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F1 is a sport where elite drivers compete to find out who is the best amongst them. The twenty drivers that line up the grid are more often than the best drivers in the sport.
However, out of those twenty, only a handful win races, and even fewer win the title. All of these drivers are talented; all of them can drive an F1 car at the limit and beyond, but it is only a tiny fraction of them who qualify as legends.
So, what are the qualities that set legends apart? What are the qualities that make those precious few drivers F1 legends. On that note, here's a look at the top three qualities that make a driver an F1 legend. These are qualities that go beyond being exceptionally fast over a lap in an F1 car.
Without, further ado, let's get started:
#3 A ruthless approach to racing
One of the key aspects one would often find in an elite driver is that they're nobody's best friend. When it comes to racing, their priority is winning, and everything else comes second.
That's why any elite driver, be it Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher or Lewis Hamilton, has been known to race hard. They don't give any of their competitors even an inch when it comes to racing.
This ruthless approach is evident in multiple championship battles we've seen over the years. Be it between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen in 2021 or even in the past between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen in the late 1990s, the top drivers, even if they have an inherent respect for each other, are not each other's best friends on the track or off it.
#2 Mental fortitude to block the outside noise
It is fair to say that media plays a crucial role in the sport. However, at the same time, it's not far-fetched to say that media does exercise a few liberties here and there.
They might tilt the narrative in favour of one driver or the other. More importantly, the media is notorious for propagating fake news and misquoting what is said by the drivers.
F1 drivers are inundated with media duties even before the Grand Prix weekend starts. So what has been said in the press by them or about them can be a bit distracting. To add to that, hearing false rumours and negative stuff about oneself in the media can be mentally taxing as well.
Yet, as an F1 driver, that is one thing that one has to take in one's stride and block that as nothing but noise.
Arguably one of the biggest examples of blocking outside noise was what Max Verstappen did in the last race of the 2021 season. With multiple factions of the media questioning his integrity as a driver and his driving standards(with suggestions of him intentionally clashing with Lewis Hamilton), the Red Bull driver pulled off a sensational lap to clinch pole position from Hamilton.
As a 24-year-old, it would have been difficult to block the negative press he received going into the last race of the season. Nevertheless, when it was time to perform, Verstappen did exactly what was required of him.
#1 Ability to identify the best F1 teams
Arguably the most important trait for any F1 driver is their ability to identify the teams best placed to succeed in the near future.
F1 is a transitional sport in many ways. There are times when McLaren dominated the sport, and then there were times when Ferrari did. Yet in the last decade, we've had Mercedes and Red Bull clinch all the gold. As a driver, it takes a special ability to identify which team is going to be successful.
One of the reasons why Fernando Alonso has two titles, but Lewis Hamilton has seven is precisely that. While Alonso declined the opportunity to drive for Red Bull in 2008, missing out on years of driving a competitive machinery, Hamilton made a move to Mercedes, and won seven titles.
In a sport where the car underneath a driver is paramount to whether they will challenge for wins or be a backmarker, the ability to identify the best teams on the grid and make them their home is what essentially guarantees success. And in essence, it is that success that differentiates a good driver from a legend.
