Young Driver Programmes: Effective or Not?

When you look at a good handful of drivers that currently compete in Formula One, you see talent and excellence and you have no doubt they earned their place on the grid. However, there are many drivers with talent and excellence that we are yet to see in this racing category, and, in all honesty, we probably will never see. In this post I m going to be looking at one of the most popular paths to Formula One and whether this choice is as effective as it should be.

Red Bull Junior Team, Ferrari Academy, McLaren Young Driver Programme, Mercedes Young Driver Programme and Renault Young Driver Academy; you've probably heard of them all. But, these are the young driver programmes that kids, with an ambition to race at the top someday, are striving to be a part of. In all honesty, this is the most secure way to get into Formula One. You have the talent and you have the Formula One team, backing you every step of the way. So why could this not be an affective stratgey? Well, just think of that saying: "Easier said than done." If anything young driver programmes are brutal, some more than others and even being apart of one doesn't guarentee you anything. Let's take a look at three different drivers who were all once apart of the Red Bull Junior Team and how being apart of a young driver programme has affected their career.

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel, the most successful driver to come from the Red Bull Junior Team. The 30 year old German first joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 1998 as a successful 11 year old karter. The infamous drinks company continued to back Vettel throughout his junior single seater career which led to him competing in his first Formula One race in 2007 by replacing an injured Robert Kubica at that years United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis, Indiana. He finished in eighth position, taking his first world championship points and therefore, becoming the youngest to do so. Vettel then went on to win his first race the following year in a Toro Rosso before winning the championship four years in a row from 2010 to 2014 for Toro Rosso's parent team, Red Bull Racing. The young driver programme was a great benefit for Vettel and has helped the German achieve great things. As of 2018, Vettel is no longer affiliated with Red Bull. He now drives for the Italian Stallion; Ferrari.

Jean-Eric Vergne

Jean-Eric Vergne is a 28 year old Frenchman who is currently racing in Formula E with the TECHEETA Formula E team. He was once a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, joining in 2007. He had a relatively decent junior single seater career including championship wins in Formula Campus Renault and the British F3 Championship. Due to his good performances, he continued to work with Red Bull, eventually gaining a seat at Toro Rosso with fellow Red Bull Junior; Daniel Ricciardo in 2012. The Frenchman had a tough time in Formula One. Although a consistent points scorer, he seemed to be overshadowed by teammate Ricciardo and although Vergne had put in some good drives, it was Ricciardo who was promoted to Red Bull after Mark Webber's retirement at the end of 2013. However, Red Bull saw potential in Vergne and kept him at Toro Rosso for one more season. During the Summer break of the 2014 season, things were not looking bright for the Frenchman. A young, Dutch teenager, who goes by the name of Max Verstappen came onto the Red Bull scene and was soon announced to replace Vergne the following year. In October, things got worse when he was once again overlooked for a drive at the parent team, the seat instead going to current teammate Daniil Kvyat. A space now open at Toro Rosso, Red Bull decided to replace Vergne after three seasons. Carlos Sainz Jr took over the Frenchman's seat from 2015. It was not all doom and gloom for Vergne, as of 2018, he currently leads the Formula E championship with only a couple of races to go.

Antonio Felix da Costa

If anything, Antonio Felix da Costa's story is a frustrating one. Joining the Red Bull Junior Team midway through 2012, da Costa was dubbed as "THE one to watch," putting in a very entertaining performance in 2013 during his on track battles with Kevin Magnussen and Stoffel Vandoorne in Formula Renault 3.5. It was just a matter of time before the Portuguese would get to Formula One. Or, so we thought. At the end of 2013 with Ricciardo's departure from Toro Rosso to Red Bull, a seat was available at the young team. For months on end fans of the sport were convinced that da Costa would get the drive. However, months passed and still no confirmation. Another Red Bull Junior, Daniil Kvyat had just won the GP3 championship but still, no one thought he would be the one to get the seat. But, he was. da Costa was overlooked and subsequently dropped from the junior team. Red Bull, however, continued to support him during his two years in DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagon Masters). After these two years, da Costa and Red Bull parted ways. You can now find da Costa racing in Formula E.

So, it's hard to say. No matter how talented you are, the path to Formula One is brutal. It can go one of two ways, but if we look at how many drivers have made it to Formula One from young driver programmes, we can say that the idea is effective and is a success. But when does it stop being effective and successful?

Again, using the Red Bull Junior Team as an example. Brendan Hartley. A driver from New Zealand, who once upon a time was a member of this little team, never made it to Formula One and was dropped before he had a proper chance. Years later, the tables turned and the Kiwi got his Formula One debut with Toro Rosso in late 2017. His time competing at this level has so far been plagued by bad luck, he has yet to have a chance to show his worth, esepcially with young, gun teammate; Pierre Gasly. Only a few races into the 2018 season, rumours began to swirl that Hartley would be replaced. This is where it get's interesting. These said rumours stated that Red Bull were looking away from their Junior Team, at other drivers. It has been confirmed they even tried to poach Lando Norris from the McLaren Young Driver Programme. In fact, this is the story that inspired to look into the junior teams. Why have a junior team if you're not going to use your own drivers? It's understandable why they've done this though. None of their drivers are ready. Fair enough. But it makes you think.

To conclude my little investigation, I personally like the idea of young driver programmes and when used correctly are effective and bring in talented drivers rather "pay" drivers. Im interested to see how the Red Bull/Toro Rosso situation turns out. Will they keep Hartley or will they ignore the fact they have a junior team? It's an interesting scenario for sure.

Should F1 Ditch Monaco?

Monaco. When I hear the name of this country, particular words come to mind. Glitz, glam, casinos, celebrities, money, famous, sun, sea and most importantly; Formula One. In this blog post, I am going to be explaining my opinion on why Formula One can never loose the most prestigious race on the calendar that is the Monaco Grand Prix.

The Monaco Grand Prix first came to light in 1929 when it first became apart of the "pre-Second World War European Championships." The story of how the race came about is an interesting one. Then president of the Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM); Antony Noghés applied to the Association Internationale des Automobiles Clubs Reconnus in 1928 in order to give the ACM an upgrade from their status as a regional French club to full national status. However, unfortunately, this was denied due to the lack of motorsport in the principality. Noghés then came up with the idea of a race within the streets of Monte Carlo and with official permission from then Prince Louis II, the Monaco Grand Prix was born. Officially holding their first race on 14th April 1929 which was eventually won by French-Brit; William Grover-Williams.

In the years leading up to the war, the Monaco Grand Prix grew in popularity and eventually was recognised as a national grand prix in 1933. However this wasn't to last, because in 1939 due to the Second World War, all racing in Europe was suspended until 1945.

The Monaco Grand Prix has officially been apart of the Formula One World Championship since 1955, with races in 1950 and 1952 respectively. Throughout the years, hundreds of drivers have taken to these streets, guiding their cars at ridiculous speeds through the likes of Massenet and Piscine (also known as the Swimming Pool Chicane) and squeezing themselves and their machinery through the tight corners of Sainte-Dévote and Mirabeau. And, when a driver wins, it is something special. Known as one of, if not the most demanding race on the current Formula One calendar, it has split the men from the boys and given us a range of different winners; from William Grover-Williams to Juan Manuel Fangio, from the "King of Monaco" - Graham Hill to Jack Stewart, Ayrton Senna to Alain Prost and Fernando Alonso to Sebastian Vettel. This is just a small handful of winners. In fact, Australian Daniel Ricciardo won the prestigious race just moments before I started to write this.

But, if it's so famous and historical in Formula One, why do people moan about it? Simple. As the cars have evolved over the years, the racing around Monte-Carlo has become some-what less thrilling. The cars may be faster but overtaking is harder. Non-F1 fans perception of the sport being "cars driving around in circles" becomes just that. However, it's not always a "bore fest." At times the racing can live up to being thrilling. Look at the 2008 race. Unpredictable weather made for a classic.

I for one enjoy Monaco. Do I ever find it long and boring? Sometimes, yes. But the anticipation of the event gets me hyped. The glitz and glamour is fabulous. But what really makes Monaco for me is the tight, narrow circuit. When you're waiting for the lights to go out, wondering who'll be first to make that unforgivable mistake. When you're waiting for the rain to mix things up and the wheel to wheel battles that unfortunatley we don't always get.

Monaco is a special race. Monaco is Formula One, just look at the history. It cannot afford to loose such an iconic and prestigious event. Next time you're moaning that it's boring, think of its history and watch a classic. I hope Monaco will still be around for some time.

AGGRESSIVE OR DANGEROUS?

"You must take the compromise to win, or else, nothing. That means: you race or you do not."

These were the words of perhaps the most famous Formula One driver to have lived; Ayrton Senna. A driver who perfected the art of aggressiveness when it came to racing a Formula One car. This was just one of his quotes which portrayed the Brazilian's aggressiveness and hunger to win at what he could do best.

But recently in Formula One, due to a string of incidents because of the aggressiveness of some drivers; fans and people involved within the sport have been debating, "when is it no longer aggressive driving but just a danger to themselves and other drivers alike?" Well, in my opinion, it's obvious. You can have an aggressive driver who's spacial awareness is perfect and then you have an aggressive driver you is a little bit too ambitious. But, everyone makes mistakes and the very best can over estimate a gap when trying to overtake. Remember Senna, who we were talking about beforehand? Another of his famous quotes includes:

"Being a racing driver means you are racing with other people and if you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver because we are competing."

A lot of the time Senna's aggressive driving worked out for him. Winning three World Championships before his untimely death in May of 1994. However, there were times where it didn't worked out how he would have liked. For example, Suzuka 1990. Here he had a collision with championship rival Alain Prost. For a time he claimed he went for a gap that opened up but it wasn't long before the Brazilian admitted into purposely crashing into Prost. This is the one of the differences between aggressive driving and dangerous driving.

Dangerous driving usually happens when a driver KNOWS they are commiting the "offence".

But this isn't always the case. Let's look at the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the incident involving the two Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Verstappen is known to be aggressive. He's not afraid to push just that little bit extra. Unfortunately for Max, this doesn't usually work out for him. Going back to Azerbaijan, Verstappen was leading Ricciardo in their little battle. If you know Formula One well then you will be well aware of the rule where you can only move once when defending. From my view, it looked as if Verstappen moved twice and therefore ended his race early when Ricciardo rear ended his teammate, eliminating them both. But, did Verstappen know what he was doing or was he just aggressively defending his position. Or, was Ricciardo just pushing a little too much? I don't know. It was a racing incident.

A range of other drivers have been showing some unfortunate examples of aggressiveness as of late including Magnussen and Grosjean. It has gotten to a point where other drivers have labeled them dangerous. But are they?

Unfortunatly, incidents happen and sometimes you can't stop them. I think the perfect motorsport racer should be aggressive, but they should know their bounderies. I'll happily defend some drivers actions if I believe it was aggressive but fine but if they take it too far and put themselves and others in danger, then it's gone too far.