9 interesting F1 tests that didn’t lead to anything

[@Metukkeli]

You left a crucial bit of info in Hakkinens test. The reason he was so slow was because the car had a mechanical problem that the team couldn't solve that day, which reminded Mika about that side of F1 and that was a major reason he lost his little interest in a comeback.

[@madkhaliqfarhan]

But with Mika Hakkinen missing out on a potential F1 return, Fernando Alonso gets really stressed after joining McLaren in 2007, because the team favored the rookie Lewis Hamilton (my favorite racer since 2017) over himself!

[@darkalman]

Hakkinen spent years in the midfield in an under performing McLaren before finally getting his chances at the championship in 98,99, and 00 thanks to Adrian Newey joining the team. He probably recognized McLaren was going to have a difficult year, maybe more and decided he wasn't interested unless he had a good shot a winning. Rumor has it his doctor and his wife also convinced him not to return due to the risks.

[@bfapple]

@@darkalman What risks were those? Risks specific to him?

[@darkalman]

His doctor and wife reportedly convinced him it was a bad idea to return. Hakkinen Had a skull fracture and has permanent hearing loss from his crash at Adelaide. F1 is dangerous

[@bfapple]

@@darkalman Ah ok. Had a feeling it might have been related to Adelaide. Thanks.

[@sloppynyuszi]

You could argue some of these tests did lead to something. If Renault didn’t let Kubica test, I doubt Williams would have, Schumacher testing to possibly replace Massa I think is what lead him to make a comeback with Mercedes.

[@bastianmann4936]

It actually did lead to his Mercedes deal, he said that in a long interview on german tv.

[@sonyha5583]

Sébastien Loeb and Toro Rosso could be on this list as well.

[@sonyha5583]

@Joao Belo Yes indeed! He finished P2 at the 24h of Le Mans in 2006, he can drive anything.

[@kartracer127]

@Chevy Chaze cruise was to slow. The Times werent that good. He would need more time. Thats what Coulthard saied.

[@asurada999]

he was going to race for Toro Rosso at Abu Dhabi in 2009, but the FIA excluded him for not having a superlicence

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

Kubica will forever be one of the greatest “what if” stories of F1.

[@justalittletoserious7796]

You're right

[@romanbaranovichi5375]

Up there with Stefan Bellof

[@borninpennsylvania3908]

Nannini.

[@AlpcanAras]

If he hadn’t have the accident, he would probably be Alondo’s teammate in Ferrari.

[@romanbaranovichi5375]

@John Goblikon is my spirit animal I dont want to know what that means

[@rockzs74r]

Valentino Rossi at Ferrari should be on the list. had Rossi actually interested Ferrari might actually sign him. Stefano Domenicali said that in 2010.

[@psk5746]

I believe he was too slow

[@russotusso1695]

@@psk5746 when he first tested he was only 0.5 seconds of Schumacher in outdated car(can't remember if it was one year old one or older spec)which for somebody who never drove F1 car pretty good.

[@russotusso1695]

@@psk5746 checked it was older spec car and engine with 0.7 gap. For first time that's great

[@David-yx5vx]

But he doesn’t have a license:)

[@joost0133]

Didn't Sébastien Loeb also test once?

[@catjudo1]

Nigel Mansell would never have performed at anything approaching his level of talent in the Williams. He had cut his mustache away, and anyone knows that an epic mustache subtracts at least two seconds a lap (Dale Earnhardt never shaved his mustache and won seven championships in NASCAR as a result). It would have also taken too much time for any regrown mustache to attain complete richness of form and ultimate badassery against all shorn opponents. Loved watching Nigel Mansell while growing up, but such a comeback wound never have succeeded, unfortunately.

[@deeznoots6241]

Sterling Crockett facial hair is the ultimate race winner, Sam Bird in FE got a beard and immediately won a race.

[@jannadrielcervo7753]

I agree. Moustache gives you great level of confidence. It makes you work harder, be more competitive, and more sexy.

[@MrBrno]

He didn't need it. Look at his BTCC race in Donington.

[@lamborgboy]

The reason that hakkinen was 3 seconds of the pace in his test was because his car had an issue that McLaren only realised after the test.

[@suggon]

Thank you!!!!!!!

[@verma.shaurya]

Thanks, but any source on the claim?

[@lamborgboy]

@@verma.shaurya Top result if you Google "hakkinen McLaren 2006". The team were aware of said issue but couldn't do anything about it.

[@davidmacdonald1695]

Yep-they realised after the test that Hakkinen was slow and past it.

[@Denilson24]

With Schumacher possibly coming in to replace Massa, I jumped at the chance to buy tickets for Monza with the hope that I was finally able to watch schuey live. Really excited as it was my first GP, but alas he couldn’t drive cause of his neck injury. Finally was able to see him at Spa 2011 👌🏻

[@DaniMacYo]

I never got the chance wish I did. My brother in-law went to 2012 Monza, I was ready for 2012 Australia but my uncle passed so I had to say and sort family matters. I just had a feeling Schumacher would retire after 2012. He did and I never got the pleasure of seeing my Hero race live in 2013 or any another season. Australia 2016 I finally went it was amazing. I just tell myself that Michael raced here and with all these other drivers and they knew him. So I accept that. He was Schuperb. 😊🏎🏁🏆

[@sloppynyuszi]

I saw him race in 2001 Melbourne, 2011 Shanghai, and last year I saw his Son come 5th in Macao. Hope Schumi can recover enough to come back to the public eye :)

[@pouyan225]

And what a race it was for Michael,starting last and finishing P5 ahead of Nico.

[@carlosf7187]

And then there’s me huge Schumacher fan Huge Ferrari fan but I was born in 2007 and didn’t start to follow f1 until 2016

[@gregoryrogers.21]

Mika isn't retired he is still on sabbatical

[@jdonovan74]

oof

[@zhewenteh]

where's valentino rossi + ferrari? 🤔🤔

[@sloppynyuszi]

Zhe Wen Teh what about that Israeli dude that was in his 40s testing the Minardi. He was over 10-15 seconds off the pace of the second slowest driver.

[@reihanbyzanthira9551]

@@sloppynyuszi nissany??

[@TackTickalNINJA]

He also forgot how to take off the wheel of the car so he stayed in it while the car was lifted

[@sloppynyuszi]

Reihan Byzanthira that could be it!

[@cm0cm]

@@sloppynyuszi If i had the money, I would do something like this. Id probably wouldnt fit in the car, and once i got in, i might be slower than that! ....livin' the dream!

[@jstoli996c4s]

Lately: *9 Autosport videos that didn’t lead to anything*

[@tonytang1987]

1:31 That Mclaren is really beautiful,absolutely breathtaking...........

[@RaianNSX]

Few pictures are as haunted as mansell without a moustache

[@MrYeezy77]

Imagine Alonso and Sainz as teammates. We would have less memes, but the races tho...

[@stepladder3257]

Spanish team lol

[@marioskapetanakis]

@@stepladder3257 don't remember me hrt

[@daveblock1688]

Should have mentioned Senna was .5 seconds per lap faster than Emmo in a Spec he had never driven and car not set up for him. Quite remarkable.

[@kartracer127]

And Not true. In his First attempt he drove 58.00 ( 2 sec of the pace). In the Second one he was doing 56.8 ( 8 tenth of). But he would have done it with more time and him taken that whole Thing seriosly.

[@daveblock1688]

@@kartracer127 Perhaps my memory from 1994 is not what it used to be.

[@F1ll1nTh3Blanks]

Honda's timing is just the worst when it comes to F1.

[@Oblio1942]

not in the 80s

[@GavinKapuscinskiRacing]

I think they've got it right this time round

[@Sh0ckmaster]

Nigel Mansell at Jordan in 1996 would have certainly been interesting, but I can see why Nigel didn't go for it. At that point he's been an F1 and an Indycar champion. What else does he have left to prove by that point?

[@deanclark8783]

As a fellow Canadian I would've loved to have seen Paul Tracy's 1994 Benetton F1 test amount to something more for him in F1, but alas it wasn't meant to be.

[@jstoli996c4s]

Dean Clark probably for the better, as Tracy would have struggled just as much as the others who tried their hand at a very pointy car setup for Schumacher. JJ Lehto and Jos Verstappen in 1994, Johnny Herbert in 1995 (2 wins though), and even the very talented duo of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger in 1996-1997.

[@benasquith26]

Do you like maple syrup. Jk

[@ollieh98]

That Force India first test livery was beautiful!! Similar scheme to the Alfa today.

[@criteriumgaming9457]

From all those candidates for the Force India seat, Ralf Schumacher was by far the best.

[@nicklibby3784]

Senna and INDYCAR, maybe he'd still be around.

[@databaseserver1]

Maybe not... You never know

[@alexviau6950]

There are more fatalities in Indycar.

[@alexviau6950]

@Alan Ali 11 Did I say it proves something? It is just more probable that a driver dies in Indycar than in F1. You prefer to live in a world where Senna went to Indycar and is still alive and is the greatest of greatests and is a living god? go on... All I say is there are by far more drivers being killed in Indycar crashes.

[@nicklibby3784]

@@alexviau6950 I never said I'd prefer that he'd went to Indycar, I was just saying what if he did? I wonder if he'd still be around? Your completely right though, these guys don't understand how dangerous Indy/Cart was back then, hitting a concrete wall at 220+Mph=Death. And Honestly I felt Indy was always behind F1 a little bit with saftey. Really glad they are adding a Halo/head protection for them as the ovals are super dangerous, thank God for safer barrier and new saftey tech. And anyway Senna preferred F1, I think his F1 story where he dies is still better than an alternate world where he goes to Indycar and doesn't prove to the world he was one of the best drivers, but still lives.

[@TheRealHoltzy]

No chance. F1 safety at the time was at it's highest for open wheel racing. F1 drivers haven't lost their legs or ended up in a wheel chair for a LONG time. It's only really freak occurrences that seriously harm F1 drivers now (spring hitting Massa's head, recovery vehicle landing on top of Bianchi, the near almost certain death of Le Clerc with an opponents car's rear making contact with the halo right next to his head). Senna would have died in INDY, he pushed beyond the limits of both his cars and himself regularly. INDY doesn't forgive disrespecting it's limits.

[@azharfikri8446]

What about McLaren's test with Lamborghini V12 engine in 1993?

[@rhelenius3670]

yep, Senna like Lamborghini engine... and if🙄... maybe would be stay Mclaren...

[@azharfikri8446]

@@rhelenius3670 and McLaren chose Peugeot engine, and that made Senna wanted to go..

[@jstoli996c4s]

That was a tasty proposition indeed...

[@junienet]

wasnt the lambo engines unreliable and handled like a shitbox?

[@ack434]

@@junienet Well it was still better than the overweight and underpowered Ford engine.

[@lipcovitch1]

After fininshing his F1 career in the end of 1980, Emerson Fittipaldi tested a F1 Spirit Hart in the beginning of 1984, in Rio. His partner was Fulvio Maria Balabio. After a few days testing the car, Emmo decided not to drive for Spirit. He decided to go to Indycar.

[@brianligat8901]

Vale's book says his mum rang to ask what he was doing, and when he said he was doing something mundane, his mum said she was watching him on TV testing with Ferrari. Busted!

[@TOFKAS01]

4:26 And he would have driven the dominant package of the 1994 Indycar-season. And with Senna and Fittipaldi in the same Team, this season would have been a big sucess on the brasilian market.

[@soraaoixxthebluesky]

7:45 What a beautiful car

[@AlonsoRules]

7:04 - Craig Pollock: what a fraud he was

[@thebigmacmoomin]

I would add Valentino Rossi testing the Ferrari, Sebastien Loeb in the Renault, Marc Marquez in the Toro Rosso & Colin McRae in the Jordan

[@NicksStuff]

Prost and Todt said in an interview on French TV that Prost nearly got the drive for Ferrari in 1996. Had Schumacher not taken the offer (and knowing his results for Benetton, it was likely he would have stayed there), Prost would have raced in 1996.

[@danielstark7239]

prost with berger? i know ferrari wanted to keep berger irvine was 3rd choice for the 2nd seat

[@NicksStuff]

@@danielstark7239 I suppose that would have been Prost with whomever was willing to give alongside him

[@djoetma]

What about team initiatives that didn't lead to anything. For example Dome's F1 project, and US GP?

[@romanbaranovichi5375]

Stefan GP as well

[@MrBrno]

USGP kinda ended up being HAAS

[@djoetma]

@@MrBrno Are you sure? I mean Haas has been a racing team since forever and as an organization I heard nothing from USGP being involved with Haas or any plans regarding working with an external party let alone Dallara specifically. Also, I'm pretty sure USGP was supposed to be ran from facilities in the US and not from somewhere in England. And are there even people involved in Haas that were also involved with USGP?

[@madkhaliqfarhan]

If only McLaren didn't feel too obsessed with signing Fernando Alonso (just because he won 2 successive titles at Renault in 2005 and 2006), Mika Hakkinen would've made a successful return in 2007 and not just Fernando Alonso wouldn't feel too stressed at McLaren (knowing that the team would favor the rookie Lewis Hamilton over himself, the recent double champion, who was of course in attempt to defend his title that year), he could also spend another 3 straight years at Renault and he wouldn't feel too stressed after joining Ferrari in 2010 either!

[@domestiquecoaching547]

I'd say Rossi and Loeb should be on this list

[@rhelenius3670]

Tommi Mäkinen/Williams 1998, Henri Toivonen/March 1982, Tom Cruise/Red bull 2011😂😂😂😂

[@darkalman]

7:26 In context Schumacher suffers from video game induced motion sickness and was at the time incapable of using a simulator. Putting him in the new car without simulator runs would not only have made him less competitive, but it would have been dangerous. Schumacher had a similar test in a GP2 car prior to returning to F1 for Mercedes for the same reason.

[@JakePetrolhead]

Big two missing were the Loeb and Rossi test - but definitely these are worth telling as they're more "F1"-y focused. Man I'd have loved to have seen those two in a proper F1 race - Loeb would've been competitive on natural talent alone.

[@danigonzalez4299]

Who care about those not F1 really tests that lead to nothing? We speak Proper F1 here. Not Doohan testing Williams nor other non F1 drivers.

[@JayB2]

@7:58 Ferrari using Luca badoer as the replacement was a huge failure. He was a great test driver, but terrible racing driver.

[@peterdaviesracing]

Not like having been out of the sport(as in racing) for... TEN years was a factor, oh no.

[@ForzaPolska06]

He was decent racing driver but in 90's not 2009

[@unfairfight3625]

Greg Moore would of been a f1 driver i believe,,,as he was the top driver in Indy,,sadly lost his life in a extremely violent accident,,

[@gwillco5100]

What data is being used for the "Current Season Average" graph around 2:30?

[@maxm7012]

you forgot valentino rossi that also did a test with Ferrari that demonstrated he had talent also on the foure wheel but it didn't lead to anything

[@mountainman6172]

I heard your signature opening theme in a BBC Radio 4 production

[@claudiodeascentiis9935]

It is crazy that in this list you don’t have Valentino Rossi testing for Ferrari lapping less than a second behind Schumacher...

[@southank1]

Sébastien Loeb and Toro Rosso where are you ?

[@thelarry383]

Not a test but Jeff Gordon and Williams was an interesting connection

[@xBaphomet666x]

My dad always told me Frank offered Jeff Gordon a seat for the season after the Car Swap, but that Jeff turned it down because he didn’t think he would be any good in Formula 1. I’ve never been able to find any confirmation of that on the internet though

[@oceanzhu1002]

Baphömet666 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpmwZomXZZ2grpI skip to 31:32 for you answer 👍

[@deweberis2709]

I suggest an exclusive video of Rally drivers testing F1 car, like the Tommy Makinen, Sebastien Loeb and Colin McRae.

[@The_Bookman]

Cool article. :) Substandard audio though. :/

[@BigTuna535]

The phone in the Hamilton Alonso selfie lol

[@richardpike1387]

Can you imagine Mansell Vs Senna in Champ cars. Oh if only.

[@jarrylongsack1076]

What do the numbers mean for the season average screen

[@bjoe385]

The stig with Renault, Richard Hammond with Renault and Matt from wtf1 with Renault.

[@blainy-o93]

The 'Stig' that day was Renault's then test driver, Heikki Kovalainen.

[@keno3312]

Al Unser Jr tested for Williams back in Dec 1992.

[@_Odin_]

Could have sworn Prost tested the 98 Macca too? It's on one of the Season Review videos in the pre-season part. And lets bit forget when Niki Lauda tested the Jaguar ;) And every tome Brundle has sat in a Ferrari ;) That 2002 first Ferrari test drive.. damn…

[@longde]

I see Prost at #1, i upvote...

[@jakek6728]

The background music just sounds like screaming. I can't unhear it

[@Vermiliontea]

I don't really think any of those tests were particularly interesting. 🤔 The ones I took great note of, was Tom Kristensen (Tyrrell) and Kenny Brack (Williams), both of them superstar material, phenomenally fast and potential F1- world champions. ...Of course, both of them did become superstars, but not in F1.

[@armondealey3714]

That would be a must see what if video about Senna going to IndyCar in the early 90s

[@eziore44]

Michael Schumacher test GP2 cars ?

[@omarlopez7089]

What about Scott Dixon with Williams?

[@Posirep]

@@immc04 plus he had only driven ovals the previous 3 seasons. Dixon is just one of the best and probably in the top 5 drivers ever who never started an F1 race.

[@Alenyaa]

Such a shame the 2000 Hondaproject did not happen...

[@gautamsivakumar87]

You forgot all the Williams testing after 2016

[@2011SoxMD36]

7 testers for Force India in 07... and they took option 8, retain Adrian "aight imma head out" Sutil

[@SomeYouTubeGuy]

With the large number of tests Prost did prior to buying his own team I'm wondering if he ever strapped the helmet on in one of his own cars?

[@istvan5400]

I would mention Hakkinen-Benetton and Lotus-Isuzu tests

[@TCA17]

The Sonic Ring sound made me think my phone was ringing

[@sloppynyuszi]

Just noticed, this just ex F1 drivers + Honda. Hence no Rossi, Leob, Dixon or Tom Cruise

[@tvLAND3458]

I clicked on this video expecting Rossi and Ferrari and it's no where to be found

[@AA-or4dt]

I heard that James Hunt tested/wanted to test for Williams in the very early 90s with the intention of making a comeback.

[@Johan_Degen]

That Honda was really nice, shame it did not get to racing. Would have been interesting.

[@deweberis2709]

About the Schumacher test: Massa later revealed that MIchael was suffering vision black-outs when passing over bumps and that was the concrete reason to deny his return. I suspect [conspiracy theory mode] that Michael also had a black-out when skying, which lead to his unfortunate accident.

[@Sean-if7rp]

DeWeberis But that wouldn’t explain how he didn’t seem to have any health issues with Mercedes

[@thebigmacmoomin]

Michael Schumacher also tested a Sauber & a Ligier i think.

[@santanusircar1621]

Alonso is still one of the fastest F1 drivers and can literally smoke Mclarens current driver lineup...

[@jwebb4750]

Autosport please do top 10 worst cars to get on the podium.

[@joaovictorbatista5777]

Stefan Johansson's Onyx!!!

[@DDS029]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5KphJ6LodeGgsk Top 10 worst car to win an F1 race.

[@andyh0010]

I wonder what would be different if Senna had run a season of Indy instead of F1.

[@lucius6667]

Makes u think though if Honda has there own team with that budget they would still be in the mid field today and there engines might have had better reliability and as such forced costs down massively

[@HolyGoatsOfSteel]

What is going on with those wheels on the McLarens at 9:08? Are they just for rolling around the paddock?

[@SiVlog1989]

In 1997, Michael Schumacher tested a contemporary Sauber, albeit devoid of sponsorship

[@reptongeek]

A look back at eighties and nineties cars makes me nostalgic for how clean they look. No extra fiddly bits!!

[@forgonenapster8888]

You must be excited for 2021 then

[@burisleifwenden1784]

Scott Dixon in Williams 2004.

[@andreikuji]

10:18 that is a good looking car (and team) 😱

[@Billiamiscool]

I was expecting to see Sebastien Loeb on this list

[@morganbagert]

What about Colin mcrae f1 test?

[@roye2479]

Valentino Rossi tested with ferrari in 2009, was close in laptimes to michael, but rosssi didnt want to quit motogp just yet, ... unfortunate

[@patrickmarley1241]

Tommy Byrne is probably the fastest man to ever test an f1 car yet still never get a drive.

[@Synystr7]

Ayrton testing the Champ Car in 92? was the greatest what if of american motorsport. Edit: Oh.

[@RaldoBot]

Why are there so many ads in this video?

[@danbougourd]

Loeb at Red Bull?

[@lukaswildner8040]

Schumacher testing Ligier in 94 being one second quicker than their race driver Panis on a first and only day of testing.

[@caincha]

4:25 - where is the information about lap times compared to other drivers?

[@lynnebarkas6906]

Too recent for me. What about Tommy Byrne. A loose cannon but would have loved to see him in an F1 season. Wouldn’t be as boring as now.

[@Jimmie92]

Are the guys at Autosport brain dead at the moment? Arguably the most popular personality in Motorsport ever, and one of the most successful riders ever, Valentino Rossi, tested for Ferrari several times, and went quicker than Massa on one occasion. Is Autosport too proud to involve a MotoGP legend into a predominantly car themed channel/magazine? This video was actually pointless without it.

[@TSNAnnotator]

*8 interesting F1 tests that didn't lead to anything

[@bartonez123]

Was going to comment something relevant, but noticed a lot of familiar names in the comments down below from either iRacing or old school rFactor days. Respect to all of you.

[@kartracer127]

I just need to say that. Indycars around the 90 ( 95-00) and F1 around the 2000 are the most beautiful Racing cars ever. And they where dam Quick and hard to drive.

[@patrickcrean7813]

Is Mansell and Jordan on it ?

[@ImInLoveWithBulla]

Didn’t Sebastian Loeb, the greatest driver IN THE WORLD, have a Ferrari test and was immediately on the pace? Just saying. Equal cars, ROC style, Loeb would crush anyone and anything.

[@umeshsonkar4177]

Can someone tell me what is the name of the cartoon Mika is holding at 1:08 I watched it when I was 5yrs old so I don't remember so pls help

[@Nakaward26]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anpanman

[@umeshsonkar4177]

@@Nakaward26 thanks bro

[@nicolasgarcia248]

If se are going to talk about drivers that allmoast return to F1 we should talk about Kubica in 2019...

[@Kl0zi9999]

The Verstappens seem to popular with Honda.

[@justcallmeq8120]

How the hell do you not put Vale in the ferrari test on this list?!?

[@GorgyCL]

I'm beyond words for that pronunciation of 'Jerez'

[@jackarmstrong7285]

No Loeb?

[@sloppynyuszi]

Jack Armstrong I think they wanted to make sure it was for a possible race seat, not publicity stunt. We could label Tom Cruise than too, or Lauda driving a Jaguar in his 50s. Rossi, Dixon and Tracy would have been an interesting what if.