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Over the years, Formula One has seen a steady influx of increasingly young drivers. Despite not being eligible to drive on the road throughout the world, these drivers grabbed the eye of the FIA and attained a Super Licence.
While these racers cannot legally drink champagne in certain countries, they have held their own against their more experienced colleagues to stand on podiums, sans champagne, to celebrate alongside them.
Even as some of these drivers have attained fame reasonably quickly due to their skill and speed, they have also faced the brunt of harsh public scrutiny.
Coming up the ranks quickly has ensured a probable longer life in the sport, but it has been a double-edged sword as all their rookie mistakes are available for criticism by the international audience.
Some of these drivers have risen to glory, some have faded to the background, while yet others are still in the early stages of their careers and are finding their footing. Here is a list of five youngest F1 drivers of all time:
#5 Ricardo Rodriguez
Debut: 1961 Italian Grand Prix (Result- Ret.)
Age: 19 years and 208 days
Ricardo first drove for Ferrari as a guest driver during the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, becoming the youngest Formula One driver to ever race for Ferrari. He qualified a surprise second and even put up a fight for the win, before retiring with a fuel pump failure.
The Mexican constantly amazed everyone with his skill whenever he was used by Ferrari. Despite his young age, he was touted as a future Champion.
Ricardo was signed on by Lotus after his stint with Ferrari in 1962. Unfortunately, he hit the barriers during his first practice with the team and the crash proved fatal for him.
#4 Mike Thackwell
Debut: 1980 Dutch Grand Prix (Result- Ret.)
Age: 19 years and 182 days
Mike made his Formula One debut in an atypical fashion. After being signed on by Tyrrell as the test driver in 1980, he was present at the Dutch Grand Prix as a spectator.
An injury to the regular driver, Jochen Mass, opened the doors for Thackwell to participate in the race. He made his official debut at the 1980 Canadian Grand Prix.
However, as he had to give up his car for his teammate, Jean-Pierre Jarier, at the restart, his original start was considered null and void by Formula One regulations.
The New Zealander tasted success in almost all categories of motorsport he participated in except for Formula One.
He partook in only five Grands Prix and achieved nothing of consequence, but he was considered a maverick in other racing competitions like Formula Two, Formula Three, and Formula 3000, amongst others.
#3 Jaime Alguersuari
Debut: 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix (Result- 15th)
Age: 19 years and 125 days
Jaime Alguersuari was a young driver brought into Formula One by Scuderia Toro Rosso, perhaps to groom him as a future prospective Red Bull Racing driver.
After his predecessor, Sébastien Bourdais, was told to vacate the seat, Jaime took his place in the team. He won his first points for the team in 2010, showing promise of talent but subsequently faded away due to his lackluster performances.
The Spanish racer drove for Toro Rosso from 2009 to 2011, but he failed to impress and was subsequently dropped for the 2012 season. He completely retired from motorsport in 2015 and decided to focus solely on his DJ career.
#2 Lance Stroll
Debut: 2017 Australian Grand Prix (Result- Ret.)
Age: 18 years and 148 days
Lance Stroll copped a huge amount of criticism after his inclusion to the Williams Martini Racing line up of the 2017 season.
Many fans and pundits remain dubious of his racing abilities, figuring that the Canadian should have spent more time in the junior formulae before being promoted to F1.
Lance had a slow start to his debut season, but he finally came into his own during his home Grand Prix.
After finishing in the points for the first time in his career, he seemed to have regained confidence in his skill post the Canadian Grand Prix. At the next Grand Prix in Baku, he finished on the podium and became the youngest driver then to do so.
After being retained by Williams for the 2018 season, the 19-year-old has only had one point scoring finish in six races. He has shown flashes of brilliance, but it remains to be seen whether those flashes can be converted to consistent performances on the tarmac.
#1 Max Verstappen
Debut: 2015 Australian Grand Prix (Result- Ret.)
Age: 17 years and 166 days
Max Verstappen’s inclusion to Formula One as a driver seems like a no-brainer after casting a look at his lineage.
His mother, Sophie Kumpen, competed in karting, whereas his father, Jos Verstappen is a former Formula One driver.
The Belgian-Dutch racing driver got an opportunity to drive for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2015 and became the youngest ever racing driver to compete in Formula One.
In the middle of his 2016 season with Toro Rosso, he was promoted to the sister team of Red Bull Racing, where he secured his first win during his debut race.
By doing so, he became the youngest race winner in the history of Formula One. Since his promotion, the 20-year-old has matched his more experienced teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, and given him a tough fight.
While the teammates remain amicable off the track, they have made for sensational viewing on it.
Luck seemed to have not been on Max’s side in the 2017 season. Despite holding a better qualifying record than Daniel, the Dutch racer failed to finish higher in the driver’s standing due to continual mechanical problem induced retirements.
His 2018 season has been one to forget. For the first six races, he has been involved in as many incidents, showing a lack of composure and room for improvement for the coming races.
