian Principality.

[WeirdKerr]

What if Minardi had got the Mugen Honda engine deal in 1995?

Ligier would turn to either Peugeot or Yamaha*... because Renault pulled plug due to Ligier's backmarkership.

*Proably badged as Judd, like what Pacific planned in 1996, since Yamaha had works commitment with Tyrrell.

Actually Briatorre bought the ligier team and had the engine supply transferred to the benneton team AFAIK

[LucaPacchiarini]

What if John Love had won the 67 South African GP

[mario]

What if John Love had won the 67 South African GP

Overall, it would have made little difference - John Love would have been 10th in the WDC, ahead of Mike Spence on count back when considering the results, whilst Pedro Rodriguez would go from 6th to 8th in the WDC (with 12 points instead of 15, he'd be behind Graham Hill, who had 15, and Dan Gurney on 13).
Overall, though, I think that it'd make little difference to the records - the last win for a privately entered car would still have been Jo Siffert in the 1968 British GP, or the last win for a driver/team owner (that'd be Sir Jack Brabham, with his win in the 1970 South African GP). The only difference would be that he, and not Pedro Rodriguez, would have taken the last win for Cooper, but asides from that, I don't think it would have had a significant impact on the sport.

What if Berger hadn't survived his Imola crash in 1989?

An interesting point, bearing in mind it was an Italian car on Italian soil, perhaps it was just because he 'got away with it' that further safety improvements weren't immediately bought into place - I imagine the uproar from the Italian media would have been huge.

I don't recall hearing much about if he had any bad physical injuries in the crash besides being burnt, so maybe nothing in the regulations would have been changed with regards to driver head protection, etc, but I agree with the above post, and let's face it, that corner needed changing even before any of those incidents happened, never mind after Berger's crash ...

I think that he also suffered from broken ribs (at least according to Wikipedia, doing a quick search for the race report), but otherwise the only other injury he suffered were 2nd degree burns caused by the fire. It's definite, though, that the public outcry by the Italian media would have been ferocious if Berger had been killed, so there would have been considerable pressure on the FIA to modify either the cars or the tracks, and probably both.
Given that Berger's accident came on the back of De Angelis's fatal accident in testing, the most likely scenario is that the new fuel tanks, which were introduced in 1991, along with new tests for the driver safety cell, would probably have come in for 1990 instead. You'd probably have also seen modifications made to the barriers around several circuits, including Imola, and I suspect that the FIA would have been less complacent and more active in ordering circuit changes - particularly if the Italian authorities threatened legal action against the track owners or the FIA for sanctioning the event.

[Aerospeed]

What if Jenson placed second in the last race? Would we still consider his drive "the best of his career?"

[David AGS]

What if Jenson placed second in the last race? Would we still consider his drive "the best of his career?"

I think so, he would have been very happy just to be on the podium,he said something similar at the end of the race

[TomWazzleshaw]

What if Jenson placed second in the last race? Would we still consider his drive "the best of his career?"

I think so, he would have been very happy just to be on the podium,he said something similar at the end of the race

Before today many considered Germany 2004 as his best drive and he finished second there so year it would still be considered the drive of his career.

[GroupLotusRenault]

What if Schumacher won the 2011 Canadian GP?

[tommykl]

What if Schumacher won the 2011 Canadian GP?

He would have found loads more confidence, but the car's limits would prevent him from winning more than a couple mroe races.

[LionZoo]

What if Kobayashi had finished on the podium in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix?

[DanielPT]

What if Kobayashi had finished on the podium in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix?

He would then sign immediately with Red Bull.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

What if Kobayashi had finished on the podium in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix?

He would then sign immediately with Red Bull.

And despite being given a modified RB5 to comply with regulations, destroys Vettel and wins the championship.

[DanielPT]

What if Kobayashi had finished on the podium in the 2011 Canadian Grand Prix?

He would then sign immediately with Red Bull.

And despite being given a modified RB5 to comply with regulations, destroys Vettel and wins the championship.

Ah, we can only dream!

[Phoenix]

I am slightly serious with this: if Massa keeps underperforming, and Kobayashi keeps being this good, Ferrari will sign him. You saw it here first.

[thecowboyfromhell]

What if Wolfgang von Trips hadn't slid up the side of the road at Monza '61? He would have been world champion
What if Jim Clark hadn't decided to race in an F2 race at Hockenheim in '68?He probably would have won 2 more titles
What if Colin Chapman hadn't got sponsorship for his Lotus?Someone else would have eventually
What if aerofoils hadn't been developed?Someone would have thought of it
What if Jackie Stewart hadn't had his life-changing crash?Most of the current f1 drivers would probably have died by now
What if Roger Williamson had held that slide at Zandvoort?Wouldn't have changed a thing
What if the rear wing of Rolf Stommelen's Hill had held off until a slow corner in Spain 1975??
What if Niki Lauda hadn't recovered after the Nurburgring crash?He wouldn't be able to insult every single modern f1 driver like he does now
What if Renault hadn't developed a turbo engine?Honda would have
What if Lotus had never created ground effect?Adrian Newey would have
What if Nigel Mansell hadn't taken pain killers in a test for Lotus? he would have moaned about being in pain
What if Martin Brundle had beaten Ayrton Senna in F3 in 1983?Senna would still have gotten the toleman drive
What if Tommy Byrne hadn't been had a personality clash with Ron Dennis?He would have played second fiddle to prost
What if the '84 Monaco GP hadn't been stopped?Stefan Bellof would have won, and then been disqualified
What if Stefan Bellof hadn't tried to overtake Ickx at Eau Rouge?He wouldn't have died
What if Nigel Mansell's wheel hadn't burst at Australia '86?He would have stopped moaning briefly to lift the trophy
What if the McLaren MP4/4 hadn't been as well developed?Someone else might have won a few races
What if Bertrand Gachot hadn't attacked a taxi driver?Schumacher would have replaced him soon afterwards
What if Alain Prost hadn't gone Williams for 1993?Senna would have another title
What if the wheel had bounced half a metre to the right after Senna's crash?Senna would have still died from head trauma from his head smashing into the cockpit side
What if Benetton's illegal devices hadn't been found?Schumacher would have won the title with races to spare
What if Schumacher hadn't gone to Ferrari?He would have won title 3 with benneton, but none afterwards
What if Jacques Villeneuve had stayed in America?The world would be a better place
What if Damon Hill had stayed at Williams for 1997?Wasn't his call, frank got rid of him
What if Michael Schumacher hadn't crashed at Silverstone 1999?8 times world champion
What if Luciano Burti hadn't been as lucky at Spa 2001?The FIA would have changed the regulations
What if Barrichello hadn't let Schumacher past at Austria 2002?Rubens would be looking for a new drive
What if Verstappen hadn't spun off at Brazil 2003?he would have finished 5th
What if Red Bull hadn't bought Jaguar?Who's sebastian vettel?
What if Ralf hadn't crashed in practice for US 2005?The fans wouldn't have been cheated out of their money
What if Nigel Stepney hadn't been a scheming c***?Nothing
What if Alonso hadn't felt McLaren were favoriting Hamilton?He would have focussed and would still be driving for mclaren now, with 4 world titles under his belt (possibly
What if Timo Glock had 'accidentally' slid in to Hamilton as he passed him at Brazil last year?I would have been a happy man.

AND FINALLY What if Honda hadn't been bought, and Button and Barrichello's careers were effectively over?Button would have got a drive elsewhere, and sebastian vettel would be the youngest double world champion in f1 history.

[thecowboyfromhell]

1.What if Shell decided to break the McLaren contract in 1993, so that McLaren used elf fuel and Renault engines, would Senna have stayed, and would he win the title? Ironically Shell broke the contract late 1994
Senna probably would have won a couple more races, but not the title. That williams was in a different league
2.What if Christian Fittipaldi took that McLaren test driver spot in 1993?
Andretti might have lasted the season, then they would have looked for someone like Hakkinen for 94 anyway. Fittipaldi would have been kept as test driver.
3. What if Capelli took the Scuderia Italia drive instead of Ferrari, who would have taken the Ferrari seat?
Who knows? The way ferrari operated in those days it could have been anyone. Maybe even a return there for michele alboreto.
4. What if Minardi got the Ford Cosworth V8 engine in 1991 instead of Jordan, alongside Benson and Hedges sponsorship?
The sponsorship would have brought in some cash meaning a better car, minardi could still be going today, as a competitve midfield team if things had gone their way.
5. What is PSN bought out Minardi in late 2000?
Nothing much.
6. What if Renault bought Minardi in late 2000?
Alonso and webber would have been the drivers. Benetton would have been bought by someone else.

[Faustus]

What if Schumacher won the 2011 Canadian GP?

He would have found loads more confidence, but the car's limits would prevent him from winning more than a couple mroe races.

And hopefully he would have retired straight away, with his head held high as he would have proved that he was still a grear driver, instead of lingering on until the end of the season achieving results that are an embarassment to the memory of a great champion.

[Faustus]

What if McLaren had concluded a deal with Chrysler to use Lamborghini engines for 1994?

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

What if McLaren had concluded a deal with Chrysler to use Lamborghini engines for 1994?

I feel that they would have been battling Ferrari for third place in the WCC. From the 8W article which I read some time ago, it certainly looks that with McLaren's money, the Lambo engine could have been developed into a race winner.

[Faustus]

What if McLaren had concluded a deal with Chrysler to use Lamborghini engines for 1994?

I feel that they would have been battling Ferrari for third place in the WCC. From the 8W article which I read some time ago, it certainly looks that with McLaren's money, the Lambo engine could have been developed into a race winner.

And apparently Chrysler was willing to design a brand new engine for 1994. With McLaren helping to develop it, I think they could have done quite well.
Peugeot might have gone to Larrousse, as they rumoured to do at the time and we might still have them around. Mercedes might have stayed with Sauber.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

What if McLaren had concluded a deal with Chrysler to use Lamborghini engines for 1994?

I feel that they would have been battling Ferrari for third place in the WCC. From the 8W article which I read some time ago, it certainly looks that with McLaren's money, the Lambo engine could have been developed into a race winner.

And apparently Chrysler was willing to design a brand new engine for 1994. With McLaren helping to develop it, I think they could have done quite well.
Peugeot might have gone to Larrousse, as they rumoured to do at the time and we might still have them around. Mercedes might have stayed with Sauber.

And that leaves us with another two 'What If?' questions!

1) Where would the Peugeot engines go for 1995? Larrousse folded in RL, and probably would have even with Peugeot engines. But would the constant blowups in a backmarker team be good enough for someone like Jordan to take them up? Would Peugeot have to withdraw after just 1 year of F1?

2) Sauber and the works Mercedes deal is another interesting story. I honestly doubt that Mercedes would have gone anywhere else. I think Sauber would have actually had a chance of an upset victory somewhere.

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

Also, what if JJ Lehto hadn't had his testing crash?

[Faustus]

Also, what if JJ Lehto hadn't had his testing crash?

Hmmm interesting... I think he would still have been completely outpaced by Michael Schumacher. I remember the idiotic comments that Keke Rosberg (his manager at the time) was making about Lehto. about Lehto being a championship favourite and the similarities between Rosberg's first year at Williams in 1982 when he won the championship and Lehto's upcoming season with Benetton. Something about both of them having number 6 on their cars and some other rubbish.

[Faustus]

1.What if Shell decided to break the McLaren contract in 1993, so that McLaren used elf fuel and Renault engines, would Senna have stayed, and would he win the title? Ironically Shell broke the contract late 1994

I don't think Renault engines were ever on the cards for McLaren.

5. What is PSN bought out Minardi in late 2000?

We might have had to endure the painful sight of Gascon Mazzacane being useless for a couple of years more, but then PSN would probably have unloaded Minardi on someone else after a few years, especially considering the financial crisis in Argentina.

[Faustus]

What if Stefan Bellof hadn't tried to overtake Ickx at Eau Rouge?He wouldn't have died

He would have gone to Ferrari in 1986, replacing Stefan Johansson like he was supposed to, would have had a terrible car for the season and absolutely no chance of a win, even though he was a magnificent driver, then he would have left at the end of 1987 to join Rial, last a few more years and ultimately retire without having won a single race.
I'm a big fan of Bellof's and I remember vividly the Monaco Grand Prix of 1984 and the Portuguese Grand Prix of 1985, but I'm not sure he would have achieved much in a Ferrari.

What if Michael Schumacher hadn't crashed at Silverstone 1999?8 times world champion

Laughed out loud (or lol'ed, if you are into unnecesary abbreviations) at this one, which is slightly embarassing in a crowded quiet office.

[James1978]

What if Wolfgang von Trips hadn't slid up the side of the road at Monza '61? He would have been world champion
What if Jim Clark hadn't decided to race in an F2 race at Hockenheim in '68?He probably would have won 2 more titles
What if Colin Chapman hadn't got sponsorship for his Lotus?Someone else would have eventually
What if aerofoils hadn't been developed?Someone would have thought of it
What if Jackie Stewart hadn't had his life-changing crash?Most of the current f1 drivers would probably have died by now
What if Roger Williamson had held that slide at Zandvoort?Wouldn't have changed a thing
What if the rear wing of Rolf Stommelen's Hill had held off until a slow corner in Spain 1975??
What if Niki Lauda hadn't recovered after the Nurburgring crash?He wouldn't be able to insult every single modern f1 driver like he does now
What if Renault hadn't developed a turbo engine?Honda would have
What if Lotus had never created ground effect?Adrian Newey would have
What if Nigel Mansell hadn't taken pain killers in a test for Lotus? he would have moaned about being in pain
What if Martin Brundle had beaten Ayrton Senna in F3 in 1983?Senna would still have gotten the toleman drive
What if Tommy Byrne hadn't been had a personality clash with Ron Dennis?He would have played second fiddle to prost
What if the '84 Monaco GP hadn't been stopped?Stefan Bellof would have won, and then been disqualified
What if Stefan Bellof hadn't tried to overtake Ickx at Eau Rouge?He wouldn't have died
What if Nigel Mansell's wheel hadn't burst at Australia '86?He would have stopped moaning briefly to lift the trophy
What if the McLaren MP4/4 hadn't been as well developed?Someone else might have won a few races
What if Bertrand Gachot hadn't attacked a taxi driver?Schumacher would have replaced him soon afterwards
What if Alain Prost hadn't gone Williams for 1993?Senna would have another title
What if the wheel had bounced half a metre to the right after Senna's crash?Senna would have still died from head trauma from his head smashing into the cockpit side
What if Benetton's illegal devices hadn't been found?Schumacher would have won the title with races to spare
What if Schumacher hadn't gone to Ferrari?He would have won title 3 with benneton, but none afterwards
What if Jacques Villeneuve had stayed in America?The world would be a better place
What if Damon Hill had stayed at Williams for 1997?Wasn't his call, frank got rid of him
What if Michael Schumacher hadn't crashed at Silverstone 1999?8 times world champion
What if Luciano Burti hadn't been as lucky at Spa 2001?The FIA would have changed the regulations
What if Barrichello hadn't let Schumacher past at Austria 2002?Rubens would be looking for a new drive
What if Verstappen hadn't spun off at Brazil 2003?he would have finished 5th
What if Red Bull hadn't bought Jaguar?Who's sebastian vettel?
What if Ralf hadn't crashed in practice for US 2005?The fans wouldn't have been cheated out of their money
What if Nigel Stepney hadn't been a scheming c***?Nothing
What if Alonso hadn't felt McLaren were favoriting Hamilton?He would have focussed and would still be driving for mclaren now, with 4 world titles under his belt (possibly
What if Timo Glock had 'accidentally' slid in to Hamilton as he passed him at Brazil last year?I would have been a happy man.

AND FINALLY What if Honda hadn't been bought, and Button and Barrichello's careers were effectively over?Button would have got a drive elsewhere, and sebastian vettel would be the youngest double world champion in f1 history.

Thank you for making me laugh so much, especially the ones about Lauda and Jacques Villeneuve!!

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

What if Stefan Bellof hadn't tried to overtake Ickx at Eau Rouge?He wouldn't have died

He would have gone to Ferrari in 1986, replacing Stefan Johansson like he supposed to, would have had a terrible car for the season and absolutely no chance of a win, even though he was a magnificent driver, then he would have left at the end of 1987 to join Rial, last a few more years and ultimately retire without having won a single race.
I'm a big fan of Bellof's and I remember vividly the Monaco Grand Prix of 1984 and the Portuguese Grand Prix of 1985, but I'm not sure he would have achieved much in a Ferrari.[/quote]
As the self-declared biggest fan of Stefan Bellof on this forum, I am forced to reply to this!

Like you said, I feel that Bellof would never really have been in a position for a race win, but I do personally believe that at places like Monaco and Spa, he would have been in with a shot, and would have finished second in both races (obviously I would say that). Also, bearing in mind that the F1/86 was the fastest in a straight line, I feel he would have done very competitively at Hockenheim, Spielberg and Monza. I don't think he would have been very far away from Senna in the overall standings (Senna had 55 points that year in fourth, Johansson was fifth with 23). For 1987, I think that the early-season Ferrari reliability would have crippled both him and Berger, as it did in real life. However, once that was settled, I feel he would have comfortably beaten Berger and would have taken those last two wins in Japan and Australia. Finishes fourth instead of Prost, and once again behind Senna in the overall standings. 1988, and he would have been without doubt the best of the rest, taking advantage of everybody's elses mistakes. Winning at Monza, finishing on the podium whenever the Ferrari stayed alive (forgive me, I'm listening to the Bee Gees right now) and would have set quite a few quick laps. Looking at these results, I think that in a straight swap, Williams would have signed Bellof instead of Boutsen, with Mansell taking his place at Ferrari. To be honest, I feel there's no need to predict what happens next! Is an outsider for the 89' championship, eventually comes a point shy of Senna in second. 1990, and he's even more of a danger, with a three-way battle for the championship (keep in mind that the FW13B was a very good car, and that, with no disrespect to Boutsen and Patrese, whom I greatly admire, was hampered by a lack of a driver who could set the world alight). Bellof tops Prost for second, but once again finishes second to Senna. 1991 becomes even more of a nail-biter, but Bellof is ultimately let down by reliability. Nige never returns, and heads off to IndyCar a year early, pipping Bobby Rahal and Michael Andretti for the title, but that's another story. Anyway, Bellof totally decimates the field, and wins whenever he finishes, which is, alot. For 1993, Damon Hill becomes his new teammate, Alain Prost refusing to join the team due to the team refusing to let go of Bellof, which was the clause in the contract. Bellof takes a second title easily, and at Donington, has an absolutely terrific scrap with Senna for the whole race, Senna eventually winning. In 1994, most feel the world will end, when Senna joins the team to partner Bellof. The first two races are totally dominated by the duo, with Senna on pole both times, and Bellof winning both races. San Marino is a massive blow, however, and Bellof seriously considers quitting. However, he doesn't, and goes on to defeat Schumacher to the title. No need for Adelaide antics, we'll have to wait for 1997 to get some 'turn into my opponent' antics. He stays on in 1995, now a triple world champion, and promptly makes it 4 in the superior Williams car. Sick of F1, though, he takes the Mansell and Fittipaldi route, and joins the Forsythe team, instead of Greg Moore. Unfortunately, he follows the same path as Moore*, although he finishes runner up in 1997 and 1998 to Zanardi very closely.

*Let me explain, a driver, or anybody else for that matter, only becomes a legend when he dies. Look at James Dean for example. Only 2 movies, and he's a 'legend'. To be frank, I'd rather Bellof live, but I can't help but feel that Bellof needs the same 'hero' look as Senna had. I know, I'm a twisted ******.

[FMecha]

What if...

Prost did not return in 1993?
No mismanagement in Arrows occured, allowing the team team to survive in 2002 and securing team future?
Lotus merged with another team in 1995?

[ibsey]

What if...

Prost did not return in 1993?

Not too sure about the other two questions but I surely Senna would have got the Williams drive in 1993 possibily alongside Mansell? (IIRC Prosts demands were apparent a factor in Mansell's decision to leave Williams).

One also wonders in the case of these two staying on with Williams beyond 1993 & assisting the development of next years car. Would the 1994 car would have been so problematical?

I've got another one...what if Martin Brundle got the Williams drive in 1993?

Could Brundle (at the peak of his career) beaten an aging Prost for the title?

Also would Senna have allowed his former F3 rival to be his teammate for 1994?

[midgrid]

Also, what if JJ Lehto hadn't had his testing crash?

He probably would have been more consistently at his San Marino/Spain level, scored several podiums and possibly a lucky win or two and Benetton would have won the WCC.

Then there would have been a battle over the seat with Verstappen for 1995, as he wouldn't have had his reputation damaged by having to start his career too early.