Which is my point. Five out of 19 never made it and this year is looking doubtful (even with all the Audi rumours). Plus, once the driver academies came into being, winning F2 at the wrong time is a problem. Piastri being the clearest example, Alpine screwed up and he only made it to F1 because they are a terribly run team and McL poached him.
And fairness is an irrelevant concept in sports, there is no fairness and there never was. If there was, Jacques Villeneuve would have been kicked out of motorsports once he released his album.
Yeah the academies definitely stopped the idea of “if you win a junior championship you’re on a way to F1”. Nowadays it’s “if you’re in an academy you’re on a way to F1”. And winning a championship might only be a part of enabling you to get into an academy.
And there are a few academies that are now moneymakers, taking drivers that are sons/daughters of rich people and/or have good sponsors, pretending to give them a path into something, and just collecting that money.
Which is my point. Five out of 19 never made it and this year is looking doubtful (even with all the Audi rumours). Plus, once the driver academies came into being, winning F2 at the wrong time is a problem. Piastri being the clearest example, Alpine screwed up and he only made it to F1 because they are a terribly run team and McL poached him.
And fairness is an irrelevant concept in sports, there is no fairness and there never was. If there was, Jacques Villeneuve would have been kicked out of motorsports once he released his album.
Yeah the academies definitely stopped the idea of “if you win a junior championship you’re on a way to F1”. Nowadays it’s “if you’re in an academy you’re on a way to F1”. And winning a championship might only be a part of enabling you to get into an academy.
And there are a few academies that are now moneymakers, taking drivers that are sons/daughters of rich people and/or have good sponsors, pretending to give them a path into something, and just collecting that money.