The Alternative World of the Runner Ups

[OmarF1]

Hello everybody, have you ever tought about what the world of F1 could look today if every runner up of every championship had won? leaving specific circumstances aside, here they are.

WORLD DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP
1950 – Juan Manuel Fangio (Alfa Romeo)
1951 – Alberto Ascari (Ferrari)
1952 – Giuseppe Farina (Ferrari)
1953 – Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati)
1954 – José Froilan González (Ferrari)
1955 – Stirling Moss (Mercedes-Benz)
1956 – Stirling Moss (Maserati)
1957 – Stirling Moss (Vanwall)
1958 – Stirling Moss (Ferrari)
1959 – Tony Brooks (Vanwall)
1960 – Bruce McLaren (Cooper-Climax)
1961 – Wolfgang Von Trips (Ferrari)
1962 – Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax)
1963 – Graham Hill (BRM)
1964 – Graham Hill (BRM)
1965 – Graham Hill (BRM)
1966 – John Surtees (Ferrari)
1967 – Jack Brabham (Brabham-Repco)
1968 – Jackie Stewart (Matra-Ford Cosworth)
1969 – Jacky Ickx (Brabham-Ford Cosworth)
1970 – Jacky Ickx (Ferrari)
1971 – Ronnie Peterson (March-Ford Cosworth)
1972 – Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth)
1973 – Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus-Ford Cosworth)
1974 – Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari)
1975 – Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren-Ford Cosworth)
1976 – Nikki Lauda (Ferrari)
1977 – Jody Scheckter (Wolf-Ford Cosworth)
1978 – Ronnie Peterson (Lotus-Ford Cosworth)
1979 – Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari)
1980 – Nelson Piquet (Brabham-Ford Cosworth)
1981 – Carlos Reutemann (Williams-Ford Cosworth)
1982 – Didier Pironi (Ferrari)
1983 – Alain Prost (Renault)
1984 – Alain Prost (McLaren-TAG Porsche)
1985 – Michele Alboreto (Ferrari)
1986 – Nigel Mansell (Williams-Honda)
1987 – Nigel Mansell (Williams-Honda)
1988 – Alain Prost (McLaren-Honda)
1989 – Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Honda)
1990 – Alain Prost (Ferrari)
1991 – Nigel Mansell (Williams-Renault)
1992 – Ricardo Patrese (Williams-Renault)
1993 – Ayrton Senna (McLaren-Ford Cosworth)
1994 – Damon Hill (Williams-Renault)
1995 – Damon Hill (Williams-Renault)
1996 – Jacques Villeneuve (Williams-Renault)
1997 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams-Renault)
1998 – Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
1999 – Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)
2000 – Mika Häkkinen (McLaren-Mercedes)
2001 – David Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes)
2002 – Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
2003 – Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes)
2004 – Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
2005 – Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes)
2006 – Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)

What do we find, there are some names that still are strong even in this imaginary list, Prost looks strong, not the same about Schumacher or Senna, What an unfair world of F1 was for Moss

AMOUNT OF CHAMPIONSHIPS BY DRIVER

DRIVERS

Alain Prost 4
Stirling Moss 4
Nigel Mansell 3
Graham Hill 3
Juan Manuel Fangio 2
Jackie Stewart 2
Jacky Ickx 2
Ronnie Peterson 2
Emerson Fittipaldi 2
Ayrton Senna 2
Damon Hill 2
Michael Schumacher 2
Rubens Barrichello 2
Kimi Räikkönen 2
Alberto Ascari 1
Giuseppe Farina 1
José Froilan González 1
Tony Brooks 1
Bruce McLaren 1
Wolfgang Von Trips 1
Jim Clark 1
John Surtees 1
Jack Brabham 1
Clay Regazzoni 1
Nikki Lauda 1
Jody Schekter 1
Gilles Villeneuve 1
Nelson Piquet 1
Carlos Reutemann 1
Didier Pironi 1
Michele Alboreto 1
Ricardo Patrese 1
Jacques Villeneuve 1
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 1
Eddie Irvine 1
Mika Häkkinen 1
David Coulthard 1

TEAMS WDC

Ferrari 18
McLaren 9
Williams 9
Lotus 3
BRM 3
Brabham 3
Maserati 2
Vanwall 2
Alfa Romeo 1
Mercedes-Benz 1
Cooper 1
Matra 1
Tyrrell 1
March 1
Wolf 1
Renault 1

Cheers M8's

[OmarF1]

Now, let's take a look of how today's Constructors' list could look, Ferrari still on top.

TEAM

1950 –
1951 –
1952 –
1953 –
1954 –
1955 –
1956 –
1957 –
1958 – Ferrari
1959 – Ferrari
1960 – Lotus-Climax
1961 – Lotus-Climax
1962 – Lotus-Climax
1963 – BRM
1964 – BRM
1965 – BRM
1966 – Ferrari
1967 – Lotus-Ford Cosworth
1968 – McLaren-Ford Cosworth
1969 – Brabham-Ford Cosworth
1970 – Ferrari
1971 – BRM
1972 – Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
1973 – Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth
1974 – Ferrari
1975 – Brabham-Ford Cosworth
1976 – McLaren-Ford Cosworth
1977 – Lotus-Ford Cosworth
1978 – Ferrari
1979 – Williams-Ford Cosworth
1980 – Ligier-Ford Cosworth
1981 – Brabham-Ford Cosworth
1982 – McLaren-Ford Cosworth
1983 – Renault
1984 – Ferrari
1985 – Ferrari
1986 – McLaren-TAG Porsche
1987 – McLaren-TAG Porsche
1988 – Ferrari
1989 – Williams-Renault
1990 – Ferrari
1991 – Williams-Renault
1992 – McLaren-Honda
1993 – McLaren-Ford Cosworth
1994 – Benetton-Ford Cosworth
1995 – Williams-Renault
1996 – Ferrari
1997 – Ferrari
1998 – Ferrari
1999 – McLaren-Mercedes
2000 – McLaren-Mercedes
2001 – McLaren-Mercedes
2002 – Williams-BMW
2003 – Williams-BMW
2004 – BAR-Honda
2005 – McLaren-Mercedes
2006 – Ferrari

And by Amount

WCC'S

Ferrari 14
McLaren 11
Williams 6
Lotus 5
BRM 4
Brabham 2
Tyrrell 2
Ligier 1
Benetton 1
Renault 1
BAR 1

[F1boat]

This is fun and interesting... :) thank you for sharing.

[OmarF1]

thanks reading it F1Boat

[ioan]

Interesting, but what's the point of it :?:

[ChrisS]

I think we had a topic like this before in the Nostalgia forum

taking out the drivers that did win the championship those who got a career best of runner up can be categorized as

Drivers that could have won championships but didnt either because of circumstances or because of injuries and even death
ie. Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren, Wolfgang von Trips, Ronnie Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve, Carlos Reutemann, Didier Pironi

Some that that was truly their best
ie Michele Alboreto, Ricardo Patrese

and some drivers that got 2nd just because it happened to be at the right place at the right time
ie. Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Eddie Irvine

[OmarF1]

Hi ioan, well, my post really is pointless, but isn't almost any discussion posted on an F1 forum really pointless?, the sport itself it's pointless, racing cars polluting the planet it's pointless, even the life itself in the universe it's pointless. so whatever I felt like doing it. I did it just as an excersise to eliminate my utter boredom :D

Cheers mate, have a nice day.

[wmcot]

Hi ioan, well, my post really is pointless, but isn't almost any discussion posted on an F1 forum really pointless?, the sport itself it's pointless, racing cars polluting the planet it's pointless, even the life itself in the universe it's pointless. so whatever I felt like doing it. I did it just as an excersise to eliminate my utter boredom :D

Cheers mate, have a nice day.
It's always nice to have a view of the way things could have been if the situation was different. Some pretty interesting statistics show up that way.

[D-Type]

What is definitely food for thought is to edit the list by removing those who won the championship in other years. Here's the edited list
1954 – Jose Froilan Gonzalez (Ferrari)
1955 – Stirling Moss (Mercedes-Benz)
1956 – Stirling Moss (Maserati)
1957 – Stirling Moss (Vanwall)
1958 – Stirling Moss (Vanwall not Ferrari)
1959 – Tony Brooks (Ferrari not Vanwall)
1960 – Bruce McLaren (Cooper-Climax)
1961 – Wolfgang Von Trips (Ferrari)
1969 – Jacky Ickx (Brabham-Ford Cosworth)
1970 – Jacky Ickx (Ferrari)
1971 – Ronnie Peterson (March-Ford Cosworth)
1974 – Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari)
1978 – Ronnie Peterson (Lotus-Ford Cosworth)
1979 – Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari)
1981 – Carlos Reutemann (Williams-Ford Cosworth)
1982 – Didier Pironi (Ferrari)
1985 – Michele Alboreto (Ferrari)
1992 – Ricardo Patrese (Williams-Renault)
1997 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams-Renault)
1999 – Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)
2001 – David Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes)
2002 – Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)
2004 – Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)

As Chris S so succinctly put it some "happened to be at the right place at the right time" but they were still good enough to make use of the car they had to finish second in the championship.

Moss, Peterson, Gilles Villeneuve and Tony Brooks are no surprise, but I was surprised by Jackie Ickx's two entries - I have never thought of him as a Grand Prix driver only as a spots car driver.

Also, had the dice fallen slightly differently several drivers could have had more championships to their tally led by Fangio and Prost with seven titles and Schumacher with nine.

[Mintexmemory]

Moss, Ickx and Peterson are the three that were the tragedies of GP history for failing to be WDC, all graced the sport with their presence.
1 GP win for Chris Amon would have uncorked the bottle and I'm sure would have led to at least 1 WDC

[fandango]

Interesting. It shows just how good Prost was. With a lot of good luck he could have been champion eight times! And Schumacher nine, of course. But Prost wasn't always the centre of his team's attention...

[ShiftingGears]

Moss, Ickx and Peterson are the three that were the tragedies of GP history for failing to be WDC, all graced the sport with their presence.
1 GP win for Chris Amon would have uncorked the bottle and I'm sure would have led to at least 1 WDC

I'm sure he won at least one non-championship race.

[Mintexmemory]

He did, Silverstone Intermational Trophy in1970 for March - but it wasn't a GP.
Several Tasman 'GP's but they don't count ;)

[futuretiger9]

Moss, Ickx and Peterson are the three that were the tragedies of GP history for failing to be WDC, all graced the sport with their presence.
1 GP win for Chris Amon would have uncorked the bottle and I'm sure would have led to at least 1 WDC

It's often been said that the fact that Moss failed to win a title devalues the Championship itself, rather than being any reflection on Sir Stirling.

I've always been a big Jacky Ickx fan - he had a certain class and elegance about him, and should have won the title whilst he was at Ferrari. Another guy who shared may of Ickx's qualities was Carlos Reutemann.

[Mintexmemory]

It's often been said that the fact that Moss failed to win a title devalues the Championship itself, rather than being any reflection on Sir Stirling.

I've always been a big Jacky Ickx fan - he had a certain class and elegance about him, and should have won the title whilst he was at Ferrari. Another guy who shared may of Ickx's qualities was Carlos Reutemann.

Even though Carlos was Niki L's replacement

If Ragged Regga could have also have won WDC that would have been perfect

[futuretiger9]

Even though Carlos was Niki L's replacement

If Ragged Regga could have also have won WDC that would have been perfect

Clay nearly won it in '74, of course. Unforunately, the Ferrari's handling went awry at Watkins Glen in the final race. He qualified well down, and made no impact in the race.

[Don Capps]

He did, Silverstone Intermational Trophy in1970 for March - but it wasn't a GP.

Amon also won the 1971 Argentine GP for Matra, which often seems to be overlooked.

As for it "not counting," well, that is a matter of both opinion and the usual myopia that clouds the vision of looking at his career as a whole rather than only a single aspect. Just an observation.

[jens]

If the "real champions" hadn't participated in those particular seasons in F1 (got injured before the season, whatever), I'd presume the standings "behind them" would look different too. For instance I presume 2001 title would have gone to Barrichello as Ferrari would have thrown the weight behind him. He got no race wins that year, but without Schumacher in front of him would have got several.

[Rollo]

Prost is the only one on the list to have come second in a championship because he scored more points, finished more races and was more consistent than his team mate.
That's idiotic.

[Don Capps]

Prost is the only one on the list to have come second in a championship because he scored more points, finished more races and was more consistent than his team mate.

Given the very narrow nature of your statement, one must assume that you are choosing, therefore, to ignore Graham Hill in 1964, since John Surtees was not his teammate.

[AndyL]

:s kull: Impressive thread necromancy!

[Don Capps]

In his 1964 annual, Grand Prix, The 1964 World Championship (Doubleday, 1965), Louis Stanley did a similar "if only...?" but he elevated those who finished in second in each race to first place, so this sort of wool-gathering is scarcely new.

[BDunnell]

In his 1964 annual, Grand Prix, The 1964 World Championship (Doubleday, 1965), Louis Stanley did a similar "if only...?" but he elevated those who finished in second in each race to first place

Almost as pointless an effort as the later Stanley-BRM, one might say.