Bulls, Stars and Horses: The Protagonists
With the new season starting soon (July 3–5 first race weekend), let’s talk about the leading performers of this F1 circus — the drivers and teams. While you can find driver statistics on many sites online (Click here to know more), I’ll discuss my personal views on the drivers, in a slightly different fashion, by comparing F1 to an empire with the world champion as its king. (WORD OF CAUTION: I might not discuss all the drivers here, click here to know about all the drivers on the grid).
King of the Hill
The current, undisputed rulers of Formula One — Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes (the stars) — have created an indelible legacy in this empire. Dominating for six years now, they have become the golden standard of operational efficiency and consistency. Ferrari (the horses) and Red Bull (the bulls) have tried everything to defeat them. Even the FIA tried by bringing major rule changes in 2017 with the aim to disrupt their dominance. But they have crossed every hurdle thrown at them.
Hamilton has also developed as an absolute leader of the sport. Often seen as a glitzy and glamourous person in a sport which comprises of racers who are very private and family-oriented, he has taken the sport to new heights of popularity through his very public life, amongst the celebrities of the world. Lewis has also been the voice of change in Formula One. For example, he called out F1 and the teams for remaining mute in the wake of the black lives matter, which led to F1 starting the #WeRaceAsOne initiative to promote inclusivity.
The Royalty
Other than Lewis, there are only two other former world champions on the grid— Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen.
Taking the world by storm from 2010–2013, Sebastian Vettel is the youngest world champion in the history of the sport, winning at the age of 23. He won 4 consecutive championships with Red Bull, before switching to Ferrari in 2015. Over the years, he has been Lewis’s most consistent challenger. Even Lewis admits that Vettel is the best driver he has raced against over the years. Now past his prime, Vettel is the classic example of someone who peaked in his youth and has never reached those heights again. The jury’s still out on where he stands in the pantheon of F1 greats. But there is no doubt that he is a significant part of the sport’s history.
Speaking of greats, we need to talk about Kimi. Some drivers become greats by being great racers and winning multiple championships. Others become cult heroes because of their racecraft. And then there’s Kimi. Kimi has achieved greatness just because of his persona. Labelled “the iceman”, Kimi isn’t your typical F1 racer. While other drivers would ponder over data for hours, striving to be quicker and quicker, Kimi would eat an ice-cream or drink a cold can of beer. Often viewed aloof, he has turned into one of the greatest characters of the sport. After all, who shows up at the annual public prize-giving gala, where they are supposed to receive a trophy, drunk out of their mind — Kimi.
The Challengers
Like any long-standing reign of a king in an empire, there will be young challengers to the throne. In the case of F1, there are two such challengers — Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
Billed as the heir to Ayrton Senna (One of the legendary drivers of the past, more on him in upcoming posts), Max Verstappen is the poster boy of youth in F1. He is the youngest race winner, winning his first race at the age of 18 (People do not even have a driving licence at this age, and this guy was winning races). His defining characteristic? Bloody fast, no matter what the conditions — dry or wet. He is also a very aggressive driver, and entertainment is guaranteed when Max is racing.
Charles Leclerc, of Ferrari, is someone many bill to be the next Ferrari superstar. Another young gun, his attributes — cool calm head, pace beyond measure, maturity beyond age. Only 23, he displaced his 4-time world champion teammate Vettel in 2019 as the alpha driver of Ferrari, in only his second season in F1.
Billed to be the next big rivalry, watch out for these two superstars brash it out in Austria, much like last year (one of the best races in recent memory, click here for the highlights)!
These are just 5 of the 20 drivers on the grid. I will continue my views on other drivers in a future post, so stay tuned for that. In the next post, I will try to explain the concept of a “race weekend”, i.e., how a race event unfolds.
PS: I know what some of you might be thinking — Indians are so bloody good at driving on the streets, why are there no drivers in F1? Well more on India in F1 in a future post soon.
