Ralf Schumacher is disappointed with the way Formula 1 is conducting its business of late. The reason behind his recent dissatisfaction is the absence of rookies. Schumacher discussed how difficult it is getting for younger drivers to get into F1. This, in his opinion, is in stark contrast to the times when he was driving in the sport. Speaking with Sky F1 (as quoted by F1 Maximaal), Schumacher said,
“Motorsport now has a cold regarding the next generation. And then the coughing starts. When the sponsors, the investors, the fathers no longer believe in promoting young talent, because they don’t get anywhere anyway. And then we are talking about enormous sums of money that have to come back somewhere. And then at a certain point, no one is interested anymore. I think that is dangerous.”
The 48-year-old referred to Fernando Alonso’s age to explain how some drivers are prolonging their careers. While Schumacher made it clear that he had no problems with the Spaniard, he did rue the path F1 was treading on.
To stress his point further, the former Toyota driver cited the example of youngsters like Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire. Both drivers have won Formula 2 championships. However, neither has managed to make the break into F1.
Ralf Schumacher also rued the change in F1 teams’ approach to nurturing talent. He recalled the era when he drove in the sport when the teams preferred talent over money. That, he feels, is not the way F1 is functioning at present.
The deteriorating state of the young talent in F1
Had it not been for Oliver Bearman’s substitute appearance at the Saudi Arabian GP, 2024 would have been the first-ever F1 season without a rookie taking part. Regardless, neither team is fielding a rookie in the role of a regular driver, which is a saddening trend for young drivers hopeful of making it into the premier class of Formula Racing.
2023 had three rookies starting the season with three different teams. Among those three was McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. That break too came after its fair share of drama. The 2021 F2 champion signed with Alpine as their reserve driver and served the team in that role for a year in 2022.
With doubts over the chance of getting a regular seat with Alpine in 2023, the Australian driver signed a deal with McLaren. The deal caused a legal battle between the two teams. In the end, the Contract Regulation Board (CRB) ruled in the Woking team’s favor.
Meanwhile, Nyck de Vries, who drove for AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash App RB), could not even complete a season. A stint of underwhelming performances saw the Red Bull management lose patience and replace him with Daniel Ricciardo. The Dutch driver is currently racing for Mahindra in Formula E and Toyota in WEC.
