Are F1 Drivers Really The Best In The World?

[@landey94grocks]

The success of hamilton, vettel & ocon makes me wonder those families who had sacrificed everything but their children still don’t make it to f1, it must be a devastating feeling 😩

[@Adamos321]

not necessarily.. many of them found multiple sources of income which (in many cases) they not pursue otherwise. When their kid gave up the racing dream, they could enjoy the higher income for their own joy and pleasure. Or to turn it into a passive income, or just the pick the one way of making money they enjoy the most and have a more enjoyable life than they had before. So for some it could have been a sacrifice, but for many it could have been a life-changing and satisfying journey.

[@attilaosztopanyi9468]

F1 is the most exclusive sport. Only 20 competitors.

[@nielspeelen5748]

There's more to racing than F1. Of course it's the ultimate goal but there's good money in other categories as well.

[@landey94grocks]

@@nielspeelen5748 that’s good to know

[@ph3733]

@@attilaosztopanyi9468Just like the Champions League or Chess world championship.

[@ashooaway]

As an adult who wanted this as a kid. I should also say what also limits the driver crop is the amount of parents who are willing to even go ahead with the activities in the first place. Travelling Thursdays until every Sunday whilst their kids miss school for some stupid dream isn't something most enjoy

[@gemparaiso03]

I agree with you, I wish I had got the chance at F1 but I played hockey growing up and chances are small at playing in the NHL and I know F1 is a lot smaller, This took 5 nights every week from me and now at the age of 18 that was all for a very childish dream that now I just play for fun for 2 nights of my week.

[@larrymats]

Not to mention how dangerous it is.

[@BigPurp9]

It’s a sport for rich kids. The next Michael Schumacher could be growing up in a council estate somewhere but would never have the resources or opportunity to ever even get into the sport. That’s one thing I appreciate about football - it has next to no barriers to entry

[@BenSilver10]

Exactly! Also, at 8 years old, usually, one isn't focused and determined enough. When I started playing soccer/football, I didn't like to do conditional training every day and just wanted to play ball. The commitment required to be a pro is insane.

[@meowiguess903]

Yeah, I was thinking about this too. I'm afraid that if I began competitively in karting at an early age, I'm not going to know the people I know today who mostly I know from school. If there are one of the few things I enjoyed is schooling, I like studying and having friends.

[@JuanQuinelli]

In my opinion, getting sponsors is a legit way to climb the motorsport ladder and would not consider it as paydrivers. I think paydrivers from rich parents are the real problem, because they don't even have to impress sponsors or reach a certain level of performance to keep them in the sport.

[@nickklavdianos5136]

They got to get that superlicense first though right? Even Mazepin at was at least good enough to get one. And no one can just buy a superlicense. They have to earn it with good performance in the junior categories. And if they keep not performing in F1 they will be replaced with someone else.

[@cyan_oxy6734]

@@nickklavdianos5136 And after getting booted out of f1, Mazepin competed in a few ralley championships and won all of them. Mazepin is a really good driver but F1 are just the best drivers in the world.

[@pisderata]

😂

[@madmans1419]

EVERY f1 driver has rich parents.

[@Shabec2982]

@@madmans1419 Hell no. Did you not just watched the video? Hamilton Ocon Vettle didn’t come from money.

[@bharatchandra6785]

That's why I love Ocon's story! When he was racing in go-karts (against Verstappen and Leclerc), he was living in a caravan with his parents as they had sold their house to fund his racing career. I am still amazed how it's not a movie yet. That's the plot of a fricking anime right there!! 😂

[@stevenkrenz5026]

Ocon is shit ;D Thats why

[@maxverstappen7160]

Probably because Ocon doesn’t deserve a seat

[@mobyhuge4346]

@@maxverstappen7160 nah he deserves a seat, its just that he doesnt have a champions pace and racecraft. hes more akin to a top midfield driver like Hulkenberg and Timo Glock

[@mvee05]

1 question is ocon being paid good money now? did it pay off ?? money wise

[@maxverstappen7160]

@@mobyhuge4346 I’ll happily eat my words if he beats Gasly, I just don’t think he has any abilities that stand out + he’s an absolute asshole to his team mates (in my opinion). Very dislikable guy on track, off track, seems like a standup bloke.

[@thimoumii]

this only shows how talented Latifi is

[@dodoontherocks]

Ofc he is after all the goat

[@toomuchdebt5669]

@Ching Chong There was nothing single about that decision.

[@AlexisRodriguez-bl1hw]

That's no joke. Every driver in F1 has to be really skillful to be in there, even if they have a lot of money to offer to the team

[@nenadmomcilovic9133]

The GOATFather

[@orionpacks]

Le goàt

[@justgary2471]

This is why Seb and Lewis are just in a league of their own. Say what you will about Hamilton, but that man his dad dedicated their lives to achieving their a dream. You can't help but feel good for them!

[@clyde34]

And as Hamilton pointed out recently - the door is now shut for people like that. Karting is ridiculously expensive now, as shown in the video. While previously someone in the top 5% of a wealthier nation could finance their kid's karting career without any sponsors and with modest sacrifice, now you'd need to be one of the top 0.5%, and even then it's sketchy.

[@huguesjouffrai9618]

You don't understand the video. The video is saying that overall there's just a few thousand kids who F1 champions had to beat (vs tens of millions for footballers). And that's still true for the few exceptions like Ocon and Hamilton who were not super rich: they were still only competing with a very small pool of people. Probably the only thing that could change that is if teams start spotting talent from sim racing.

[@davefred]

Oh please, their families weren't anywhere near as poor as they like to claim.

[@erwinlommer197]

Hamilton was never poor. He even raced rc cars as a kid. Those things are EXPENSIVE. His father wasn't a millionaire but they were well off.

[@TheTororist]

@@erwinlommer197 well off in a council estate? you mad? or you have a different definition of well off?

[@Ilkeryiit]

I started in competitive karting back in 2005 as a 11 year old until 2017. I even raced against Verstappen, Norris, Guan Yu Zhou between 2012-2014. Then got Finally picked up by Porsche Carrera Junior Program despite the scolarship of 80k that I had, I had to stop as I needed 250.000€ for 2 seasons. It’s not only about Talent !!!

[@j2jwhatsapp]

Did you beat any of them ?

[@Ilkeryiit]

Yes I’ve beaten, Latifi, Mazepin, Mick and even some other GT drivers

[@j2jwhatsapp]

That's genuinely impressive

[@elmasmelih]

sallamiyorsan helal knk

[@patelaakash267]

Sorry brother!

[@NavF1]

Short answer is no. The grid is never composed of the 20 best drivers, but at least 75% of them usually are in F1. There's no way you could suggest that Sebastien Loeb for example wasn't one of the 10 best drivers in the world at some point. F1 also usually discounts older drivers who might have improved with experience - for instance, I'd say Kobayashi in the late 2010s was better than he was in the early 2010s, etc.

[@Koziolrh]

Loeb is a good example because he probably was (is?) top 10 in the world at a certain time and he very nearly raced in F1. Was this close.

[@areebsiddiqui758]

Being a great driver in another racing category doesn't necessarily mean your talent will translate over to F1. The skillsets are varied. There have been plenty of drivers who were successful in other racing categories but average or even poor in F1.

[@Koziolrh]

@@areebsiddiqui758 also a very good point hence Loeb being a great example as he seemingly had pace to get a Toro Rosso seat. If I remember correctly it was contracts/scheduling that prevented it in the end

[@formularguments7335]

Sebastian Loeb is a rally driver tho. why bring him into this. f1 in general has the best single seater/open wheel racing drivers in the world. rally drivers are not included in the equation

[@formularguments7335]

rally is a completely different form of racing

[@haissake]

You completely forgot Alonso! His parents were working class and had to put a lot of work and money to support his carreer. His father was a karting fan and even made a DIY "kart" for Alonso's older sister, who rejected it. Alonso liked that homemade kart, the rest is history.

[@1lyxbollyvykn714]

alonso at some point was sponsored by telefonica and santander

[@carlosgaleotegandara7812]

​@@1lyxbollyvykn714 lmao yes,when he already was in Renault and Ferrari . Gtfo

[@coin5207]

Well he forgot a lot of people, Bottas, Russell and Tsunoda also didn't have that much money

[@spinyslasher6586]

That's the problem though. If you don't have money, your parents have to pretty much restructure their whole lives and careers just to support your motorsport dreams. And that's a massive risk most people aren't willing to take. Compare that to football, where most kids start off by simply playing with their school mates while going to school.

[@rafafernandezvargas554]

​​@@coin5207 well I think tsunoda have the supported of Honda since early age... In fact I think he is right now in F1 because the union Red bull- Honda. And I like Tsunoda but is it...

[@TheFiki14]

When you hear of stories like Hamiltons, Ocons, Vettels, etc… it just goes to show how their parents must’ve really seen something special to put everything behind their kids

[@lyric5922]

yeah but even those stories dont exactly raise your hopes, we have probably seen 5 drivers like them from poor backgrounds get successful out of thousands of families who have given everything but still havent gotten to the top step of motorsport

[@innoc3ntbystndr]

You should do a story about Ocon. He’s literally Driving to Survive. Kudos to his parents, really inspiring story!

[@cameronmckelvie81]

How so? I saw him in the most recent series

[@anameyoucantremember]

@@cameronmckelvie81 He's trying to sell the narrative that Ocon's family didn't have anything to eat before Ocon made it into F1, which is pure bullshit

[@elijahwilkey8036]

@@anameyoucantremember Loool absolutely.

[@cameronmckelvie81]

@@anameyoucantremember thanks!

[@felipereyna1955]

that story doesn't inspire intelligent people, just fouls. Not mentioning is fake.

[@devanshtiwari2067]

I have seen this channel grow from start to here and proudly watched every video within a day of release

[@sarpbostanc6304]

me too cant wait them to hit 1 million

[@zhyaisme]

You guys forgot to include Kimi Raikkonen, guys. Man had humble beginnings, a controversial entry, and then Suzuka 2005 happened.

[@SacristanRacing]

I think they only focused on drivers currently on the grid 😮

[@barathrajkumar7244]

I think his first season solidified his presence in formula1 He was in hot demand before suzuka 2005. He was extremely close to winning the 2003 title

[@sidhantomukerji7659]

@@SacristanRacing msc sr is on the grid 😮

[@gherbo1609]

and alonso too, his father was an olympic shooter but he never would of made it to f1 without being picked up by Flavio Briatore

[@jonomurphy1117]

@@gherbo1609 Michael who was broke as fuck like broke broke until Mercedes sponsored his entry to Jordan in 1991,

[@TripleAlfafa]

If one looks at F1 during it's earliest years, it was predominantly a sport of rich gentlemen with a few early professionals who then also raced in a lot of other categories just to make ends meet.

[@JJTheNight]

Don't forget there are many sports that requires large investments. Tennis in example is also very expensive if you want to reach the top, as you have to do a lot of international tourneys to get to the top.

[@muhammadfarhan581]

But we still see few middle class ppl who play tennis in atp wta gs and world tour 1000 level thanks to winning some 250 tourney and sponsorship. In formula racing its impossible, even formula 4 is like "club for millionaire kid". Lets face it, f1 driver can never claim to be the best, they simply the best among millionaire kids

[@consti1873]

@@muhammadfarhan581 The problem isn't Formula 1, the problem starts at karting. Neither the Vettels nor the Hamiltons were millionaires to put their kid in formula 1, they worked their ass off to let them go racing and make that dream possible. But if you think about it, how many families took the same path and got stopped because their kid simply wasn't as skilled as others. If he had known where it would lead to, Hamilton's father would've probably worked even more jobs to give Lewis even more opportunities. But how many fathers and mothers sacrifice everything and invest every last penny they got to make that dream work for their kid only to realize later that he/she doesn't have the talent to compete at the top. So the concern should be how to facilitate access to the sport with a lower budget cause that would solve the problem "Are they really the best?" by itself. Talking about F1, it's safe to say that the likes of Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc and so on are among the best racing drivers you can find on the planet. If you are that good then in let's say 8/10 cases you will get recognized by an academy or some sort of youth programm.

[@utkarshtyagi10]

@@consti1873 to show how good you are you need to access the right facilities. Which unfortunately is not present in many countries. Only places where F1 is more popular and these youth programs exist is mostly Europe.

[@rickyricardo2006]

@@muhammadfarhan581 What are you talking about? Sergio perez for instance, had a very humble upbringing. He literally had to drive his gokart in a way that his tires lasted longer then the norm. He was talented from the beginning and got sponsored as a result.

[@Wheeliethai]

Yes, sports like tennis and golf are expensive. But more importantly beyond the cost comparison is exposure. Tennis and Golf are sports where most schools will have a team at a relatively young age. I was introduced to tennis when I was in grade school during gym class and my middle and high school had tennis and golf teams. This goes for all forms of motor sports in any country but usually unless either the parent loves motor sports you aren’t going to get the needed exposure as you will like in other sports to find out whether or not you have the talent for it. You will never find out truly who the fastest driver in the world is.

[@rhyswilliams4893]

Another reason to love Seb. He did it the hard way and knows he is in a position to push for change now.

[@TheBatmobeale]

Here's a reason Multi 21 Seb....

[@rb0042]

@@TheBatmobeale I was faster, I passed him, I won

[@TheBatmobeale]

@@rb0042 Translation: "I'm a petulant child"

[@markalbert9011]

While still active in F1 Sir Jackie Stewart was asked if he was the best driver in the world his reply was refreshingly honest. "I'm probably the best of the lot currently driving F1, but there is almost certainly a lorry driver in Africa or Asia or someplace else who is better than me. Better car control, faster reactions etc. but we'll never know about them because they'll never have a chance to race."

[@tarcisiocolaresnogueirajun6916]

Excellent video once more. I'd suggest as a theme an analysis of the access to elite sports between athletes from wealthy countries vs athletes from poorer continents or countries.

[@AthleticInterest]

Thank you!

[@GeHeum]

I feel that one this is just a given for F1. Even karting has such high maintenance costs to just run that it will always be impossible to compete in the sport for a reasonably low price.

[@The_G.O.A.T__]

Another quality content Athletic Interest ❤️

[@AthleticInterest]

Another one! 😉☝️

[@Definitely_Melnyx]

I wish we could see talented driver in a bad car vs pay driver in a good car.

[@ekosusetyo217]

And then the pay driver will be the winner, coz car is esensial in this sport. And the way money talk in this competititon make the range quality of "bad" and "talented driver" is not that far (almost all would came with same path and experience).

[@sanjay_swain]

@@ekosusetyo217 That's a really underestimating how freaking hard driving a F1 car is. F1 drivers are fucking good athletes. Driving a F1 car is not like just pressing a key on keyboard as hard as possible and expecting everything to go smoothly. Pretty sure 99.9% of drivers will be unconscious even before they finish half the GP race due to exhaustion. If what you are saying was the case then why the hell companies are even spending millions of dollar on drivers academy and then hundreds of millions on according to you "talented" drivers when their are hundreds of billionares kids itching to get into the sport? After all there are only 20 seats so nothing should be wrong with that right?. A good car with "bad" drivers will not win championship. It will win new DNFs records.

[@formularguments7335]

​@@ekosusetyo217 depends on the pay driver and how much worse or better the cars are. the pay driver would probably win because it's not like they are actually terrible drivers

[@ekosusetyo217]

@@sanjay_swain i never said that F1 driver not a talented or bad driver. I just emphasize that the range of skill that paydriver and the super talented driver in F1 arena is not that far, so car is super esensial at that gap.

[@Slimmeyy]

@@ekosusetyo217 As with everything, the skill and talent required to save those final few hundredths off, to get that one more overtake, to break those few feet later, grows exponentially.

[@michahurter1768]

to be fair, when kids have had huge amounts of money at their disposal, it allows for better coaching and more practise etc, which inevitably leads them to becoming better drivers, they may not be the most talented, but they are definitely better than 'more talented' but untrained drivers, this is true for any sport.

[@thatonemouse3016]

Reminded me of Raikkonen's humble beginnings, shows how things are different today.

[@nickklavdianos5136]

How are things different today? Pay drivers and rich kids always existed in F1. Things are actually somewhat better now.

[@bencook9989]

Love the channel, I’m excited for the newsletter

[@AthleticInterest]

Thanks, Ben! 😀

[@LordWay]

it's the grind to get here which makes lewis's career all the more special not having money or racing name to open the door for him at mclaren.

[@lordsabre66]

Did it the long and hard way and became the greatest to ever do it. There's no better story to write tbh.

[@malikazeez3743]

@@lordsabre66 greatest 😂😂😂

[@sobversion3]

@@malikazeez3743 you laugh but Lewis is genuinely fantastic and easily top 5 all time.

[@JosephGamer20]

This is the unfortunate reality of this sport I love racing I love Formula 1 it gets me so excited watching something extraordinary happening on track like in the 2021 season between Lewis & Max but this sport is so expensive that even if you want to do it for fun at a young level is so out of reach

[@gold9994]

There might be someone better than Max Verstappen. But the guy is probably too poor to drive a car.

[@GamingQuest4510]

@@gold9994 yes

[@tamezzodiac2862]

@@gold9994 I mean I've said that forever. The next senna for example is out there but he probably won't ever get a chance. Just like Micheal Schumacher was kinda almost never even in F1, but then got lucky, and look how well he did, but even though he was that good he almost never had a shot to make it.

[@estafianjose6138]

For me Alonso is the best driver on the grid based on pure talent. 1 win away from the triple crown, still class at 41 and is a 2 time WC. Cannot imagine what he would do in a more competitive car.

[@KillaSin515]

I say Juan Pablo Montoya is a more talented and better driver than Alonso.

[@bullymaguire14]

arguable but i will go with alonso@@KillaSin515

[@S-SATYAPRATAPSINGH]

I feel proud to watch every video from day one and I felt this channel is best about the content

[@AthleticInterest]

Thank you! Hope you're enjoying the journey 😄

[@gavalant366]

It's amazing Hamilton, Ocon and Vettel managed to go the f2p grind route in a p2w environment and now all 3 have won an F1 race.

[@toomuchdebt5669]

Also Kimi.

[@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168]

Alonso and Schumacher also weren't rich if I'm correct

[@gigaturok]

@@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168 Michael & Ralf's parents were decently wealthy, not millionares, but still wealthy. And the fact that they co-owned the legendary Erftlandring karting track also helped.

[@Asp1re8]

Can you already stop with this Ocon BS? Even monkey could win that race in Hungary, when all top drivers crashed in first corner and 2 time world champion is blocking 7 time world champion behind you. Ocon is and always will be noob, was just lucky one time. How can you even put him in same sentence with Vettel and Hamilton?

[@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168]

@@Asp1re8 100%, Gasly's win had some credibility to it. Ocon is famous for blocking his own teammates and still being overall slower. Maybe Gasly can make him look mediocre enough to get someone deserving in that seat

[@cjezinne]

This why I love Hamilton’s story so much

[@j4genius961]

And he dominated all these rich kids

[@dylanburston7453]

@@j4genius961 He wasnt on the poverty line mate. His parents were middle class with a well paying job, and all he was ron dennis personal plaything who fast tracked him into a winning car from the age of 13.

[@nickfury8973]

He was signed by Mclaren at a very young age to be an academy driver. His racing career was kickstarted by Mclaren

[@dylanburston7453]

@@nickfury8973 Yeah, dont know where this narrative of this poverty stricken kid who gets to f1 by pure determination and talent comes from. Its not like schumi who got into f1 from a similar background but had to have freak circumstances to get in with a mid team, Lewis future was secure for all but the early part of his career

[@ChuyR.]

@@dylanburston7453 still impressive for a middle class family though.

[@shubhojitghosh69]

Nice video Athletic Interest.

[@AthleticInterest]

Thanks, Shubhojit!

[@TheEmolano]

It's hard to argue that Max, Lewis or Charles aren't one of the best drivers in the world. But it's sad to imagine how many talented people never got to discovery their talents because of how inacessible karting is. At least simulation racing games will start to reveal more and more talents in the years to come, and some people will be lucky to get noticed in their teenager years.

[@hundredvail]

That's why eventhough I love f1 and constantly watches it, I will still prefer football. You just can't buy pure talent and passion

[@alsa4real]

But what's interesting is that SOME of the F1 drivers that switch to other motorsports are killing it

[@Shabec2982]

Hamilton Vettle Ocon. These guys had to be great and earned their place. It baffles me when I hear people talk crap about them.

[@larrymats]

- sacrifice education - very dangerous - little chance of success It doesn't make any sense at all if you think of how much they have spent. Even with pay drivers they still need immense dedication. Pure Passion!! huge respect to their parents.

[@M1tZk1]

0:30 Funny how Max is competing against Verstappen.

[@Zachary_McLaren]

Say what you want but Verstappen will never be on Max's level. Yeah he had a good season but max has consistency.

[@Power2K12]

I see an Athletic Interest notification, I click

[@Colby_0-3_IRL_and_title_fights]

They're not the most talented but they are the best. The amount of investment it takes to build this level of skill far outweighs the super talent in Africa who has never driven a go kart

[@jamesc.2907]

I don't understand your reasoning

[@blabloubloubla1313]

@@jamesc.2907 There isnt any

[@Sasumma356]

I do understand ur reasoning.

[@jamesc.2907]

@@Sasumma356 What does he mean then ?

[@TheMilkMan714]

@@jamesc.2907 He's saying that the most naturally talented racing driver in the world is probably someone who has never raced a car but the drivers of F1 are better than the most naturally talented person because of the time that they have invested in perfecting their skills.

[@cyan_oxy6734]

This is somewhat of a misrepresentation as pay drivers in the original sense are becoming less common in F1. While it is true that junior formulas are prohibitively expensive. We don't have as much billionaires coming to drive for a weekend for the fun of it. The average skill of the whole grid is now probably even higher than it was in the past.

[@wreck.create.MAK0]

It would be great if one day sim racing becomes so realistic that it becomes the pathway to giving young drivers a shot at the next level

[@Slimmeyy]

That's already happening. - James Baldwin was given a drive in the British GT Championship after winning season 2 of World's Fastest Gamer. - Cem Bolukbasi is in his first season of F2, competing in multiple different racing series after two seasons of F1 Esports. There's likely more cases that I don't know of yet.

[@123marijn321]

The Gran Turismo academy has already got multiple talented sim racers a drive in real cars

[@tamezzodiac2862]

@@Slimmeyy but James already had a racing career I'm pre sure before that. These are drivers that already race. It's not like you can sit in your room and then get a real life car from being good at a sim. Almost always they were already racing.

[@bkak2245]

@@tamezzodiac2862 not to mention u still have to pay insane amounts once u join a team

[@tamezzodiac2862]

@@bkak2245 yes

[@Mrsupermuuh]

This is why Simracing is an incredible medium for scouting people with racing instinct and mentality. Kudos to Max and others for furthering this project to make sim racing a more accessible barrier of entry into real racing.

[@niccanavan1028]

A video on the world of showjumping would be very interesting, the top level is somewhat similar to F1 with money and privilege playing a huge role in an individual’s success

[@awijaya2116]

One of the drivers showcased here (Norris) has a sister who's a show-jumper (or equestrian, at least), so it really is more similar than most realize

[@niccanavan1028]

The Schumacher family also have big connections to the equestrian world too

[@mo-v03]

I think the term "rise of the Pay drivers" is wrong because nowadays there are fewer pay-drivers than ever before. And those that we still have are very good, unlike those 20 or more years ago, which often were 3-5 seconds slower

[@mayurarun]

People instantly hate rich and privileged kids, but fail to understand that their parents have the money to afford it for them.. there's nothing wrong in it. But the problem starts when competition gets killed behind all this. But there'll still be compitition. I am not rich, ut I get it why people could hate them.

[@KillaSin515]

Claiming to be the best drivers in the world is where problems is.

[@cptbaloo]

I really enjoy watching F1 but that's a fact that can't be argued with. It's an almost impossible path for most people (regardless of talent), but it's an expensive sport. So there will always be higher barriers to entry than in athletics or football

[@ATEC101]

To paraphrase the actor playing Enzo in the movie Grand Prix way back then, 'There are only half a dozen drivers capable of winning a Grand Prix and right now I don't think you are one of them.' Also, Carroll Smith, in his book Drive to Win: Sell your mother, wife and kids. Can't find my copy of his book right now, but that is accurate enough.

[@eld7476]

Motorsports, especially f1, is a business/money competition. Im not trying to put it in a bad light. Its a different competition on its own. From logistics, investments, allocation of resources, spendings on innovation, not to mention spending millions of dollars every race/year. Props to the drivers, yes, but you can’t ignore how significant money and budget is to motorsports.

[@laurolucas6274]

Hey, guys long time I don't show up here, as a Brazilian when we talk about F1 we just say one thing, Ayrton Senna big salute from Brazil

[@Skalete1]

Tennis is also similar as in order to get started in the professional career you need to go on Tour. Which minimum costs around 400k per year. Only top 100 tennis players make a living. Only top 50 make fortunes…

[@harrysadler4622]

Great video. It's crazy to think that the most naturally gifted driver on earth has likely never driven a kart, let alone an entry level formula car.

[@twillis449]

You are quite correct. A certain Jim Clark never drove a kart and entered formula 1 as a lotus driver - you just have to be naturally gifted. Most people would consider him the most naturally gifted racing driver of all time. However, it's highly unlikely he could follow that particular route today.

[@pc_screen5478]

That's true for most sports I feel, except maybe football since it's so popular. I actually hold the belief that most people would probably be considered geniuses in a given area (not necessarily sports) but most fail to find it during their lifetimes

[@Wmeester1971]

The problem with this video is that it seems to dismiss the fact that to become the best of the best you need to invest the money to gain the neccesary experience and training. There might be better potential material that never makes it into F1, but it does not dismiss the fact those currently in F1 are the best of the best single seater drivers.

[@sillychimera943]

0:22 Max casually taking away Hamilton's rear left tire. 😅

[@vatsaldvora]

Formula One is termed the “piranha club” because of the money involved

[@sireric41]

Personally, I'd disagree that Wimbledon is as representative as you'd suggest

[@sadiporter2966]

Indeed. Some players are fairly bad on grass. Also, it depends if you are fully fit or not.

[@utkarshtyagi10]

It’s not personal, everyone who knows about tennis knows that Grand Slams count matters the most not the lone grand slam title ie- Wimbledon.😂😂 You mean to say if Berretini or Alcaraz win it then they would be considered best player in tennis? Even if Rafa or novak won 3 G.S other than Wimbledon that year. What a joke. Lol

[@UZR28]

A great video for a F1 fans And amazing video, way to go mate 👍

[@ltdswimmer]

You went straight for the jugular 😝 - 100% Accurate! As an F1 fan, you accept the nonsense when you follow the sport.

[@nestordanielsequeramunoz2337]

Muy bueno este video! Recién descubro este canal, está genial todo su contenido. Sería muy interesante uno de motoGP. Me imagino que pasa algo parecido a la fórmula 1, aunque lo que más me intriga es la abrumadora cantidad de pilotos españoles que hay. También hay muchos italianos pero más españoles.

[@guidoguido2245]

7:43 that’s a chilling thought…

[@DabDabGoose]

for me Max proves his place by how competitive he is in the online space given the lack of time he has to do it yet still is, same can not be said about most of the grid though, Norris is another one but he has given it up since Covid, but his pace was close to max.

[@kswag]

I think it's really common that the most talented/gifted people are hiding in plain sight. If kids are equally and equitably exposed to something at a young age, then there's no denying that the talent pool will be larger. This ins't possible however because of living situations, responsibilities, or other issues that might prevent them from getting the opportunity. This is an unrealistic and extreme case, but if you make karting a mandatory sport in school right now, there will be drivers much better than Lewis, Schumacher, and Verstappen. This will also bring the field in all racing series much closer skill wise.

[@andresil8330]

The thing is: Pay drivers don’t last unless they are the real deal. So the drivers that are 3 or more years there are really good. Also worth mentioning that if they paying kid isn’t really driven and hard working, they’ll never get a seat.

[@random_username_thats_not_used]

Exactly latifi and mazepin proved that

[@EarthIsFlat456]

Unless your daddy owns the team then they can't really kick you out, can they?

[@Staleyboi12]

I don't think you understand how much a ball costs compared to the cost of say- a go kart, F4 car etc. if you're good, like really good, you get the sponsorship to go through etc. Sure I agree it's too expensive, but I like how it is now, compared to say the 70s/80s which truly was some playboys. You defeated your own argument by talking about stroll, too. The people that fought and climbed to the top and didn't have all those resources like stroll did, are there right now while he flounders at the back. I think theres a clear path to F1 and sure it might be expensive but so are a lot of other sports. I dont have access to a mountain so if i wanted to be a skiier id need to travel there etc etc.

[@jgagnier]

Interesting piece! The defining feature of F1 drivers is that they matter less than their equipment. They matter, of course, but Latifi at Red Bull would have a better shot at winning than Verstappen in a Williams. A quality driver + $0 is worth less to most teams than a competent driver + $20mil. If you're fighting for the title, that's another can of worms, but the point is that the margin between a quality non-pay driver (a Bottas or an Ocon) and a competent pay driver (a Stroll or a Schumacher) is worth far less than the money the latter bring. It does not follow the Drive to Survive, personality-based narrative that has made F1 gain in popularity, but F1 is a competition of cars being driven by people, not of people driving cars.

[@Yoergoo]

I think in the future with the low cost of simracing in comperison we will see a lot more talented kids get noticed

[@BLITZKRIEG1]

no they're not. Most kids that follow the sport have no idea how drivers actually progress into it.

[@vintyprod]

Wow that was a really good video

[@lennixgriffiths]

I remember Pedro Diniz back in the 90s. Bought a team (was it arrows?) and drive for the team. Now that's a hobby👍🏻

[@bernardoberner4]

Put Max and Lewis in other categories, be it, Indycar, WEC, DTM and in good teams, they gon dominate it. And the other drivers they might not dominate in other series, but they sure are gonna succeed I think Lando, Charles, George, Carlos, Alex, Valtteri, Ric Bobby and others would do very well in other series, but I don't feel like they'd be super quick in literally any car, but Max n Lewis as we saw last year they are the best of the best, they are on that best drivers ever list, I feel like if you put them in a Prototype, V8 Supercar, GT3 car, Indycar, Rally car, in any race car, they'll be super fast. Just like the legend Jim Clark, who I presume 99.9% of people who watch this channel don't know, but he won in touring cars, rallying, indycar, F1, raced in nascar, in the 24h of Le Mans, he raced it all, and adding to all of that he understood the cars better than any other driver

[@KillaSin515]

Lewis yes. Max NOPE

[@adityanarain9428]

You seem like a relatively new F1 fan

[@bernardoberner4]

@@adityanarain9428 how am I wrong then? You just said stuff, now prove how I am wrong

[@bernardoberner4]

@@adityanarain9428 and when did you start watching F1?

[@bernardoberner4]

@@KillaSin515 bruh, why then? Why do you think that is? Max hasn't yet proved to you he is one of the best drivers of all time? Not saying he's a Senna, Schumacher, Clark, but he is at least on the top 20.

[@NihinduAngana]

wow very detailed video as usual my friend.. i guess this is the bitter truth about motorsport

[@EmilFitness]

They are the best among a pool of around 1.000 people between karts, indy, formula, nascar and such. Being the best among 1000 people is like being the best of a village They are good but if Formula 1 could have the same competition as football, none of the actual driver would be driving.

[@randar1969]

Max father Jos is millionaire not billionaire , and he only got that rich by reaching the formula one. But it wasn't a huge success one time 3th place in his Benneton. After his career he poured all his time and efforts as well as his money in his son Max. But like many mentioned before you need to proof yourself in carting in f3 and/or f2. You won't reach f1 without results. But environment money and contacts in the sports certainly helps. Look at Mick Shumacher also a father in the formula one , also having money and sponsors but in the end where is he now? If Max didn't reach 2 times a 4th position in his Torro Rosso (now alpha tauri) would he have been in Red Bull? I claim he wouldn't.

[@absurdname5492]

Generational talents can be spotted in this video. Lewis and Vettel both came from far poor family and yet they are the ones with the most championships in the current grid. As + Hamilton is the only black driver on the grid which must be given praise since at the time the joined f1 world was much more darker respect to current era that we live in.

[@xawee7254]

I think the biggest difference is that tennis while expensive, you could probably be scouted and sponosred before spending more than 1k but this is only for the insanely talented, those who show talent later it can cost a lot as well..

[@simondebrun]

To compete in pro tennis you need 100k+ a year

[@SwedishStud1]

I agree to an extent. Money gets you into the sport, however if you can't hang with the best of the best then you see a Latifi-type falloff. He's a pay driver, but still not good enough to stay in the highest echelon of the sport, as Williams let him go for next year.. Mick may also be gone next season, another pay driver. I'm sure if Mazepin was still driving in F1, this would have been his last season too. Teams need money, but if the talent just isn't there, then its not in their best interest to keep the driver around for maybe more than a season or two

[@fid29801]

I get the point of this video and is kind of sad that a sport so popular as F1 is not so fair for people without lots of money, but a we have to respect the drivers no matter what. They are training every day and the do super human efforts every time they go into the cars. Just keep that in mind.

[@CarimboHanky]

0:22 greatest f1 soundbite ever 😂

[@Vikii2024]

it's for rich people coz ur car literally costs 20 million dollar....... who is gonna pay and let u drive it .

[@monikacamile7283]

Good video but like most English media completely ignored Pérez career

[@GallactusF1]

How does this effect Goatifi's Legacy?

[@tandraarisandi6680]

This is remind me of my junior high school years. At that time everyone is obsessed with moto GP. And a lot of people try to race. But from everyone that i know managed to actually race ia only the rich kid. Because when you started to race you basically had to pay for everything. My cousin try to race and spent a lot of money for it. But his family not that rich, basically his father invest in him and when he race he actually lose and the whole race is stopped because there no money to actually be spent for him any more. But in his racing days, he becomes so popular he can bring different girls every week and managed to gain a lot friends. But now he just some dude

[@tijnfavie1764]

Side note: in tennis and golf a rich dad helpt a lot

[@xxyanlixx]

If only, there was a league and/or competition, where anybody can bring any car onto the track, and race. If run properly that league may attract enough audience to the stands plus revenue from streaming, that it can open up the barrier of entry to drivers around the world.

[@orbit1894]

Nope Im 100% certain there are many Sennas and Schumachers in the world that simply cant afford the cost of the sport. Maybe its you or its me, we’ll never know.

[@jasperli]

Your Motorsport ladder is missing Formula Regional which is between national F4 and FIA F3. Secondly, the amount of Pay Drivers that fit the description of “Pay Driver” has decreased over the years thanks to the decrease in teams on the grid. In the past almost all backmarkers would have at least 1 pay driver in order to keep the lights on. As the costs of running an F1 team rose many backmarker teams folded or were purchased corporations and didn’t require the services of a pay driver. Fans have a misconception of the amount of pay drivers on the grid thanks in part by the percentage of the grid being occupied by pay drivers is relatively the same but the availability of seats being more scarce. On the other hand many people don’t remember any pay drivers of the past because they’re meant to be forgettable, which also reinforces the notion that there’re more pay drivers than in the past.

[@sailor_seller]

love how it opens up with a poke at Team L that won't shut up about 2021 Abu Dhabi for all eternity

[@sagittated]

Why would people be quiet about it?

[@Slimmeyy]

@@sagittated because the result isn't gonna change, even with RBR breaching the cost cap in 2021. Hell, Ferrari used an illegal engine in 2019 and got to keep all their points.

[@no1washerezz]

@@Slimmeyy actually, whether or not the ferrari engine was actually illegal is behind closed doors because noone can confirm what actually made that engine so much quicker than the others. the suspected reason of course is the fuel flow sensor but the way that ferrari worked around this whether it was either outsmarting the sensor or straight up manipulating it is a secret between FIA and ferrari. therefore you cannot really conclude that ferrari cheated when we dont have the information about how they were so quick. red bull however, going over a cost cap is definitely cheating.

[@Slimmeyy]

@@no1washerezz former F1 driver and F1 stewart Mika Salo spilled the beans. Every team running a Ferrari engine in 2020 had to use less fuel.

[@no1washerezz]

@@Slimmeyy that is the punishment. it does not entail why their engine was so quick and whether or not it was a grey area, or outright cheating

[@oussamahanin5886]

hello there, you're videos are an inspiration source for me, I just have one notice on this video, is that on 1:51 the Moroccan map isn't complete so please take attention on the next videos

[@DKH712]

The fair comparison is with sim racing. Barrier to entry is much much lower and the talent pool is massive. Verstappen is still world class on there fortunately

[@felix1974]

Effort , dedication, skill (and in many sports PEDS)

[@TommoMcCluskey]

Money money money

[@wss33]

The car is far more important than the driver and with more money you can make a better car. It's completely reasonable for teams with less money, to prioritize money over driver skill.

[@guliosh]

Allthough the ability to acquire sponsors as a prerequisite skill seems a little bit odd, this skill is present in many other sports just the same. F1 is different in the sense that as a sporting category it allows for very few athletes to compete, but if you view it as just another field in the greater sport that is motorsports, it becomes less odd when you look at how top teams in football also consider the marketability of a player as a key reason to sign them or not. Marketability should perhaps be considered as one of the integral skills an athlete should have nowadays, and at least skill or talent still remains as the main driver of marketability.

[@vacasmolten2340]

Nice choice of figures at 3:50, you know why ocon and charles didn't win anything relevant in karting? Well because Max was there, and technicaly Max wen't from Kart to F1, few races on F3 I belive, Max didn't go to the team academy because every team was fighting for him, to set a deal RB ofered him a seat in Toro Rosso at 16?

[@Supersonic_racing]

Great video as always. However it would have been worth mentioning the bad taste the piastri saga left the teams with driver academy’s pushing the whole strcture further towards a rich kids club

[@suchasreallife]

A good drive coming with a lot of money will be chosen over and very good driver with no money all day when it comes to smaller teams bc they need the money to keep racing

[@stevesv7941]

To be fair the best drivers were Senna, Bruce McLaren, Alonso, Vettel, Schumi, Lauda, Lewis, Alonso, Kimi, Max and must be a few more. But these drivers stand out from the rest and could actually be considered the best drivers at some point in their career. Many drivers didn't get to showcase their actual potential due to not getting the best cars therefore could not achieve good results. It is also true most of the drivers who participate have funding behind them.

[@Math4real.Schramm]

In my opinion, over the last 25~30 years, undoubtedly the drivers on top of f1 were the best racing drivers in the world. One argument to that is how well f1 drivers do in other racing categories after they leave f1 and arguably after their prime

[@versev0]

F1 is not spec series, that's why we can never called driver the best in the world, but one of the best

[@formularguments7335]

spec series aren't more interesting to people who are into cars. the whole lore of f1 is carried by how the teams get to design their own cars

[@versev0]

@@formularguments7335 yep, only nascar and indycar that top of the tier with spec series, other spec series is secondary tier

[@frankphillips5533]

AT LAST ! The TRUTH ! Thank You !