To me, though, that brings back the idea of F1 being for a privileged few who're talented enough to do it, Max V is clearly well ahead of a boy in a Fiat 500 with L plates on it.
Technical F1 Cars Too Easy to Drive at the Limit
- Thread starter snowy
- Start date
I just decided to have a look at the youngest drivers to ever score a point using the old scoring system. Only 6 cars score. Interestingly, JB would still hold the record by this old measure, and there are no teenagers to be found.
1 - Jenson Button (P6, Brazil 2000) - 20 years 2m 7d
2 - Sebastian Vettel (P4, China 2007) - 20 years 3m 4d
3 - Ricardo Rodriguez (P4, Belgium 1962) - 20 years 4m 3d
4 - Chris Amon (P5, Holland 1964) - 20 years 10m 4d
5 - Felipe Massa (P6, Malaysia 2002) - 20 years 10m 20d
Everyone else has been older than 21.
1 - Jenson Button (P6, Brazil 2000) - 20 years 2m 7d
2 - Sebastian Vettel (P4, China 2007) - 20 years 3m 4d
3 - Ricardo Rodriguez (P4, Belgium 1962) - 20 years 4m 3d
4 - Chris Amon (P5, Holland 1964) - 20 years 10m 4d
5 - Felipe Massa (P6, Malaysia 2002) - 20 years 10m 20d
Everyone else has been older than 21.
There's only been 8 teenage drivers in the history of F1 and all of them started at 19 (plus half of them were within 2 months of their 20th birthday when they started), so they would have had to finish top 6 in their first season in F1 to get on your table as a teenager. I think it says more about the number of teenage drivers than their ability.
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ATL11
Pole Sitter
don't think its a privileged few, more how F1 is perceived by the everyday man, 17 years old I believe is too young, I really am fearful this kid is going to kill/injury himself in Japan's first qualifying, but that's just me.
Suzuka has seen some nasty shunts over the years with drivers escaping relatively unscathed. Verstappen will only be doing a practice session and he's already said his first goal is to keep it on the road.
Sushi - Then what's all the fuss about? People talk like kids are now dominating the sport or something. I couldn't be the least bit concerned about the possibility of teenagers taking over. This is still a big boy sport any way you want to cut it.
Sushi - Then what's all the fuss about? People talk like kids are now dominating the sport or something. I couldn't be the least bit concerned about the possibility of teenagers taking over. This is still a big boy sport any way you want to cut it.
I am less concerned with Max's age than with his experience. I know R Rodriguez had already had a podium at Le Mans before starting his F1 career, and Amon had driven a Maserati 250F, an ex-F1 car, in his native New Zealand before getting his shot at F1. The fact that Max V is able to bypass all of that is, to me, absolute proof that today's cars are too easy to drive at the limit. What is next; taking someone right out of karting?
Red Bull believe Verstappen is one of the most talented drivers in history. If he's good enough, he's old enough.
The only question is if he's good enough. If he is, good luck to him.
The only question is if he's good enough. If he is, good luck to him.
I have no idea! If he's not good enough he'll be given the boot after a season or two like many drivers (well every other driver) who came to F1 older than him.
And he is inexperienced but he has still been racing in one form or another for over a decade.
I get the feeling that Max V is a little bit "damned if he does" here - if he puts in a stunning FP1 at Suzuka, the naysayers will see it as the thread title suggests, and if he tugs about near the bottom of the timesheets then he's not the next incarnation of the Almighty Senna we have been promised.
For the record, I believe that the modern F1 car is not too easy to drive on the limit - you only have to look at just how hard the top guys train to be physically and mentally capable to do so, to see that. It is their work level and skill that makes it look easy. Put it this way - I suspect that none of the CTA membership would be able to post a time within 107%, were we to jump into any of this year's cars.
For the record, I believe that the modern F1 car is not too easy to drive on the limit - you only have to look at just how hard the top guys train to be physically and mentally capable to do so, to see that. It is their work level and skill that makes it look easy. Put it this way - I suspect that none of the CTA membership would be able to post a time within 107%, were we to jump into any of this year's cars.
After seeing various programs where TV presenters with massive amounts of motoring experience have tried to drive modern F1 cars I can imagine that most of us would struggle to get the car out of the pit lane.
I think the person who said driving these modern day car at the limit is probably wrong for the simple fact they are not driven at the limit by any of the drivers they are restricted by fuel flow management capped revs and the fact that they have to make the engines last four races, so really we have no idea how hard they would be to drive at the limit.
If I said to you get on that 200bhp Suzuki Hayabusa capable of reaching 248 mph and drive it to the limit you would have to have an enormous pair of hairy balls to do so but if I restricted it to 80 mph and 60 bhp then anyone could do it.
The statement should be that todays F1 cars are to easy to drive to the limit the FIA have restricted them to..
If I said to you get on that 200bhp Suzuki Hayabusa capable of reaching 248 mph and drive it to the limit you would have to have an enormous pair of hairy balls to do so but if I restricted it to 80 mph and 60 bhp then anyone could do it.
The statement should be that todays F1 cars are to easy to drive to the limit the FIA have restricted them to..
Bushi
Race Winner
It's not fuel flow alone. Discard the limit on the turbo pressure, discard all the other restrictions about the engine. Just build a V6 with a single or multiple turbo which doesn't burn more than 100kg of fuel.
All this rules to try to bring the field closer to each other are nonsense, just look at this year dominance of Merc.
Let them be innovative about their design.
All this rules to try to bring the field closer to each other are nonsense, just look at this year dominance of Merc.
Let them be innovative about their design.
Here's a conundrum for you. If these cars are as "easy" to drive as some would want you to believe, then why is the 4-time reigning champion having such a difficult time? All year we've heard that Seb is finding it extremely hard to 'get on top' of this car, and the proof is clearly in the results. The 2014 cars are universally regarded as being more difficult to drive than their modern predecessors, and it's been a pleasure to see these guys wrestling these beasts again.
And another thing, anybody that thinks drivers were 'pushing the limit' lap after lap in the old days is simply viewing the past through rose colored spectacles. It was critical that driver's were sympathetic to their machinery in the times of appalling reliability. For several legendary pilots the goal was to win the race as slowly as possible. Guys who were naturally hard-chargers like Keke Rosberg often paid a severe price for their aggressive style. Believe me, if teams had access to reliable fuel telemetry in those days, they would have been on the radio to Keke often, and he would have a good many more points to his name.
To be fair, there are only a couple people really trying to push this 'F1 is too easy' theme. And these are the same people that have been trying to rubbish the 2014 Championship from the get-go for one reason or another. I find their arguments comical, and I'm not even sure they realize that their comments are a direct insult to the 4X WDC, far worse than anything anyone has said about him in a long time.
And another thing, anybody that thinks drivers were 'pushing the limit' lap after lap in the old days is simply viewing the past through rose colored spectacles. It was critical that driver's were sympathetic to their machinery in the times of appalling reliability. For several legendary pilots the goal was to win the race as slowly as possible. Guys who were naturally hard-chargers like Keke Rosberg often paid a severe price for their aggressive style. Believe me, if teams had access to reliable fuel telemetry in those days, they would have been on the radio to Keke often, and he would have a good many more points to his name.
To be fair, there are only a couple people really trying to push this 'F1 is too easy' theme. And these are the same people that have been trying to rubbish the 2014 Championship from the get-go for one reason or another. I find their arguments comical, and I'm not even sure they realize that their comments are a direct insult to the 4X WDC, far worse than anything anyone has said about him in a long time.
Alain Prost getting off the gas to win (but be disqualified from) the 1985 San Marino GP springs to mind.
Incubus
Champion Elect
Actually he was very nearly disqualified from the top-spot at the following race in Monaco, for the same reason as the first, which would definitely have been some sort of a record.
This time because he'd been affected by some sort of electrical problem that caused his engine to misfire and increased his fuel consumption, not normally a problem at this track. The car after the race was weighed in bang on the minimum 540 kilogram-limit, not a gram over it.
Being disqualified twice in a row would have left McLaren looking decidedly silly.
This time because he'd been affected by some sort of electrical problem that caused his engine to misfire and increased his fuel consumption, not normally a problem at this track. The car after the race was weighed in bang on the minimum 540 kilogram-limit, not a gram over it.
Being disqualified twice in a row would have left McLaren looking decidedly silly.
Did anybody see Nico's tweet from a week ago? I actually just saw it when watching "The F1 Show" from Friday. Pretty funny 
Montoya managed it at Williams in North America in 2004!
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