Let's Talk: Junior Drivers - Should There Be More Opportunities For Them In F1?

After Oliver Bearman's last minute call up to make his Formula One debut in Jeddah, stepping in for an unwell Carlos Sainz at Ferrari, the discussion surrounding the opportunities that are readily available in F1 for young drivers has fired up once again. And, there is no doubt that this is a stark reminder of how difficult it actually is for young drivers to make their way into Formula One. In short, motorsport, specifically F1, is "cut-throat," and many aspiring young drivers get their dreams snatched away from them before it's even begun, as they experience the harsh reality of becoming professional racing drivers. It is, what is called, a "doggy-dog world."

The biggest issue surrounding young drivers and their journey's into Formula One is that there just isn't enough seats on the grid for everyone. The amount of teams and drivers that are field in Formula One has considerably fluctuated over the years. For example, in 2011 there were 12 teams and 24 drivers. In 2024, it's now 10 teams and 20 drivers, thus no more room at the inn. But, should it be the incredibly talented juniors that take the brunt of missing out, over others, who say, have money? That's how things seem to transpire in this day and age of Formula One.

In hindsight, talent doesn't seem to be enough to guarantee a seat in the "pinnacle" of motorsport. Look at recent Formula 2 winners, Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire, both of whom have failed to secure a seat for 2023 and 2024 respectively. The introduction of junior teams/academies, some years ago, opened a whole new world for younger drivers, but, even the opportunities within seemed to have dwindled, with some teams opting for experience over fresh blood. But, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Drivers such as Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton still have what it takes and can teach younger drivers a thing or two. The main issues lay within the drivers who are not performing. It is, so to speak, a waste of a Formula One seat. Especially with the large pool of talent out in the wild. So, hypothetically speaking, what can be done to improve the issue? Bearman, as well as Liam Lawson, have both proved sometimes a chance on a rookie is worth taking.

What comes to mind immediately is that F1 needs more teams. More teams means more seats means more chances for the up and coming generations. However, F1 doesn't seem to want anymore teams, so that option is already out of the window, for now. So, if that is a no go, what about teams fielding a third car? With costs of running an F1 team as high as they are, some of the smaller teams may be vulnerable to folding if a third car was to come in to play. With the current state of things, it's difficult to find a solution to the infamous young driver problem.

But, F1 IS trying, in some way, shape and form, in making the series more accessible, with teams required to give a young rookie two free practice sessions per season. The perfect opportunity to maximise experience, as well as selling themselves to the world of Formula One. Despite this, in 2024, not one rookie, apart from Bearman's last minute call up; lines up on the start line for a Formula One race, which brings us full circle to there not being enough race seats once again.

It's a shame that over the years we've seen many a talent come to realise that their future does not lie in F1. But maybe, this is the mindset young drivers need to go forward with. Formula One, despite it's prestige, isn't everything, and plenty of opportunities lay elsewhere in the world of motorsport.

What do you think? Leave your opinions in the comments below!

Race Review: Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024

Race number two of the season is here and, in comparison to last week's Bahrain Grand Prix, the race in Saudi Arabia was full of action, tactics, an impressive debut and, ummm, appendicitis? (Get well soon, Carlos Sainz!)

As, with what seems to be the norm with F1 in this day and age, it was another pole and win for Max Verstappen and Red Bull, which no doubt caused another collective sigh throughout the Formula One community. However, everyone's focus was more projected towards Ferrari's young protegee, Oliver Bearman, who, at only 18 years of age, was making his debut for the Ferrari team in place of Carlos Sainz, who was hospitalised with appendicitis. And, what a debut it was for the young Brit, who battled his way past seasoned drivers and defended against others to finish in an impressive 7th place and the pride of being voted as "Driver of the Day." Surely, this won't be last we see of Bearman in Formula One? And, with the Haas drivers of Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen not necessarily lighting the track alight at this point in time, could a seat soon become available at the team where the British driver is already established as their reserve? Watch this space.

Talking of Kevin Magnussen, he had a very up and down race, but regardless of this, he provided the bulk of the entertainment. After being slapped with two ten second penalties for causing collisions and gaining an advantage, the Danish driver, who once dominated the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 season, used his position to hold up a group in the mid-field to ensure his teammate wouldn't loose positions in the pits. And, what a tactic it was, with Haas taking home one point, courtesy of Hulkenberg. That's probably a big deal for Haas, to be honest. However, the battles that were born because of Magnussen, made the race exciting and, at times, nail-biting, as drivers became perilously close to colliding with each other. I'm sure Yuki Tsunoda's radio was absolute fire.

And, it wasn't just Magnussen picking up penalties. The Race Stewards were busy handing them out to other drivers, such as Sergio Perez. Let's be honest, if anyone is going to get a penalty in a race, it will be either Magnussen or Perez. We'll throw in Esteban Ocon into that list too, although he did stay out of trouble this weekend, unlike his teammate who was one of two DNFs - more on that in a bit. McLaren's Lando Norris also found himself in a bit of hot water during this race, after a jump start saw him under investigation by the stewards. Let's not lie, it was a blatantly obvious jump start, however, Norris can be counting his lucky stars, as the stewards did not penalise him thanks to his car's transponder not indicating it (the start). Although, McLaren got lucky with "Jump Start Gate", their straight line speed was anything but perfect, as shown by Oscar Piastri on his attempt to hunt down and overtake the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Never has an on-track battle seemed to have frustrated me more.

Speaking of frustration, there must have been plenty of frustrated drivers out on that track. Take Alex Albon and his fight with Magnussen, Tsunoda because he's always high-rate, Zhou Guanyu and another dodgy Sauber pit-stop - resembling one from the week before, and finally, Daniel Ricciardo - what is going on there? This is the driver who is tipped to return to Red Bull, but finished near enough last, some places behind Magnussen and his twenty second time penalty. If he does one day replace Checo at Red Bull, I don't think it would solve Red Bull's problems. No, not that problem, the second driver one.

This race was also the race which gave us our first Safety Car of 2024, all thanks to Lance Stroll, clipping the wall and ending up in the barriers early on in the opening laps. Stroll quickly informed the team that he was ok, which is what we always want to hear when a driver crashes. Unfortunately for him, it meant game over for this weekend. But, would the race have been as interesting without the SC? Stroll may have done us all a favour and numbed the pain a bit of watching another Verstappen masterclass. The other DNF, as mentioned before, went to Pierre Gasly with a gearbox issue. Just another stark reminder of the hell Alpine are currently enduring.

All in all, despite Verstappen's dominace, I thought it was a good race, with plenty of battles and drama. Ok, it wasn't great, but it was better than Bahrain, so it's a start. Now it's time for a short break, with my birthday in between! See you in Australia in a couple of weeks time!

Race Review: Bahrain Grand Prix 2024

The first race of the season has now come and gone, and things seem to be continuing from the end of 2023, with another dominant performance from reigning champion, Max Verstappen, who finished over twenty seconds ahead of his Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez, and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. And, with Verstappen's "race story" being described as from first to first, can we really be surprised at how disgruntled some fans seem to be, despite the joy of hearing Crofty's catchphrase of "Switcharoo" and seeing the cars spark in the night sky?

This year's Bahrain GP was most definitely not one of the most exciting races we've seen in recent F1 history. With no safety car and lack of retirements, it was probably one opening race we may forget by next weekend. Regardless, there was some action to keep us fans on our toes. I mean, what's a race without a first lap incident? Thank Nico Hulkenburg for that one, as he ran into the back of Lance Stroll, damaging his own (HUL) front wing and sending Stroll into an early race spin. And, what about the fantastic overtaking from Carlos Sainz on his Ferrari teammate - Charles Leclerc? With a point to prove this season, he's had an amazing start, with a 3rd place finish and the first Driver of the Day in 2024. Ok, Leclerc did have problems with problematic front axles causing the Monegasque to frequently lock up and find himself fall from second to fourth by the chequered flag. But in no means should this be a reason for people to disregard Sainz's achievements thus far.

Issues seemed to be plaguing, not just Leclerc, but several drivers up and down the field. Mercedes in particular quickly became a talking point throughout the race, with battery issues, leaking fluids and a broken seat, both Lewis Hamilton and George Russell weren't having the best time out on track. And, neither were the Williams of Logan Sargeant and Alex Albon, with the former momentarily stopping out on track and the latter having issues with an overheating car and dash graphics. As for Aston Martin, their 2023 pace seemed to have vanished. Where last year they were stood on the podium, in 2024 it was a struggle to stay in the points.

One of the more "stranger" aspects of the race was RB's team orders. Honestly, calm down guys, it's the first race of the season and you're battling for thirteenth. With Daniel Ricciardo on soft tyres and Yuki Tsunoda, infront, on hards, strategic team orders were understandable. The timing of them, however, was not, with Tsunoda in a battle with the Haas of Kevin Magnussen and leader, Max Verstappen, ready to lap them. Of course, in true Tsunoda style, he wasn't having any of it, but alas, had to give in and let Ricciardo pass. With the prospect of a seat being available at the sister team of Red Bull in the near future, could things become extremely interesting at RB? Oh, and they have a very good livery. Very nostalgic.

A more entertaining aspect of the race were the pitstops. Especially as the undercut proves to be a force to be reckoned with in Bahrain. Put it this way, if you can't overtake, just pit. That's what Leclerc did in order to get his position back from Sainz - before the Spaniard took it back, once again. And then, there were the more "slower" pitstops. An unfortunate moment for Valtteri Bottas almost saw a repeat of his 2021 Monaco GP pitstop. Luckily for him, this one lasted about 40 hours less. If you know, you know. If you don't, Google is your friend.

So, what are the main talking points to come from the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix? Well, Verstappen looks as if he will emulate last season. A prospect that doesn't bode too well for the popularity of the motorsport series. The pecking order remains pretty much standard in this era of regulations and Alpine seem to be the team where things are going wrong. Really wrong. Especially as two key figures within the team resigned in the hours following their disaster of a race.

But hey. This might not have been the season opener that we all dreamed off, either way, the action will back in just a few days time and we can put this race comfortably behind us. Can anyone make an attempt to stop Verstappen in Saudi Arabia? We'll see.