F1: Ruthless to Some, Forgiving to Others

Just how long do you give a driver in Formula One before it's time to give him the chop? How quickly should a driver be able to step up and show some form of potential, enough to give his team manager some vague hope that this kid is worth hanging on to? Toro Rosso and the Red Bull driver development programme have come under fire for their recent disposal of Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastian Buemi - although the latter is still involved as a Red Bull test driver - but were these two given enough chance to shine?

Jenson Button leapt straight from British F3 to F1

Let us take a cross-section of the last few World Champions to examine this closer, working backwards chronologically. Sebastian Vettel impressed the moment he got in an F1 car, scoring points on his first outing whilst filling in for Robert Kubica at the 2007 US Grand Prix, before somehow guiding a Toro Rosso to victory at Monza in 2008. Jenson Button put in a ridiculous testing performance for Alain Prost's eponymous team at Magny Cours in 1999, prompting Frank Williams to sign him up months later, taking a 20 year old straight from British Formula 3 in to the deep end at Albert Park for the 2000 F1 season. Button proved his worth, scoring points on his debut. Lewis Hamilton's meteoric F1 career has been well documented, as have Alonso's miracle workings in a poor 2001 Minardi. Kimi Raikkonen was too plucked directly from the lower formulae with only a handful of races under his belt and went on to impress at Sauber. The theme goes on and on, through Schumacher, Villenueve, Senna and Mansell, they all set the F1 alight in their early days.

Alguersuari fails to impress

Buemi and Alguersuari have been in the Toro Rosso set up since 2009, and if truth be told have pulled off none of the heroics of those previously mentioned. Save for some solid performances here and there - Jaime's decent drive to 5th in Korea last season springs to mind - they have shown nothing of the spectacular or sublime required by the ruthless Red Bull development system.   Much was made of Alguersuari's move straight from British F3 to F1 and the inexperience that would surely bring, but as I mentioned earlier, that step didn't phase Button or Raikkonen. 


This ruthless driver performance criteria would be good and healthy for future talent if there wasn't some bizarre desire to hang on to perennially under-performing drivers masquerading as 'experienced professionals'. The likes of de la Rosa, Heidfeld and Barrichello (joyous as they are to have around) should all have been cast from F1 seats and shifted to the TV compound years ago, but each year teams fall for the same old sales pitch of 'bringing a wealth of experience', even if that experience is of lower top 10 finishes...

Robert Wickens has proven his talent in many series

So as it is, we've got a massive backlog of drivers with proven junior formulae credentials trying to force their way into F1. Drivers like Robert Wickens - runner up in FIA Formula Two, champion in World Series by Renault - must be wondering what on Earth they need to do to get a seat, having seemingly done all they can to convince F1 team bosses that they are worth a shot. Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport, and as such, only the pinnacle of talent should be tolerated.