It is intruiging watching some young talent in the world of racing who seem to be miles ahead of their similarly aged competitors. Which members of the junior Formula youth movement do you think will see their way into F1 in the not to distant future?
I'm thinking Jean-Eric Vergne will do quite well in the future, I think Paul Di Resta will be in a top team soon, Felipe Nasr seems to have potential too.
Which drivers do you think will be stars of the future?
Well Di Resta already is a "star", so he doesn't really count. Nasr and Vergne though are certainly hot talents right now.
The American Alex Rossi is at the top of my list. It's not a question of if, but when.
Hmm, Rossi seems decent, not sure he is hot stuff. He needs to win FR 3.5.
No chance.
Tom Blomqvist? Youngest Formula Renault UK champion. I think he was the son or cousin of a famous rallier too.
Yes, almost certainly will be heading to F1 test drives.
Nicolas Hamilton in maybe 10 years time?
Best he can get now is top sports car or touring car drives. He's too old and inexperienced to make it in open-wheel. He's also only competed in what, 4 races? While he should be commended for his spirit and determination to take part in a sport he loves, thats all that should be said. Suggesting him for F1 drives is rediculous and only serves to overblow what is simply a nice triumph, nothing more.
Talking up Nick only hurts his reputation, not helps. Support him by all means, but don't exaggerate.
Max Chilton might get there.
Only on his family's money. He doesn't seem anything super-special to me.
Despite what I've put above in response to each quote, any of them could get to F1. Why? Because motorsport is an expensive sport, the drivers that make it to the top do so with a mixture of skill, luck and good financial backing. Thats not to say all are pay-drivers, but if you can't find the sponsors to pay for the F3 and GP2 drives, you can't pay for testing to get the practice. And without practice, you can never hope to beat those who can get it.
I personally think drivers like Alex Brundle, Max Chilton, etc are nothing really special, but they could potentially get F1 drives simply because they found the backing (although in Chilton's case, backing is assured).
There is also the obvious points to be made about success in lower series doesn't always translate to F1 or even GP2. Famous examples being Kamui Kobayashi and Nelson Piquet Jr.
Tio Ellinas and Tom Blomqvist are the drivers that have caught my eye of recent times. I've been following Josh Hill's career so far and he seems better than Damon but I'm not so sure he is hot stuff, certainly will get somewhere in motorsport though.
2014 is so far away, its difficult to predict which drivers will survive the motorsport ladder and which drivers will talk to the right people and land the lucky test drive. A lot also depends on the various young driver programmes going around now; Jules Bianchi (Ferrari), Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), Marcus Ericsson (Mercedes), Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) and Jean-Eric Vergne (Red Bull) are almost certainly going to get more and more test drives and general F1 experience. One of these drivers will definitely get a chance.
