That's F1. The best way to counter this is through closing the gaps between the teams. The budget cap could be a step towards that. Restructuring the prize money concept would also help.
Max: This is his 6th season in F1. He has gotten a seat in a good car, made himself number 1 driver, has shown his talent and ability to win races. But he wants to compete for wins and championships. He'll be entering his 8th season in F1 when the rule changes come in.
In particular Verstappen I consider unlucky considering how long he's been in the sport by now and how good he has been. He was destined to become the youngest world champion.
Max and Leclerc locked themselves into long term contracts, and I believe at least the former was on Mercedes' radar.
We don't know how interested Mercedes really was. Maybe they were only serious about it had Lewis abruptly quit at some point. It's plausible there was interest from both sides but never when it suited both sides. Max committing to Red Bull also boosted his chances of succeeding with Red Bull as the whole organization is set out to deliver for him. You need to put your eggs in a basket and I don't think it was that bad a decision. They got really far and it's always easier assessing the situation long after contractual decisions are made. Also, if you look at other recent drivers who have become world champion at a young age, they didn't become that by moving to a better team. They either already were in a top team from the start (Hamilton, Villeneuve) or the team they were in became a top team (Alonso, Vettel, Schumacher).
Seb: He's a 4 time champion and should be considered a legend. But I think he's lost his hunger and has made lots of mistakes from trying to overdrive the car in an attempt to compete. He looks to be on the verge of walking away from the sport.
Vettel has had his success and cannot complain based on the opportunities he has gotten. He made use of them early in his career and lately he has made less use of them. There's been many drivers who I believed to have been around Vettel's skill level that never got even remotely the amount of opportunities that Vettel had. And more specifically: with opportunities I refer to having a great car, team preference, and a subordinate teammate.
Leclerc: Only his 3rd season in F1 but he has shown he can races and is very fast. Doubt he'll be winning races this year. Like Max, he'll likely be into his 4th and 5th years with still no real hope to challenge for a title.
Leclerc is still relatively new and hasn't proved as much as Max yet. He should lead Ferrari back to the top and focus on the long game. He's unlucky to have joined Ferrari right before the engine scandal. Well, that did make him win some races but now he's suffering from the consequences for the foreseeable future. That should rightly frustrate him. But Hamilton's success shouldn't frustrate him, it should motivate him.
I do also feel a bit bad for some of the long term midfield drivers like Hulkenberg or Perez, maybe Magnussen, who overall have done well for long periods but are stuck in racing for the same positions year after year. Ricciardo recently joined them by the looks of it. But again, that's F1. Luck is a big part of it. Including who your teammate is and how that influences your career.
Edited by Lights, 15 July 2020 - 11:19.