Age Barriers... in F1

[Jonbummer]

Nothing much has really caught my attention lately in the world of F1

except for minor things like the good old Bernie had proposed

MEDALs for finishers , small rear wings and gigantic front

wings on cars which look absolutely hideous relatively to the ones

we are all used to, qualifying format could change... yes, AGAIN!

then turbo engine cld be back BECAUSE it is going to be more fuel efficient!

believe u, me.

 

all this is minor as it's all talk, until it really happen then it

happened.

 

then i go to chance upon this piece of news which Giorgio Pantano

had spoken to the press that he's disappointed of being not being even

ask to test for any F1 teams after winning the 2008 GP2 series.

why?

apparently, he's OLD at 29 years of age.

 

then i think to myself, it was really not too long ago that

F1 has slightly more drivers in his age group, the late 20s, and 30s.

man with experience, bravery and skills...etc

 

correct me if i'm wrong. i may be very wrong here

 

now, F1 bosses seemingly want Boys who had just ended their puberty AND

have all of the mentioned attributes instead.

 

as far as i can remembered, it could all started with a Finn, Kimi.

who at the age of 22, got his F1 Super Licence, only with 2 seasons

in Formula Renault UK Championship previously. however, he had won 13

races of the total 23 racesthere. impressive! we know how it all goes for

him after his 1st season in F1 with Sauber. he was crowned world champ

in 2007 with Ferrari.

 

then, a certain Alonso, who is discovered to race in Minardi.

started the same year as Kimi and went on to become a 2 time world

champion with Renault eventually.

 

last season and this year, we hear a lot of a young chap too, name Lewis.

who won his 1st title with McLaren at a age of 23.

 

in fact, season 2008 has Piquet Jr, Rosberg, Nakajima (3 of 23), Glock (26),

Sutil(25), and Vettel (21) who are considered young, fast, willing and gifted.

Especially Vettel who will be watched very closely in 2009 season after

his maiden win with STR.

 

come 2009, i reckon there will be 1 or 2 more young guns coming

into F1. STR possibly will have 2 seats, IF it remain operational.

Honda is eager to have a younger Brazilian to replace 'old' Barrichello.

this fresh face however will bring back a old famous name to F1, Senna, Bruno.

 

why is younger driver more sought after?

importantly, they are cheaper to put in the car and/or can get sponsor $$

for the team. so, money talks.

young driver are more willing and seemingly braver as they

want to prove themselves on the track. these 2 combi will give any more

estab driver a reason to have sleepless night if they are not

performing to a level relative to their salary.

 

last but not least, we all know that we can't teach an old dog new tricks....!!

 

sorry to have blah blah

 

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cheers

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from f1-live.com:

 

Giorgio Pantano has admitted his recently-won GP2 championship is unlikely to lead to a career in Formula One.

 

If his fears are confirmed, the 29-year-old would be the only GP2 champion, in the company of Nico Rosberg (2005), Lewis Hamilton (2006) and Timo Glock (2007), who has not gone on to secure a seat in the premier category.

 

In the pages of the Italian magazine Autosprint, the frustrated Italian slammed the situation as a 'joke', where contenders he defeated in 2008 - Bruno Senna and Sebastien Buemi - appear poised to make their Grand Prix debuts.

 

"I feel total indifference towards me. I read of Senna and Buemi but, really, what have they done?"

 

"At this point, a guy in my situation must think that being a racing driver is not advantageous, doing another job would be better," said Pantano.

 

It appears that not only Pantano's age played against him in the eyes of F1 team bosses.

 

He actually made his F1 debut for the uncompetitive Jordan team in 2004, before being replaced near the end of the season.

 

 

Prior to his abortive Jordan tenure, Pantano had tests with Williams, McLaren and Renault.

 

Pantano charged: "Money is becoming the priority in order to race, talent doesn't exist anymore."

 

He said the only figure in the F1 paddock who has not 'abandoned' him is F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, who spoke with Pantano on the phone a few days ago.

 

"The only real drives still available are at Honda and Toro Rosso," he said. "Bernie told me that if anything moves, I'll be the first to know."