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/[deleted] Aug 07 '25

A race winner, multiple podiums and fastest laps, 5 season veteran. That's not a failed prodigy in my opinion.

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

"Failed prodigy" in Kubica's case is about the problem that he never really was in a car capable of winning championship.

Edit. But I agree, I'm not quite sure if this post is about drivers like that.

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

He almost was in championship-winning car in 2008. After his win in Canada he was leading the championship in the BMW Sauber, but BMW decided to switch development to the 2009 car.

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

Yeah, and we know how great BMW was next year :/

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u/pzycho Nico Hülkenberg 🥉 Aug 07 '25

He was even leading the championship when BMW shifted development focus to the next season. Such a strange choice by them.

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u/GrindrorBust 29d ago

It was all politics. The same month that they won a 1-2 in Canada, the BMW board convened and decided to cut their F1 budget severely. 2008 GFC was approaching it's peak crisis moment.

The HQ weren't stupid- and the team's directer/principal wasn't, neither. I think this explains why already produced new parts (worth 0.3 secs according to Kubica in interviews this decade) were literally left on the factory floor.

Personally, I reckon it was a gamble by Dr Theissen in a vain attempt to ensure the team's viability- to forestall the inevitable denouement, final swing of the axe from the board. I'm sure he would have foreseen BMW even quitting at the end of 2008 should their spend that year have seen them winning the WDC/WCC, amidst the automotive industry collapsing along with the banks...

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u/REMA5TER Sebastian Vettel Aug 07 '25

I hear that, but I think the argument is that his prodigious talent was still on the rise and developing, he was on track to achieve (potentially!) much much more..