Cheers Bononi for your welcome reply to my concerns about thread terrorism!!
Thanks to all so far for making this the thread i'd hoped it would be!
It's good fun ruminating over what might have been and assessing evidence that leads us to our conclusions isn't it!
I'd like to try and reply summararily to you all so far as best i can so that we can continue to look back at the why's and wherfores etc..
Skam good point about how great it would have been to see a Gilles V Senna match up. I think we may have see the likely intense rivalry continue off track as well!
Reason being that Ayrton was very keen to shake reputations up in his first few years and he certainly managed to get other drivers attention and not normally for the right reasons! My impression of Gilles was that he fought hard but fair and that he used his judgement of other drivers skills in his battles with them.
I suspect that with Senna's style of intimidatory antics he may well have found that Gilles would have been none too pleased if he's been barged off the track and probably would have gone straight to the Brazilian to remonstrate.
On the other hand, with Gilles the way he was he may have done exactly the opposite and just put ot down to racing accidents! But then come right back at himat the next race!! Would've been mega.
As for titles those who've said that he may have struggled to get back on terms in '82 are probably right as it wa such a competitive season that it was difficult to gain points advantages (same as '81) and by the same token it would be difficult to regain lost ground. Certainly Pironi was driving beautifully and it's true that Rosberg and co only managed to topple him right at the end in spite of Didier missing half the season!!
I hadn't thought about the Ferrari's constructors title in '83! As BOOTS inferred, that car was capable of taking the right driver to the title.
Very same reason as i think it would've been hard for Ayrton to claw back Schuey's early advantage in '94 - after all Hill had more points than Senna after those first 3 races and the Williams wasn't really on par with the Benetton in Hill's hands until mid season at leas.
But again Senna may well have employed some of his old tactics on Schu and started to bully him into submission in order to regain lost ground?
I think it's also quite amusing looking at the 3 years in a row that Prost and Senna fought for the title 88-90. By my reckoning Prost ought to have taken '88, Senna '89 and Prost in '90 (well i still think that on pace Mansell was the quickest of the lot that year and suffered appalling reliability and a tall order in Prost as teammate!) When the outcome was actually the other way round!
Sure i agree that Mansell was a bit hard on the equipment at times too, (potential Kimi affliction also?) but made for some good viewing!
I'd better leave it there otherwise it'll turn into a bloody essay! but i'm looking forward to your thoughtds on this and further analysis of these years..
