F1 Fanatic

What about Michael Schumacher? He entered F1 just a couple of years ago. He must be a young one!

On a more serious note, let’s keep an eye out for the following young drivers.

Roberto Merhi
He won the Formula 3 Euro-Series in 2011, and he’s only 21. Sad he doesn’t have enough sponsorship to keep his momentum going, and is currently in DTM. Although I’m sure he’ll make it into F1 one day.

Carlos Sainz, Jr.
He is a part of the Red Bull young driver development program. He and won the Formula Renault 2.0 series last year, and is currently leading the British Formula Three series. On top of that, he’s only 17!

Robin Frijns
Another young, talented driver. He is only 20 years old; Frijns won the Formula BMW series in 2010 and the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2011. He is now standing 2nd in the Formula Renault 3.5 series.

I’ve watched some of Robin Frijns’s junior Formula races, and I must admit, I’m very much impressed by him. He could be big in F1 some day.

The German F3 series is a good one to watch too, currently fist and second in that championship are two 17 year olds; Lucas Auer, Gerhard Berger’s nephew who won last years Formula BMW Pacific championship, and Mitchell Gilbert, a young Australian that I’m hoping gets the money to stay in Europe where so many talented Australians haven’t been able to.
Also Daniel Juncadella, currently leading the F3 Euroseries and is last years Macau Grand Prix winner. He is Luis Pérez-Sala’s – the HRT team principal – nephew. If he keeps going well then I think we might see him in an HRT soon.

I have to say that at the moment, the only two drivers in GP2 who really jump out at me are James Calado and Felipe Nasr. Much of the field seem to be ‘career GP2 drivers’. Having said that, the man of the last few races has been Giedo van der Garde but I still don’t think he’ll get into F1.

Force India are entitled to choose their own drivers without Mercedes influence and they want to go in the direction of getting Indian drivers into F1. I can’t see where Wickens and Mehri can fit at Mercedes in F1.

I haven’t seen anything from Force India that says they will take an Indian driver over all others, regardless of their relative level of talent. If Mercedes approach them and say “Hey, we think this Wickens guy is looking pretty nifty”, why wouldn’t Force India listen to that? After all, they took di Resta at Mercedes’ suggestion/insistence, and that’s worknig out pretty well for them. And with reports that engine costs could triple for 2014, Mercedes could offer Force India a discount on the engines for considering/taking Wickens and/or Merhi. Force India would be mad not to consider that.

Similarly, I don’t think Mercedes are above taking chances on certain drivers if they think they have what it takes. In 2009, Ross Brawn said he regretted not looking at Jenson Button as a potential replacement for Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari, so I think he will be acutely aware of talented younger drivers, particularly when the time comes to replace Michael Schumacher, who I don’t think will race in 2013. Personally, I think Robert Wickens is ready for Formula 1 – he’s had success in every single open-wheel racing series he has contested; another year in a junior category isn’t going to teach him anything new. He is one of a handful of drivers (the others being Kevin Korjus and possibly Raffaele Marciello, though Marciello is still a little too young) who I think can make the step up to Formula 1 and be reasonably competitive in whatever car he drives, so I think going straight to Mercedes is certainly a viable move. It’s a risk, yes, but I think it’s also a move that history could remember as being as brilliant as it was unexpected.

After all, Wickens isn’t just a part of the Mercedes development program. Of the three drivers Mercedes have chosen – the other two being Vietoris and Merhi – I’m petty sure Wickens is the only one getting tutelage from Michael Schumacher. Combined with his results in the likes of Formula Renault and GP3 and Indy Lights, I’d say that’s a pretty masive endorsement of his talent.

But Force India have already picked up di Resta and I think if the take Wickens too, then they will become stuck in an eternal situation of being an informal ‘Mercedes junior team’, especially if they take money off Mercedes

If Wickens is the best driver available to them, why wouldn’t they take him? Especially since the “One From A Billion” program doesn’t seem to have worked; I think it was relying on the i1 SuperSeries to find potential candidates.

Besides, I don’t think di Resta is the only driver who could be moving on from Force India. Nico Hulkenberg has been very anonymous this year (the only notable thing I can remember him doing is retiring in Melbourne), and the highly-competitive midfield demands that drivers stand out. I would not be surprised if di Resta went to Mercedes and was replaced by Wickens in 2013, and then Hulkenberg left the team for 2014, having spent 2013 at the team for the sake of continuity between years.

Of the up and coming drivers, I think Wickens an Bianchi are the best of the ones who are ready, they both have a chance at Force India, so it will be interesting to see what unfolds.

I don’t think Bianchi is ready. He dominated Formula 3, but disappointed in GP2. If he wants to stand any chance at making it into Formula 1, then I think he has to beat Kevin Korjus this year. Korjus is younger, has plenty of experience in Formula Renault, is attached to Lotus/Renault’s driver program (I expect him to appear at the Young Driver Tests later this year), and unlike Bianchi, he can afford to take another season to further his skills. If Bianchi can’t beat him, then his goose is cooked. It’s probably too late for him, anyway. The Emperor has said that Sergio Perez isn’t ready for Ferrari, and Perez is in the middle of his second season. Assuming Bianchi will need at least two years before he is considered ready for Ferrari, then the earliest he can join the team is 2015 – by which point Massa will have moved on, and been replaced. Since Ferrari like to hold onto their drivers for as long as possible, Bianchi will be in limbo for years to come.

Ditto Sam Bird, I’d say. Sam seems to be doing the business so far though – and he was in a class of his own (yes, even against Bianchi) at Monaco.

Yeah, Bianchi can’t really afford anything but first this year

I don’t think it’s that extreme. If he doesn’t win, it won’t really matter, so long as he beats Korjus. He may not have the same opportunities in Formula 1 than if he did win, but he’d certainly be a strong prospect for any of the midfield teams; for example, if Williams let go of Maldonado and Senna, then I think Bianchi and Bottas would be an excellent line-up for them. But if he fails to secure a seat for 2013, then his chances of joining the grid are going to decline rapidly. He’ll be in with a shot for 2014, but only if there were mass retirements (ie Schumacher, Webber, etc.).