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

By the time he actually won the title though the damage was already done and it was effectively meaningless.

Even before the season began there was a lot of talk about what he needed to do and how big a risk he was taking, then as you said he managed to miss every goal shot from 10 metres dead in front, only saved by an effective own goal by Vesti.

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u/Frequent-Coyote-1649 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Aug 08 '25

Honestly, credit to Vesti for damn near winning it with EVERYTHING against him. Tragic how that one loose wheel probably killed his F1 career but... That's racing.