What If?

[Ferrarist]

What if Bernie goes one step further and decides to offer all F1 races exclusively on PPV?

[AndreaModa]

What if Bernie goes one step further and decides to offer all F1 races exclusively on PPV?

Unlikely, because the sponsors would have a drastically reduced market with which to target, therefore making F1 far less attractive as an advertising platform, and thus accelerating the decline in sponsorship revenue for the teams, leading to the demise of the sport as most, if not all, eventually go bust.

Here's another, prompted by this webpage Nuppiz linked to in the "Reject moments that never happened" thread. What if Mika Hakkinen had moved to Williams in 1993, thus denying Damon Hill a race drive?

[Ferrarist]

Unlikely, because the sponsors would have a drastically reduced market with which to target, therefore making F1 far less attractive as an advertising platform, and thus accelerating the decline in sponsorship revenue for the teams, leading to the demise of the sport as most, if not all, eventually go bust.

To play devil's advocate here: WWE or UFC draw millions from PPV sells from around the world. Not to mention that they can still attract corporate sponsorship. On the other hand, WWE and UFC have still means to promote their product on free TV. Not to mention that auto racing and professional wrestling are not really comparable.
But sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. IIRC, NASCAR attempted some PPV races in the 80's. CART also wanted to run the cancelled Honolulu Race on PPV. Whilst they were at the beginning of their end.

[Salamander]

Unlikely, because the sponsors would have a drastically reduced market with which to target, therefore making F1 far less attractive as an advertising platform, and thus accelerating the decline in sponsorship revenue for the teams, leading to the demise of the sport as most, if not all, eventually go bust.

To play devil's advocate here: WWE or UFC draw millions from PPV sells from around the world. Not to mention that they can still attract corporate sponsorship. On the other hand, WWE and UFC have still means to promote their product on free TV. Not to mention that auto racing and professional wrestling are not really comparable.
But sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. IIRC, NASCAR attempted some PPV races in the 80's. CART also wanted to run the cancelled Honolulu Race on PPV. Whilst they were at the beginning of their end.

The fact that NASCAR failed to get PPV racing to work should be a big enough clue that it won't work for F1.

[AndreaModa]

The thing with a sport like boxing, which works for PPV is, the fights are quite infrequent, so when one does come around, it's a big deal, especially if there's a title or two on the line. With F1, or any other motorsport, you have roughly 20 races every year, guaranteed, so people will just end up picking a few to watch, so the audience will be diluted massively. And even then, most won't even bother because illegal streams will be up sapping most of them away. Using boxing again, I've never seen a live fight because I'd never use PPV, but a quick youtube search once the fight is over will give me plenty of different options to view it all, and in a decent quality too.

[Hound55]

The fact that NASCAR failed to get PPV racing to work should be a big enough clue that it won't work for F1.

NASCAR's first flag to flag coverage of a race was in only 1979 for the Daytona 500, so the sport wasn't nearly as big as it is now. NASCAR failing to make PPV to work for them several decades ago doesn't really compare to F1 now.

The thing with a sport like boxing, which works for PPV is, the fights are quite infrequent, so when one does come around, it's a big deal, especially if there's a title or two on the line. With F1, or any other motorsport, you have roughly 20 races every year, guaranteed, so people will just end up picking a few to watch, so the audience will be diluted massively. And even then, most won't even bother because illegal streams will be up sapping most of them away. Using boxing again, I've never seen a live fight because I'd never use PPV, but a quick youtube search once the fight is over will give me plenty of different options to view it all, and in a decent quality too.

However, the FOM are pretty good at getting those YouTube videos taken down, so that does mean it will be harder to watch F1 illegaly.

[Onxy Wrecked]

The thing with a sport like boxing, which works for PPV is, the fights are quite infrequent, so when one does come around, it's a big deal, especially if there's a title or two on the line. With F1, or any other motorsport, you have roughly 20 races every year, guaranteed, so people will just end up picking a few to watch, so the audience will be diluted massively. And even then, most won't even bother because illegal streams will be up sapping most of them away. Using boxing again, I've never seen a live fight because I'd never use PPV, but a quick youtube search once the fight is over will give me plenty of different options to view it all, and in a decent quality too.

And NASCAR has 41 races every year in the top series alone, although 5 don't pay points which is even worse for PPV than F1 or IndyCar.

[Phoenix]

If Mika Häkkinen had got the Williams drive in 1993, Damon Hill would have been reduced to a test driver capability, perhaps never even making it into a race seat anywhere after that. Meanwhile, Alain Prost would have won the 1993 World Championship, retiring afterwards and leaving Häkkinen to fend off Ayrton Senna at Williams. But Senna gets killed at Imola and David Coulthard jumps into that seat instead of Hill. Häkkinen might or might not have won the 1994 World Championship over Michael Schumacher, but he would have taken the 1995, 1996 and 1997 titles before Williams falls into a slump in 1998 after losing both Adrian Newey and the Renault engines. After that, it's anyone's guess what could have happened.

[Shizuka]

I've already written down how I think the Sauber team would have turned out if bought by Red Bull. But that leaves Minardi and BMW alone - what if BMW bought Minardi after 2005?

[Phoenix]

I've already written down how I think the Sauber team would have turned out if bought by Red Bull. But that leaves Minardi and BMW alone - what if BMW bought Minardi after 2005?

Their success wouldn't have been as forthcoming as with buying Sauber, but still I can't imagine why BMW would want to buy a team like Minardi.

[mario]

I've already written down how I think the Sauber team would have turned out if bought by Red Bull. But that leaves Minardi and BMW alone - what if BMW bought Minardi after 2005?

Their success wouldn't have been as forthcoming as with buying Sauber, but still I can't imagine why BMW would want to buy a team like Minardi.

Minardi were fairly under resourced compared to other outfits, but they did have some pretty decent technical staff, a number of whom are still working within the world of F1 in fairly senior teams (it is worth noting that a few features, like the vertical slats on the Ferrari F138, originally appeared in Minardi's cars (and Ferrari's switch to a front pull rod suspension layout is also thought to have been inspired by a former Minardi designer now working at Ferrari), plus a number of engineers from Minardi are thought to have been moved up into Red Bull Racing at the end of 2008).
I still think that such a deal would be unlikely, but that knowledge base might be one reason why somebody might want to have bought Minardi, even if it is the case that their resources, although not terrible, would probably have needed upgrading (speaking of which, when did Toro Rosso last have a major overhaul in their infrastructure? They've jiggled their technical staff around, but by comparison I don't recall that much being invested in their equipment).

[Gerudo Dragon]

What if Rick Mears accepted to drive for Brabham in 1981?

[Onxy Wrecked]

What if Rick Mears accepted to drive for Brabham in 1981?

Mears would have been a certain improvement on Hector Rebaque. What happened in IndyCar would have been far harder to predict although Mike Mosley might have taken the spot of the Penske car.

[Salamander]

What if Rick Mears accepted to drive for Brabham in 1981?

Mears would have been a certain improvement on Hector Rebaque.

Most definitely, though I wonder if Bernie would let him anywhere near Piquet. If he did, Mears might've carved out a solid reputation for himself, though likely nothing compared to his CART reputation.

[Onxy Wrecked]

Mears would have been a certain improvement on Hector Rebaque.

Most definitely, though I wonder if Bernie would let him anywhere near Piquet. If he did, Mears might've carved out a solid reputation for himself, though likely nothing compared to his CART reputation.

Mears won the CART championship in 1979 and finished 4th in 1980, so if the rule Villeneuve used to jump into F1 was around back in the late 1970s and 1980s then yes, Mears would have been allowed in on past performance in 1979.

[Cynon]

What if Rick Mears accepted to drive for Brabham in 1981?

Question is worded incorrectly. Mears was wanted by Brabham but he turned them down because he didn't want to bring a sponsor to F1.

[Faustus]

What if Rick Mears accepted to drive for Brabham in 1981?

Question is worded incorrectly. Mears was wanted by Brabham but he turned them down because he didn't want to bring a sponsor to F1.

I'd like to think that he would have done better than Danny Sullivan, if no other reason that he would have a Brabham not a Tyrrell. Some points, maybe a podium?

[Phoenix]

What if Rick Mears accepted to drive for Brabham in 1981?

He'd have likely been forced to play second fiddle to Nelson Piquet, but rest assured he would have been noticeable anyway. He'd have probably moved to either Williams or McLaren in 1982.

Now, it's difficult to see whether Rick Mears would have coped with F1 well or not, but considering he was way faster than Piquet at a F1 test with Brabham, and the fact he was one of CART's megastars in the 80s, my guess is that, in adequate machinery, he had what it took to be World Champion.

[takagi_for_the_win]

What if Renault had bought out Jordan instead of Benetton?

[Salamander]

What if Renault had bought out Jordan instead of Benetton?

I think generally they would have been less successful. Probably would've lost both titles in 2006, and possibly the manufacturer's in 2005. Eddie Jordan just does not strike me as a championship-winning team boss.

[mario]

What if Renault had bought out Jordan instead of Benetton?

I think generally they would have been less successful. Probably would've lost both titles in 2006, and possibly the manufacturer's in 2005. Eddie Jordan just does not strike me as a championship-winning team boss.

It didn't stop Benetton/Renault from hiring several senior members of the Jordan GP team in their formative years - they hired Mike Gascoyne as their Technical Director before replacing him with Bob Bell (also a former Jordan employee), whilst they also hired Mark Smith to become their Chief Designer and Dino Toso to become their Chief Aerodynamicist (it seems that Gascoyne was particularly instrumental in luring the latter two over to Renault during his brief tenure there).

All in all, it does make you wonder why Renault didn't just buy the Jordan GP team out to begin with if they were so keen on getting their hands on their senior designers, as it would have been a quicker way of getting the same results (although Eddie Jordan was, at the time, still keen enough on the sport to want to retain ownership of his team, so he might well have refused any attempt by Renault to buy him out regardless of the terms).

[UncreativeUsername37]

What if Peter Arundell was able to race for all of 1964?

[DOSBoot]

What if Peter Arundell was able to race for all of 1964?

Assuming that wasn't injured in a Formula Two race that year, I think he would have taken a few more podiums, possibly a win. Although he wouldn't be in the same running as Clark. He would have been kept for 65 easily, and who knows where he could have gone since he was considered a man to whatch. Heck, if he became a big name, he might have never formed that pornographic video game company.

[Onxy Wrecked]

What if Rick Mears accepted to drive for Brabham in 1981?

He'd have likely been forced to play second fiddle to Nelson Piquet, but rest assured he would have been noticeable anyway. He'd have probably moved to either Williams or McLaren in 1982.

Now, it's difficult to see whether Rick Mears would have coped with F1 well or not, but considering he was way faster than Piquet at a F1 test with Brabham, and the fact he was one of CART's megastars in the 80s, my guess is that, in adequate machinery, he had what it took to be World Champion.

Piquet won the championship in 1981 by a rather narrow margin. That means Rick could have been enough of a factor that Piquet either loses the championship to Mears (who was supposedly second fiddle, but absurdly noticeable in both talent and speed) or that Mears eats enough points that Carlos Reutemann or Alan Jones ended up winning the championship instead.

[Salamander]

What if Rick Mears accepted to drive for Brabham in 1981?

He'd have likely been forced to play second fiddle to Nelson Piquet, but rest assured he would have been noticeable anyway. He'd have probably moved to either Williams or McLaren in 1982.

Now, it's difficult to see whether Rick Mears would have coped with F1 well or not, but considering he was way faster than Piquet at a F1 test with Brabham, and the fact he was one of CART's megastars in the 80s, my guess is that, in adequate machinery, he had what it took to be World Champion.

Piquet won the championship in 1981 by a rather narrow margin. That means Rick could have been enough of a factor that Piquet either loses the championship to Mears (who was supposedly second fiddle, but absurdly noticeable in both talent and speed) or that Mears eats enough points that Carlos Reutemann or Alan Jones ended up winning the championship instead.

Or possibly even Jacques Laffite. 1981 was a very close year...

[ibsey]

What if Renault had bought out Jordan instead of Benetton?

I think generally they would have been less successful. Probably would've lost both titles in 2006, and possibly the manufacturer's in 2005. Eddie Jordan just does not strike me as a championship-winning team boss.

It didn't stop Benetton/Renault from hiring several senior members of the Jordan GP team in their formative years - they hired Mike Gascoyne as their Technical Director before replacing him with Bob Bell (also a former Jordan employee), whilst they also hired Mark Smith to become their Chief Designer and Dino Toso to become their Chief Aerodynamicist (it seems that Gascoyne was particularly instrumental in luring the latter two over to Renault during his brief tenure there).

All in all, it does make you wonder why Renault didn't just buy the Jordan GP team out to begin with if they were so keen on getting their hands on their senior designers, as it would have been a quicker way of getting the same results (although Eddie Jordan was, at the time, still keen enough on the sport to want to retain ownership of his team, so he might well have refused any attempt by Renault to buy him out regardless of the terms).

My guess would be that it was way cheaper to buy the Benetton team out in 2000 rather than Jordan (even after you take into account the costs of headhunting staff). According to Wikipedia Renualt brough Benetton on March 16, 2000, for $120 million US.

Remember that Benetton had just finished 6th in the 1999 WCC, had gone through 3 team principles in as many seasons, probably wasted resources on expensive technology like the Front Torque Transfer & frankly looked to be stuck in the midfield for the foreseeable future. IIRC there was also rumors as long ago as 1997 about the Benetton family wanting to sell their F1 operation.

On the other hand you had the Jordan team who had just finished 3rd in the WDC & WCC's in 1999, hired a young new potential star driver in Trulli & generally it looked to be a young team set to be going places. In addition apparently EJ had refused to flog the whole of his team to Honda in 1998 (because of the ownership thing you have correctly alluded to). Also IIRC EJ did sell a share in his team to a investment bank (I forget the name) in 1999. In a deal which still allowed EJ the controlling interest. So it seems unlikely to me, that having just structured the 1999 deal for himself, EJ would then have been interested in selling the remaining controlling interest less than a year later to Renualt. Unless the terms were wildy above that of Open Market Value.

Whereas for the reasons highlighted above, it is likely Benetton would have considered an 'reasonable' offer. Of course all of this is aside for the links formerly between Benetton & Renault and Flavio.

[dr-baker]

Not sure this has been asked before, so...

What if Schumacher had not hit the wall in Adelaide in 1994, and he and Hill raced all the way to the finish line? Who would have crossed the line first?

[ibsey]

Not sure this has been asked before, so...

What if Schumacher had not hit the wall in Adelaide in 1994, and he and Hill raced all the way to the finish line? Who would have crossed the line first?

Personally I tend to think the Williams was the faster car on race day. Also just prior to the "incident", for me the pressure & nerves seemed to be getting the better of M Schumi, in a simliar way to Jerez 1997. In that IIRC he did seem to be losing time each lap to his title rival. This might have just been down to M Schumi sensiblility pacing himself, or possibily as a result of driving to hard on that particular set of tyres and either graining or damaging them. I tend to think the latter, knowing what I know now of M Schumi from Monaco 2006 etc. Also I'm 90% certain I've previously read an article where Frank Williams asked M Schumi why he had lost so much time to JV at Jerez 1997. And IIRC M Schumi confirmed that he had indeed pushed his tyres too hard in the opening laps of that stint (I think the source of this article was F1 Racing around the end of 2006 after M Schumi's 1st retirement...basically loads of M Schumi's F1 rivals all got the chance to ask him one question about his career).

So if the above is true, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect him to have also done the same thing at Adelaide 1994.


Been trying to factor in whether I think Williams could have got Hill out of their final pitstop before M Schumi? (I don't tend to think so, given Williams poor record in this respect). Track evolution & who that might have favoured etc. Ultimately I do think Hill would have had enough pace within that Williams Renault to have at least one good opportunity to overtake M Schumi on track. 60% of me tends to think Hill would have made the move stick. So yes I do think Hill would have won it. Just.

However isn't it funny that M Schumi would have probably been much better respected all around today (& might even have been given the benefit of doubt over Jerez 1997) had he just finished 2nd in that years WDC. Instead of doing what he did do?

[Salamander]

However isn't it funny that M Schumi would have probably been much better respected all around today (& might even have been given the benefit of doubt over Jerez 1997) had he just finished 2nd in that years WDC. Instead of doing what he did do?

I agree, his sheer ruthlessness and seeming inability to accept defeat is really the only major stain on his reputation.

[dr-baker]

However isn't it funny that M Schumi would have probably been much better respected all around today (& might even have been given the benefit of doubt over Jerez 1997) had he just finished 2nd in that years WDC. Instead of doing what he did do?

I agree, his sheer ruthlessness and seeming inability to accept defeat is really the only major stain on his reputation.

If he hadn't got away with the dirty trick in Adelaide, Jerez 1997 may have equally turned out differently too, and all the other controversial incidents. Indeed, I may have had some respect for him as a worthy adversary to Hill if it had not been for that incident (and the others like Silverstone's parade lap).

[TomWazzleshaw]

What if the Dallara/Midland deal hadn't collapsed and Dallara ended up designing and building the 2006 Midland car?

[Onxy Wrecked]

What if the Dallara/Midland deal hadn't collapsed and Dallara ended up designing and building the 2006 Midland car?

I don't see Dallara lasting long enough to produce it's ugly IndyCar chassis as the venture was less than profitable or at least the car was so bad that nobody in their right minds would want to drive a Dallara car. It speaks more about the cost of F1 than anything else.

[Shizuka]

What if the Dallara/Midland deal hadn't collapsed and Dallara ended up designing and building the 2006 Midland car?

Regular Q2 appearances, but no points, due to incompetence from the team. Still getting sold off to Spyker.

[Gerudo Dragon]

What If Timo Glock stayed in ChampCar for 2006?

[Hound55]

If Group Lotus decide to leave F1 as a sponsor, does that mean the Enstone squad could become RUF? From what I understand, Genii Capital now have a share of RUF. And they make cars (sort of).

[Aerospeed]

If Group Lotus decide to leave F1 as a sponsor, does that mean the Enstone squad could become RUF? From what I understand, Genii Capital now have a share of RUF. And they make cars (sort of).

They'll find another sponsor and call it that instead. And I thought RUF went bust years ago?

[HonoraryNortherner]

What if Patrick Tambay didn't have to use the spare car after a crash in the warmup session for the 1985 Dutch GP, and started from his grid position (6th) in the race car?

[Hound55]

If Group Lotus decide to leave F1 as a sponsor, does that mean the Enstone squad could become RUF? From what I understand, Genii Capital now have a share of RUF. And they make cars (sort of).

They'll find another sponsor and call it that instead. And I thought RUF went bust years ago?

Nope, they are still around. Genii bought shares in the company this February. And they were at Geneva this year as well.

[Londoner]

What if Montoya had stuck around in F1 for the rest of the 2006 season? Would he have improved, considering how poor his season had been up to the point where he decimated the midfield at the first corner at Indianapolis?

[Jonny83]

What if Montoya had stuck around in F1 for the rest of the 2006 season? Would he have improved, considering how poor his season had been up to the point where he decimated the midfield at the first corner at Indianapolis?

I guess the only way would have been up, and it's not a complete stretch to imagine him winning the Hungarian race that de la Rosa came second in, but then equally he could have got into the same state that Damon Hill did in 1999, no longer motivated and figuratively counting down the days until he could get out of there. If things did pick up though, if he stayed with McLaren beyond '06 then that leaves Hamilton either starting in 2008 after a year as official tester/reserve, or being farmed out to a lesser team like Spyker, and perhaps losing career momentum as a result. Alonso maybe winning the '07 title and staying with McLaren beyond that.