29/06/2021
NEWS STORY
Joining any kind of sport at a professional level as a young is a big achievement, and Formula One isn't an exclusion. Who were the youngest F1 racers?
There's no man who hadn't promised he would become a Formula One racer when he grows up. Well, it happened, and where are they all? Obviously not in Formula One. Becoming an F1 driver is a big honour, and especially if a person is accepted at a young age. However, there's a big difference between becoming a Formula One racer and becoming a Formula One winner, scoring a high number of points, and winning a World Driver's Championship. There were many young racers, but not all of them succeeded enough to deserve to be mentioned here.
No one other race is as important and respected as Formula One, so if you're dreaming about becoming one of the famous young racers, you must work hard and polish your driving skills since childhood. Catch every opportunity to learn racing, and nothing should stop you. If you don't have free time because of the heavy workload, check some free nursing essays and papers or get professional help with assignments online. If you can't understand humanities, order american literature term papers examples to avoid spoiling your GPA. History is also difficult enough to master. Fortunately, free essays on history are also available for downloading and using. It's a perfect time for students.
Here are several success stories of young racers that'll motivate you.
Fernando Alonso, 19 years, four months, and three days
His first race with Formula One was the 2001 Australian Grand Prix. However, he debuted in the 1999 Euro Open with Nissan. Fernando's success was not luck but the result of hard and dedicated work. His passion for driving cars started when his father decided to buy a go-kart to spend time with his children, and Fernando performed well in kart races. He didn't want to attend school and skipped classes often enough despite the mother's reproaches. But Fernando managed to have a good academic performance because he asked friends to write homework for him. The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix brought Fernando first win, and since that year, Alonso was a Renault team racer.
2. Mike Thackwell, 19 years, five months, 29 days
The first F1 race Mike participated in was the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix. But it wasn't Mike's first race. He participated in the 1978 Formula Ford Championship and finished 3rd. It's a good result for the beginner in racing. Next year, Thackwell again finished third in the Vanderwell British Formula 3 Championship. Mike's career isn't easy: he got the first win only in 1984, 6 years from the start. But he went the long and difficult path to becoming one of the most famous racers. Moreover, Mike Thackwell has held the record of the youngest racer in a Grand Prix for more than 30 years. It's not always necessary to win dozens of races to be famous.
3. Max Verstappen, 17 years, five months, 45 days
If you started to follow Formula One not so long ago, you might not know the racers mentioned above, but this name is in the public eye nowadays. Max Verstappen is a Belgian-Dutch racer, the son of Jos Verstappen, and we are sure the father can be proud of his son. His love for racing started with carting, and he achieved a lot in it. In 2010 Verstappen participated in international karting championships, ended his career in carting in 2012, and next year tried himself at car racing. In 2014, Verstappen joined Red Bull Junior Team, and in 2015 he became the youngest driver to participate in a Grand Prix. Now, Max can boast of 125 entries and 12 wins.
4. Sebastian Vettel, 19 years, 11 months, and 14 days
Vettel tried his hand at karting, open-wheeled cars before becoming the Formula One racer. He became a BMW test driver in 2007 and debuted in the same-year United States Grand Prix. Sebastian finished in the eighth position, but it didn't prevent him from becoming the youngest driver to score a point in Formula One at that time. Michael Schumacher was a person who inspired Sebastian to try carting and then to race. Some people may consider it too trivial to have such an idol, but we think the most important are the results a person achieves, not his idols. The 2010 FIA F1 World Championship was the first championship Sebastian won. Overall, Vettel won 4 championships, and since he didn't finish his career yet, we may count on seeing several other amazing victories.
5. Lance Stroll, 18 years and 148 days
Lance is a Canadian Formula One racer. His father is a famous Canadian businessman that owns the Aston Martin F1 team. Now Lance is a part of this team, but you shouldn't think that his father helped him achieve everything. Lance is a very talented guy who started karting at the age of 10; a car racing debut came in 2014, and in 2017 Stroll had his first F1 season. He finished third in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in 2017 joined the ranks of the youngest successful racers. Do you still think you're too young for racing?