F1 MUST learn from Jamie Chadwick’s career trajectory (2024)

FAQs

How do F1 drivers start their career? ›

The greatest Formula 1 drivers all started their careers at a young age; normally around 6 or 7 years old. Drivers often start in Kart Racing or Karting. As a kart racer you can either drive your own kart independently or a team's kart.

After three FP1 appearances in 2014 and a short winter testing programme, Max made his Grand Prix debut at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, aged 17 years and 166 days – the youngest driver in the history of the sport.

Is it possible to skip kart racing? Not really. When driving a real F1 car for the first time, you need to have basic racing skills and some measure of experience, which is what the kart racing provides.

Although there are several sponsorships and scholarship schemes available to help young drivers with talent, the vast majority of drivers who make it to Formula One come from well-off families.

In order to ensure that they are always at their best, F1 drivers practice for countless hours in order to post the best times possible. It's this dedication to training and continuous practice that makes F1 drivers able stay sharp even when driving at 300kph and enduring excessive amounts of g-force.

It is down to the reaction time of the driver. The goal of the driver is to have the best reaction time to the lights going out relative to the drivers around him. F1 drivers particularly, do a lot of work on this. There are various training programs to help drivers sharpen their reaction times.

The youngest driver ever in F1 was Max Verstappen in 2015 at 17 years of age. Currently, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is the youngest driver on the F1 grid at 23 years of age.

Does Max Verstappen have children? Max has no biological children, but he does have a close relationship with Kelly's daughter Penelope. Kelly shares the four-year-old with her ex-partner, Russian driver Daniil Kvyat – who Max replaced at Red Bull in 2016 shortly after the season began.

F1's youngest points scorer soon became its youngest race winner – at the age of 18 years and 228 days – with an opportunistic but controlled drive on debut for Red Bull in Barcelona 2016.

The age at which Formula 1 drivers retire can vary greatly depending on individual circ*mstances, performance, and personal choices. Some drivers retire relatively young in their late 30s or early 40s, while others continue racing into their late 40s or even early 50s.

How rich is Max Verstappen? ›

With bonuses and endorsem*nts factored in, Verstappen's net worth soared to approximately $165.5 million. According to Forbes, his annual contract with Red Bull alone amounts to a staggering $43 million. But despite Verstappen's immense wealth, he's not the richest F1 driver in history.

Introducing F1 ACADEMY

F1 ACADEMY is a female-only category designed to increase female participation in the sport, both on and off the track! The aim is to provide young talent in junior categories the on-track experience needed to progress to higher levels of competition and join the Road to F1.

Lewis Hamilton enjoyed the largest salary on the current grid for much of the last decade. The seven-time world champion is still just ahead of Max Verstappen on the list of Forbes' highest-paid athletes, but only due to his off-track revenue and sponsorship deals.

F1 drivers need money

From every level through karting up to Formula 1, the costs will be steep, and only become more expensive as they go through the categories. Those who are lucky enough to own a kart to begin with will need to have enough money to address mechanical issues, to enter races and much more.

For the 81st time in the sport's history, the iconic streets of Monaco will host the Monaco Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc is the only Monégasque on the grid and will be enjoying his sixth home race since joining F1 back in 2018. Charles Leclerc did not grow up in a particularly wealthy family by Monaco's standards.

It's highly competitive, and demands not just passion but a clear plan.

Firstly, drivers must be the holder of a current FIA International Grade A licence, be the holder of a valid driving licence and be at least 18 years old at the start of their first F1 competition.

No driver starts their career in F1 racing. In most cases, getting to Formula 1 requires years of climbing the racing ladder. After conquering the karting circuit, you can graduate to more competitive formulas. You may start with an entry-level class of single-seater races.