Driver who never got the break

[Valve Bounce]

Jo Schlesser :http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr167.html

I had the picture of the Honda or what was left of it, but I've lost the MOTOR magazine now.

[dwboogityfan]

Derek Warwick was always very fast but seemed to always be in the right car a year too late i.e. Lotus.
Brundle matched Senna in F3 and had a second place in his first season but never got the results he was capable of. Could have been a World Champion though if Frank Williams had stuck to the contract he had for Martin before signing Damon Hill for 1993.
For all his talent, Jean Alesi only winning one race was a tragedy.

[Garry Walker]

Stefan Bellof... If he hadn't got his fatal crash in Spa 1985 passing Ickx, he could be one of the greats, fighting with Senna and Prost...

No, Bellof was nowhere the driver Prost and Senna were.

[jens]

No, Bellof was nowhere the driver Prost and Senna were.

What is that opinion based on?

[truefan72]

Betrand Gachot,

who was fast but caused his own downfall. It didn't help that MS replaced him and basically ended his F1 career.

On a mre recent note, Weldon from the IRL. I think he might/should get a look in F1.

[futuretiger9]

Going back further in time, Tim Schenken was another who could have made it really big. He produced some fine performances for Brabham and Surtees in the early 70s, and also starred for Ferrari in sportscars. After failing to be picked up by a big team (despite a couple of drives for Lotus), his career quietly faded away.

[Ranger]

What is that opinion based on?

Very sadly, not much.

[Priorat]

Jordi Gené. He was level and beat many times Barricello and Coulthard in British F3 and F3000. But he was too soft in a test with Benetton and later the failed spanish Bravo F1 project made him disappear. Perhaps not a world champion but he could have won some races for sure.

[Garry Walker]

Very sadly, not much.

Very sadly, for you, you are mistaken.

Bellof didnt particulary shine against Brundle in equal cars, and people need to wake up to reality in regards to Monaco 84. It was so wet, that the fact that Tyrrell didnt have Turbo, actually started giving them an advantage. Added to that, that car was illegal, so its was pure cheating. And in addition to that, he actually wasnt gaining on Senna most of the time.

The reason Bellof is so highly regarded, despite the fact he did pretty much nothing in F1, comes down to one thing - his death on racetrack. Just as was the case with Gilles Villeneuve and probably Senna too, their deaths have made people forget many things and start hyping them. That is undeniable nostalgia.

Not that Bellof wasnt a good driver. He was. But he was nowhere near the quality of Senna or Prost and never would have amounted to anything near that.

[futuretiger9]

Jordi Gené. He was level and beat many times Barricello and Coulthard in British F3 and F3000. But he was too soft in a test with Benetton and later the failed spanish Bravo F1 project made him disappear. Perhaps not a world champion but he could have won some races for sure.

Ironically, of course, his brother Marc made much more of an impact than he did, later on.