PAST IMPERFECT:Wonder kids on the Formula One circuit
EVEN SEASONED paddock insiders at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix were taken aback to see what appeared to be a 12-year old climb into a BMW-Sauber Formula One car at the start of first practice. The youngster concerned was the German driver Sebastian Vettel, who was actually 19 years and 53 days old, making him the youngest driver ever to participate in a Grand Prix weekend.
Vettel is the latest in a long line of wonder kids to grace the ranks of Formula One. In fact, it may come as a surprise to learn that there have been no fewer than six 19-year-olds in Formula One. The first was the Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez (brother of the great Pedro Rodriguez) who made his debut at the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, aged 19 years, six months and 27 days.
Ricardo held the record as youngest until 1980, when New Zealander Mike Tackwell took part in the Canadian Grand Prix, aged 19 years, five months and 29 days.
The other three 19-year-olds? Well, World Champion Fernando Alonso was 19 years, seven months and four days when he debuted at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix; Argentina's Esteban Tuero was 19 years, 11 months and 14 days old when he debuted for Minardi at the 1998 Australian Grand Prix, and New Zealander Chris Amon was 19 years, 11 months and 20 days when he took the grid at the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix.
Some say that these drivers were simply too young and had not had sufficient opportunity to develop the skills they need to succeed.
The danger is that in the high-pressure world of Formula One, if any driver, no matter the potential, does not quickly confirm that potential in his new surroundings, he will quickly be "forgotten" and find that the downward slide in his career is even quicker that the upward climb to Formula One. To paraphrase George Bernard Shaw: Formula One, it seems, is rarely wasted on the young.