What If?

[Nessafox]

I have it in my mind that if Hill had been in the 1998 McLaren then MSC would have won the championship, as Hill takes more points off Hakkinen than Coulthard does earlier in the season, plus MSC wins Spa because Hill is further up the road than DC so doesn't get lapped and therefore THAT accident doesn't happen!

I mean that accident could also happen had Coulthard driven for another team.

[Har1MAS1415]

I have it in my mind that if Hill had been in the 1998 McLaren then MSC would have won the championship, as Hill takes more points off Hakkinen than Coulthard does earlier in the season, plus MSC wins Spa because Hill is further up the road than DC so doesn't get lapped and therefore THAT accident doesn't happen!

If that had happened then who do think would have been in the Jordan? DC?

[Har1MAS1415]

What if Damon Hill had joined Jordan a year earlier?
Probably would have scored their first win a year early, given how good the Jordan was in 1997, no offence to Ralf or Fisichella but a more experienced driver certainly could and would have won a race.

[James1978]

What if Damon Hill had joined Jordan a year earlier?
Probably would have scored their first win a year early, given how good the Jordan was in 1997, no offence to Ralf or Fisichella but a more experienced driver certainly could and would have won a race.

I said the same on Big Zeddie's YouTube channel when he was covering 1997 and how much Jordan seem to lose out my having two youngsters making errors, also the same thing seemed to affect Benetton a bit in 1998 too.

[Har1MAS1415]

What if Damon Hill had joined Jordan a year earlier?
Probably would have scored their first win a year early, given how good the Jordan was in 1997, no offence to Ralf or Fisichella but a more experienced driver certainly could and would have won a race.

I said the same on Big Zeddie's YouTube channel when he was covering 1997 and how much Jordan seem to lose out my having two youngsters making errors, also the same thing seemed to affect Benetton a bit in 1998 too.

Coincidentally, both teams scored 33 points in 1997 and 1998.

[dr-baker]

This would be an interesting what if?:

[dinizintheoven]

There's been a few motorsport-related ThemTube channels making their customary "What If Ayrton Senna Hadn't Died?" videos around now (Aiden Millward notably refusing to do so because everyone else did), so I thought I'd do the same and predict how Alternative History™ would have progressed, that doesn't involve the whole of Brazil being brought to a standstill for a funeral. At least, not until 2040 or there abouts.

Senna survives the crash at Tamburello, but is injured enough to need two months for recovery, missing the races in Monaco, Spain and Canada. The Williams FW16 isn't completely sorted of its problems; despite this, David Coulthard impresses the team in these three races he drives as substitute. Damon Hill isn't expected to push for the championship the way he did, Senna stays too far behind in the standings with a car that doesn't quite work the way he wants, while the is-it-legal-or-isn't-it Benetton takes The Michael to his first World Championship. Senna doesn't take this lying down, makes absolutely sure the FW17 is to his liking, and he wins the title in 1995 - then does the same in 1996 and 1997, retiring after winning his sixth title, believing that nobody will ever equal those records.

Hill wins a handful of races in 1994-96 but Williams decide to sign Heinz-Harald Frentzen to partner Senna in 1997. Hill signs for the new Stewart team, as Paul Stewart considers a race winner as a better bet for a new team than the unproven Jan Magnussen, who crashes and burns at Tyrrell instead. Hill retires on his own terms at the end of 1998 with a handful of good results when the Ford engine wasn't grenading itself, leaving the seat for Johnny Herbert, who wins the crazy Nürburgring race in 1999 - his only win in this reality. Jos Verstappen drives for Arrows for a second season in 1997, then gets drafted into Jordan for 1998-99, and has to watch Ralf Schumacher take the team's first win at Spa, which The Michael doesn't even notice as he's too busy trying to punch DC's lights out. A Japanese driver tests the Honda RA099 before the whole project gets canned, in case you were wondering.

Talking of DC, he signs for McLaren a year earlier than he did in reality, and takes until 1997 to score his first win; consequently, Nigel Mansell never makes any F1 comeback and Mark Blundell sits out 1995 completely. DC ends his career with 12 wins to his name rather than 13, and beats himself up furiously on TV much the way he does now, despite having far more wins than his 1994 team-mate for three races.

Jacques Villeneuve remains in 'MURICA and doesn't arrive on the F1 scene until the foundation of BAR in 1999, hence he doesn't have a reputation (or a World Championship) to lose at the new team. Alex Zanardi is brought into Williams a year earlier, as the third driver to take number 0, with the World Champion gone off fishing with Sid Watkins. He fails quite miserably, but then, it's 1998, Frentzen is also failing, Williams is just generally in disarray. Zanardi scores a few points here and there, and does get retained for 1999, doing better than he did in reality but it's not enough to save his F1 career, he goes back to 'MURICA... and we all know what happens next.

Records for this Alternative History™ show both Senna and The Michael with six World Championships each. Damon Hill never wins a World Championship, and Jacques Villeneuve never so much as leads a lap, and is thrown on the pile of "drivers from the other side of the Atlantic who don't make the grade" - his record is about as impressive as that of Michael Andretti, only over seven and a half seasons. Alex Zanardi only has one CART title but is still considered a legend.

In Senna-ese, I do not have the "abilit" to predict what he'd do next. Some say he'd go into politics, some say he'd form Senna Grand Prix, maybe trying to do so out of the ashes of Arrows in 2002... or by taking over Prost at the end of 2001. I will not speculate further on this one.

This is how the driver changes look, with everything from 2000 onwards as it was:

1994:
Williams: 0 Hill, 2 Senna/Coulthard (not Mansell)
(all others unchanged)

1995:
Williams: 5 Senna, 6 Hill
McLaren: 7 Häkkinen/Magnussen, 8 Coulthard
(all others unchanged)

1996:
Williams: 1 Senna, 2 Hill
Ferrari: 5 M. Schumacher, 6 Irvine
(all others unchanged)

1997 (a huge shake-up of the numbering order with Damon Hill not taking number 1 to the team that finished ninth in 1996):
Williams: 1 Senna, 2 Frentzen
Ferrari: 3 M. Schumacher, 4 Irvine
Benetton: 5 Alesi, 6 Berger/Wurz
McLaren: 7 Häkkinen, 8 Coulthard
Jordan: 9 R. Schumacher, 10 Fisichella
Prost: 11 Panis/Trulli, 12 Nakano
Sauber: 14 Herbert, 15 Larini/Morbidelli/Fontana
Tyrrell: 16 Salo, 17 Magnussen
Arrows: 18 Verstappen, 19 Diniz
Stewart: 22 Hill, 23 Barrichello
(only Minardi and Mastercard Lola are unchanged)

1998:
Williams: 0 Zanardi, 2 Frentzen
Jordan: 9 R. Schumacher, 10 Verstappen
Stewart: 18 Hill, 19 Barrichello
(all others unchanged)

1999:
Jordan: 7 Frentzen, 8 Verstappen
(all others unchanged)