At a given point in time, there are a total of 20 drivers competing in an F1 season. These twenty drivers, despite their circumstances, have fought against every aspiring driver of their generation to achieve that one coveted seat in the sport. While every driver comes with a different family history and financial backing, each one has carved their name in the history of the iconic sport after proving their talent as an athlete.
Here are 3 drivers on the grid that beat the odds to make it to F1
#1 Lewis Hamilton
Contesting the sixteenth season of his F1 career, Lewis Hamilton, who holds the record for maximum race wins and several others, certainly had his share of struggles growing up. The seven-time world champion was born into a mixed-race family in a town near London to Anthony Hamilton and his mother Carmen, who got divorced when he was approximately two years old. The Briton made his first contact with motorsport through his fascination with remote-controlled cars back in 1991. Hamilton raced remote-controlled cars and went on to win several club championships before finally beginning karting at eight years of age.
His father took on extra jobs and even held three different jobs at once to be able to afford Hamilton’s racing dreams. Anthony Hamilton re-mortgaged their house to further help with the funding required. He was, however, still unable to afford anything better than a second-hand kart that simply did not have the pace to qualify well, leaving it up to the young boy to battle it out to get to the front during the main race.
The greatest career-defining move he made leading up to his F1 dream was when, at an award ceremony in 1995, the nine-year-old introduced himself to McLaren team boss Ron Dennis and told him that he wanted to race for the iconic team . 13 years later, this dream certainly came to life. At the age of 13, he became the youngest driver to be contracted by a team in F1 by becoming part of the McLaren Driver Development Support program. The contract guaranteed support to the driver with a future option to make it to the top ranks in F1.
With his F1 debut in the 2007 season with McLaren, Lewis Hamilton became the first self-identifying black driver in the sport. He instantly made a name for himself with a phenomenal podium finish in his very first race.
#2 Esteban Ocon
Esteban Ocon’s journey in F1 started with a baby kart at the age of four during a family break in France. That Christmas, his family bought him his very own baby kart, which was later one of the many things the family sold off to support the Frenchman’s racing dreams. Ocon was a force to be reckoned with from the very beginning and soon became the kart champion in northern France in 2004 and 2005. The more he began to climb the ranks and got serious about his karting, however, the tougher it became for the young driver to financially back his swiftly advancing journey.
When his family began to see real potential and a glimpse of a successful career in motorsport, his parents went on to sell their house. Ocon then lived in a caravan for a certain period of time, traveling from circuit to circuit. Later, he got into Gravity Academy, which provided the financial backing required to continue his career in motorsport.
Ocon made his first major breakthrough at the 2014 European F3 title championship where he came out on top of reigning world champion Max Verstappen as the winner. He made his F1 debut at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix for Manor Racing and had his first full season in the championship the following year with Force India. Ocon is part of the Mercedes junior team and is now racing for Alpine, where won his first F1 race with the team at the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix.
#3 Charles Leclerc
Pegged as a future world champion, Charles Leclerc has had an impressive road to F1 but it has certainly not been an easy journey. He had his first motor racing experience at the age of four on his godfather Jules Bianchi’s karting track. Bianchi quickly became a mentor to the young Monegasque and eventually played a key role in his journey to the sport. Leclerc quickly climbed up the ranks, proving himself to be a talent like no other. Bianchi, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries from a massive crash at the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix. His loss marked a huge impact on the young Leclerc.
Leclerc’s real mental and emotional strength, however, came shining through at the 2017 Azerbaijan Formula 2 race. He picked up a pole position there that he dedicated to his father Herve, who he lost merely 48 hours earlier. He then went on to win his first Formula 2 championship with PREMA Racing.
As part of the Ferrari driver’s academy, Leclerc joined Alfa Romeo Sauber as a rookie in 2018 and was promoted to Ferrari within a year to partner Sebastian Vettel. With three Grand Prix wins to his name, Charles Leclerc appears on track to soon claim his first world championship title with Ferrari.
Login to reply
