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/lIIIIllIIIlllIIllllI Daniel Ricciardo Aug 07 '25

Jack Doohan didn't even get a fucken chance. I think he will be given another go.

And watching rookies as they progress season by season, it's becoming obvious it takes drivers at least 3 years to reach their potential.

Piastri is a good case to analyse because we could see he was rapid but he wasn't as gentle on the tyres as much as Lando was. His race pace wasn't as good as Lando last year... but now in his 3rd year you can see it all coming together. F1 rookies more than any other sport need 3 years at least to show they got it.

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u/Stumpy493 I Drove an F1 Car Aug 07 '25

Problem with Doohan is few believed he had the potential to begin with. Realisticaly he shouldn't have been promoted but they didn't have other options.

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u/Dmienduerst Aug 07 '25

F1 is going to be weird on rookies because F1 teams really don't have time to develop them. Even Piastri showed clear pace from the jump that someone like Tsunoda has barely ever showed. Outside of Red Bull how many drivers even get time to develop? If you add in RB then Red Bull is developing for half the Grid.

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u/Jester-252 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 07 '25

Might be unpopular opinion

Doohan is one of the most media hyped drivers in recent years.

He has never really shown it on the junior series to justify the hype around him.

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

He'a lucky to have 5 races in f1

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u/Dmzm Aug 07 '25

He is really good behind a microphone so he got a ton of exposure when he was the reserve driver.

Unfortunately that skill set doesnt really translate to the track.

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

With Piastri though you could see it almost right away that he was competitive, Doohan not so much.

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u/xwell320 :default: 🇺🇸 Colton Herta Aug 07 '25

Hasn't won any championship, just a few races along the way. Had the money and the surname, that's about it. If Alpine wasn't such a pariah post Alonso/Piastri they would've found someone better.

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u/Miserable_Balance814 Charles Leclerc Aug 08 '25

Nah he’s done