What if?

[crash]

OK, a few 'what if's' to consider here.

WHAT IF...
Jean Alesi had signed for Williams in 1991 or whenever it was? Instead he went to Ferrari and won one race. He most likely would have been world champion at Williams.

WHAT IF...
Betrand Gachot had not sprayed CS gas at a London taxi driver in 1991? TGF would not have driven for Jordan and would therefore not be discovered by Benetton for the end of 1991 and 1992-1995. Would he have been champion?

WHAT IF...
Didier Pironi did not anger Villeneauve at Imola 1982? Gilles would not have been despreataly trying to beat the frenchmen at Zolder and would not have died. He had a contract at Mclaren for 1983 onwards. Perhaps he could have been champion?

WHAT IF...
Bernie Eccelstone had been killed during his racing career in the 50's

WHAT IF...
Ayrton Senna was not dead. Would TGF have won in 1994 and 1995? When would Senna have retied/

WHAT IF...
A clone of Jim Clark was in F1 today. Would he be any good?

HAVE A MEGA DAY

[SL]

Interesting questions.

1 Alesi probably would have been in with a chance IF he drove a Williams, his speed has never been doubted.

2 MS would have driven for some team some time, it was just that Eddie spotted him first. Therefore yes he probably ould have been champ at least once.

3 Most certianly he would have lived longer, however I think that sooner or later his racing style would mean that perhaps later sadly he would be injured or killed.

4 One can but wonder, maybe the sport would head in a different direction and sports cars would be to the fore.

5 I fear that Senna would have followed Villeneauve as they shared a love for racing fast regardless of risk to themselves.

6 Jim Clark clone would win, his was a talent far beyond many. To see his clone, Senna and Villeneauve racing together could just have been possible.

SL

[Gt_R]

What if Bernie Eccelstone had been killed during his racing career in the 50's......??

*soB*
F1 would not be as popular and successful as it is today!
Bernie is a god send...and i really can't imagine how F1 developes without Bernie!

[Carla O]

TGF might have won in 95, but the fight would have been really interesting. In 94 i think Senna still had the advantage of much more experience and... Senna was Senna.

x
C

[Sykes]

"What if's" or "if then else" type of posers will always be with us. I think that's part of human nature.

What if TGF (alias Schumi, alias MS, alias The Red Baron, alias Michael Schumacher) did not experience that Silverstone incident in 1999. Would he have made it to the top last season ? (It was Eddie that was still in with a chance at the end)If "Yes", then MH would not have been a 2 times WDC(yet) And so the if's and but's can go on, and on, and on..... Interesting though!

[Roy2]

Good what ifs. The one that interests me most is the Jim Clark speculation. There is no way that Clark wouldn't have been great in any era since his own. The question is, how would he have done against the absolute top drivers of the '70's-'90's?

To my mind, the trouble with considering Senna to be the best of all time (never mind the existence of Fangio and all the great pre-war drivers) is the stubborn, intractable fact that Jim Clark drove in F1. All of his skills would have been transferable into the succeeding eras. He would have been tough and fast, perhaps tougher and faster than Prost. Senna would not have out-braved him or out-nerved him, without going over the edge.

If there is an afterworld series where the greats compete, perhaps they are deciding the matter right now.

[Liz]

A clone of Jim Clark would not necessarily have inherited his talent, although fathers and sons do sometimes share talent it is by no means certain. A clone is not a xerox copy after all.

But I agree that a contest between Jim Clark and any number of people - wouldn't you like to see Jim Clark v. Nigel Mansell? - would have been worth seeing.

I can't agree that Senna was the greatest pilot who ever lived. Prost was better.

But Senna was fun to watch.

[R]

Originally posted by Liz
I can't agree that Senna was the greatest pilot who ever lived. Prost was better.

Simply not true. Senna had Prost well beaten when they were team-mates, and if you don't remember, just go back and check the statistics from those years.

[RussianFriend]

1. Jean would become WDC maybe twice.
2. TFG would be entered F1 next couple of years, maybe in other team.
3. JV wouldn't become racer
4. Other F1 oligarch would managed it in the same manner.
5. TFG could win in 94
6. This would be funny enough. The F1 spirit has been changed since then, he would feel very strange in to-day team.

[Zep]

What if Peter Collins wouldn't had claimed that he had contract with Häkkinen for 93, and already signed paper with Häkkinen & Williams would have had become reality?

Life is full of IFFFSSS!

[Jared]

Very good what-ifs. Another one: What if Johnny Herbert hadn't been in that bad crash at Brands Hatch? Would he have been World Champion, and how many times would he have won it?

1) Then Nigel would have had a more difficult time becoming WDC in 1992, a championship he richly deserved.

2) I don't know where TGF would have ended up. Talking about the present, I would love to see him in a Sauber or Minardi, just to see what he could do.

3) Agree with SL here, he would have lived past Zolder, but would eventually have killed himself later on. But would he have been the 1982 World Champion, denying Rosberg his only Championship?
MotorSport magazine did something like this a few months ago and speculated that Villeneuve could have gone to McLaren, denying Prost a seat, forcing Alain to go to a lower team and retiring with just a handful of GP wins and no championships. They also speculated that Villeneuve would be wrapping up his career at about the same time Senna came to McLaren. Interesting pairing there.

4) F1 would not be the same it is now. Bernie has done a lot for the sport, and has elevated it to its current position. However, he has taken a lot from the sport and has made it less and less like a sport.

5) It would have been a titanic struggle in 1994, with, IMHO, Senna the Champion. 1995 would have been another close one, with Senna possibly retiring after 1995. This might also have denied Damon his World Championship.

6) One never knows. Some say a racing driver is a racing driver is a racing driver, and could pick up another discipline just as quickly. However, others say the difference in machinery and thus, the difference in driving style, would now allow for a driver of one era to win in another. I take the first view.

[Liz]

Sorry Roy I don't agree that Senna was better - he was just younger and less scrupulous. If they had raced in equal equipment at the same age, Prost would have whitewashed Senna.

And if you think Gilles and Pironi was deadly, think of Gilles and Senna. Assuming Gilles lived long enough to challenge Senna head to head, Senna would have been much more deadly to him than Pironi ever had time to be.

Just my opinion. And I'm not saying Senna was not a great pilot. Just not the greatest.

Prost was better.

[Dino IV]

Don't agree with that, Liz. Turbo's and maximum fuel load was a game Le Proffeseur was best at. Beside that remarkable aspect of racing in the eighties, Senna was always on top.

[Jeanburrasca81]

Jean Alesi already had signed for Frank Williams, but unfortunately Ferrari wanted him so much that they made a very special present to Williams to let Jean go: an old Ferrari!
As an Alesi-fan I believe that he would have been WC inmore than one occasion, but it makes simply no sense to stand up a hypothesis of the exact number and years, because it makes a real fan too sad...
But there are some really interesting questions up there. Especially the questin about Senna is great.
I'm sure Senna would have won the WC in '94, '95, '96, and then he would have driven his last season, probably in the same year with his friend Berger, on a Minardi, as promised to Giancarlo Minardi, where he would have won the first race ever for this team at Monaco. Enough hypothesis?

[Liz]

What if Senna had succeeded in running Prost and himself into the wall and over it in Estoril, killing both men and half the pitlane in the process? Would Formula One still exist today? If it did exist, how would it be different?

About S&P in equal equipment - put them both in the 1980s turbos and Prost would have been better. Assuming they were the same age, of course.

I am hopelessly biased in favour of Prost. I admit it. But I just think he was better, although not as exciting. (I get frustrated at Gil de Ferran for pottering along in 5th place when he could be in first place - and probably blow up the car or worse, instead of coming home in the points) but it is by far the best way to win championships.

[R]

Originally posted by Liz
I am hopelessly biased in favour of Prost.

I've noticed. But that's OK.

With a little more luck, Prost could have had 6 championships instead of 4.

84: He lost to Lauda by half a point, had the Monaco GP gone the full distance Prost would have taken the title even if he might only have finished second at Monaco.

88: Senna won by 3 points, but Prost had scored 11 more points in total. But back in those days only the 11 best results counted towards the WDC, so the title was won by Senna.

Prost followed Lauda's motto of "better second place safe than first place sorry". Therefore he had much better reliability than Senna. Senna was faster, Prost was smarter in terms of preserving the car. So I rate Prost very highly, but Senna higher, because I think it's more fun to watch drivers with an exciting driving-style!

[Dino IV]

Noticed here as well.
In F1 generally pilots who have been beaten by teammates on a regular basis by big, sometimes awesome margins, aren't considered the better pilot. The fact that Prost was as succesful as he was in F1 proved he had other extremly good qualities even in terms of speed. But at the same time the excess of speed Senna showed over Prost proved he was the fastest driver imaginable ... and still is to most fans and I can hardly argue about that, I have to admit.