The Junior Series Thread

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dr-baker
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by dr-baker »

mario wrote:It does feel as if Williams are really trying to erode decades worth of goodwill right now...

It's no secret that I am a Williams fan, but I think my post suggests that I don't think this is a great move for the team. Having Jamie Chadwick as a recent development driver may or may not have been a publicity move in a similar way to Susie Stoddart/Wolff, but this can not be positive from a media/publicity perspective, so they either see potential in Tinktum that we are not seeing, or money is involved somehow. Either way, I am fearing for the long-term future of the team in F1. If they don't recover to McLaren levels, I can see them going the way of (original) Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, etc. within the next decade. Which would be a great shame, but...
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by mario »

dr-baker wrote:
mario wrote:It does feel as if Williams are really trying to erode decades worth of goodwill right now...

It's no secret that I am a Williams fan, but I think my post suggests that I don't think this is a great move for the team. Having Jamie Chadwick as a recent development driver may or may not have been a publicity move in a similar way to Susie Stoddart/Wolff, but this can not be positive from a media/publicity perspective, so they either see potential in Tinktum that we are not seeing, or money is involved somehow. Either way, I am fearing for the long-term future of the team in F1. If they don't recover to McLaren levels, I can see them going the way of (original) Lotus, Brabham, Tyrrell, etc. within the next decade. Which would be a great shame, but...

At least Chadwick is a lot more likely to generate positive headlines for Williams - pretty much every time that an article is written about Dan Ticktum, there is the inevitable mention of his hot headedness and mistakes that drag down his reputation and, by association, that of Williams.

Taking on Ticktum feels like a major gamble by the team - it seems unlikely that he would be bringing in huge amounts of sponsorship, as his reputation is likely to damage those prospects, and I am not aware of any major source of personal wealth which he could draw upon. That would perhaps suggest they are hoping he turns out to be quick and does have more long term potential than he is showing right now, which is still a heck of a gamble.

I agree that, right now, I do also have concerns about the long term stability and viability of Williams. To be honest, Williams have been looking fragile ever since they lost the BMW backing in the mid 2000s, but for a while they could get around it thanks to Nakajima and the support from Toyota they got, with Rosberg bringing in enough points to make things viable.

However, things really seemed to just start going downhill around 2011 - it feels like so many of their cars from then onwards had flaws, and it felt as if the team went from radical concepts that failed that then led to conservative designs, before going back to more radical concepts that failed again.

The internal politics are not great either - we've had several senior figures come and go, which only seems to be destabilising the team further and making it more difficult to reform the technical section, which you feel needs a major overhaul.

The problem is, it is hard to see how exactly Williams are going to pull themselves out of their current situation. McLaren certainly hit hard times, but they were starting from a better position as they have the backers who have been putting the necessary money in to reform the team - in fact, they seem to have been the ones driving the reform - and they were able to act more promptly.

Williams do not have that source of external funding to reform the team - they might have had that with Stroll on board, but his departure to Racing Point has now exposed their funding deficit. They might benefit from the planned financial reforms, but right now it feels like Williams are just trying to hold on as best they can and seem to be staking a lot on those 2021 regulatory overhauls.

The problem is, is that going to be enough by itself? Williams won't benefit from the budget cap, as they come beneath that already, so it really depends on whether the other cost cutting measures will be enough - and I'm not sure that will be enough.

They've managed to cling on for now, but I do get that feeling that we're going to see something like Brabham or Lotus - I don't think that Williams will be able to sell up in the way that Tyrrell could.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Miguel98 »



Good news for F2, as Hitech joins the 2020 grid!
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by yannicksamlad »

Agreed - excellent news to have another team on the F2 grid, and Hitech know what theyre doing..
I remember 13 teams in GP2 ....

And with 30 F3 drivers , this gives them a bit more opportunity to move up .
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by yannicksamlad »

F2 2020 - Piquet, Deletraz, Alesi, Schumacher ...Shwartzman, Lundgaard, Armstrong , Ilott, Markelov, Zhou, ...maybe Aitken and Ghiotto....Ticktum, Tsunoda, Gelael , ..and Drugovich Nissany ...I've no idea who'll be champ. Could be quite random with the new tyres. Looks fun
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Klon »

If Shwartzman really is a F1-level talent, he should win the championship. Otherwise he's just as hopeless as the rest of this pathetic field.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by yannicksamlad »

I am a bit taken aback at Klon's harsh assessment of the quality of the field ...They are still developing .

Anyway, I'm really not certain that Shwartzman is in the best team for a title challenge - Prema came 9th out of 10 teams last year. I know the new tyres will re-set things and Prema's resources should give them an edge in understanding Pirelli complexities, but .... mmm. I think Dams and UNI Virtuosi, and ART may have an edge.

Still looks like fun to me
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Bleu »

Prema's position just shows that drivers are more important than team.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by dr-baker »

The American Indy Lights championship and the W Series have both announced that they will not be running a 2020 series and both intend to return for the 2021 season, in contrast to the FE support series, Jaguar ePace iTrophy, that closed up shop altogether.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Enforcer »

Am I the only one finding the number of ex-driver's children, grandchildren, nephews etc. knocking around in lower series a little freaky?

yannicksamlad already mentioned Piquet, Deletraz, Alesi and Mick Schumacher, but there's also Roy Nissany, plus another few in F3: Enzo Fittipaldi, David Schumacher, Matteo Nannini and Jack Doohan (although his Dad was a practitioner of the 2 wheeled art), and Pietro Fittipaldi was in Asian F3 last season too. I'm actually surprised that Marino Sato isn't Takuma's son.

Did this always happen, but none of them got through to F1 which is why those that did (Damon, Jacques) were such a novelty?
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by dr-baker »

And don't forget Juju Noda!
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by yannicksamlad »

I loved Austria F2 and F3. Last year Seb Fernandez scored no F3 points for Campos, a switch in teams and a new year and he's on pole! And Drugovich - no F3 bright spots last year , turns up in F2 in MP Motorsport car and is front row on Saturday and wins the reverse grid race .
This is the kind of change in competitive order that F2/F3 can bring when it's so competitive in the series. Of course, because it is so close, the advantage of an ART/Unoi Virtuosi drive in F2 or a Prema drive in F3 (etc) can make all the difference, but the gaps are so small that change-arounds are well possible as drivers develop and teams fail to optimise everything.
I love that aspect
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Miguel98 »

Marcus Armstrong is moving himself to DAMS for 2021 F2, while the line-up for HWA is... a little bit more than iffy.

You have, on one side, the nephew of Alessandro Nannini, Matteo Nannini, who last year only scored twice in F3 and on the other side.... a guy who didn't score a single point last year in F3 and who made headlines across 2020 for all the wrong reasons. That might be a candidate for the worst F2/GP2 lineup of all time. :facepalm:
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by BJ McLeod »

Miguel98 wrote:Marcus Armstrong is moving himself to DAMS for 2021 F2, while the line-up for HWA is... a little bit more than iffy.

You have, on one side, the nephew of Alessandro Nannini, Matteo Nannini, who last year only scored twice in F3 and on the other side.... a guy who didn't score a single point last year in F3 and who made headlines across 2020 for all the wrong reasons. That might be a candidate for the worst F2/GP2 lineup of all time. :facepalm:


Loving the excuse that he was trying to raise awareness at the dangers of speeding, true galaxy brain thinking right there

Would pay good money to see someone try and use that excuse to the cops
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Pinkd56 »

Impressive drive from last place for young Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen today in the NZ GP! I wonder if he's on the radar of any F1 young driver programs? :pantano:
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

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Miguel98 wrote:You have, on one side, the nephew of Alessandro Nannini, Matteo Nannini, who last year only scored twice in F3 and on the other side.... a guy who didn't score a single point last year in F3 and who made headlines across 2020 for all the wrong reasons. That might be a candidate for the worst F2/GP2 lineup of all time. :facepalm:

The Jenzer was a terrible team last year in F3 though and Nannini was clearly the best driver in the team (the other guys couldn't even crack the top-12 all season). Nannini's nothing too shiny but I'd rate him somewhere between Zendeli and Boshung in terms of talent.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

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Pinkd56 wrote:Impressive drive from last place for young Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen today in the NZ GP! I wonder if he's on the radar of any F1 young driver programs? :pantano:


I mean, if Fernando Alonso could get a shot at a Young Driver Test, surely Van Gisbergen could be given a similar crack. And considering the Merc-Hamilton Contract Lark, giving a young hotshot like Van Gisbergen a go might be just what the doctor ordered! :pantano:
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

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https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/jean-alesi-ferrari-f1-test-son/5202124/?ic_source=home-page-widget&ic_medium=widget&ic_campaign=widget-1

Giuliano Alesi is leaving the Ferrari Young Driver academy and indeed Europe for Japanese racing, though the article doesn't say exactly where? Maybe the next contract hasn't yet been signed.

Image
Quite nice that he ran the 28 as well, nice touch :)
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Ataxia »

He's going to Super Formula Lights: https://www.autosport.com/other/news/15 ... e-in-japan
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Frogfoot9013 »

So it looks like Roberto Merhi of all people might be on the grid for the coming F2 season.

https://www.autosport.com/f2/news/15479 ... -f2-return
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Frogfoot9013 »

Some good news from FIA F3, Juan Manuel Correa will be making a return to competitive racing for the first time since his accident in F2 at Spa back in 2019! :D

https://www.art-grandprix.com/en/juan-m ... -fia-2021/
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Alextrax52 »

Samaia vs Deledda for the wooden spoon this season then. Jeez did the F2 teams not learn from the example set by Calderon and #LordMahaveer 2 years ago?
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by yannicksamlad »

I assume it's a bit of a financial decision. HWA though...not looking to have improved in testing
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Miguel98 »

Fairly certain I've asked this before but: what is up with F2 stewarding these days? This Bahrain Feature was atrocious.

I know expecting consistency from the FIA is stupid, but even by those standards, this race (and weekend overall) was particularly awful.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Alextrax52 »

Miguel98 wrote:Fairly certain I've asked this before but: what is up with F2 stewarding these days? This Bahrain Feature was atrocious.

I know expecting consistency from the FIA is stupid, but even by those standards, this race (and weekend overall) was particularly awful.


I know right? And then there was the farce of them missing Lungaard taking his penalty which meant he couldn’t celebrate his podium at the time

I quite like the new F2 format. Having the feature race last is a big plus for me as no one can take it easy with a reverse grid in mind. Samaia seems to have improved a little but Deledda kind of lived up to expectations
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by MyHamsterRacedAnOnyx »

Firstly welcome back from the rampaging viruses :D

Perhaps someone could unravel this one-I see in the 2021 calendar that Formula 2 is going to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.DAMS have Roy Nissany who is Israeli. Since Saudi Arabia will not let Israeli citizens enter at all, how are they going to work that one? :?: I can't imagine the FIA would look too kindly on a driver being refused participation because of their nationality.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by dinizintheoven »

MyHamsterRacedAnOnyx wrote:Firstly welcome back from the rampaging viruses :D

Perhaps someone could unravel this one-I see in the 2021 calendar that Formula 2 is going to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.DAMS have Roy Nissany who is Israeli. Since Saudi Arabia will not let Israeli citizens enter at all, how are they going to work that one? :?: I can't imagine the FIA would look too kindly on a driver being refused participation because of their nationality.

A fat wad of cash in the FIA's direction and they'll overlook anything.

Either that or DAMS will pretend his name is Roy Nissan and he's Japanese.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Klon »

Roy Nissany has a French passport as well, so that's that problem solved.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Ataxia »

Klon wrote:Roy Nissany has a French passport as well, so that's that problem solved.


Yep, it's also how he gets around going into Bahrain too.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Miguel98 »

I hereby present you evidence #1 that the FIA have completelly gone off the rails.

https://www.motorsport.com/fia-f2/news/masi-explains-why-deledda-raced-despite-107-breach-/6514984/

"Masi has since confirmed that the team had told stewards Deledda’s car had been suffering from mechanical issues over the weekend, and that the 26-year-old’s previous history in qualifying was taken into account when making the call to allow him to race.

“So with regards to Deledda and the F2 race, the stewards, having spoken with them, had a look or had two parts,” said Masi.

“They’ve obviously summoned the team and the team displayed to them that they had been having mechanical issues with that car throughout the weekend."

I put on bold and italic the most incredible excuse I've ever seen on this. This is embarassing by the FIA standards. The ladder is broken. Fix it.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Rob Dylan »

The first Monaco F2 race was the only junior race I've seen so far this year, and the Deledda situation was a bad joke over the top of everything. Admittedly we're GPRejects, but I felt that the chat and myself were primarily just looking at the bottom of the timing sheets to see how many laps behind Deledda would be come race finish.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

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Rob Dylan wrote:The first Monaco F2 race was the only junior race I've seen so far this year, and the Deledda situation was a bad joke over the top of everything. Admittedly we're GPRejects, but I felt that the chat and myself were primarily just looking at the bottom of the timing sheets to see how many laps behind Deledda would be come race finish.


Indeed I did spend some time checking his lap times. And to be fair, he went faster in the races ( when dry) than he went in quallie, which I don't think anyone else did . And he didn't get in the way really .
I agree that the reason the 107% rule wasnt enforced hasnt really been explained convincingly, but if he really did show his quallie was handicapped, why not let him race?
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by dr-baker »

Dan Tinktum has been released from Williams's junior driver programme. And apparently it has nothing to do with badmouthing Latifi on a livestreaming event recently...
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Rob Dylan »

dr-baker wrote:Dan Tinktum has been released from Williams's junior driver programme. And apparently it has nothing to do with badmouthing Latifi on a livestreaming event recently...
Yeah, from what Ticktum has said, he had already been fired, and so in his usual graceful way he mocked Latifi, who then proceeded to finish 7th at the following race :lol: the irony is quite sweet.

In other news, it looks like Alfa Romeo are interested in Théo Pourchaire. He's very young though, only 17 and turning 18 at the end of the month. They're giving him a private test during the summer break, so maybe they're eyeing him up for a 2022 ride? In that case I would assume Kimi goes rather than Gio, as Alfa have this weird "there has to be an Italian in the car, even if it's Gio" policy.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by noiceinmydrink »

Rob Dylan wrote:In other news, it looks like Alfa Romeo are interested in Théo Pourchaire. He's very young though, only 17 and turning 18 at the end of the month. They're giving him a private test during the summer break, so maybe they're eyeing him up for a 2022 ride? In that case I would assume Kimi goes rather than Gio, as Alfa have this weird "there has to be an Italian in the car, even if it's Gio" policy.


I'm a big fan of Théo Pourchaire (Pourc-hair of the year 2020) but I really wouldn't want to see him into F1 next year in case we have another Tsunoda situation on our hands. He's very young as you said so I'd much rather see him rack up the results in F2 for a year or two - I wouldn't want him to come to F1 unprepared and get thrashed by more experienced folks. I could definitely see him being brought up to Alfa in the next few years but when that happens depends on Raikkonen, Bottas and maybe Giovinazzi who I think has done quite well against Raikkonen even if he has violently tumbled down the hill with his legs bent like a cabinet minister.

I know others have said it especially on this forum but we really need more teams. Anyone spare a couple of quid?
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Bleu »

noiceinmydrink wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:In other news, it looks like Alfa Romeo are interested in Théo Pourchaire. He's very young though, only 17 and turning 18 at the end of the month. They're giving him a private test during the summer break, so maybe they're eyeing him up for a 2022 ride? In that case I would assume Kimi goes rather than Gio, as Alfa have this weird "there has to be an Italian in the car, even if it's Gio" policy.


I'm a big fan of Théo Pourchaire (Pourc-hair of the year 2020) but I really wouldn't want to see him into F1 next year in case we have another Tsunoda situation on our hands. He's very young as you said so I'd much rather see him rack up the results in F2 for a year or two - I wouldn't want him to come to F1 unprepared and get thrashed by more experienced folks. I could definitely see him being brought up to Alfa in the next few years but when that happens depends on Raikkonen, Bottas and maybe Giovinazzi who I think has done quite well against Raikkonen even if he has violently tumbled down the hill with his legs bent like a cabinet minister.

I know others have said it especially on this forum but we really need more teams. Anyone spare a couple of quid?


I agree with this. Letting Pourchaire having another season of F2 and he could be promoted to get some FP1 drives next year.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by dinizintheoven »

If it was a bit like how it was years ago - back in t'old days when everything was in black and white and F1 cars had V12 engines and no turbos, then right now we'd be talking about the prospects of a really exciting young driver, who was about to make his F1 debut next season, born round about 1996-97 or so...

...not 2003.

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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by mario »

Bleu wrote:
noiceinmydrink wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:In other news, it looks like Alfa Romeo are interested in Théo Pourchaire. He's very young though, only 17 and turning 18 at the end of the month. They're giving him a private test during the summer break, so maybe they're eyeing him up for a 2022 ride? In that case I would assume Kimi goes rather than Gio, as Alfa have this weird "there has to be an Italian in the car, even if it's Gio" policy.


I'm a big fan of Théo Pourchaire (Pourc-hair of the year 2020) but I really wouldn't want to see him into F1 next year in case we have another Tsunoda situation on our hands. He's very young as you said so I'd much rather see him rack up the results in F2 for a year or two - I wouldn't want him to come to F1 unprepared and get thrashed by more experienced folks. I could definitely see him being brought up to Alfa in the next few years but when that happens depends on Raikkonen, Bottas and maybe Giovinazzi who I think has done quite well against Raikkonen even if he has violently tumbled down the hill with his legs bent like a cabinet minister.
I know others have said it especially on this forum but we really need more teams. Anyone spare a couple of quid?

I agree with this. Letting Pourchaire having another season of F2 and he could be promoted to get some FP1 drives next year.

Whilst it might be better for Theo, the problem is that, as I believ Darren Heath once talked about, the cost of participating in junior series means that there is a lot of pressure for drivers to advance as quickly as possible through the junior series for their managers to maximise their return on investment and to try and maximise the length of their careers.

As for new teams - that's not going to happen for the foreseeable future thanks to the $200 million anti-dilution fee. That fee basically kills any prospect of an independent team, since it'd really only be waived for a full manufacturer entry, and the problem is that, if we did get a manufacturer entry, they'd probably instead prefer, at least for the short to medium term, to employ a more experienced former driver.

Whilst we might like it, I just can't see where a new team will appear from until the middle of this decade at the earliest, given that's how long the current commercial agreement will run for.
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Rob Dylan
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by Rob Dylan »

I've been thinking recently about early promotions to F1, like Stroll or Verstappen, and while both of them were able to stay in the sport (through either their dad or being freakishly good, you decide which ;) ), there have also been a lot of Wehrleins and Albons recently. Those two were both massively hyped youngsters who joined, did a few seasons and were out again. With so few teams and driver ages being so young, it's almost common nowadays to have Algersuaris who finish their career before they even hit their mid-20s. Because they have to get promoted quickly because of the expense, there is going to be so much wasted talent promoted too young, I fear.
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Re: The Junior Series Thread

Post by yannicksamlad »

Rob Dylan wrote:I've been thinking recently about early promotions to F1, like Stroll or Verstappen, and while both of them were able to stay in the sport (through either their dad or being freakishly good, you decide which ;) ), there have also been a lot of Wehrleins and Albons recently. Those two were both massively hyped youngsters who joined, did a few seasons and were out again. With so few teams and driver ages being so young, it's almost common nowadays to have Algersuaris who finish their career before they even hit their mid-20s. Because they have to get promoted quickly because of the expense, there is going to be so much wasted talent promoted too young, I fear.


Indeed. I suppose one person's wasted talent is another's opportunity, but as we often say - there are too few opportunities with a grid that isnt full.
And what really grates a bit is that the system doesnt seem to favour letting drivers fully develop. They will develop at different times and in different ways. We know that those who develop later are disadvantaged (if they're 25 and not yet in F1 , people think they can't possibly be good enough..the Myth of Prodigy is strong despite having been questioned repeatedly) and we know development comes with experience. With only 20 F1 seats and impatient teams and audiences, drivers who don't perform that well are quickly moved out before they've even fully developed. In this way , drivers who arrive with the most experience (karting since 7, affiliated to F1 junior squads for years, lots of track time in junior series, private tests etc) and perform well , are more likely to get the chance to stay. (Also because if they have an affiliation with a team or manufacturer they may get more 'time'). Those who might have gone on to outperform these drivers, but arrived 'less developed' and who struggle won't be as likely to get the chance to fully develop.

Meanwhile those drivers who've been in F1 for 5 years or so, can feel safer knowing that many new entrants will never get the chance to develop and possibly challenge them .
I started supporting Emmo in 1976 (3 points )....missed 75, 74, 73, 72...
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