Okay, this is another alternate Formula 1 wiki box. (I know F1 is not very popular here, but I tried my best.)
So what if Red Bull never bought Jaguar? And what if Brawn GP never happened? Who would dominate the sport nowadays instead of Brawn-turned-Mercedes? And how would the F1 grid look today without Red Bull junior drivers like Vettel, Ricciardo, and Verstappen? Well, probably something like this:
So what if Red Bull never bought Jaguar? And what if Brawn GP never happened? Who would dominate the sport nowadays instead of Brawn-turned-Mercedes? And how would the F1 grid look today without Red Bull junior drivers like Vettel, Ricciardo, and Verstappen? Well, probably something like this:
If you're interested, the world champions and runners-up in this timeline are:
2005-2008: Mostly the same as OTL. Vettel remained BMW's test driver until the team pulled out from F1 in 2009, and like many other Red Bull juniors he ended up in a different racing series.
2009: 1st Massa (Ferrari), 2nd Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes), 3rd Räikkönen (Ferrari) - Without Brawn and Red Bull, the title fight was between McLaren and Ferrari again. Without Barrichello's spring, Massa had a full season and took the championship in Abu Dhabi with a small margin. But Hamilton would have won the title if he didn't get disqualified in Australia for misleading the stewards.
2010: 1st Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes), 2nd Rosberg (McLaren-Mercedes), 3rd Massa (Ferrari) - McLaren dropped Kovalainen for 2010 and replaced him with Rosberg, while Ferrari kept Räikkönen until his contract expired at the end of the year. (The Iceman left F1 and unlike OTL never returned.) Alonso stayed at Renault for one more year and got partnered with Kubica. After a season-long battle with Rosberg and Massa, Hamilton took his 2nd title.
2011: 1st Rosberg (McLaren-Mercedes), 2nd Alonso (Ferrari), 3rd Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) - Rosberg surprised everyone when he beat Hamilton in the championship fight because of the Briton's personal life issues. Alonso in his first year with Ferrari (he was the one who replaced Räikkönen) finished second, and Massa ended up as fourth. And Kubica had a mediocre year with Renault which turned into Lotus for the next season.
2012: 1st Kubica (Lotus-Renault), 2nd Alonso (Ferrari), 3rd Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) - 2012 was a chaotic year in F1. Almost every Grand Prix was won by a different driver. But in the end, Kubica became the world champion because his main title rivals (Alonso and Hamilton) crash into each other in the last race.
2013: 1st Alonso (Ferrari), 2nd Kubica (Lotus-Renault), 3rd Grosjean (Lotus-Renault) - The Spaniard finally took his 3rd title in 2013 which eventually led into Massa's departure from Ferrari to Williams. Meanwhile, McLaren had a terrible year, and after the season end, Rosberg announced his retirement when he failed to get Massa's empty seat at Ferrari. The Italian team chose Pérez instead of him.
2014: 1st Bottas (Williams-Mercedes), 2nd Massa (Williams-Mercedes), 3rd Alonso (Ferrari) - When Williams announced they would use Mercedes engines from 2014, no one took them seriously as title contenders. But then they dominated the first year of the new turbo era and won both drivers' and constructors' championship. Alonso only finished a distant third.
2015: 1st Alonso (Ferrari), 2nd Bottas (Williams-Mercedes), 3rd Massa (Williams-Mercedes) - After some restructuring at Ferrari, the Italian outfit became the team to beat again in 2015. Alonso won his fourth title, and Pérez only finished outside the top three due to unnecessary team orders in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, Honda returned to F1 as McLaren engine partner, and a dissatisfied Kubica left F1 to pursue a rally career at the end of the season. Renault also returned as a factory team to the sport after buying back Lotus.
2016: 1st Bottas (Williams-Mercedes), 2nd Alonso (Ferrari), 3rd Pérez (Ferrari) - Surprisingly, with perfect strategic calls and quick pit stops, Bottas and Williams overhauled the faster Alonso in the last few races of 2016. The Spaniard only finished second in the championship and found himself increasingly at odds with Ferrari's management due to his 'destructive' behavior. After Hamilton announced he would leave McLaren after multiple unsuccessful years and join Renault for 2017, Alonso terminated his contract with Ferrari. Then he took the empty place at McLaren while Bianchi (who didn't have a horrific crash in this timeline) replaced him at the Italian outfit. Massa also retired at the end of the year, and Mercedes protégé Wehrlein filled his seat for the following seasons at Williams.
2017: 1st Pérez (Ferrari), 2nd Bianchi (Ferrari), 3rd Bottas (Williams-Mercedes) - Despite losing Alonso, Ferrari had a strong season and beat Williams again. Pérez secured his first title before his home crowd in Mexico, but Bianchi had stronger results in the second half of the season. And during the year, Honda's and Renault's engines start to close the gap between Ferrari and Mercedes.
2018: 1st Bianchi (Ferrari), 2nd Pérez (Ferrari), 3rd Alonso (McLaren-Honda) - Ferrari was untouchable again in 2018, but this time Bianchi won the championship after a season-long battle with Pérez. Meanwhile, McLaren, Renault, and Williams had a close fight behind Ferraris. In the end, Williams finished second in the constructors' standings, but Alonso got third place in the driver's championship.
2005-2008: Mostly the same as OTL. Vettel remained BMW's test driver until the team pulled out from F1 in 2009, and like many other Red Bull juniors he ended up in a different racing series.
2009: 1st Massa (Ferrari), 2nd Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes), 3rd Räikkönen (Ferrari) - Without Brawn and Red Bull, the title fight was between McLaren and Ferrari again. Without Barrichello's spring, Massa had a full season and took the championship in Abu Dhabi with a small margin. But Hamilton would have won the title if he didn't get disqualified in Australia for misleading the stewards.
2010: 1st Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes), 2nd Rosberg (McLaren-Mercedes), 3rd Massa (Ferrari) - McLaren dropped Kovalainen for 2010 and replaced him with Rosberg, while Ferrari kept Räikkönen until his contract expired at the end of the year. (The Iceman left F1 and unlike OTL never returned.) Alonso stayed at Renault for one more year and got partnered with Kubica. After a season-long battle with Rosberg and Massa, Hamilton took his 2nd title.
2011: 1st Rosberg (McLaren-Mercedes), 2nd Alonso (Ferrari), 3rd Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) - Rosberg surprised everyone when he beat Hamilton in the championship fight because of the Briton's personal life issues. Alonso in his first year with Ferrari (he was the one who replaced Räikkönen) finished second, and Massa ended up as fourth. And Kubica had a mediocre year with Renault which turned into Lotus for the next season.
2012: 1st Kubica (Lotus-Renault), 2nd Alonso (Ferrari), 3rd Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) - 2012 was a chaotic year in F1. Almost every Grand Prix was won by a different driver. But in the end, Kubica became the world champion because his main title rivals (Alonso and Hamilton) crash into each other in the last race.
2013: 1st Alonso (Ferrari), 2nd Kubica (Lotus-Renault), 3rd Grosjean (Lotus-Renault) - The Spaniard finally took his 3rd title in 2013 which eventually led into Massa's departure from Ferrari to Williams. Meanwhile, McLaren had a terrible year, and after the season end, Rosberg announced his retirement when he failed to get Massa's empty seat at Ferrari. The Italian team chose Pérez instead of him.
2014: 1st Bottas (Williams-Mercedes), 2nd Massa (Williams-Mercedes), 3rd Alonso (Ferrari) - When Williams announced they would use Mercedes engines from 2014, no one took them seriously as title contenders. But then they dominated the first year of the new turbo era and won both drivers' and constructors' championship. Alonso only finished a distant third.
2015: 1st Alonso (Ferrari), 2nd Bottas (Williams-Mercedes), 3rd Massa (Williams-Mercedes) - After some restructuring at Ferrari, the Italian outfit became the team to beat again in 2015. Alonso won his fourth title, and Pérez only finished outside the top three due to unnecessary team orders in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, Honda returned to F1 as McLaren engine partner, and a dissatisfied Kubica left F1 to pursue a rally career at the end of the season. Renault also returned as a factory team to the sport after buying back Lotus.
2016: 1st Bottas (Williams-Mercedes), 2nd Alonso (Ferrari), 3rd Pérez (Ferrari) - Surprisingly, with perfect strategic calls and quick pit stops, Bottas and Williams overhauled the faster Alonso in the last few races of 2016. The Spaniard only finished second in the championship and found himself increasingly at odds with Ferrari's management due to his 'destructive' behavior. After Hamilton announced he would leave McLaren after multiple unsuccessful years and join Renault for 2017, Alonso terminated his contract with Ferrari. Then he took the empty place at McLaren while Bianchi (who didn't have a horrific crash in this timeline) replaced him at the Italian outfit. Massa also retired at the end of the year, and Mercedes protégé Wehrlein filled his seat for the following seasons at Williams.
2017: 1st Pérez (Ferrari), 2nd Bianchi (Ferrari), 3rd Bottas (Williams-Mercedes) - Despite losing Alonso, Ferrari had a strong season and beat Williams again. Pérez secured his first title before his home crowd in Mexico, but Bianchi had stronger results in the second half of the season. And during the year, Honda's and Renault's engines start to close the gap between Ferrari and Mercedes.
2018: 1st Bianchi (Ferrari), 2nd Pérez (Ferrari), 3rd Alonso (McLaren-Honda) - Ferrari was untouchable again in 2018, but this time Bianchi won the championship after a season-long battle with Pérez. Meanwhile, McLaren, Renault, and Williams had a close fight behind Ferraris. In the end, Williams finished second in the constructors' standings, but Alonso got third place in the driver's championship.