Christian Horner is well aware of how limited a driver’s window of opportunity exists in the Formula 1 world. The
Red Bull CEO is shown in the most recent teaser for season 6 of Netflix’s “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,” discussing
the need for drivers to seize every opportunity.
Horner is heard saying, “A driver’s career has a finite amount of time to it,” as he rides in the back of a vehicle. Later
in the teaser, Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes is seen having a heated discussion over the duration of his career with
team manager Toto Wolff, which further emphasizes his point.
“You have 20 more years to stay here, I can’t,” Hamilton joked to Wolff. After hearing Hamilton’s remarks, Wolff is
shown in the teaser simply staring at the 39-year-old with a blank expression on his face”
Even though Formula One drivers have been racing for the most of their life in various categories, they are aware of
the brutality of the sport when they get to the top. Drivers frequently only stay on the Formula One grid for one or
two years, or even less time if they don’t get off to a quick start.
Currently serving as the driver with the longest tenure in Formula One history, Fernando Alonso started his career in
2001 with Minardi. One of the most seasoned drivers currently competing is Hamilton, who began his career with
McLaren in 2007 before moving to Mercedes in 2013.
Throughout their racing careers, Alonso and Hamilton have accumulated 380 and 332 entries, respectively. Sergio
Perez of Red Bull has been competing for the third-longest period of time, having been in the top level since 2011.
Alonso, Hamilton, and Perez, though, seem like anomalies in a sport with little predictability.
According to formula1points, a driver’s average tenure in Formula One was 7.41 seasons in 2023. That’s the least
length of time a driver has been in Formula One since 1994, when drivers had accumulated 7.36 seasons of racing
experience.
This illustrates a pattern that shows how a driver’s ability to stay in Formula One is gradually decreasing over the last
few years. With an average of 11.27 seasons, a driver had the highest number of seasons in 2008, marking the peak
year for experienced drivers. Given his recent dominance in the sport, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen seems certain to be
a fixture in the sport for years to come. Verstappen is 26 years old. Red Bull just signed him to a lucrative long-term
contract that will keep him driving for the company until 2028, demonstrating their strong belief in his potential to
exceed what he has already demonstrated.
Horner’s statement is supported by his personal driving experiences. After earning a Formula Renault scholarship in
1991, Horner’s career officially began, and by the time he was 25 years old, he was managing a team.
As Horner hinted, drivers should make the most of their F1 career because it can end abruptly. A driver rarely
survives for more than ten years, and given the current trends, it seems likely that this will be used as a success
metric rather than lifespan.
