How to become an F1 racing driver?

To become a driver or official driver of the world's top racing car, one must start from childhood, and cultivating such a driver must rely on the joint efforts of three generations, and even the support of a country. To become an F1 driver, you must go through several stages. The first stage is between the ages of 8-12. This driver must be able to win in all levels of karting competitions, including various domestic events and some international competitions. He must be sure of winning. During this stage, drivers develop basic knowledge of various types of racing in kart racing, including the best lines, etc., while also experiencing the racing atmosphere.

The second stage is between the ages of 12 and 16. At this stage, drivers begin to enter the early stage of formula and participate in formula competitions such as Campus. These future F1 drivers must stand out from their competitors and become the best drivers in the junior formula races they participate in at this stage. Entering the junior formula stage at this time is to allow drivers to learn and become familiar with formula racing as early as possible.

The third stage is between the ages of 16 and 22. The driver has achieved great success at Campus and is now ready to enter the advanced formula stage. The so-called advanced formula mainly refers to formulas such as F3, Formula Renault and F2000. Drivers who want to enter F1 need to achieve good results in this level of competition, and even win world championships. Especially the F3 competition, because most of the current F1 drivers are promoted directly from F3 to F1. Of course, in addition to F3, other formula cars can also be used as a way to enter F1, such as F3000, American Indy car and other high-level competitions. The skills and difficulty of these competitions are very close to F1. But there will also be some special examples, such as the Finnish youngster Raikkonen of McLaren, who entered F1 directly from Formula Renault.

In the fourth stage, when a driver achieves dazzling results in the Advanced Formula and is spotted by an F1 team, he will become a test driver for the F1 team. F1 test drivers have no racing duties unless they come on as substitutes when the official driver is injured or unable to compete. The task of the test driver is to continuously drive the F1 car and give advice to the car designers to improve the level of the car. At the same time, for young new drivers, this is a good opportunity to accumulate F1 driving time.

In the fifth stage, when the driver's level and driving time have reached the requirements, they have to wait for the opportunities provided by each team. There are only about twenty people who can participate in the competition, so the drivers are changed every year. It was just a few people. So in addition to strength, opportunity is also very important. Once selected, you can become a real F1 driver.