Alternate history: what would this year’s F1 championship look like without Verstappen and Red Bull?

Max Verstappen won the world championship in dominant fashion this year. But what would it look like if Red Bull didn’t exist and we took the Dutchman out of the championship along with his teammate Sergio Pérez?

This season hasn’t offered fans much excitement in the Drivers’ Cup. Unfortunately, no team has been able to provide their drivers with a car with which to challenge Max Verstappen.

Even Sergio Pérez didn’t have a chance in the same monoposto, who on the other hand had to work hard to finish at least in second place. The Dutch driver was able to walk away with his third championship title.

But if we ignore him and the Mexican, we are witnessing one of the most balanced seasons in F1 history. The position of the second best team changed every race weekend. At the start of the year, it was Aston Martin, Mercedes or Ferrari.

Those three teams were joined by McLaren from the middle of the season onwards. And as a result, in addition to Verstappen and Perez, nine more drivers made the podium.

So let’s move for a moment to an alternative universe where Red Bull and its drivers don’t exist.

If we do, we will find that the last race in Abu Dhabi is the one that will decide whether Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton wins the title. Unbelievable, isn’t it?

An alternative championship without Red Bull drivers ahead of the Abu Dhabi GP

1. Lewis Hamilton – 324
2.fernando Alonso – 304
3. Carlos Sainz – 283
4. Lando Norris – 266
5. Charles Leclerc – 264
6. George Russell – 224
7. Oscar Piastri – 133
8. Lance Stroll – 127
9. Pierre Gasly – 106
10. Esteban Ocon – 102
11. Alexander Albon – 65
12. Yuki Tsunoda – 39
13. Valtteri Bottas – 29
14. Nico Hulkenberg – 21
15. Zhou Guanyu – 18
16. Kevin Magnussen – 12
17. Daniel Ricciardo – 10
18. Liam Lawson – 9
19.logan Sargeant – 9
20. Nyck de Vries – 0

The Briton has a 20-point lead over his former teammate and 2007 rival ahead of the final race of the season.

He now has one hand on the trophy and, if he gains at least seven points, he will become an eight-time world champion, surpassing Michael Schumacher, with whom he currently shares the record for the most championship titles.

Looking at the rest of the alternative championship, it is also worth noting the third place, which perhaps a little unexpectedly belongs to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz. Despite some setbacks, the Spaniard is having a good year.

And while such an end to the season would make most fans happy, Formula 1 has been and will probably continue to be about dominant seasons. So we have no choice but to accept it and commend, for the moment, Red Bull for a job well done.

Source: PlanetF1