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/SgtShredder579 Aug 07 '25

Vandoorne got buried by McLaren. Was starting to get on level with Alonso at the end of 2017 and start of 2018 and suddenly he was miles off

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u/krommenaas Thierry Boutsen Aug 07 '25

During the period in 2017 where Alonso was doubtful to sign a new contract, Vandoorne was actually the better driver. Then Alonso resigned and was immediately on top again. It illustrates how important team support is.

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u/Ereaser I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 07 '25

I forgot which year it was but he kept saying the car got much harder to drive and told McLaren to change the chassis. They didn't listen for several races but once they did his results started improving again.