Formula One: The landscape of the sport is changing
By Asher Fair
The landscape of Formula One is beginning to shift, which favors the next generation of young drivers as opposed to the veterans.
The landscape of Formula One has been gradually changing over the past few years, and that change is inevitable. After all, there are no drivers who will drive forever, as everyone will eventually be replaced, likely by younger drivers.
While we have not seen many instances in which younger drivers have directly taken over for veteran drivers, we do have a lot of younger and more inexperienced drivers in the sport while many veterans who have raced recently are no longer in the series despite being proven contenders.
For instance, 2009 champion Jenson Button, 37, completed his final season as a full-time Formula One driver in 2016, and Felipe Massa did the same thing this past season at age 36. In fact, Massa had initially planned to retire after the 2016 season. In fact, it was announced that Lance Stroll, now 19, would be his replacement for the 2017 season.
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But Massa ended up coming back as a result of the fact that Nico Rosberg announced his unexpected retirement and Valtteri Bottas replaced him at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, leaving him an open seat at Williams Martini Racing for the 2017 season alongside Stroll, who was intended to be his replacement.
In addition to these circumstances, Mark Webber, 41, stopped driving in Formula One after the 2013 season, and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, 48, stopped driving in Formula One after the 2012 season.
Heading into the 2018 season, there are set to be 20 full-time drivers for 10 teams. Of those 20 drivers, we know who 19 of them will be, with the 20th likely to be 22-year-old Sergey Sirotkin, who would replace Felipe Massa at Williams.
Of those 20 drivers, only four of them are above the age of 30. Of the 16 drivers who are not yet over the age of 30, 14 of them are still in their 20’s, and nine of those 14 drivers still not yet more than 25 years of age. In fact, three of those nine drivers are still 20 years old or younger.
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Again, this shift to the next generation is inevitable, as no one can drive forever and many young and talented drivers, despite not having much experience under their belts, are poised to get their chances to compete in Formula One. But this shift to the next generation of drivers is happening at a steady rate, and it is happening right now, even as we head into the 2018 season.