F1 Rejects & almost-rans WC '95 - '97

[jle666]

Hi all,
This is my post here on F1rejects forum, I have read numerous threads on this here & find the scope of facts available to be fascinating, especially so since my favourite era of F1 was the 90’s.

Recently I’d been reading about the plight of the almost-ran teams who popped up on the scene during 1995 & 1997; teams like Lola, Dome & DAMS were all very interesting teams & serious in their approach to racing & were, like many other teams who actually made in into F1 only to go belly-up, unfortunate not get the sponsorship money they needed to fulfil their aims.

I have been wondering how these teams would have stacked up against the reject teams of that era, namely Forti, Simtek & Pacific, in a mini 6-team championship. So, I have come up with an ‘entry list’ for this hypothetical championship & decided to post it here for examination & discussion.

Note: Only reject drivers are granted ‘superlicences’ in this world; this is why Erik Comas doesn’t drive for DAMS, Gachot for Pacific & Jos Verstappen for Simtek.

DAMS GD01
1 Jan Lammers – HOL
2 Emmanuel Collard – FRA
Engine: Ford Cosworth ED V8 – Tyres: Goodyear

Dome F105
3 Marco Apicella – ITA
4 Naoki Hattori – JAP
Engine: Mugen-Honda MF301 V10 – Tyres: Goodyear

Forti FG03
5 Luca Badoer – ITA
6 Andrea Montermini – ITA
Engine: Ford Zetec-R V8 – Tyres: Goodyear

Lola T97/30
7 Vincenzo Sospiri – ITA
8 Riccardo Rosset – BRA
Engine: Ford Zetec-R V8 – Tyres: Bridgestone

Pacific PR02
9 Jean Denis-Deletraz – SUI
10 Giovanni Lavaggi – ITA
Engine: Ford Cosworth ED V8 – Tyres: Goodyear

Simtek S951
11 Hideki Noda – JAP
12 Domenico Schiattarella – ITA
Engine: Ford Cosworth ED V8 – Tyres: Goodyear

As for the calendar? How about a collection of the most maligned tracks of the 1990’s? Plus Monte Carlo, on the grounds that it would provide a spectacle due to the fact that possibly none could be able to finish!

Round 1 South African GP – Kyalami
The season kicks off at 1992 spec Kyalami; a track which had lost its speed & allure post-upgrade & became a twisty, meandering circuit.

Round 2 Australian GP –Albert Park
An unfair choice as this circuit has had its moments & is a popular track, however, it has failed to produce as many classic races as its precursor, Adelaide.

Round 3 American GP – Phoenix
A very demanding track for cars & drivers that features challenging 90 degree turns, concrete walls & the added hazard of exposed manhole covers.

Round 4 Argentine GP – Autodromo Oscar Alfredo Galvez
The American leg of the season continues in Argentina. The 1995 – 1998 formation of this circuit was unpopular at the time with F1 & has no reappeared on the calendar since.

Round 5 – Monaco GP – Monte Carlo
The European leg of the season starts in Monaco. Included for variety, this prince of street circuits will certainly test the inexperienced teams & drivers featured on this grid.

Round 6 Italian GP – Imola
A very unfair choice, but I feel that an Italian GP is a must. Also, it has been felt that Imola has lost some of its appeal since its 1995 reconfiguration.

Round 7 French GP – Magny-Cours
Not by any means France’s greatest track, Magny-Cours was notorious for its lack of overtaking opportunities.

Round 8 British GP – Donington
Another unfair choice as this track has lots of prestige & history, however, Donington has always been overshadowed by other prominent British tracks, such as Silverstone & Brands Hatch.

Round 9 German GP – Nurburgring
Although this is still a great circuit, the current layout of the Nurburgring will always pale in comparison to the Nordschleife – ‘Green Hell’.

Round 10 Austrian GP – A1 Ring
The A1 Ring is another European track that has been re-designed to the detriment of its charm. Holds the honour of being the very first track touched up by Tilke.

Round 11 Hungarian GP – Hungaroring
The Hungaroring is often a catalyst for very processional races & is a track that features mostly slow corners, unpopular with fans.

Round 12 Spanish GP – Jerez
The European season commences at the site of the 1997 finale, Jerez; a good track that was banned from hosting F1 races because of the reject-esque behaviour of Mr Pedro Pacheco.

Round 13 Japanese GP – Aida
The curtain falls on the season at Aida, a short, curvy circuit which generated very little popularity during its two-year association with F1.

Who would win?

[watka]

Judging by qualifying pace alone, the Simtek would wipe the floor with the rest of the field. Forti would probably be next, they were outpacing Pacific in their first season whilst Pacific were in their second. Then you'd have to say Pacific in 3rd place. Lola, a car not fit to be entered to a grand prix weekend, and the DAMS and Dome, are unknown quantities and would probably be equally off the pace.

[FullMetalJack]

Judging by qualifying pace alone, the Simtek would wipe the floor with the rest of the field. Forti would probably be next, they were outpacing Pacific in their first season whilst Pacific were in their second. Then you'd have to say Pacific in 3rd place. Lola, a car not fit to be entered to a grand prix weekend, and the DAMS and Dome, are unknown quantities and would probably be equally off the pace.

Hard to argue with Simtek wiping the floor with them.

Had they survived 1995, they could well have finished 8th with a bit of luck, beating the likes of Minardi, Footwork and Tyrrell. Verstappen would have surely scored some points and maybe Schiattarella would have scored one or two as well. Unrejectification could have been possible.

[dr-baker]

Having been reading some magazines of the era in researching MasterCard Lola's history, these are the teams that built cars, but there were one or two others who were also looking to enter the sport at that time, Dave Richard's Prodrive being one. They, however, did not build a car as far as I am aware.