Formula 1: The key problem with the young driver system

Formula 1 young driver program problem: Current implications

Following a less than graceful final tenure within the Honda-powered McLaren, which found its end in 2018, Fernando Alonso, a two-time world champion and gladiator within the aforementioned 2007 championship battle against a doe-eyed Lewis Hamilton, made a welcome return to the grid in 2021 with his former championship outfit now rebranded as French sports car manufacturer Alpine.

At the ripe age of 39 heading into the campaign, Alonso was not only critiqued for a potentially underwhelming return, but also for the implications of such a signing as it relates to the junior ranks.

Even current Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher faces his own set of challenges, waiting behind one of the strongest driver pairings in Formula 1 of Charles Leclerc, 24, and Carlos Sainz Jr., 27, at Ferrari.

In the meantime, Schumacher is left to mature and refine himself and the car at Haas, enduring one of the most difficult seasons for a team in recent history as a rookie alongside the not-so-amicable Nikita Mazepin.

There is no clear answer, and there will always be individuals lost to the waves of talent that seek to enter the sport. What should not be the case, though, is the introduction of drivers to the grid who were outright beaten by other candidates in prior junior seasons.

The beauty of motorsport is the absolute nature that defines who was fastest on the day, and Formula 1 has always been the showcase of the absolute fastest in the world. This claim is being lost to the politics of modern racing, meaning that one can only wish there is an overarching improvement to the infrastructure of the sport’s handling of drivers as a whole.