What if?

Scott Dixon testing a Williams-BMW FW26 at the Barcelona circuit in 2004 (picture-above). The driver from New Zealand was impressive considering his lack of experience in Formula One machinery, clocking competitive times.

If there’s a “what if” story to Formula 1 testing, Scott Dixon’s is perhaps the biggest. The New Zealand driver, a superb racing talent, ignored by the F1, would go on to win the IndyCar title in 2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2020, and win the Indy 500 in 2008.

After his first title in the biggest formula class of the United States, Dixon gets the chance to test in a Formula 1 car in 2004 as a 23-year-old driver. This happens with the Williams team and it is not limited to one test. He is first allowed to drive some laps on the French circuit of Paul Ricard, after which the British team sends him to Barcelona for the second test.

The first outing goes very well for the brand new IndyCar champion, who is only three tenths slower in France than regular Williams value Ralf Schumacher. In Barcelona, ​​however, Dixon has to prove himself one more time for a possible F1 seat in 2005. That very last day of the test ends in disaster due to circumstances beyond his control. Bad weather, gearbox problems and a defective drive shaft deprive him of a real chance to convince.

Naturally, Dixon is very disappointed about that. His only chance to shine in Formula One, one of his childhood dreams, vanished in the Barcelona rain, but the New Zealander soon became a legend in the IndyCar Series, but one can wonder, “what if ?”

Picture-below: Scott Dixon with his manager, former F1 driver Stefan Johansson, at the said Paul-Ricard test session with Williams F1, in March 2004.