Young racing drivers all over the world dream about making it big in the world of motorsport. They dream about following in the footsteps of legends such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel etc - all of whom made their names in Formula One. However, as most motorsport aficionados know, there is more to motorsport than F1, but do you really hear of young drivers declaring their ambitions to race in the World Endurance Championship, Touring Cars or other single seaters such as Formula E or Indy Car? Not really. It's a shame but with F1 being known as the "pinnacle of motorsport," there is no real surprise to what the youngsters are striving for.
I recently read an article about how ex-Williams reserve driver - Jack Aitken, almost regretted having Formula One has his sole goal in motorsport. It got me thinking and has been the inspiration behind this short post. Using Aitken as an example, he took the more traditional route in paving his way to Formula One; taking part in GP3, Formula 2 and becoming a member of some of the more prestigious Formula One junior academies such as Renault before being appointed as a reserve driver for Williams and getting a race outing during the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, replacing George Russell who stood in for an unwell Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. For Aitken, this would be his only race outing in Formula One before leaving the series entirely in 2022.
In a recent interview with The Race he said:
"So I was in the Renault academy for four years - I would say for the first three years of that there was never any thought of taking my career in another direction. Possibly a mistake. When I talk to younger drivers now I'm like 'you really should consider that stuff [outside of F1], at least just open doors elsewhere... Because statistically speaking it's more likely, bro'."
For years and years, as fans we have watched young drivers miss out on their dreams through no fault of their own. They have given up their livelihoods (and tonnes of money) to get there, just to be shown the door. And, with (currently) only twenty seats on the Formula One grid, a large number of drivers with never ending funds, and motorsport as popular as it is ever been, the chances of making it to the big time is almost nothing but luck of the draw. Take the upcoming 2024 F1 season, not a single rookie sits on that grid. Not even the most recent Formula 2 champion; Theo Pourchaire. That pretty much sums it up.
However, success has found those who have had no choice but to change the direction they were heading in their careers. Take Antonio Felix da Costa as a prime example. Tipped to race for Toro Rosso in the 2014 Formula One Season, da Costa found himself missing out to his younger Red Bull Junior companion - Daniil Kvyat; who had just won the 2013 GP3 crown, compared to da Costa's 3rd in that year's Formula Renault 3.5 championship. For da Costa, his hopes of one day racing in Formula One diminished and, instead, found himself racing in DTM and Formula E; even winning a championship in the latter series. And, it's not just those who missed out on a chance in Formula One who's race craft has come in handy elsewhere, with numerous ex-F1 drivers finding success elsewhere. Examples being Sebastien Buemi, Nelson Piquet Jr and Jean-Eric Vergne; all of whom are now Formula E champions alongside da Costa.
But alas, with the coverage and "hype" that Formula One receives (Netflix's Drive to Survive and F1's own channel in the UK, as examples) kids will want to strive for nothing more than Formula One and emulate their heroes. But, as motorsport continues to grow in popularity, I hope that some of the more underrated series get their time because honestly kids, F1 is great but motorsport is a big world and there is plenty to explore!
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