F1 entries/rumours that never came to be

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Pedro Lamy was linked to Tyrrell, Pacific and Forti for 1995, he ended up replacing Pierluigi Martini at Minardi mid-season.

[BTCC frog]

Originally Posted by S griffin

This reminds me of the Retro Silly Season thread we did

Apologies, I was unaware of the retro silly season thread. I wouldn't mind if this conversation was moved back there, although this one has had 100 posts already. Nononsensecapeesh and AnonymityRules, the two of you seem remarkably alike! Do you perhaps know each other in real life?

Here are some I remember from the last decade:

2010:
Virgin were originally supposed to be called Manor, and HRT Campos. USF1 were originally going to enter as another new team, with Jose Maria Lopez heavily rumoured as a driver. I think Mercedes took over Brawn quite late, with Button and Rosberg originally meant to be the Brawn drivers. Kimi Raikkonen at that time was linked to the McLaren drive that Button got. Toyota I believe were going to run Kamui Kobayashi and Timo Glock before they pulled out.

2011:
I barely remember anything from this silly season. Williams tried to do a deal with HRT to run Pastor Maldonado, effectively on loan, and allow them to keep Nico Hulkenberg, but this never materialised.

2012:
The second Williams drive originally looked to be a shoot-out between Adrian Sutil and Rubens Barrichello, but they ended up going with Bruno Senna. Kimi Raikkonen was also heavily linked to the drive earlier on. Petrov took Trulli's place at Caterham midway through pre-season testing. Ricciardo was also linked to that seat earlier on, when Buemi and Alguersuari were expected to stay at Toro Rosso. Giedo van der Garde and Kevin Ceccon were both close to getting the HRT drive that went to Karthikeyan. Kubica was also rumoured to be replacing Massa at Ferrari.

2013:
The Glock/Razia/Bianchi saga at Marussia has already been mentioned. The Force India drive was not announced until the eve of the season, with Sutil edging out Bianchi, and Alguersuari also looking like a candidate earlier on. Heikki Kovalainen was supposed to remain at Caterham but was ousted in favour of pay drivers.

2014:
Kimi Raikkonen was heavily linked to the Red Bull seat when Webber retired, while Alonso expressed an interest in the seat and that ultimately led to the end of his time at Ferrari two seasons early. Ricciardo instead went to Red Bull, and Antonio Felix Da Costa was widely expected to replace him before being beaten in a test by Daniil Kvyat, while Carlos Sainz actually outperformed both in that test. Kobayashi and Ericsson were signed for Caterham, who had been expected to run Kovalainen and Van Der Garde. Nico Hulkenberg was linked to Ferrari and Lotus, but ended up at Force India.

2015:
Alonso left his Ferrari contract to sign for McLaren, who chose Button over Magnussen as his teammate. Vergne and Alex Lynn were both serious contenders for the second Toro Rosso, alongside Verstappen who was signed at the age of 16. Jules Bianchi had apparently signed a contract with Sauber the morning of his fatal accident in Japan. Giedo van der Garde had also signed for Sauber, but accepted a large sum of money instead after a legal battle.

2016:
Pastor Maldonado was contracted with Renault but lost his drive to Kevin Magnussen. This was also the first season of Haas, who were linked with Vergne, a year after their intended arrival into Formula 1. Forza Rossa were also potentially going to join, but this never happened.

2017:
Loads here. Nico Rosberg was contracted to remain with Mercedes, but retired five days after winning the championship. Legend has it that Kimi Raikkonen and Daniil Kvyat were the only two drivers on the grid at the time who did not contact Toto Wolff about that drive, with Pascal Wehrlein looking like the early favourite before Bottas took the drive, and this brought Massa back into Formula 1 from retirement. Manor were linked with Haryanto, Gutierrez and Nasr before ultimately not competing at all. Force India originally had Hulkenberg and Perez under contract, but Perez was looking elsewhere. In the end, the opposite happened, with Perez staying but Hulkenberg leaving to join Renault. Nasr was rumoured as a replacement, but Ocon got the drive. Ocon was also offered a contract as Hulkenberg's Renault teammate, but declined it. Renault then approached Magnussen, who opted to leave and join Haas for a multi-year deal. Palmer got the seat instead and gave an interview where he said Magnussen had made a mistake by leaving and Renault would be much faster than Haas in 2017. Magnussen's reply was, 'I think he should be happy I left.' Toro Rosso also made the baffling decision of retaining Kvyat over GP2 champion Gasly. Later in the season, Brendon Hartley was brought in as Sainz left to join Renault and Gasly was away doing Super Formula. Buemi nearly made a shock return, but I believe contractual issues made this impossible.

2018:
Kubica finally looked as though he would be returning to Formula 1, first linked to Renault, then Williams. He had to wait an extra year.

2019:
Ricciardo was linked with both Mercedes and Ferrari, but joined Renault, who had been close to signing Ocon. Ocon was also linked to Mercedes, but ended up without a drive. Red Bull wanted to sign Sainz, but issues with Verstappen meant they chose Gasly instead. Norris was linked with a loan move to Toro Rosso, who for a time looked very short on options as Buemi and Vergne were linked with returns.

[kurski]

Minardi wanted Viktor Maslov’s team in 2001, but his manager thought it would be too early to move to F1, later he said it was foolish to refuse the contract. The manager wanted Maslov to be seen as good in light of the results, not as a guy for whom Lukoil would have bought the seat.

Same story later from the same country... Roman Rusinov said he could have signed a contract with Minardi in 2003, but declined, hoping to get a more attractive offer from a better team. He has later felt that the rejection of the contract was his biggest mistake in his career.

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

Here are some I remember from the last decade:

2010:
Toyota I believe were going to run Kamui Kobayashi and Timo Glock before they pulled out.

Heikki Kovalainen revealed a few years ago that he already had a contract with Toyota's F1 team for the 2010 season.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Van Der Garde allegedly had a valid contract to drive for Sauber in 2015.

Numerous drivers were linked to Renault for 2010 before they hired Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov. These included Nick Heidfeld (who was also likely to join Mercedes before they brought back Schumacher), Timo Glock, Ho-Pin Tung, Bertrand Baguette to name a few.

Michael Schumacher was the original choice to stand in for Felipe Massa in 2009 but he had an injury of his own from a motorcycle crash earlier in the year.

Ex-Midland test driver Giorgio Mondini was linked to HRT for 2011.

Vitantonio Liuzzi was contracted to Force India and HRT for 2011 and 2012 but was replaced by Paul di Resta and Pedro de la Rosa.

An attempt to resurrect HRT as Scorpion Racing fell through in 2013.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by kurski

Minardi wanted Viktor Maslov’s team in 2001, but his manager thought it would be too early to move to F1, later he said it was foolish to refuse the contract. The manager wanted Maslov to be seen as good in light of the results, not as a guy for whom Lukoil would have bought the seat.

Same story later from the same country... Roman Rusinov said he could have signed a contract with Minardi in 2003, but declined, hoping to get a more attractive offer from a better team. He has later felt that the rejection of the contract was his biggest mistake in his career.
Heikki Kovalainen revealed a few years ago that he already had a contract with Toyota's F1 team for the 2010 season.

Tommy Byrne tested for McLaren in 1982 after his stint at Theodore and proceeded to claim he was sabotaged. - https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryancampbell/2020/07/31/tommy-byrne-mclaren-sabotaged--my-formula-1-test-drive-and-career/

Thierry Boutsen was also at said test.

[kurski]

Jacques Villeneuve rejected Mclaren’s (1999) and Benetton’s (2001) offers, wanting to be loyal to manager Craig Pollock (BAR).

[Nononsensecapeesh]

The number of times Anthony Davidson was linked to race seats is staggering, here's what I can remember:

2003 - Jordan, Jaguar, Minardi (After briefly replacing Yoong in 2002)

2004 - Sauber (I think), Jaguar, Jordan

2005 - BAR, Williams, Sauber, Jaguar/Red Bull, Jordan

2006 - BMW Sauber (I think), Midland, Super Aguri

2008 - Renault (to replace Piquet after Super Aguri went bust)

Have I left any out?

Takuma Sato also came close to joining Midland in 2006 and Toro Rosso in 2009.

[crmalcolm]

https://gprejects.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7125

Raymond Mays - 1950 ERA
Giovanni Bracco - 1950 Ferrari
Luigi de Filippis - 1950 Ferrari
Luigi Platé - 1950 Talbot-Lago
Franco Bardoni - 1950 Talbot-Lago
Francis Rochat - 1951 Gordini
Erik Lundgren - 1951 EL
Gianni Marzotto - 1951 Ferrari
Alfred Dattner - 1952 Gordini
Casimiro de Oliveira - 1958 Maserati
Geoff Duke - 1961 Cooper
Peter Monteverdi - 1961 MBM
Menato Boffa - 1961 Cooper
Ken Miles - 1961 Lotus
Rob Slotemaker - 1962 Porsche
Gary Hocking - 1962 Lotus
Syd van der Dryver - 1962 Lotus
Carlo Abate - 1962 Lotus, 1963 Porsche
Ernie de Vos - 1963 Stebro
Thomas Monarch - 1963 Lotus
Alex Blignaut - 1965 Cooper
David Clapham - 1965 Cooper
Ray Reed - 1965 RE
Mauro Bianchi - 1968 Alpine
Jorge de Bagration - 1974 Surtees
Karl Oppitzhauser - 1976 March
Ricardo Londoño - 1981 Ensign
Fulvio Ballabio - 1984 Spirit
Jari Nurminen - 1988 Coloni
Giovanni Aloi - 1991 GLAS
Anthony Reid - 1992 Jordan
Akihiko Nakaya - 1992 Brabham
Jordi Gené - 1993 Bravo
Ivan Arias - 1993 Bravo*
Olivier Gavin - 1995 Pacific
Katsumi Yamamoto - 1995 Pacific
Harri Toivonen - 1995 Pacific
Christophe Bouchut - 1995 Larrousse
Emmanuele Collard - 1996 DAMS
Christian Pescatori - 1996 Durango*
Sébastien Loeb - 2009 Toro Rosso
José Mar?*a López - 2010 USF1
James Rossiter - 2010 USF1
Luiz Razia - 2013 Marussia
Josef Král - 2013 HRT*
Sergey Sirotkin - 2014 Sauber
Alexander Rossi - 2014 Marussia

Casimiro de Oliveira (1958): The man who organised the first World Championship Portuguese Grand Prix was also entered for the event in a Maserati, but withdrew after a failed test.
Geoff Duke (1961): The motorcycle legend was supposed to drive a Cooper entered by Fred Tuck Cars in the German GP but the car wasn't ready in time for the race.
Peter Monteverdi (1961): The founder of Monteverdi himself entered his own MBM car for Germany but withdrew after he was injured in the non-championship Solitude Grand Prix.
Menato Boffa (1961): Privately entered a Cooper for Monza but withdrew.
Ken Miles (1961): Privately entered a Lotus for the Glen but withdrew.
Rob Slotemaker (1962): Entered the Dutch GP with one of Carel Godin de Beaufort's Porsches, but the car wasn't ready in time for the event.
Gary Hocking (1962): One of the great "what if" stories of motor racing. Made the switch from bikes to cars and entered a Lotus for the South African GP. Sadly, he was killed before the event in the non-championship Natal Grand Prix.
Syd van der Vyver (1962): Privately entered a Lotus for South Africa but had to withdraw after wreaking it in the Natal GP.
Carlo Abate (1962-63): Entered two Grands Prix separately for Scuderia Serenissima (in a Lotus) and Giovanni Volpi (in a Porsche) but withdrew on both occasions.
Ernie de Vos (1963): Was supposed to drive a second Stebro at the Glen but only Peter Broeker's car arrived.
Thomas Monarch (1963): Privately entered a Lotus for Mexico but withdrew.
Alex Blignaut (1965): Privately entered a Cooper for South Africa but withdrew.
David Clapham (1965): Same as Blignaut.
Ray Reed (1965): Entered his home-made "RE" for South Africa but was killed in a plane crash before the race.
Karl Oppitzhauser (1976): Was supposed to race in the Austrian GP driving a March for the ÖASC Racing Team but was refused entry along with his team-mate Otto Stuppacher for a lack of single-seater racing experience (although Stuppacher didn't have the same trouble in subsequent events).
Ricardo Londoño (1981): Not sure if he counts as he did take part in an unofficial practice session designed to help the drivers get used to the Jacarapaguá circuit. Anyway he was entered in the Brazilian GP by Ensign but was refused a Super Licence by the FIA before official practice started.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by Nononsensecapeesh

Tommy Byrne tested for McLaren in 1982 after his stint at Theodore and proceeded to claim he was sabotaged. - https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryancampbell/2020/07/31/tommy-byrne-mclaren-sabotaged--my-formula-1-test-drive-and-career/

Thierry Boutsen was also at said test.

The next day, Nick Mason and Leo Sayer had a go.

Tommy Byrne also spoke to Tyrrell for 1983/84 but couldn't provide the funds Ken was demanding.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

https://gprejects.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=7125

Raymond Mays - 1950 ERA
Giovanni Bracco - 1950 Ferrari
Luigi de Filippis - 1950 Ferrari
Luigi Platé - 1950 Talbot-Lago
Franco Bardoni - 1950 Talbot-Lago
Francis Rochat - 1951 Gordini
Erik Lundgren - 1951 EL
Gianni Marzotto - 1951 Ferrari
Alfred Dattner - 1952 Gordini
Casimiro de Oliveira - 1958 Maserati
Geoff Duke - 1961 Cooper
Peter Monteverdi - 1961 MBM
Menato Boffa - 1961 Cooper
Ken Miles - 1961 Lotus
Rob Slotemaker - 1962 Porsche
Gary Hocking - 1962 Lotus
Syd van der Dryver - 1962 Lotus
Carlo Abate - 1962 Lotus, 1963 Porsche
Ernie de Vos - 1963 Stebro
Thomas Monarch - 1963 Lotus
Alex Blignaut - 1965 Cooper
David Clapham - 1965 Cooper
Ray Reed - 1965 RE
Mauro Bianchi - 1968 Alpine
Jorge de Bagration - 1974 Surtees
Karl Oppitzhauser - 1976 March
Ricardo Londoño - 1981 Ensign
Fulvio Ballabio - 1984 Spirit
Jari Nurminen - 1988 Coloni
Giovanni Aloi - 1991 GLAS
Anthony Reid - 1992 Jordan
Akihiko Nakaya - 1992 Brabham
Jordi Gené - 1993 Bravo
Ivan Arias - 1993 Bravo*
Olivier Gavin - 1995 Pacific
Katsumi Yamamoto - 1995 Pacific
Harri Toivonen - 1995 Pacific
Christophe Bouchut - 1995 Larrousse
Emmanuele Collard - 1996 DAMS
Christian Pescatori - 1996 Durango*
Sébastien Loeb - 2009 Toro Rosso
José Mar?*a López - 2010 USF1
James Rossiter - 2010 USF1
Luiz Razia - 2013 Marussia
Josef Král - 2013 HRT*
Sergey Sirotkin - 2014 Sauber
Alexander Rossi - 2014 Marussia

Casimiro de Oliveira (1958): The man who organised the first World Championship Portuguese Grand Prix was also entered for the event in a Maserati, but withdrew after a failed test.
Geoff Duke (1961): The motorcycle legend was supposed to drive a Cooper entered by Fred Tuck Cars in the German GP but the car wasn't ready in time for the race.
Peter Monteverdi (1961): The founder of Monteverdi himself entered his own MBM car for Germany but withdrew after he was injured in the non-championship Solitude Grand Prix.
Menato Boffa (1961): Privately entered a Cooper for Monza but withdrew.
Ken Miles (1961): Privately entered a Lotus for the Glen but withdrew.
Rob Slotemaker (1962): Entered the Dutch GP with one of Carel Godin de Beaufort's Porsches, but the car wasn't ready in time for the event.
Gary Hocking (1962): One of the great "what if" stories of motor racing. Made the switch from bikes to cars and entered a Lotus for the South African GP. Sadly, he was killed before the event in the non-championship Natal Grand Prix.
Syd van der Vyver (1962): Privately entered a Lotus for South Africa but had to withdraw after wreaking it in the Natal GP.
Carlo Abate (1962-63): Entered two Grands Prix separately for Scuderia Serenissima (in a Lotus) and Giovanni Volpi (in a Porsche) but withdrew on both occasions.
Ernie de Vos (1963): Was supposed to drive a second Stebro at the Glen but only Peter Broeker's car arrived.
Thomas Monarch (1963): Privately entered a Lotus for Mexico but withdrew.
Alex Blignaut (1965): Privately entered a Cooper for South Africa but withdrew.
David Clapham (1965): Same as Blignaut.
Ray Reed (1965): Entered his home-made "RE" for South Africa but was killed in a plane crash before the race.
Karl Oppitzhauser (1976): Was supposed to race in the Austrian GP driving a March for the ÖASC Racing Team but was refused entry along with his team-mate Otto Stuppacher for a lack of single-seater racing experience (although Stuppacher didn't have the same trouble in subsequent events).
Ricardo Londoño (1981): Not sure if he counts as he did take part in an unofficial practice session designed to help the drivers get used to the Jacarapaguá circuit. Anyway he was entered in the Brazilian GP by Ensign but was refused a Super Licence by the FIA before official practice started.

When I mention GP Rejects on here...

Ahem! Rolf Stommelen was originally entered in a RAM Racing Brabham for the 1976 German GP. He ended up driving a third works Brabham and scored his final point.

Kauhsen tried unsuccessfully to buy the Kojima chassis before building their own ill-fated cars.

[S griffin]

1993
When Mansell announced his retirement, Williams tried to call Patrese back who had already signed for Benetton, but Riccardo decided to keep his word. Brundle actually signed a contract with Williams, but they went with Hill, because he was cheaper

Williams also tried to get Hakkinen, but Lotus said they would veto Williams entry into the 93 if that happened. Hakkinen was on the entry list for Lotus, but after talks with Ligier, he went to McLaren on the advice of his manager Keke. He would have been in the race seat from the start of the season if Senna didn't race. In the end Senna did the whole year and Hakkinen replaced Andretti for the last 3 races of the year

Anthony Reid actually signed an agreement with Jordan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Reid

In the 93 BBC Grand Prix Preview Magazine, March had yet to confirm their drivers, so the team by team guide had Boutsen and Frentzen with an asterisk by them. Of course in the end they went with Lammers and Gounon, but never raced

In that same magazine, they had Belmondo at Larousse, even though it was actually Alliot that drove for them

Moreno was also linked to the Bravo project

As well as March, Brabham also tried to continue under new ownership. Carlos Guerrero was going to be one of their drivers, with possibly Andrea Chiesa alongside

Also Pacific intended to make their debut in 1993 with Michael Bartels, but deferred their debut to 1994. Dave Coyne was also going to drive for them

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Coyne

Paul Stewart planned to do the last two races with Minardi

Also it was reported, with the Indycar season over, Mansell was offered by a couple of teams to do the last two races in Japan and Adelaide. However it has never been confirmed who. Since Jordan, Larousse and Minardi had changed drivers for the last two races of the season, maybe it could have been one of them?

After Zanardi got injured in the Belgian GP, the choice to replace him was between Lamy and Moreno. They chose Lamy

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Alexander Rossi was due to replace Max Chilton at Marussia for the 2014 Belgian GP as Chilton's sponsors hadn't payed up. At the last minute however, they did and Chilton kept his seat.

Rossi was nominated to stand in for Jules Bianchi for the Russian GP but, out of the respect for Bianchi, Marussia ran just Chilton.

Caterham would have tried to bring back Rubens Barrichello if they hadn't been forced to miss two races due to lack of finance. They ended up running Kamui Kobayashi and Will Stevens for their crowd-funded return at Abu Dhabi.

Sauber wanted to run Barrichello and Sergey Sirotkin in 2014.

Caterham offered Andre Lotterer a 2nd outing at Monza but he declined as he would have had to hand his car over to Roberto Merhi during Friday practice.

[S griffin]

1994
Prost was offered a contract with Benetton

Patrese was offered a contract with Ligier, but turned it down, as he didn’t want to race for a midfield team

I think Warwick or Suzuki could have continued at Footwork, either of them alongside Fittipaldi, before they went with Morbidelli

Jean-Marc Gounon was one of Simtek’s drivers at the start of the season, but was replaced by Ratzenberger, for what started out as a four race contract. After Roland died and his replacement Montermini got injured, Gounon finally got his chance at the French GP

[S griffin]

1995
Erik Comas was on the first draft of an entry list for Larrousse. Eric Helary might also have been briefly nominated for a seat there

[Nononsensecapeesh]

https://www.unracedf1.com/formula-ones-almost-stand-in-drives/

[S griffin]

1996
In Autosport’s 60th anniversary issue in 2010, there was an interview with Prost and in it he talks about how Jean Todt offered him the second Ferrari seat alongside Schumacher, to help Michael develop

If Williams couldn’t get Villeneuve out of his contract in America, Alain Menu was a backup option for them

Arrows considered keeping Inoue. Rosset was linked to Minardi

Pacific hoped to race their PR03, with Gachot and possibly Oliver Gavin

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by S griffin

1994
Prost was offered a contract with Benetton

Patrese was offered a contract with Ligier, but turned it down, as he didn’t want to race for a midfield team

I think Warwick or Suzuki could have continued at Footwork, either of them alongside Fittipaldi, before they went with Morbidelli

Jean-Marc Gounon was one of Simtek’s drivers at the start of the season, but was replaced by Ratzenberger, for what started out as a four race contract. After Roland died and his replacement Montermini got injured, Gounon finally got his chance at the French GP

I thought Ratzenberger was meant to do the first five races?

Mark Webber was only meant to do the first 3/4 races of 2002 for Minardi but his 5th place on debut in Australia sealed his seat for the entire season.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by S griffin

1996
In Autosport’s 60th anniversary issue in 2010, there was an interview with Prost and in it he talks about how Jean Todt offered him the second Ferrari seat alongside Schumacher, to help Michael develop

If Williams couldn’t get Villeneuve out of his contract in America, Alain Menu was a backup option for them

Arrows considered keeping Inoue. Rosset was linked to Minardi

Pacific hoped to race their PR03, with Gachot and possibly Oliver Gavin

Did Renault have a BTCC Test Driver? I just wondered because that poses the question who would have partnered Will Hoy if Menu had ended up in F1 with Williams? Or would Prost have got that BTCC opportunity that he didn't get the previous year?

[S griffin]

1997
After Ralf Schumacher signed for Jordan, the choice of his team mate came between keeping Brundle or signing Fisichella. They chose the latter

After Larini was dropped by Sauber, the team approached Brundle, but he turned it down as he didn’t want to drive an uncompetitive car

[S griffin]

1998
Ken Tyrrell was hoping to keep Verstappen, but the new owners BAT wanted a paying driver. Ken signed an agreement with Noberto Fontana, but BAT in the end went with Rosset, which made Ken leave the team he founded

Bouillion was linked to both Tyrrell and Minardi

Tom Kristensen was in line to replace Rosset from Monaco onwards

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by S griffin

1997
After Ralf Schumacher signed for Jordan, the choice of his team mate came between keeping Brundle or signing Fisichella. They chose the latter

After Larini was dropped by Sauber, the team approached Brundle, but he turned it down as he didn’t want to drive an uncompetitive car

I thought it was after Gianni Morbidelli suffered an arm injury that Sauber tried to bring back Martin Brundle? After all, it was only then that Sauber finally settled for promoting Norberto Fontana from testing duties.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Originally Posted by S griffin

1998
Ken Tyrrell was hoping to keep Verstappen, but the new owners BAT wanted a paying driver. Ken signed an agreement with Noberto Fontana, but BAT in the end went with Rosset, which made Ken leave the team he founded

Bouillion was linked to both Tyrrell and Minardi

Tom Kristensen was in line to replace Rosset from Monaco onwards

Minardi also looked at Kristensen for 1998, I remember that being quoted on the F1 98 Season review.

When Neel Jani joined Sauber as their test driver in 2003, there was a possibility he would be promoted to a race seat for 2005.

Oriol Servia tested for Prost in 2001.

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Nononsensecapeesh

I thought it was after Gianni Morbidelli suffered an arm injury that Sauber tried to bring back Martin Brundle? After all, it was only then that Sauber finally settled for promoting Norberto Fontana from testing duties.

https://tentenths.com/forum/showpost...7&postcount=82

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by Nononsensecapeesh

Minardi also looked at Kristensen for 1998, I remember that being quoted on the F1 98 Season review.

https://tentenths.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=330

[S griffin]

1999
Williams were hoping to keep JV and if they did, they would have promoted JPM to a race seat alongside him. Then JV went off to BAR and so they took Zanardi and then decided they needed a current driver in F1, so Ralf took the second seat instead of Montoya

Noberto Fontana was briefly announced as the second Minardi driver.