Mercedes junior Frederic Vesti became runner-up in the last Formula 2 season, but this achievement did not provide the Dane with any special career prospects. With a high degree of probability, Vesti’s racing program for next year will be limited to Mercedes reserve driver status only. Interestingly, Frederic is far from the only junior to abandon competitive training to take the role of third driver for the F1 team. How promising is this path and why do young people prefer the “reserve” to combat careers?
Drugovich refused to let the best IndyCar team sit on the bench in Formula 1
In general, young drivers have previously worked as third drivers in Formula 1 teams, exactly from the moment when such a position appeared in the Royal Races. However, if before young people still sought, in addition to being in the “reserve”, to practice somewhere on the side, in today’s reality juniors are increasingly content with the mere status of the third driver of an F1 team. .
If you will, the trend of such a strange career was set by Felipe Drugovich. Last year, the Brazilian won the Formula 2 title (in the third attempt), after which he set himself the goal of entering the “Royal Race” at any price. Since Felipe was not a member of any racing academy, the path to F1 for him lay only through generous donations from sponsors, and this arose certain problems: Drugovich’s money was only enough for a “reserve” position at Aston Martin.
Felipe spent the entire 2023 season in the pits of Lawrence Stroll’s team, observing the performances of the “green” fighter pilots. The Brazilian’s entire racing program was limited solely to pre-season and tire testing, as well as two training sessions at the F1 Grand Prix.
Felipe Drugovich
Photo: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team
It’s quite sad to see a very capable young driver sitting on the bench, especially considering that he had very good career options that he ignored. According to rumors, Drugovich was offered a place in Chip Ganassi’s top IndyCar team last year, but the Brazilian refused, preferring to work in the F1 simulator.
The interesting thing is that even after almost a year in the “reserve” (in the fall of 2023), Drugovich again received an offer from IndyCar. This time, the Carpenter team invited the Brazilian to postseason testing; Felipe refused again, even though throughout the year the Brazilian’s chances of landing a seat as an F1 fighter driver had not increased at all. Drugovich will also spend next year in the Aston Martin pits.
Alpin “academic” Jack Duane follows a similar path. This year, the Australian placed third in the Formula 2 championship, where he finished his performances in this championship; Duen sees no point in his third season in F2. It would seem a reasonable decision, given that the tortured titles in the youth teams are not particularly valued, but the Australian, in fact, does not have an alternative racing program.
Jack Douhan in training for the Mexican Grand Prix
Photo: Alpine F1 Team
Duen plans to spend the 2024 season as Alpin’s third driver. At the same time, according to Jack, he had offers from IndyCar, Super Formula and WEC. But the young Australian refused everything and decided to dedicate the next year to preparing his debut in Formula 1 in the 2025 season, something that has no guarantee. Yes, Duen is the main asset of the Alpine academy and Gasly and Ocon’s contracts expire at the end of next year, but the chances of the legendary motorcycle racer’s son becoming a fighter pilot for the French team remain negligible. He did not show anything particularly outstanding in Formula 2 (compared to Piastri), and there are no special complaints about the work of Alpine fighter pilots. In general, all this is strange.
Another junior who will act as third driver next year is Mercedes academic Frederic Vesti. There were rumors that the Dane had the option to continue his career in Super Formula, but he did not make his name in the post-season tests in Japan. It is unknown whether Vesti will be able to carry out competitive practices next season, but there is a high probability that working in the simulator will be the Dane’s only activity in the 2024 season.
What happened in the youth “formulas” this year:
The failure of the Red Bull juniors and the Russian’s podiums in F3. Season results in junior “formulas”
Drugovich and Duane try to repeat Hulkenberg’s trick
To some extent you can understand the strange choice of young pilots in favor of working as a third pilot. It so happens that today it is more difficult than ever to debut in Formula 1. Young people are simply afraid of being left out of the group of potential newcomers to the championship. For example, Drugovich hopes to help Alonso, who is unlikely to renew his contract, which expires at the end of next year. Well, Duen probably hopes that the Alpin bosses prefer their own “academic” to one of their current pilots, or even more so to the guests from outside. In other words, being in the reserve, young people try, oddly enough, to be the first in line for a possible position as a fighter pilot.
To some extent, Drugovich and Duane try to follow the path of Nico Hulkenberg. For three years, the German driver served as a reserve driver in Lawrence Stroll’s team, without being distracted by participation in other racing championships. During these three seasons, Nico participated five times in the Formula 1 Grand Prix, periodically demonstrating his racing form. And in 2023, Hulkenberg finally returned to the F1 fighter pilot cohort, signing a contract with Haas.
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Niko’s story is, of course, inspiring, but his experience is absolutely inapplicable to young Drugovich or Duane. Still, let’s not forget: before sitting on the bench, Hulkenberg spent nine good seasons in Formula 1. That is, “Haas” did not hire an incomprehensibly abstract newcomer, but a mega-experienced racer who had proven his worth in the “Royal Races”.
Yes, one can object: there is also the example of Oscar Piastri. After completing his performances in youth formulas, the Australian spent a whole year in the Alpine “reserve”, but already in the next season he got a place as a fighter pilot in Formula 1.
But it will be extremely difficult for other young people to follow Piastri’s path. Firstly, Oscar was already considered the main talent of the generation (which cannot be said of Drugovich or Duane): his debut in F1 was a matter of time. Secondly, Alpin bosses almost guaranteed Piastri a place in the peloton for 2023: at first, the French actively tried to place Oscar at Williams, and when Alonso refused to renew his contract, a place for Piastri was freed up directly in Alpin. In the end, the Australian joined McLaren, once again proving the inevitability of Piastri’s formula debut. In general, the Oscar was in great demand.
Hülkenberg paused for a long time:
It’s difficult even for Schumacher. 10 drivers who returned to Formula 1 after a long break
Not everyone is happy with the “reservist” status in F1. Schumacher and Schwartzman took a step forward
Neither Drugovich nor Duen today seem clear contenders to join the cohort of F1’s top drivers, even in the foreseeable future. In your case, it’s time to think about alternative professional development options: you can’t spend your entire life practicing on a simulator.
For example, Mick Schumacher, who last season played the role of third driver at Mercedes, after a year of inactivity, decided to return to big racing by joining the Alpin program in the WEC championship. Ferrari reserve Robert Schwartzman has already tried his hand at endurance racing this year, competing in the GT class; Next season he will probably move up to the WEC hypercar class.
One can also cite the example of Christian Lundgaard, who did not even try to enter F1. Instead of trying in vain to become one of the selected 20, he immediately decided to build a racing career abroad in the IndyCar championship. Last season, Lundgaard achieved his first victory in the American formula; He is now considered a future championship star himself.
Yes, even Theo Pourcher and Ayumu Iwasa, who competed in the last Formula 2 season, found where to continue their careers by going to Japanese Super Formula. And while they gain new experience, improve their racing skills and grow professionally, Drugovich and Duen will continue to work in the simulator and intelligently observe from the pits the performances of their teams’ fighter pilots, hoping in their hearts that one of them I surpassed them. will not be able to participate in the next Grand Prix.
Theo Pourcher after winning Formula 2
Photo: Kym Illman/Getty Images
That is to say, Drugovich and Duen will ruin a year (in Felipe’s case, already the second) of his active career, and the consequences of this could be very serious. First of all, they are missing out on great options in other championships. In the end, they will not be accepted into F1, but they will have to continue their career somewhere. During the current offseason they had decent championship bids, but that won’t always be the case, especially in the case of Drugovich (Douen can be saved thanks to the Alpin program in the WEC).
Also, don’t forget about something as important as competitive practice. Still, to stay in shape, a driver is not enough to work in a simulator or do laps in tests: he also needs to compete with the same riders who are hungry for victory.
There is a simple example: Luca Badoer. He was considered a fairly talented driver (he won the F3000 title in the same season as Coulthard and Barrichello), but failed to build a successful career in F1 and eventually became a test driver for the Scuderia. In 2009, Felipe Massa was seriously injured and Badoer had the opportunity to replace the Brazilian in the Ferrari cockpit. As a fighter pilot for the Reds, Luka passed only two stages, which turned out to be a complete failure. The Italian’s failures are easily explained, because at that time he had not competed anywhere for 10 years, focusing exclusively on driving cars on the test track.
In general, being on the bench will not benefit any running back, especially a young one. And the sooner Drugovich and Duane understand this, the better it will be for their careers.
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