What’s the biggest 'What If?' in Formula One history?
Image: www.f1-fansite.com
There are always those moments in history where our curious minds lead us to ask “What if?” - a prime example being: “What if the car was never invented?” As I’m sure you’ll agree, humanity wouldn’t be quite the same without an invention such as the automobile. It’s the only reason you’re reading this, really, isn’t it? I digress.
Today I’d like to delve into what could be considered some of the biggest and most pondered-upon “What If?”-s in Formula One history.
You’re going to want to stick around for this one!
Robert Kubica’s F1 Career
Let’s start with one of my favourites! Now, if you know anything about what’s happened in the Formula One world in the last two decades or so, you’ll be aware of Robert Kubica, the only ever Polish F1 driver still to this day.
Starting his F1 career in 2006 as the official reserve driver for BMW Sauber, Robert had to make a name for both himself and his nation in the world of motorsport right from the get-go. Robert eventually got the chance, though, to spread his racing legs when Jacques Villeneuve left the team. Pairing up as Nick Heidfeld’s teammate for the second half of the 2006 season, the 22 year old Pole scored his maiden podium on only his third Formula One race and finished in the top 10 in three of his six races that season. Not bad for a rookie, right?
Kubica’s second season was far more successful a campaign, finishing 6th in the overall driver’s championship standings. In 2008, Robert claimed his first and only victory at the Canadian Grand Prix, making for a historical win for the driver and his home country. Below is a lovely hi-res photo of Robert in his winning BMW Sauber F1.08 at the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve:
Image: www.f1-fansite.com
I personally consider this win one of F1’s greatest comeback stories as - at the same track the year prior - Robert had his infamous 75G crash that caused him to miss the subsequent round and then come back and place fourth in the race after that!
The ‘What If?’ of Kubica’s story pertains to a horrific rallying incident he had on the 6th February 2011 at the first round of the Ronde di Andora Rally. He was driving his rally-spec Skoda Fabia when he lost control of his car and veered into a barrier, suffering partial amputation of his right forearm, as well as compound (high-energy) fractures to his right elbow, shoulder and leg, alongside significant blood loss. Kubica revealed in a 2018 interview for F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast that he had signed for Ferrari for the 2012 season that year.
Lewis Hamilton went on record in 2019, claiming: “Robert is one of the most talented drivers I have competed against”. That’s serious praise from a seven-time world champ, considering all the drivers he’s shared the track with in his (so far) 18 years in Formula One!
This makes you think: What if Robert never went rallying that year? Would he have found glory at Ferrari, pairing up with the legendary Fernando Alonso? Would he have been able to bring the fight to the dominant Sebastian Vettel and potentially disrupted his consecutive title run? Maybe he’d have become the first and only Polish F1 champion?
We’ll sadly never know.
The 2008 Championship
Now, I think most of you may already know what I’ll be discussing here.
For the uninitiated, the 2008 driver’s championship came down to the wire (sound familiar?) and was decided at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Going into the season finale in São Paulo, rookie Lewis Hamilton was leading the championship on an impressive 97 points. Second to the young Brit was local favourite Felipe Massa on 87 points, so the world knew it would be a gripping race to the finish. And a truly gripping final it was!
The reason that this race has been included in this article is what happened on the last lap - lap 71. I’ll summarise briefly:
On lap 69, the heavens opened up and heavy rain fell on the 4.3km Interlagos circuit. Massa was leading the race, mere minutes away from being Brazil’s first F1 champ of the 21st century, seventeen years after the legendary Ayrton Senna in 1991 and also securing a second consecutive championship for Ferrari. The spectacle began when Toyota’s Timo Glock was ordered to stay out on his dry tyres, despite the fact that everyone else except him flew to the pits for intermediate tyres two laps prior. Slightly further behind was Lewis Hamilton, giving chase to Sebastian Vettel for P5, which was all he needed to secure his first title.
In the final few laps, Glock really struggled to stay on-track in the rain with his slick tyres and ended up being passed by both Vettel and Hamilton at the final corner, with Martin Brundle asking the immortal question: “Is that Glock?”. Hamilton had done all he needed to to win his first championship and one of F1’s most gut-wrenching podiums followed, as Massa gracefully accepted defeat by just one point and stood proud on the podium in front of his home crowd, tears in his eyes:
Image: www.f1i.com
I ask - what if Glock’s strategists at Toyota made the decision to do what every other team was doing and pitted their German driver for wet tyres? Would he have been able to keep Lewis behind and prevent him from winning a title? Would Massa have found further success at Ferrari for 2009? Again, we’ll never know.
The positive thing is, though, that none of the three (Felipe, Timo and Lewis) are at all on bad terms regarding the title decider way back in 2008. Timo Glock himself even interviewed Lewis for FOM in December of last year and the two seemed to display understanding and sympathy for each other and Massa.
To sum up…
So, then, these are a couple of examples of F1’s biggest ‘What If?’ moments - some huge potential that never came to reality I’m sure you’ll agree. It’s good fun speculating though, isn’t it?
Let us know in the comments what you think and maybe leave some of your favourite ‘What if?’-s for us and others to read!
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