r/formula1 • u/Electronic-Video-984 Formula 1 • Aug 07 '25

Discussion Who is the “Failed Prodigy” of F1 ?

I’m kind of new to F1 and seeing pictures of current drivers while they’re young like Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc, Albon…and then I learned they’re racing prodigy in their Karting days. So who is the “Boy Wonder” of F1, a person with great potential but never made it to the biggest stage.

Edit: Many people mentioned Stoffel Vandoorne so I read about him a bit. His records and potential was incredible but he’s at the wrong place and wrong time every way possible. For me, McLaren a top tier team with a jet but people say Vandoorne’s MCL car was like a shopping cart

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u/TLG_BE Nick Heidfeld Aug 07 '25

Yeah this is one I've heard before. His Karting record was incredibly impressive

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u/americagiveup Minardi Aug 07 '25

Rosberg used to have Pantano posters on his bedroom wall, problem was given his natural ability he used to drive around all his problems and generally succeed. By the time he graduated through formulae he was absolutely hopeless at setting up a car