I never said only to look at karting but to look at their whole carreer, not just on one thing. Off course there will be more weight on F2 because it's the closest step to F1 but that doesn't mean you should ignore the rest of their carreer!
And for your information. The drivers on top in F4, F. Regional, F3 & F2 all, except a rare exception now and then (and that's very rare actually), were karting stars. Virtually without exception. Check out how good the likes of Armstrong, Drugovich, Pourchaire, Doohan, Sargeant, Hauger, Daruvala, Martins, were in karting: they were all the top drivers back then. All of them.
And guess what: the ones who drive at the back in F2, F3, F4 were not competitive in karting at all. The exceptions can be counted on one hand.
So in reality we are actually talking about the same drivers since the ones who come out on top in single seaters were the same ones who were on top in karting. There are exceptions but they're very very rare. Arthur Leclerc is such an exception. He hardly did karting because he initially had no interest in a racing carreer but the only year that he applied himself to karting seriously he actually won a French national title so he did have talent for it.
@ MJB5990: that may seem that way to you when I make a point that I'm convinced of. And it may seem arrogant when I hammer a point like the importance of karting (because they learn most of their skills there basically), I understand that. But if you scroll through my older messages on this forum you'll see that I frequently apoligise when I post something wrong and that I do admit mistakes when I write them. I see few other people doing this.
But I get your point and will be more carefull, you do have a point that I can sometimes post in a way that it seems I don't respect other opinions, but I assure you that is not the intention. And if it seems like I don't respect other opinions, I apoligise for it.
@ Bliman: yes money makes a huge difference in single seaters. If you are from a working family (meaning a family that lives from working and not from shares / capital or not from owning a company) you are already rare in single seaters these days. And you will have a hard time to even climb up the ladder, even if you are extremely talented (look at Hadrien David: no money for F3 but a very talented driver).
In karting money also plays a role for sure. But as you climb higher in autosport the importance of money becomes bigger every year. So yes some very big karting talents never even get to go to single seaters so they either stop or they stay in it. And some don't manage to get in to a competitive team in single seaters or they have to stop their carreer after F4 or F. Regional.
The teams that you end up is also a very important factor. Now the top teams do usually pick up the biggest talent but not always. And that's were it get's more difficult to judge them. But even at lesser teams talented drivers often still manage to shine like Sargeant did at Charouz in F3 last year. Couldn't challenge for the title at that team but he did show his talent. And Williams picked him up because of that. Enzo Fittipaldi got picked up by Red Bull because he overperformed in a lesser team this year.
@ Alfisit: the drivers who are on top and having the best results in F2 or F3 (or F. Regional or F4) also were stars in karting so these are actually the same drivers we are talking about.
You just don't see drivers winning races and challenging for a title in single seaters if they were bad at karting. That's virtually impossible today. Because the experience you gain in karting is so crucial to be competitive in karting.
Check out the top drivers in F2 & F3: they were also the top drivers in karting. It's the same drivers. I once wrote the karting CV's of all F2 & F3 drivers on this forum. All the ones who were competitve also were so in karting. Bar a very very rare exception now and then. And that's always because they didn't compete in the big championships (WSK / FIA) because of financial & geographical reasons (like living in Australia, like Piastri & Ricciardo).
The drivers who dominated each single seater feeder series class this year all were top drivers in karting. All of them. Not a single exception. And all the ones at the bottom of the tables are usually drivers who could hardly reach a final in karting or had poor results there.
Exceptions who didn't do it and show speed are so rare. There is one in F. Regional right now. Owen Tangavelou. If you look at his results you probably think 'meh not a very good driver'. But look closer. He didn't do karting. He's actually very impressive with so much less racing experience. And then there's Arthur Leclerc off course: did'nt do much karting yet he is very quick. He for sure is very talented, but maybe not enough for F1.
Edited by William Hunt, 21 November 2022 - 16:33.