Get behind the wheels of an F1 car
“All your anxieties about my
fecklessness are over. I’m going to be a racing driver. And I shall be world
champion” announced, an 18 year old James Hunt to
his parents on the eve of his 18th birthday.
At that time, Sue and Wallis Hunt must’ve
thought their son had gone absolutely bonkers and had completely lost it. But
you can’t really blame them! Because every boy (and in my case, girl) wants to
race in the pinnacle of motorsport - Formula One.
To be successful in any sport, it takes
enormous amount of dedication and commitment, and in case of Formula One, or
any motorsport for that matter, it needs colossal financial backing. And
considering the competitiveness in F1 today, you’ve got to be at the top of
your game, and a step ahead of the others. Most of all, patience is a key
factor while working your way up the ‘racing ladder’.
Where is the start? All drivers on the grid
today have started from the very basics and well known base of motorsport; karting.
It is the purest form of motorsport, which will allow me to say - all is fair
in love, war and Karting. All racers get the same equipment and it depends all
on one’s innate skill to win championships. Take for instance Lewis Hamilton’s
racing ladder-
Hamilton started Karting at the age of 8 at
Rye House Kart Circuit, and found absolutely no struggle to win the cadet class
races and championships. Hamilton
drove for Martin Hines' Zip Young Guns Karting Team. Starting from the Cadet ranks, he advanced
through to Junior Yamaha. Lewis also triumphed in the additional super
one series, which made Ron Dennis sign him to the McLaren driver development
program - which took care all of Hamilton’s financial necessities in the future.
Following his karting successes, the British Racing
Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" Member in 2000.
Here’s a sample of Lewis’ skills and generally an
idea of what and how a kart race will be:
His car racing career started in the 2001 British
Formula Renault Winter Series. A third position in the Formula Renault
UK championship saw Hamilton move up to Formula Three with Manor Motorsport. Having
dominated the season with 15 wins from 20 races, he was launched to GP2 series,
just one step away from F1.
He was partnered with Nico Rosberg at the ART
Racing team for the 2006 GP2 season. And cheers to his flair, he won the GP2
championship at his very first attempt. In November, he was announced as
McLaren’s second driver in Formula One, joining reigning world champion
Fernando Alonso in 2007.
Working your way up to Formula One is a tedious
journey and a very tough one. Some
racers like Mark Webber and Paul Di Resta entered F1 after completing FIA GT
series and DTM respectively – which is way out of the single seater route to
this sport. It’s said that 16 different series cover the 22 drivers on the
grid.
Unlike the times of James Hunt, when he never
competed in Karting, instead just broke a few parts and built his own Racing
Mini to compete in series, today youngsters have to accomplish well in the
different lower series’ – international and national to be spotted by potential
big names. But it isn’t all that impossible; it just needs skill, talent and the
right people to get the job done.
The really important thing, whatever your doing- whether its karting,
Formula 1, whatever, even playing cards is to be the world champion because
that means you are the best in the world. Even in karting it is a great, great
achievement. – Ayrton Senna
And
that’s what it takes to be in Formula One.
Comments
Post a Comment