Max Verstappen is one of three current Formula One drivers who have not won a single seater series outside of Formula One. Compare this with eight drivers who have won the FIA F2 title yet only one of these has won the F1 title! It raises the question of how important is it to win, particularly a series, on the way to a F1 seat and is there a structured pathway to follow?
Verstappen could be considered as unique having spent nine very successful years in kartsport before one season of FIA F3 European Championship then gaining a F1 seat with Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Alex Albon had seven years competing in numerous Formula Renault 2.0 series without earning a title, then gained a F1 seat, also with Toro Rosso.
Isack Hadjar also had seven years in different junior Formula without winning a series. He did finish runner up in the 2024 FIA F2 Championship and then gained a rookie F1 seat with Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (previously Toro Rosso).
Contrast this with nearly half of the grid who have won the FIA F2 Championship or equivalent – Lewis Hamilton (GP2), Charles Leclerc, George Russell, Carlos Sainz (Formula Renault 3.5), Oscar Piastri, Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenburg (GP2) and Pierre Gasly.
Leclerc, Russell, Lance Stroll, Piastri, Bortoleto and Estaban Ocon all have FIA F3 titles while we have three winners of the Toyota Racing Series here in New Zealand – Liam Lawson, Stroll and Lando Norris.
Of the rest, Kimi Antonelli has a FR European Championship title while Fernando Alonso won a Euro Open Series. Yuki Tsunoda, Oliver Bearman and Franco Colapinto all have won titles in Formula 4.
There’s no question about the talent of the 2025 F1 drivers. While there is no clearly structured pathway to the 2025 grid, all have a base of kartsport followed by key European single seater experience and it’s quite obvious that none have come through the IndyCar path in the US.
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