About to turn 43 in 2024, Fernando Alonso – the oldest driver – doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing down anytime soon. Even Lewis Hamilton is doing the same, on the eve of entering his 40s next year. While these two continue to compete at the highest level, there’s also some push for getting younger drivers into the sport. Since 2020-21, the waiting list of young talents from F2 and the junior categories has been increasing. Even champion drivers like Felipe Drugovich, Theo Pourchaire, and Liam Lawson, who drove a few races in 2023, are yet to get a full-time seat in F1. Former driver Ralf Schumacher has voiced his opinion about this issue.
According to Speedweek.com, Schumacher stated how they need to break this “vicious circle” for deserving young drivers’ sake. He said, “And instead Alonso, now 42, is going along. Nothing against Alonso – but it can’t be the goal of Formula 1 to get older and older.”
The German mentioned how Oliver Bearman’s debut in Saudi Arabia was a great statement of the kind of talent F2 drivers can bring to the grid. Schumacher also stated, “It was very important that someone came, was thrown in, and achieved a good result. Every team was almost afraid to take on new drivers. Hopefully, it will lead to new drivers coming back.”
Schumacher only wants teams to give young drivers like Pourchaire, Bearman, Lawson, and Drugovich an opportunity. This may not necessarily come at Alonso or Hamilton’s expense who are two of the oldest yet best drivers currently. There are multiple other drivers who have been inconsistent and have been underperforming.
So, teams may look to change the dynamics of their teams to onboard a Lawson or a Bearman in the near future. What Bearman did for Ferrari in Jeddah showcases the opportunity for F1 teams to show faith in the F2 prodigies and take a long-term bet on them.
Fernando Alonso is already doing his bit to enrich the young talents for F1
Many would see Fernando Alonso as one of the oldest drivers. However, the two-time champion is quite young at heart, both on and off-track. His initiatives for the sport’s talent pool also point to the same mindset. In 2022, Alonso launched his driver management program called A14 Management.
This program undertakes young promising drivers in F2, F3, and similar junior formula categories to guide and groom them through their careers. The Spaniard told RacingNews365 about this program and why he has taken this initiative. He said, “It’s important because I see a lot of drivers now with this passion that I had when I was young.”
“They are just lacking a little bit of knowledge of how this world works and what is important, what is not important, what will give you good things in the future and what things are just stressing”, added the Spaniard.
The program started with drivers like Clement Novalak and Nikola Tsolov. Gabriel Bortoleto then also joined the roster under A14 management.
Bortoleto won the 2023 Formula 3 championship and is currently competing in F2 with Invicta Racing. Meanwhile, another promising talent has joined Alonso’s management – Pepe Marti. Moreover, even F1 Academy racer Chloe Cambers is part of the A14 roster.
The #14 driver feels that with the right mentorship in this program, these drivers can perfectly understand how to tackle the complexities of motorsport. Given Alonso has over two races of international racing experience across various categories, he would guide these juniors in the best way possible to groom them for all categories, not just F1.
