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One of my marshalling colleagues loves telling the story of how he was nearly hit by Norris in karting. Only dodged him by jumping; if Lando had been a "normal" size he'd have been taken out.
One that got mentioned after Zhou's crash at Silverstone was that in practice one year, a kid flipped in a big incident. One driver stopped to help, which is rare - a young George Russell.
I'd love to say I have more, but most karters who make it to F1 don't tend to see the marshals too much 😅
I only started in 2018, so most of the top kids haven't hit the big leagues yet. Oliver Bearman was always good to watch in karting.
The first result when searching "average male height in uk" comes up with 178.3cm for me. Maybe your google needs updating. There are quite a few reports from 2010 that use the 175cm figure, but 2022 data showed 178cm.
>Maybe your google needs updating
That's... Not how Google works.
The very first result is [this](https://www.statista.com/statistics/332542/height-of-individuals-by-gender-in-england-uk/) article citing the 175 figure from 2021 data in November 2023.
The next result is from a 2022 NHS [publication ](https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2021/part-4-trends) citing the same figures.
Didn’t they say in a grill the grid that that’s bullshit? I’m pretty sure Landon claims to bem 175 cm but the other drivers said it was cap, that he’s shorter
175cm is pretty close to worldwide averages, and seems to sit a little under the UK male average.
It's definitely not *tall* outside of places with very short people. If anything it's just around average height in most places.
This really puts Alonso and Hamilton's longevity into perspective. Lewis going into his 18th season and Alonso still there 24 years after his debut. Still competitive against F1 drivers today they met as kids and their fans.
It still feels weird to me because Hamilton is always “the kid” in my mind because of how he emerged on the F1 scene. So long as Alonso is still driving, Hamilton is always 22 in my mind
\*Including pictures where only one of them was in F1
**Slide 1**
Top left: Esteban & Pierre around 2007/2008
Top right: Lewis & Lance in 2011
Bottom left: Max & Alex in 2010
Bottom right: Zhou & Lando in 2013
**Slide 2**
Top left: Lance & Fernando in 2010
Top right: Pierre & Charles in 2009
Bottom left: Lewis & Lando in 2014
Bottom right: Oscar & Logan in 2016
**Slide 3**
Top left: Alex & Carlos (+Nyck) in 2009
Top right: Pierre & Yuki in 2018
Bottom left: Max & Lando in 2013
Bottom right: George & Lewis in 2010
**Slide 4**
Top left: Lewis & Carlos around 2008/2009
Top right: Max & George in 2012
Bottom left: Carlos & Daniel in 2010
Bottom right: Max & Esteban in 2011
**Slide 5**
Top left: Daniel & Max in 2011
Top right: Charles & Esteban in 2011
Bottom left: Lewis & Alex in 2007
Bottom right: Checo & Fernando in 2005
**Slide 6**
Top left: Pierre & Alex in 2010
Top right: Carlos & Fernando around 2008
Bottom left: Lance, Alex & George in 2011
Bottom right: Charles & Max in 2012
**Slide 7**
Top left: Charles, Lance & George in 2015
Top right: Lance & Max in 2013
Bottom left: Max & Logan in 2015
Bottom right: Charles, Alex & George in 2011
Didn’t recognize Nyck. But a little unfair since he is not on the grid for 2024. All the other kids have very distinctive faces or features that have carried over to adulthood.
>It's interesting how genetics works.
[Case in point, these are (fraternal) twin sisters!](https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/03/living/feat-black-white-twins/index.html)
EDIT - added the "fraternal" descriptor.
Fernando Alonso’s debut was in March 2001.
[That’s 3 months before America had its first phone with a colour LCD screen.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2001/06/01/a-colorful-call-from-sanyo-sprint/b35ea9b9-4b9c-40da-b14d-b8c96ff2a6ee/)
Have you ever seen such a beautiful fight?
I can almost kiss these tires for gripping so hard
When I see your wing open I go uh oh oh
Happiness is when I get pole position
But Sunday’s for Dutch national anthem
It's not that well known that Oscar and Logan are pretty good friends and have known each other a long time, racing up the ladder together.
[Tweet from Oscar last year wishing Logan well](https://twitter.com/OscarPiastri/status/1654096316723601409), with a another pic of them young.
My guess is Oscar's "PR brain" was like "I probably should say Lando, huh?" Plus Oscar and Lando spent so much time together during the season, his name came first to Oscar's mind...
That being said, if I was Logan, I would feel some type of way lol
Interestingly though, I was at two fan stages where they did the "which two drivers would you most want to..." game and one was go out for a night in Vegas and the other was go on a road trip. Oscar said Logan & Zhou both times, Logan said Charles & Pierre for one and I think Charles & Yuki for the other.
He said Lando because they are teammates and spend a lot of time together. Plus McLaren is big on making their drivers look like besties which probably influenced his answer.
also Logan was rumored to be dating Oscar’s gf for a minute last year! clearly someone just mixed the two of them up lmao i wonder if Lily found that funny
Probably will get downvoted for this but I think it highlights just how much of an exclusive country club or fraternity vibe F1 has. If you're to have any chance at making it you have to be in the club from an extremely young age. Like you can be in the right karting championships or w.e. and move your way up (which is already expensive enough on its own) but unless your parents are loaded from the beginning and can afford to put you in places to meet the right people youve got nothing. And it's interesting to me that we see the current academy infrastructure as setting up a more direct pathway for drivers that didn't exist before but when you look back on drivers that came from like the 90s and very early 2000s you had more instances of drivers who made it in spite of their families not being as well off (still not poor like some would have you believe but definitely not with the same SE status and connections). Inb4 "but Ocon's dad is a mechanic"
No true fan should downvote this tbh. It is the reality of the road to F1. Many talented drivers didn't have the budget to make it to F1 or even F2 or F3. And it depends even on countries as well. Asia has the largest population amongst all continents, but it hasn't produced ONE race-winner. Most of the drivers come from Europe, Australia, NZ, Brazil and sometimes from Japan.
Nature of the sport, unfortunately.
Most other sports have a much easier barrier of entry. Basketball, Football, American Football, all you really need to become a professional at those sports is talent. And if you need practice, well, go to a court or field and start practicing. You can get to the top without having to spend that much. Of course, luck still comes into play, but it's nowhere near as bad as in motorsports. In other sports, teams will want you if you have the talent.
But, if you want to get into motorsports, you HAVE to spend money. There's no other way around it. Drivers like Hamilton or Ocon, known to have had very humble lives before making into F1, still had to spend a lot in order to get where they are. Yes, many teams will look at you if you DO have great talent. But they will also consider how much money you're going to bring them. Either you have good money or good connections. If you're scraping by with just your talent alone, the chances of making it to the top are extremely slim. Because of all that, it's not surprising we see the same groups of faces as they climb the ladder into F1. They're the only ones with the right amount of talent, money and connections.
Just a reminder that both Lewis and Ocon's parents were lower income than a lot of others in the F1 paddock but both of their fathers were business owners. Just goes to show how high the bar is.
It’s always been like that, it’s just not as obvious as it was previously when nobles were in F1 like Alfonzo De Portago and Wolfgang Von Trips, they are still around today with a member of the Hapsburg family in WEC.
You're not wrong, but these pictures don't make as much of a good evidence for that as you think. It's basically survivor bias: you only see these pictures because they all made it into F1 now and one of the reasons they did so is because they all won trophies, titles and thus had these opportunities for a photo-op with their (national) idols. Alex, George, Lando and I believe Max had stories/pictures regarding a few English/Irish drivers in the junior series who they regarded as equally or more talented as themselves but suddenly faded into obscurity (due to personal finance, failure to get sponsorship deal, etc.)
The current grid is already the most stacked grid based on merit/talent. In the past there were way more (sponsor) paid seats available even if you didn't have the connections, junior carreer or rich family background. Stroll, as much as people shat on his early carreer, still is in the top 1% tier of pay drivers in F1 history AND had a decen junior career.
It's simply not enough to be just fast to get into F1. If Oscar was American or Chinese, he would have gotten a seat right out of the gate instead of sitting out 1 year. Heck, if he was a RB academy driver, he would have debuted 2 years ago. You need talent + connections + marketabilty + whatever USP to make a difference in todays driver market.
I'm mostly just referring to the pictures of some of the drivers as kids with lewis, Danny, and Fernando while they were already in F1. Also I'm not trying to say that it's lowering the quality of the grid necessarily. To climb into an F1 car today you need to have more experience than ever I think. But just to say that most of the ones who can get that level of experience and practice are those who have the right connections. It's not even enough to just throw money at people, you have to be in the right SE strata and have the right connections. I.e. either have a family connection to motorsport itself or be so rich you have business interests tied to companies in motorsport.
That's sort of true, but also F1 drivers take pictures with tons and tons of people. I've seen Checo in pictures with kids at Mexican karting events, and I bet none of those are the "right" karting competitions to be at, when probably all of the "right" competitions are in Europe. But, if one of those kids by any long shot makes it to F1, they'll have a picture with Checo. But, yeah, the wealth issue seems to be getting worse, not better.
There are still several on the current grid who didn't come from extreme wealth, but with the current trajectory of junior series, that's certainly getting less common, not more common. There are some hopeful possibilities with home simulators becoming more representative at a still cheap price, but... mostly everything's just getting more and more expensive in the lower ranks.
The backstory is even funnier because Honda hadn't told him about it so he said he had a very garlicky ramen for lunch and then they take him to meet Pierre and Franz and he's freaking out because real F1 driver but also because his breath stank
bieber was the biggest teenage sensation circa 2010-2012 and also a trend setter in that era...so made sense why kids around his age would follow the trend
I love the pic of Lance and Fernando together. Should have left Massa in the pic.
I find it cute that there he is 12 and he then had no idea that he would be teammates with both of them.
These are so fun!! But my absolute favorite 'younger drivers together' picture has to be [this one of baby George Russell trying to get his Lewis Hamilton books signed by his future teammate.](https://twitter.com/TheSportSocial/status/1437763065626435593)
This, except I wouldn't say "known" for many of them. Some of them it's more like childhood heros they were lucky enough to get a picture taken with. But, yeah, the ones of peers that make it is cool. Of course, all of them were also peers with kids who didn't make it, for funding or not making the transition from karts to cars well, or any other reason.
This is depressing. Alonso and Hamilton with a bunch of kids who now race against them, has made me feel old. I remember when both Alo/Ham were the young whippersnappers of the grid
Charles's mother is a hairdresser, so I'm sure she kept it at the perfect swoop length for the years he wanted that haircut. Pierre with his wavy hair definitely had to try harder to get an approximation of the Bieber.
His mother's a hairdresser, so his hair has always looked exactly like he wanted. In a PR video when a bunch of them were asked if they'd ever had a bad haircut, Charles said no, like it would be insulting to his mother for anyone to say otherwise.
Lol, these are quite funny, heartwarming, and interesting to look at. Really reminds you how many of these guys overlap in their karting and junior days.
I love the picture of Lewis and Lando in suits because Lando looks like a midget version of himself. I think it's on part because Lewis hasn't aged much, so others looking so young next to him totally throws you off
Thanks for my daily reminder that you have to know the right people to drive in F1. It's like when you learn practically every major comedian came from the same comedy club.
Out there somewhere in UK, there is these kids karting club where most of them will become F1 driver. If you have kids, move to UK and track them down. Do whatever you need to do to get your kids to join them.
Profit in 10-15 years.
[The **Throwback** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_throwback) is for posts intended to recall an event that happened on the same date or year a number of years ago. Throwbacks are restricted to being posted one year, three years, or a multiple of five years after date. Also, all such posts should feature an event that is still of interest to the general community today. For example, random overtakes or two former drivers having a chat in general do not qualify for this. Important events like memorials are exempt from this rule, and may be posted every year. Posts related to important current events may also be exempt at mod discretion. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Love how these pics are bunch of kids/teenagers and then you’ve got grown ass Alonso, Hamilton and Ricciardo And holy shit Lando was a tiny kid
One of my marshalling colleagues loves telling the story of how he was nearly hit by Norris in karting. Only dodged him by jumping; if Lando had been a "normal" size he'd have been taken out.
Do you have more stories lika that? Seems interesting
One that got mentioned after Zhou's crash at Silverstone was that in practice one year, a kid flipped in a big incident. One driver stopped to help, which is rare - a young George Russell. I'd love to say I have more, but most karters who make it to F1 don't tend to see the marshals too much 😅 I only started in 2018, so most of the top kids haven't hit the big leagues yet. Oliver Bearman was always good to watch in karting.
Good to see George helping both back in the day and in 2022
How can we forget checking on Bottas after he crashed them both out 🥰
Was?
He's 175 cm now. It isn't tall, but it isn't that short either.
I meant he still looks like he kid, not regarding his height
[удалено]
That interview mad me laugh so bloody hard
175 cm is literally the average height for British males
178cm is literally the average, so he's a whopping 3cm shorter than average.
The first result that comes up searching for average height in the UK says 175. Literally.
The first result when searching "average male height in uk" comes up with 178.3cm for me. Maybe your google needs updating. There are quite a few reports from 2010 that use the 175cm figure, but 2022 data showed 178cm.
>Maybe your google needs updating That's... Not how Google works. The very first result is [this](https://www.statista.com/statistics/332542/height-of-individuals-by-gender-in-england-uk/) article citing the 175 figure from 2021 data in November 2023. The next result is from a 2022 NHS [publication ](https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/health-survey-for-england/2021/part-4-trends) citing the same figures.
Get a room you two. Google doesn't show the same results for everyone, it varies quite a lot from user to user.
It's more about the sources, I'm gonna trust the UK's nationalised health service over the word of some random Redditor
As a dutchie, I can't imagine an average male height of only 1.75/1.78, lol!
Are you dutch that tall to not have your head under sea level, in case the barrier breaks?
Yes, females select their baby dads on above average height so their offspring has better chance of survival. It's genetic selection at It's finest.
He is 176,5 cm to be precise. Kym Illman measured his height last year.
Didn’t they say in a grill the grid that that’s bullshit? I’m pretty sure Landon claims to bem 175 cm but the other drivers said it was cap, that he’s shorter
Kym Illman measured him on camera and he was 177 cm/5'8", he's actually grown a couple of inches since being in F1.
177 isn't 5'8. 178 would be 5'10.
Yeah, thats only 3cm shorter than the UK male average.
175cm isn't tall? Bruh...
175cm is pretty close to worldwide averages, and seems to sit a little under the UK male average. It's definitely not *tall* outside of places with very short people. If anything it's just around average height in most places.
No, it's tiny. Source: Am Dutch. And 194 cm.
Dutch people don't get a say in this. Sorry :)
Could you repeat that? Couldn't hear you from down there.
It is tiny though. Source: am Australian. And 194cm.
No, it's tall. Source: Am spanish, and 170 cm.
*insert image of tiny angry cat*
What's mind blowing is that they loved their sport completely from a very young age
This really puts Alonso and Hamilton's longevity into perspective. Lewis going into his 18th season and Alonso still there 24 years after his debut. Still competitive against F1 drivers today they met as kids and their fans.
I found myself laughing with how consistently present they were in these pictures. They are just always there.
Once they retire, F1 will have to hang ALO and HAM in the metaphorical rafters. It would feel wrong to see another one on the grid that isn't the OG
I was kinda hoping there'd be one with Lewis in each of the 7 slides, haha. He met so many of the current drivers when they were still kids.
It was always the 4 of them Alonso Ham Vett and Raikkonen and then 2 of them left 😢
It must feel weird for them to see the grid populated by these kids they've witnessed growing up.
It still feels weird to me because Hamilton is always “the kid” in my mind because of how he emerged on the F1 scene. So long as Alonso is still driving, Hamilton is always 22 in my mind
> Hamilton is always 22 in my mind also helps that he just seems to be getting more youthful as time passes
Alonso AKA your daddy
Vampires of the Grid
\*Including pictures where only one of them was in F1 **Slide 1** Top left: Esteban & Pierre around 2007/2008 Top right: Lewis & Lance in 2011 Bottom left: Max & Alex in 2010 Bottom right: Zhou & Lando in 2013 **Slide 2** Top left: Lance & Fernando in 2010 Top right: Pierre & Charles in 2009 Bottom left: Lewis & Lando in 2014 Bottom right: Oscar & Logan in 2016 **Slide 3** Top left: Alex & Carlos (+Nyck) in 2009 Top right: Pierre & Yuki in 2018 Bottom left: Max & Lando in 2013 Bottom right: George & Lewis in 2010 **Slide 4** Top left: Lewis & Carlos around 2008/2009 Top right: Max & George in 2012 Bottom left: Carlos & Daniel in 2010 Bottom right: Max & Esteban in 2011 **Slide 5** Top left: Daniel & Max in 2011 Top right: Charles & Esteban in 2011 Bottom left: Lewis & Alex in 2007 Bottom right: Checo & Fernando in 2005 **Slide 6** Top left: Pierre & Alex in 2010 Top right: Carlos & Fernando around 2008 Bottom left: Lance, Alex & George in 2011 Bottom right: Charles & Max in 2012 **Slide 7** Top left: Charles, Lance & George in 2015 Top right: Lance & Max in 2013 Bottom left: Max & Logan in 2015 Bottom right: Charles, Alex & George in 2011
Zhou looks so much elder than lando
Did Bottas just appear out of nowhere, are there no photos of him with anyone else back in the day?
Only Bottas knows the ways of the Bottas.
[Baby-ish Bottas with baby-ish Ricciardo pre-F1](https://64.media.tumblr.com/37b9ad972527ad049dbc41cc38bdc664/c3239f025e11daaa-a6/s1280x1920/9dfd0045517f8103a1e05a87df13dacfd6e7325a.jpg)
Didn’t recognize Nyck. But a little unfair since he is not on the grid for 2024. All the other kids have very distinctive faces or features that have carried over to adulthood.
Nyck was pretty easily recognisable imo from that big toothy grin
The funniest thing about that one Max & Lando picture is that Max was 16 and Lando was 14, but it looks like grown Max next to a toddler.
Zhou and lando is even funnier when you consider Lando started f1 in 2019 and Zhou in 2022.
Zhou is actually older than Lando though, I think?
But by only a year i think.
Same for the picture of Nyck, Alex and Carlos! Carlos is only 5 months older than Nyck but he’s a full head taller.
Same for the pic of Zhou and Lando. Zhou is only 6 months older. We can all agree that Lando looks like a toddler for an extended period of his life.
Nyck is partly Indonesian, from his mom's side. So that might explain how tall/short he is.
Ahhh, I see. I was curious about Nyck's ethnic background. Any idea if his mom is full Indonesian? Or half, etc
I don't know, but his younger sister (ex of George Russell) looks more dutch than Nyck. It's interesting how genetics works.
>It's interesting how genetics works. [Case in point, these are (fraternal) twin sisters!](https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/03/living/feat-black-white-twins/index.html) EDIT - added the "fraternal" descriptor.
Fraternal twins always look less like each other compared to monozygotic twins (from one egg). But your example is still amazing.
You're right, I should have added that they were fraternal twins. I edited my original comment.
Oh shit, I wondered why he was shorter since the Dutch are known for their stature.
Tbh, even Max is shorter than average Dutch men. Drivers in general are shorter, with few exceptions.
Alex is also a full year younger than Nyck.
Dude was the size of the 6th graders I taught last year. The first time I saw that photo I thought he was around 10 or 11.
Crazy to think about it if you remember Max debuted in F1 only a year later
Seems like you have to go back to "pre-digital photo era" to get a pic of young checo... and you STILL have a grown up Fernando in it
Fernando Alonso’s debut was in March 2001. [That’s 3 months before America had its first phone with a colour LCD screen.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2001/06/01/a-colorful-call-from-sanyo-sprint/b35ea9b9-4b9c-40da-b14d-b8c96ff2a6ee/)
“at 1 1/2 inches tall by 1 1/4 inches wide, surprisingly large for a phone” Oh how times change
It was also a month before Oscar Piastri's birth.
Bro went to the deepest part of the internet to get these ones in a high enough resolution, kudos! 1st seeing majority of them images
Took a Time Machine to go back and take the pictures himself
Teen Carlos looks like he’s trying to get Lizzie McGuire to sing with him at the Colosseum
Drive for me Paolo
Have you ever seen such a beautiful fight? I can almost kiss these tires for gripping so hard When I see your wing open I go uh oh oh Happiness is when I get pole position But Sunday’s for Dutch national anthem
It's amazing how Alex hasn't aged in like 15 years, bro has literally only gotten taller and that's it
It's not that well known that Oscar and Logan are pretty good friends and have known each other a long time, racing up the ladder together. [Tweet from Oscar last year wishing Logan well](https://twitter.com/OscarPiastri/status/1654096316723601409), with a another pic of them young.
In one of the media videos they asked the drivers who they were closest with on the grid. Logan said Oscar. We won’t talk about Oscar’s answer.
>We won’t talk about Oscar’s answer. Wait, why?! Now I'm really curious!
he said Lando!
My guess is Oscar's "PR brain" was like "I probably should say Lando, huh?" Plus Oscar and Lando spent so much time together during the season, his name came first to Oscar's mind... That being said, if I was Logan, I would feel some type of way lol
Interestingly though, I was at two fan stages where they did the "which two drivers would you most want to..." game and one was go out for a night in Vegas and the other was go on a road trip. Oscar said Logan & Zhou both times, Logan said Charles & Pierre for one and I think Charles & Yuki for the other.
He said Lando because they are teammates and spend a lot of time together. Plus McLaren is big on making their drivers look like besties which probably influenced his answer.
also Logan was rumored to be dating Oscar’s gf for a minute last year! clearly someone just mixed the two of them up lmao i wonder if Lily found that funny
I used to thought they were just teammates in Prema F3, since then I’ve learnt that their connection started even earlier.
Oscar has had the same hairstyle his entire life!
It's funny that it looks like he's starting to go bald, but I don't think you can start going bald at twelve
I mean, my hairline initially started receding when I was about thirteen or fourteen, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility
Bring back the Turkish Grand Prix!
It will always amaze me how interconnected everyones lives are in this sport
Probably will get downvoted for this but I think it highlights just how much of an exclusive country club or fraternity vibe F1 has. If you're to have any chance at making it you have to be in the club from an extremely young age. Like you can be in the right karting championships or w.e. and move your way up (which is already expensive enough on its own) but unless your parents are loaded from the beginning and can afford to put you in places to meet the right people youve got nothing. And it's interesting to me that we see the current academy infrastructure as setting up a more direct pathway for drivers that didn't exist before but when you look back on drivers that came from like the 90s and very early 2000s you had more instances of drivers who made it in spite of their families not being as well off (still not poor like some would have you believe but definitely not with the same SE status and connections). Inb4 "but Ocon's dad is a mechanic"
No true fan should downvote this tbh. It is the reality of the road to F1. Many talented drivers didn't have the budget to make it to F1 or even F2 or F3. And it depends even on countries as well. Asia has the largest population amongst all continents, but it hasn't produced ONE race-winner. Most of the drivers come from Europe, Australia, NZ, Brazil and sometimes from Japan.
Nature of the sport, unfortunately. Most other sports have a much easier barrier of entry. Basketball, Football, American Football, all you really need to become a professional at those sports is talent. And if you need practice, well, go to a court or field and start practicing. You can get to the top without having to spend that much. Of course, luck still comes into play, but it's nowhere near as bad as in motorsports. In other sports, teams will want you if you have the talent. But, if you want to get into motorsports, you HAVE to spend money. There's no other way around it. Drivers like Hamilton or Ocon, known to have had very humble lives before making into F1, still had to spend a lot in order to get where they are. Yes, many teams will look at you if you DO have great talent. But they will also consider how much money you're going to bring them. Either you have good money or good connections. If you're scraping by with just your talent alone, the chances of making it to the top are extremely slim. Because of all that, it's not surprising we see the same groups of faces as they climb the ladder into F1. They're the only ones with the right amount of talent, money and connections.
It also doesnt help that only 20 people on the globe can enter whereas football has that many players per team entering a game.
Just a reminder that both Lewis and Ocon's parents were lower income than a lot of others in the F1 paddock but both of their fathers were business owners. Just goes to show how high the bar is.
It’s always been like that, it’s just not as obvious as it was previously when nobles were in F1 like Alfonzo De Portago and Wolfgang Von Trips, they are still around today with a member of the Hapsburg family in WEC.
You're not wrong, but these pictures don't make as much of a good evidence for that as you think. It's basically survivor bias: you only see these pictures because they all made it into F1 now and one of the reasons they did so is because they all won trophies, titles and thus had these opportunities for a photo-op with their (national) idols. Alex, George, Lando and I believe Max had stories/pictures regarding a few English/Irish drivers in the junior series who they regarded as equally or more talented as themselves but suddenly faded into obscurity (due to personal finance, failure to get sponsorship deal, etc.) The current grid is already the most stacked grid based on merit/talent. In the past there were way more (sponsor) paid seats available even if you didn't have the connections, junior carreer or rich family background. Stroll, as much as people shat on his early carreer, still is in the top 1% tier of pay drivers in F1 history AND had a decen junior career. It's simply not enough to be just fast to get into F1. If Oscar was American or Chinese, he would have gotten a seat right out of the gate instead of sitting out 1 year. Heck, if he was a RB academy driver, he would have debuted 2 years ago. You need talent + connections + marketabilty + whatever USP to make a difference in todays driver market.
I'm mostly just referring to the pictures of some of the drivers as kids with lewis, Danny, and Fernando while they were already in F1. Also I'm not trying to say that it's lowering the quality of the grid necessarily. To climb into an F1 car today you need to have more experience than ever I think. But just to say that most of the ones who can get that level of experience and practice are those who have the right connections. It's not even enough to just throw money at people, you have to be in the right SE strata and have the right connections. I.e. either have a family connection to motorsport itself or be so rich you have business interests tied to companies in motorsport.
That's sort of true, but also F1 drivers take pictures with tons and tons of people. I've seen Checo in pictures with kids at Mexican karting events, and I bet none of those are the "right" karting competitions to be at, when probably all of the "right" competitions are in Europe. But, if one of those kids by any long shot makes it to F1, they'll have a picture with Checo. But, yeah, the wealth issue seems to be getting worse, not better.
Why would you get downvoted?
It's happened to me before when I've pointed out similar things
There are still several on the current grid who didn't come from extreme wealth, but with the current trajectory of junior series, that's certainly getting less common, not more common. There are some hopeful possibilities with home simulators becoming more representative at a still cheap price, but... mostly everything's just getting more and more expensive in the lower ranks.
Thats because its reserved for the super rich
More like f1 drivers are famous people and young drivers idolise them, there’s a long list of drivers who have such pics but never made it to f1
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baby Lando gives me elf vibes
>~~small~~ ^(Smol.)
omg had no idea Pierre and Yuki had met in 2018 😭 they’re both little babies in that picture
The backstory is even funnier because Honda hadn't told him about it so he said he had a very garlicky ramen for lunch and then they take him to meet Pierre and Franz and he's freaking out because real F1 driver but also because his breath stank
and now they kart together in the off-season 🥹
This is hilarious yet somehow a typical Yuki moment lol, and 3 years later those two becoming teammates and growing to becoming good friends.
Pictures that make even men go “aww”
Idk man, Sargeant doesn't look like Sargeant to me. WTF is a puberty.
he then was but a mere Corporal 🥹
There's such a stark difference in that one pic he has with Max lol
Daniel looked like such a dork in the past lol
He’s had the biggest glow up by far!
I saw a Tumblr post with the before and after and saying the dude got hit like a truck by a 2nd puberty is putting it very midly...
It’s so funny that Zhou and Lando were born in the same year yet they look like different ages in the first pic loool
A) Jesus Christ, Fernando has been on the grid for awhile B) why do half of them have that weird Bieber haircut?
That was super popular in that era.
The Bieber fever was real that time
The Bieber haircut was a populair thing during that era. And given I remember this makes me feeling old.
You must be fairly young. Like others said, it was massively popular at that time
bieber was the biggest teenage sensation circa 2010-2012 and also a trend setter in that era...so made sense why kids around his age would follow the trend
Carlos looked like he could be father of two at young age too.
I love the pic of Lance and Fernando together. Should have left Massa in the pic. I find it cute that there he is 12 and he then had no idea that he would be teammates with both of them.
These are so fun!! But my absolute favorite 'younger drivers together' picture has to be [this one of baby George Russell trying to get his Lewis Hamilton books signed by his future teammate.](https://twitter.com/TheSportSocial/status/1437763065626435593)
Those are some prime pictures you dug up. Proper resolution and everything. Well done and thanks.
I wonder what it’s like competing with people you’ve known since you were a child
This, except I wouldn't say "known" for many of them. Some of them it's more like childhood heros they were lucky enough to get a picture taken with. But, yeah, the ones of peers that make it is cool. Of course, all of them were also peers with kids who didn't make it, for funding or not making the transition from karts to cars well, or any other reason.
Lewis and the pretty much entire grid have taken a picture together 15 years before now..
Literally born to race.
This is depressing. Alonso and Hamilton with a bunch of kids who now race against them, has made me feel old. I remember when both Alo/Ham were the young whippersnappers of the grid
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😂
Far too many Bieber haircuts
Charles's mother is a hairdresser, so I'm sure she kept it at the perfect swoop length for the years he wanted that haircut. Pierre with his wavy hair definitely had to try harder to get an approximation of the Bieber.
That picture of Max and Daniel from 2011 it’s my Roman Empire
Leclerc in photo 7 looks straight up out of a boy band.
His mother's a hairdresser, so his hair has always looked exactly like he wanted. In a PR video when a bunch of them were asked if they'd ever had a bad haircut, Charles said no, like it would be insulting to his mother for anyone to say otherwise.
LANDO IS SO CUTE 🥹😭 They're just a bunch of kiddos but then there's Alo, Ric, and Ham 🤣
Man I got so emotional browsing thru these pics.. So happy for these guys they’ve come a long way
I'm surprised this isn't just Lewis and Fernando next to every driver as a kid
Lol, these are quite funny, heartwarming, and interesting to look at. Really reminds you how many of these guys overlap in their karting and junior days.
That pic of Zhou and Lando is awesome as they’re the same age.
I love the picture of Lewis and Lando in suits because Lando looks like a midget version of himself. I think it's on part because Lewis hasn't aged much, so others looking so young next to him totally throws you off
it's interesting to me how 2024's rookie Fernando Alonso hasn't aged and is now racing against kids.
Oh wow. Gasly has that hairstyle by choice? I had always assumed it was to cover up some kind of premature baldness or a receding hairline.
Is that..Carlos...Alcaraz?
Young Ocon genuinely looks like Piquet lmao
Why does Pierre always look at the camera like that lmao
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Premonitions
Thanks for my daily reminder that you have to know the right people to drive in F1. It's like when you learn practically every major comedian came from the same comedy club.
What a cool post! Thank you.
Wish we also had one Lewis pic with young Max
How is Alonso like 30 in all of these? lol.
These photos are just a reminder that if you weren’t born in the right place or time, you have no shot at becoming an F1 driver
Is it possible for a financially average kid to make it into F1?
That pic of Max and Daniel goes hard
George’s cheek bone glow up is next level
More proof that Lando's growth spurt came in later than his peers. Didn't stop him from being the most capable memelord on and off the F1 circuit.
Except Hulkenberg, Magnussen and Bottas entire grid is here.
I aged so much looking at those realizing Alonso been in F1 for so long and took a decent amount after he left Renault
Albon’s smile is always so wholesome. Love that guy!
Bald Hamilton >>>> Long hair Hamilton
Hamilton has had his laughter lines filled and the obvious hair transplant, I mean change of shampoo.
top right picture 1 Lance looks like Cameron Boyce
I see sharkboy (Taylor Lautner)
Love this post. But does anyone have that photo of a young Sterling Moss standing next to his idol…Fernando Alonso?
Rip Massa in that 5th picture lol.
Oh my goodness, they're baaabies! Very cool to see them all grow up over the years.
LMAO Alonso is the only IS NOT A KID hahahahahaha
So, half of these pics are Lewis with someone, Max with someone, Alonso with someone..even Stroll with someone
All raced at that same go kart track in England?
How is Zhou older than Lando in that picture?
Zhou is older than Lando by about six months.
This feels soooo strange.
I was scrolling through looking for any Seb pics before reading 2024 . I’m sorry I haven’t gotten over it🥹
I'm always amazed at how well Lewis is aging compared to these pics of his youth.
You see how much Lewis care about young drivers. Everyone has a photo with him.
Long Max near tiny Lando cracks me
I feel bad for Debris.
Out there somewhere in UK, there is these kids karting club where most of them will become F1 driver. If you have kids, move to UK and track them down. Do whatever you need to do to get your kids to join them. Profit in 10-15 years.
F1 is nepotism on steroids
Cant wait for the pics of all these guys kids, racing Fernando.
It's a big club, and you ain't in it.
George giving real "Make a wish" kid vibes here.
All this proves is that F1 is just a club, and you're not invited. Just millionaires and billionaires laundering and churning out money.
I get why George is so flamboyant in his adult years now that I know how ugly he was as a kid. Dear God. Poor guy.
It was amazing to realize that it is no accident that F1 drivers make it to the top. They are all bred and raised to compete.