An extreme but plausible improvement might produce a 23-knot Dreadnought with 14-inch guns. Rivals would then face the all-big-gun layout alongside a simultaneous jump in calibre and speed. Their first 21-knot, 12-inch dreadnoughts would be outclassed at commissioning. The race would begin earlier and more disruptively while other powers waited for their own 14-inch weapons and faster hulls.
Notable Point · 2:18:44-2:19:33
A 14-inch, 23-knot Dreadnought changes the race
A faster Dreadnought armed with 14-inch guns would make every contemporary 12-inch response obsolete before it entered service.