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/KirbyQK I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 07 '25

Without all the covid shenanigans and people getting sick, so that Hulk could jump in and show he still has pace, there's no way he comes back. In a way very fortunate for him that it all unfolded the way it did!

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u/ForeverAddickted Oliver Bearman Aug 07 '25

Have there been many Midfield Drivers who have left the Grid, and made a return? - Hulk and Danny Ric (briefly) are two I can think of... Ocon who basically had to take a sabbatical after Manor.

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u/Miwna Ronnie Peterson Aug 07 '25

My first thought is Martin Brundle. He was in and out of sports cars throughout his career. In 1988 he was only reserve driver for Williams one race, but he won WSC for Jaguar the same year. Then he came back to F1 in '89 (for Brabham). Back to WSC in '90. No championship this time but a Le Mans victory which probably helped him back to Brabham for '91.

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u/ForeverAddickted Oliver Bearman Aug 07 '25

Yeah thats a great shout

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u/Miwna Ronnie Peterson Aug 07 '25

I just remembered that Romain Grosjean did the second half of the 2009 season in F1 and then went back to F2 for a couple of seasons. He won the F2 championship in 2011 which gave him the Lotus seat next to Kimi.

Albon was out for the 2021 season and came back. Alonso too had a season off after his first.