An F1 world without Schumacher or Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton is closing in on Michael Schumacher's two most important Formula 1 records. If Mercedes produces another good car in 2020, as everyone expects, Hamilton could match the 91 wins benchmark and Schumacher's remarkable tally of seven titles.

Both drivers are giants of the sport that set the standard for their generation and would have to be included in any debate about the greatest drivers. But what would F1 look like without them?

Autosport has crunched some numbers to work out who would have taken the 175 wins the two of them have accrued and how the world championships would have gone had they not been in F1.

A big caveat here is that we have not attempted to replace Schumacher and Hamilton, merely removed them from history. It could be very interesting to debate who, for example, Ferrari might have signed in 1996 instead of Schumacher. But there are many possible permutations and it would be difficult to be confident of selecting the right one. A subject for another day, perhaps.

The same approach, of course, has to apply to any incidents Schumacher or Hamilton were involved in. Damon Hill still fails to finish the 1994 Australian Grand Prix in our parallel universe, for example, even though he could argue with a good degree of credibility that he would have made it to the end without Schumacher's 'help'!

So, before the serious business of the new F1 season - and Hamilton's quest for that seventh world title - begins, here's a bit of alternative-reality fun.

Sharing out the titles

Without Schumacher, the obvious change is that the runners-up in real life inherit titles, with Hill becoming a three-time world champion. Rubens Barrichello becomes a double champion, as does Kimi Raikkonen, who gets 2003 to add to his actual 2007 success.

Despite some bad luck during the campaign, David Coulthard becomes 2001 champion, narrowly beating Barrichello.

The 1999 world championship also changes hands, even though Schumacher was injured for much of the season. Ironically, given Schumacher's efforts and success in finally ending Ferrari's wait since Jody Scheckter's 1979 drivers' title, Eddie Irvine beats Mika Hakkinen by three points, instead of losing by two. Hakkinen wins the 2000 title instead, thus remaining a double champion.

World champions without Schumacher

Hamilton's absence also creates a three-time world champion - Nico Rosberg - and puts another Ferrari driver onto the title-winners list: Felipe Massa. The Brazilian comfortably takes the 2008 crown ahead of Robert Kubica and Raikkonen.

The 2010 season remains a classic. Instead of a four-way fight in the finale won by Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso beats Vettel on second-place countback, with Mark Webber only two points behind.

Vettel inherits the 2017 and 2018 titles, so still gets a net gain. Instead of Hamilton on six crowns, Vettel on four, Alonso on two and Rosberg on one, the alternative universe makes Vettel a five-time champion, with Alonso and Rosberg on three apiece.

Without Schumacher, Ferrari has only two fewer drivers' titles than it has in reality. Of course, without Schumacher and the people he helped bring to the team - such as Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne - it seems likely the real loss would have been much higher.

Without Hamilton, Mercedes loses two crowns (Valtteri Bottas takes the title back in 2019), while Ferrari gains four - 2008, 2010, 2017 and 2018. It's no surprise Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto likes the idea of having Hamilton in red after 2020.

World champions without Hamilton

New race wins

When it comes to race wins, the absence of these two giants inevitably changes things a lot. Without Hamilton, it is Vettel closing on Schumacher's records, albeit with quite a lot further to go. With both removed, of course, Vettel would now be well clear of second-placed Alain Prost.

Without Hamilton, Vettel would in fact also be the current pole positions record holder, moving from his actual score of 57 to 77, ahead of Schumacher (68) and Ayrton Senna (65). Rosberg would leap from 30 poles to 54, placing him fourth in the all-time table.

Predictably, the biggest gainer without Schumacher is his long-term real-world Ferrari team-mate Barrichello, who leaps from 11 wins to 31. More surprisingly, perhaps, is that the next beneficiary is not Schumacher's old rival Hakkinen, but Coulthard, who gets nine more wins to take his tally to 22. Hakkinen gains seven, moving him to 27, while Hill gains eight to sit on 30. Fan-favourite Jean Alesi also becomes a five-time winner instead of a solo victor.

Two new winners are created without Schumacher, both in the turbulent 1994 season. Nicola Larini's Ferrari inherits victory on the tragic weekend at Imola, while in the very next race Martin Brundle takes victory in the Monaco GP: Senna's old F3 rival winning in a white-and-red McLaren...

Real wins table

No Schumacher adjusted table

New winners: Nicola Larini, Martin Brundle

The biggest gainer without Hamilton is Rosberg, who leaps from 23 to 43 wins thanks to the Mercedes domination of the turbo-hybrid era, putting him fourth on the all-time list ahead of Senna. Vettel (an increase of 15 to 68) and Bottas (an increase of 14 to 21) also get significant boosts.

Hamilton's absence adds five new F1 winners. Most remarkably, Nick Heidfeld goes from being second on the list of most starts without a victory to three successes. Not only does he gain the 2007 Canadian and Australian GPs, but his wet-weather skills are underlined by victory in the 2008 British GP.

The other four new winners are Timo Glock (2009 Singapore GP), Romain Grosjean (2012 Canadian GP), Nelson Piquet Jr (2008 German GP) and Sergio Perez (2012 Italian GP).

No Hamilton adjusted table

New winners: Nick Heidfeld, Nelson Piquet Jr, Timo Glock, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez

While there are some non-winners who deservedly get victories in our alternative reality, the absence of Schumacher and Hamilton leaves an enormous gap. Quite beyond the stats, many of their performances - from Schumacher's rainmaster virtuosity in the 1996 Spanish GP to Hamilton's audacious defeat of Ferrari in the 2018 Italian GP - have enriched F1.

F1 is all about striving for excellence. Those that reach the pinnacle and move the goalposts, such as Schumacher and Hamilton, embody that for their generations and we would be poorer without them.

Interesting though some of the changes in our alternative world are - and we suspect Rosberg would find them happy reading! - they don't match up to the reality.