Best drivers who have never driven in F1

[siffert_fan]

Technically, these two don't belong on this list as they did drive in F1 but were tragically killed before having the chance to show their true potential: Tony Brise and Mark Donohue. The latter had shown himself the master of every series he drove in and it would have been fascinating to see if that held true in F1 as well.

 

[ZakspeedYakspeed]

Finnish rally drivers ... Juha, Tommi, Ari, Henri, Timo, Markku

http://www.redbull.com/en/bike/stories/1331586320250/henri-toivonen-at-estoril-exploring-the-myth

 

[racecub]

Tommy Byrne crossed my mind racecub but he did a couple of races for Theodore in 1981 or 82.

Yes he did, and he still won the category he was doing the season in despite missing races for the F1 drives. I'd love to have seen him do it properly though.

 

[jez101]

Certainly a hat tip to a number of rally drivers, but for me Franchitti's record in single seaters gets him my vote.

 

[LifeW12]

Greg Moore. Sadly taken from us in 1999 at only 24 years old.

 

[gethinceri]

Would love to see The Doctor race in F1 but as you're only allowed one choice it has to be Dario Franchitti who, had he got behind the wheel of a Ferrari, McLaren or Red Bull, would have been World Champ.

 

[Legs]

Considering how he dominated F3 in 1993(?), I was really surprised Kelvin Burt never made it to a F1 race seat.

 

[Il_leone]

Legs

kelvin Burt tried out Touring Cars if I remember and had one or two impressive outings then went to try single seater

I remember him in 1992 and losing the F3 title to the dominant Gil De Ferran,

1993 he dominated F3 in the Stewart team and won but it seemed like his career did not move on from there . He supposedly had talks with Jordan being a test driver with a view of being promoted to race driver but the last I heard of him

I remember him in comparing with other British young hopefuls back on each other then including Franchitti and DC in Autosport. They said he did not have the backing but gets the drives so clearly he had talent

 

[Il_leone]

Off the Brazilians who never made it to F1

Gil De Ferran

- British F3 champ and battled DC, Barrichello in junior formula and I think lost out on F3000 title at the last race in 1994
- a test with Footwork Arrows he failed to impress due to bumping his head walking nearby a motorhome and going up against Verstappen

Attempts by TWR Arrows and Stewart to get him into F1 but nothing happened

Decided to go Indy and try out CART winning back to back titles before moving to IRL

Bruno Junqeira

- Williams test driver through links with Petrobras sponsors
A shoot out with Button for the seat vacated by Zanardi did not go his way

 

[KekeTheKing]

Al Unser Jr
Apparently Frank was interested but Patrick had an issue with him being a smoker

Lil Al could pedal. Went toe to toe with Fittipaldi on several occasions. Would be a shame if smoking kept him out of F1.

 

[Fenderman]

I've been wrestling with this since the OP started and can't think of anyone who hasn't been mentioned. I was pipped at the post (sic) with regard to Jason Watt who I had followed in F3000. And that's not just because he would have been the first black/white mixed race (like me) F1 driver but because he was really very good. Montoya only beat him by driving him off the track (as evidenced in one of their last F3000 races at Monaco). Anyway, he's probably the bloke I've most wanted to see make it to F1 but didn't. C'est la vie.

Edit. Spoilt for choice but as a biker it would have been great to see the MotoGP GOAT up against the F1 GOAT but too late now, Voted for Rossi anyway.

 

[cider_and_toast]

How about Paul Warwick, brother of Derek Warwick.

His star was very much on the rise when he tragically lost his life at Oulton Park in 1991. That year he'd taken 4 poles and 4 wins from the first 4 races and was on pole and leading at Oulton when he was killed. He'd scored enough points to be posthumous British Formula 3000 champion that season.

He'd won the Star of tommorow Formula 1600 and Junior Formula 1600 championships in 86 and was runner up to JJ Lehto in the European Formula 2000 series in 1987 before a couple of lean years in British Formula 3. 91 was shaping up to be his real breakthrough season before the accident.

Maybe not the best driver to have never made it to F1 but certainly one who would have got there.

 

[Olivier]

Yeah by driving in to him and taking him off the road in the final race!

...

A bit dramatic don't you think, I'd say racing incident.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Another chap who some of the more veteran members of the site may remember is Sir John Whitmore.

He finished second in class on his Le Mans debut with Jim Clark as his team mate in 1959, won the 1961 British Touring Car Championship on his debut and finished runner up in 1963. He also won the European Touring Car Championship in 1965 and was a Ford works driver in a GT40 at Le Mans in 1965 and for Alan Mann Racing in 1966.

Definately a driver who was among one of the best in the 60's never to race in F1.

 

[FB]

Thanks for mentioning Paul Warwick cider_and_toast, I was just thinking about him. Saw him win at Brands Hatch in 1991 and he was the class of the field, such a shame he died so young.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

I was going to vote for Tom Kristensen, but then I realised that if he'd been in F1 we almost certainly wouldn't have witnessed him winning Le Mans nine times.

 

[Il_leone]

KekeTheKing

PAtrick wanted hard grafters and at least professional application but apparently Little Al loved to have a smoke whilst the crew were working


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Anyone remember Jeff Gordon the nascar driver who managed to lap 1 second slower than the regular Mclaren drivers in a Mclaren or was it a Williams I cant remember

 

[The Pits]

Lil Al could pedal. Went toe to toe with Fittipaldi on several occasions. Would be a shame if smoking kept him out of F1.

Was this the same period that saw Williams sponsored by Rothmans?

 

[Il_leone]

The Pits

I think so given they was talk of him or Andretti coming into F1

 

[soccerman17]

Will Power or Ryan Hunter-Reay ahead of Dixon and Franchitti. If anyone has watched any IndyCar the last few years those two have been much better on the road courses and always get so much more out of their cars. Incredible stuff at times really. Also gonna throw Luca Filippi into the ring here. So excited for him to finally race an IndyCar this weekend.