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What is a youngest age a driver should be before going into F1?


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#1 LHamilton0810

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:20

This question spans from the average age of Formula 1 drivers getting lower and lower every season, especially this year with the signings of Daniil Kvyat who is only 19 years of age and Kevin Magnussen who is only 21. Although they're very young, their performances at the weekend were fantastic, both with great qualifying and race positions considering! Does this show that age doesn't matter as long as the driver has talent? :yawnface:



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#2 Farhannn15

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:23

It can make a career or like we have seen with Buemi and Alguersuari it can break one



#3 MP422

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:23

18.



#4 sopa

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:23

This question spans from the average age of Formula 1 drivers getting lower and lower every season, especially this year with the signings of Daniil Kvyat who is only 19 years of age and Kevin Magnussen who is only 21. Although they're very young, their performances at the weekend were fantastic, both with great qualifying and race positions considering! Does this show that age doesn't matter as long as the driver has talent? :yawnface:

 

I think there is some "limit" in terms of age/experience, when a driver can be competitive in F1. I think 19 is pretty close to that, we have seen some 19-year-old rookies performing at least on a decent level. But I have pretty big doubt about 15-16-y-o drivers performing at a competitive level in F1 even if they are supertalented and very well prepared.



#5 JHSingo

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:24

I don't think it matters. As long as they are talented, and have proven themselves in numerous junior formulas, they are ready.



#6 Andrew Hope

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:45

Gun to my head I'd say 16. If you're old enough to drive a road car you're old enough to drive an F1 car.

 

B-b-but F1 cars are way harder to drive!

 

True, but also way safer. If we as a society have no problem with some neckbeard playing xBox all day jumping in a 4,000lb bathtub overflowing with steel and gasoline and crusing on down to the store for some 7-Up when he's 16 I don't see a problem with them driving in F1 in a parking lot bordered by a sandbox in some desert somewhere at the same age.

 

Whether it's a smart idea or not, would be a different story. It would likely be very stupid for everyone involved to put a guy who has only very recently put his days of zits and voice cracks behind him, but it's not like I'd expect protests if it was some super kid that learned to operate a semi-automatic transmission before he took his first steps, or if his baby stroller was a gokart or something.

 

You'd have to be enjoying near prophet-like faith in someone to let a guy who probably doesn't know what a vagina looks like in real life drive a machine that costs more than both his parents could make in five lifetimes, but that doesn't automatically make it a bad move. It might be something like that finally captures the interest of the younger demographic in F1, where you could watch a guy win an F1 race and think "Damn, I knew that guy when he was nothing more than a greasy collection of pimples and cowardice drinking White-Out in the back of math class".

 

Some would say you can't handle the pressure of F1 at that age, and I would say there are a lot more troubling and pressurized situations 16-year olds get into every day and the chance to become world-famous driving race cars at that age is a cake walk in the tea park by comparison.



#7 aray

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:52

16 is good enough...if you have it(real talent),you will make it...

Rosberg rode F1 car at 17,Alonso 18,Vettel 19.....


Edited by aray, 18 March 2014 - 16:53.


#8 charly0418

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:55

What matters is their junior formula experience, both of them have it.

 

Sirotkin for me is a clear example of not being ready, no matter the age. They wanted to bring him up with only one year of WSR 3.5, where he was "ok", good thing is Sauber realized this and got him a seat at FORTEC



#9 DampMongoose

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 16:56

Talent alone without temperance shouldn't have any place in a dangerous sport.



#10 ArkZ

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:07

20, the idea with 16 is crazy! it would be dangerous to drive alongside someone so unpredictable specially now when in this society in these times, kids are more and more "stupid". The driver license in normal roads is since +18, and +24 for motorbike 1000ccm.


Edited by ArkZ, 18 March 2014 - 17:08.


#11 Nonesuch

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:15

Such limits are always arbitrary. It seems common wisdom among the teams has settled on a few years of convincing experience being a requirement, which usually means even the youngest drivers given a chance to test or race an F1 car are 17/18 years old. If there are reasonable doubts as to the ability of the driver, the FIA can always grant a provisional superlicense - like they did with Kimi Räikkönen in 2001.


Edited by Nonesuch, 18 March 2014 - 17:16.


#12 Wander

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:22

There doesn't need to be an age requirement. Case by case basis is the way.



#13 Atreiu

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:23

18 and X (to be defined) hours of open wheel racing, driving and testing.



#14 Anderis

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:30

What matters is their junior formula experience, both of them have it.

 

Sirotkin for me is a clear example of not being ready, no matter the age. They wanted to bring him up with only one year of WSR 3.5, where he was "ok", good thing is Sauber realized this and got him a seat at FORTEC

They didn't realise he wasn't ready, they just realised they haven't got the money they were promised to get.  ;)

I don't think Sirotkin would be a disaster TBH.


Edited by Anderis, 18 March 2014 - 17:31.


#15 Spillage

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:32

Age doesn't come into it; they're ready when they're ready.

Legally I don't think there should be an age limit. As long as they've done the mileage required for a Superlicense and are not dangerously slow or wild, let them race.

That said, now there's a driver younger than me (Kvyat) I can't help but feel there should be a law requiring all drivers to be older than I am - just so I can continue to watch F1 and think 'one day...'

Edited by Spillage, 18 March 2014 - 17:32.


#16 ANF

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:33

32.



#17 garagetinkerer

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:45

Physically speaking... some are better built than others... Somewhere about 15-16 odd, could be the youngest you could possibly go as the physical and mental demands of the sport are quite high.

 

 

 

Age doesn't come into it; they're ready when they're ready.

Legally I don't think there should be an age limit. As long as they've done the mileage required for a Superlicense and are not dangerously slow or wild, let them race.

That said, now there's a driver younger than me (Kvyat) I can't help but feel there should be a law requiring all drivers to be older than I am - just so I can continue to watch F1 and think 'one day...'

:up:


Edited by garagetinkerer, 18 March 2014 - 17:46.


#18 Jimisgod

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 17:50

Old enough to legally bonk the grid girls.

#19 betafan

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 18:04

I think it will depend on the insurance companies. But yeah, 16 will be possible in the future. If you win FR2.0 & FR3.5 year after year - there you go! Of course it's highly unlikely, but you never know.



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#20 MetallurgicalHedonist

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 19:07

18 is possible. Mayyyybe even 17.

 

Rosberg did well during his first F1 test. He would've been quite competitive with lots of testing, I guess.



#21 Clatter

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 19:26

Gun to my head I'd say 16. If you're old enough to drive a road car you're old enough to drive an F1 car.

 

 

That age depends on where you are. UK 17 is the age before you can drive on the road.


Edited by Clatter, 18 March 2014 - 19:26.


#22 itsademo

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 20:05

16 is I think far too young.

why?

try remembering back to when you were 16 most when they were that age thought they would never die I can certainly remember going straight up a 4 storey town house wall up a drain pipe simply to not risk waking up mum and dad after another very late night out and thought nothing of the risk.

certainly not a good attitude to have when you are racing open wheel to open wheel at well in excess of 200MPH into a hard braking corner.

IMHO 18 seams a better age yes you may well feel almost as immortal as when you were 16 but most are just a little bit more risk and consequence's aware.



#23 garagetinkerer

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 21:02

16 is I think far too young.

why?

try remembering back to when you were 16 most when they were that age thought they would never die I can certainly remember going straight up a 4 storey town house wall up a drain pipe simply to not risk waking up mum and dad after another very late night out and thought nothing of the risk.

certainly not a good attitude to have when you are racing open wheel to open wheel at well in excess of 200MPH into a hard braking corner.

IMHO 18 seams a better age yes you may well feel almost as immortal as when you were 16 but most are just a little bit more risk and consequence's aware.

:rotfl:

 

Actually, you don't wake up one day and decide that you want to become a F1 racing driver. That decision now happens well more than a decade ago before you ever plant your rear end in a F1 car. Teams also want younger drivers, as that gives them continuity and then there's the scope of improvement over a period (it is a calculated risk of sort that a team takes).

 

The drivers entering into F1 have continuously become younger and younger and that is now without reason. While there may be an attitude problem as you suggest, but after you've been racing for a decade or so, most of the jackassery is left behind, and only one or two numbskulls will ever get through various feeder series to come out on top. As soon as a driver does a few tests, teams could opine better on their worth, or lack of.



#24 Imateria

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 21:35

Well, you can't race in F3 until your 16 and unless you've got some one really special, like Raikkonen, I wouldn't take them until at least one year in F3 and preferably another year in a higher category so I think 18 is probably the youngest we're ever likely to see. 



#25 V8 Fireworks

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 21:45

16 years old, would be reasonable IMO.



#26 Gyan

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Posted 18 March 2014 - 23:42

18 is reasonable. Its as if younger drivers pick more things up and learn more. I dunno, I mean, all of our current champions started at a very young age compared to average. Button was 20, Raikkonen 22, Alonso 20, Hamilton 22 and Vettel at 20. Rookies average more at the age of 23-24 on their debut. So, if a youngster is talented, I'd rather they start younger, because it might just mean that they reach a high level and stay there for a long time.



#27 spacekid

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 00:16

DC said over the weekend - if you're fast enough, your old enough.

I agree. Sort of. Although Seb and Lewis have both excelled, I do sometimes think kids are being dropped into top F1 seats before they are ready, which can harm them. I remember how out of his depth Grosjean appeared at Renault in his first stint for instance. There is something to be said for spending a couple of years at the dusty end of the grid learning F1, even following success in karting and the lower formula. But maybe I'm just old fashioned?

#28 Jackmancer

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 08:23

Youngest Champion League player was 16 years and a few days. I don't see why, if trained well, a kid of 16 couldn't handle an F1 car.

 

I wouldn't mind them being 12 really. I think Ender's Game is a fantastic book about talented kids, and it's just a matter of going 'Battle Rooms' or 'F1'.

 

But I'm not a doctor. If teams start to push children to rush through their puberty, it could be very unhealthy. If that'd be the case, then there should be some ways of preventing that, e.g. an age limit.



#29 johnmhinds

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 08:46

There shouldn't be an age limit, though anyone under 16-18 might not be mentally strong enough to enter such a high profile sport with the media following them around 24/7.

 

People who are saying 16 year olds shouldn't race because they're not mature enough and they might be reckless because of this should take a look at how for example Pastor Maldonado acted in his first year in the sport, and he was in his mid 20s.

 

_54967507_qualifying_highlights.jpg

 

Maturity of a racing driver isn't necessarily linked to their age.



#30 jjcale

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 11:37

Gun to my head I'd say 16. If you're old enough to drive a road car you're old enough to drive an F1 car.

 

B-b-but F1 cars are way harder to drive!

 

True, but also way safer. If we as a society have no problem with some neckbeard playing xBox all day jumping in a 4,000lb bathtub overflowing with steel and gasoline and crusing on down to the store for some 7-Up when he's 16 I don't see a problem with them driving in F1 in a parking lot bordered by a sandbox in some desert somewhere at the same age.

 

Whether it's a smart idea or not, would be a different story. It would likely be very stupid for everyone involved to put a guy who has only very recently put his days of zits and voice cracks behind him, but it's not like I'd expect protests if it was some super kid that learned to operate a semi-automatic transmission before he took his first steps, or if his baby stroller was a gokart or something.

 

You'd have to be enjoying near prophet-like faith in someone to let a guy who probably doesn't know what a vagina looks like in real life drive a machine that costs more than both his parents could make in five lifetimes, but that doesn't automatically make it a bad move. It might be something like that finally captures the interest of the younger demographic in F1, where you could watch a guy win an F1 race and think "Damn, I knew that guy when he was nothing more than a greasy collection of pimples and cowardice drinking White-Out in the back of math class".

 

Some would say you can't handle the pressure of F1 at that age, and I would say there are a lot more troubling and pressurized situations 16-year olds get into every day and the chance to become world-famous driving race cars at that age is a cake walk in the tea park by comparison.

 

Youre wasting your talent on us (...though I'm glad you are).... you need your own blog or something.



#31 jjcale

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 11:40

Youngest Champion League player was 16 years and a few days. I don't see why, if trained well, a kid of 16 couldn't handle an F1 car.

 

I wouldn't mind them being 12 really. I think Ender's Game is a fantastic book about talented kids, and it's just a matter of going 'Battle Rooms' or 'F1'.

 

But I'm not a doctor. If teams start to push children to rush through their puberty, it could be very unhealthy. If that'd be the case, then there should be some ways of preventing that, e.g. an age limit.

 

Yeah ... but you have to build up to F1 ... so does that mean kids should start F3 at 10 - 12? ... and Karting at 5??

 

C'mon give the kids a break .... there should be more to their lives than keeping us amused. 



#32 Radoye

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 11:48

Two things:

 

- Physical strength and stamina to last the entire F1 race, which is longer and arguably more grueling than what any driver would experience in his junior formulae career.

 

- Experience and skill necessary to compete at the highest level, which is what the superlicence qualification is for.

 

Age doesn't matter, if someone is ready at 15 he is ready at 15, for someone else it will be 25.

 

The problem begins if there are other interests involved, such as marketing / commercial, to push a driver into F1 before he (or she) is ready.



#33 HaydenFan

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 12:53

20, the idea with 16 is crazy! it would be dangerous to drive alongside someone so unpredictable specially now when in this society in these times, kids are more and more "stupid". The driver license in normal roads is since +18, and +24 for motorbike 1000ccm.

 

Hence, has been brought up a drivers experience. In the U.S., the kids are jumping from karts to karts at 13-14. So by the time their 18, that's 5-6 years of single seater experience. That's close to what most current F1 drivers have had before making the jump. 



#34 bub

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 13:00

17



#35 betafan

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 15:58

Well, you can't race in F3 until your 16 and unless you've got some one really special, like Raikkonen, I wouldn't take them until at least one year in F3 and preferably another year in a higher category so I think 18 is probably the youngest we're ever likely to see. 

 

But I believe you can race in GP3:)



#36 Fastcake

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 16:32

I would say 18 as the absolute minimum, which I think is the actual limit anyway. Nothing can be guarenteed of course, but I think there is a higher chance of a driver being "ready" in his mid-twenties than a 16 year old who's barely had any single-seater experience.
 



#37 DrProzac

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Posted 19 March 2014 - 18:15

19 seems right. Definitely not younger.