Formula 1, Rich Daddies indulging their spoilt sons?
Discussion
RSstuff said:
It's always been the case that talent counts for little, if the car is off the pace. But with very well funded and supported Verstappen and now Antonelli running away with championships, what's the chance of the likes of Nigel Mansell and James Hunt getting to the top now?
That era of motorsport has long gone, but, Max is a talent. You only have to look at how he gets into other non F1 cars and beats their regular drivers to see that. Its the likes of Stroll that need to foxtrot oscar.
Let's not imagine that the likes of Moss , Hailwood , Von Trips , Hawthorn , Piquet and Senna came from the gutter. And tough guy impecunious racers like Hunt , Jones and Peterson got their breaks becaase rich men were able to support them , through sponsorship , personal endorsement or simply because a team owner saw ther potential and invested in it .F1 always cost a king's ransom , although it's far more expensive tnow han the glory days of 'Formula DFV ' in the 70s . But even that wasn't as cheap as some might think - yes, a DFV was 'only' £7500 in the early 70s but that was still five years or more wages for many ..
You couldn't have chosen two worse examples. Max is clearly incredibly talented and can be fast in anything. Kimi is currently beating a team mate who is a reasonably good example of a driver who didn't have multimillionaire parents.
You're not going to get self made drivers making it in F1 now. They come into the sport too young.
You're not going to get self made drivers making it in F1 now. They come into the sport too young.
miniman said:
Take heart in the reality that limitless money cannot create talent, as ably demonstrated by the Strolls.
Lance Stroll is a decent driver. He's a better record in F1 than many before or after him.He should never have been in F1 as long as he has been, and we know why that is. But he's sufficiently talented to have got there in the first place.
Evanivitch said:
miniman said:
Take heart in the reality that limitless money cannot create talent, as ably demonstrated by the Strolls.
Lance Stroll is a decent driver. He's a better record in F1 than many before or after him.He should never have been in F1 as long as he has been, and we know why that is. But he's sufficiently talented to have got there in the first place.
CanAm said:
Dynion Araf Uchaf said:
It ll be difficult for Hunt as he died in 1993. Mansell I suspect has had his fill so would have no desire to return
RSstuff did say "the likes of" Hunt and Mansell.....It’s certainly is a rich man’s game. In the old days like the 70s and 80s at least at Formula Ford level you could probably get away with a small 2 man team, in fact I think Tim Bridgman won in a lad and dad outfit in Formula BMW in the mid 00s. But that only worked as it was a new car for all the teams.
In any case the teams don’t like that kind of thing happening as it reduces their ability to charge more.
Anyway back to the point
Choosing the F1 route is a fools game and requires lottery win luck, although it might be possible to build a career in a lesser formula - like BTCC but you need to be good at marketing
If I was to try and get a child of mine into F1 the only way I could imagine it might be even remotely possible would be to undertake club100 or indoor karting, then club car racing , then do a one off drive in a pro championship and hope to blow the competition into the weeds on that one off event.
And hope that gets an Autosport award nomination and hope that he wins it. And hope that a team then funds the racing from there on in.
Evanivitch said:
miniman said:
Take heart in the reality that limitless money cannot create talent, as ably demonstrated by the Strolls.
Lance Stroll is a decent driver. He's a better record in F1 than many before or after him.He should never have been in F1 as long as he has been, and we know why that is. But he's sufficiently talented to have got there in the first place.
Let me tell you a story.
Many years ago when Max, Carlos etc were karting, they all had rivals. One of them got to a decent level, not GP series like F3 etc, as they both did.
As many was being pushed for F1, had regularly beaten both. But was never going to get there due to lack of funds.
This was the Red Bull "ladder", but, it is still all based on money.
Max got his shot because his Dad brought over 25 million to the table and Carlos got his because he bought 30, most of it from Cepsa who became a team sponsor.
Money is EVERYTHING, even with sublime world level talent.
They would have both got there either way, but please do not think talent always gets to the top whatever, it really doesn't
Many years ago when Max, Carlos etc were karting, they all had rivals. One of them got to a decent level, not GP series like F3 etc, as they both did.
As many was being pushed for F1, had regularly beaten both. But was never going to get there due to lack of funds.
This was the Red Bull "ladder", but, it is still all based on money.
Max got his shot because his Dad brought over 25 million to the table and Carlos got his because he bought 30, most of it from Cepsa who became a team sponsor.
Money is EVERYTHING, even with sublime world level talent.
They would have both got there either way, but please do not think talent always gets to the top whatever, it really doesn't
NoUserNameAvailable said:
I've seen this quote many times. "The best driver in the world is probably stacking shelves in a supermarket."
Doesn't matter how much talent you have as no-one is going to see that talent without the money to have the equipment to show it.
But that's true of nearly every sport today, which nearly all require immense commitment from an early teen at the very latest.Doesn't matter how much talent you have as no-one is going to see that talent without the money to have the equipment to show it.
Obviously motor racing takes that to an extreme, but having parents that can support multiple training sessions and weekend competition commitments is still something that disqualifies a lot of kids. Obviously those with the most immense talent still break through those limitations.
Evanivitch said:
But that's true of nearly every sport today, which nearly all require immense commitment from an early teen at the very latest.
Obviously motor racing takes that to an extreme, but having parents that can support multiple training sessions and weekend competition commitments is still something that disqualifies a lot of kids. Obviously those with the most immense talent still break through those limitations.
You can have natural talent at many sports and show it with very little money at any age.Obviously motor racing takes that to an extreme, but having parents that can support multiple training sessions and weekend competition commitments is still something that disqualifies a lot of kids. Obviously those with the most immense talent still break through those limitations.
Motorsport takes money and age to the extreme.
miniman said:
Evanivitch said:
miniman said:
Take heart in the reality that limitless money cannot create talent, as ably demonstrated by the Strolls.
Lance Stroll is a decent driver. He's a better record in F1 than many before or after him.He should never have been in F1 as long as he has been, and we know why that is. But he's sufficiently talented to have got there in the first place.
Gad-Westy said:
miniman said:
Evanivitch said:
miniman said:
Take heart in the reality that limitless money cannot create talent, as ably demonstrated by the Strolls.
Lance Stroll is a decent driver. He's a better record in F1 than many before or after him.He should never have been in F1 as long as he has been, and we know why that is. But he's sufficiently talented to have got there in the first place.
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