Jolyon Palmer, another "Daddy's Boy" in F1. A good thing?
Discussion
Jolyon Palmer has been confirmed as having a seat in the Lotus/Renault team next year, making him just the latest son of a former F1 driver to take his place in an F1 car.
Is this a good thing or not? Formula One has long claimed to be the home of the best drivers in the world but it would be a hell of a coincidence if so many of the best drivers in the world happened to be the sons of former Formula One drivers wouldn't it? I'm not persuaded that the genetic inheritance works that strongly. It seems more likely to me that the barriers to entry to F1 are very high and that former F1 drivers are in a better position than most to negotiate their sons through the minefield of junior formulae and sponsorship than the average man with a talented driver for a son.
Is this a good thing or not? Formula One has long claimed to be the home of the best drivers in the world but it would be a hell of a coincidence if so many of the best drivers in the world happened to be the sons of former Formula One drivers wouldn't it? I'm not persuaded that the genetic inheritance works that strongly. It seems more likely to me that the barriers to entry to F1 are very high and that former F1 drivers are in a better position than most to negotiate their sons through the minefield of junior formulae and sponsorship than the average man with a talented driver for a son.
A sad fact of life, money talks...
I was thinking about this earlier, on the current grid, exactly who are the 'paid' drivers?
I'd like to think the greats always manage to make it one way or another.
If we put talent completely aside, which drivers have come from humble beginnings...
Vettel (father was a Carpenter)
Alonso (mother worked in a department store, father was a mechanic)
Hamilton (father held 3 jobs at times to keep up funding Lewis's racing career)
Kimi (father was a road builder)
Jenson?, he's full name.... 'Jenson Alexander Lyons Button'
, BUT I think he's father had the links in motorsports to get Jenson up the ladder, rather than have to funds to do so.
I'm sure there's others...
I was thinking about this earlier, on the current grid, exactly who are the 'paid' drivers?
I'd like to think the greats always manage to make it one way or another.
If we put talent completely aside, which drivers have come from humble beginnings...
Vettel (father was a Carpenter)
Alonso (mother worked in a department store, father was a mechanic)
Hamilton (father held 3 jobs at times to keep up funding Lewis's racing career)
Kimi (father was a road builder)
Jenson?, he's full name.... 'Jenson Alexander Lyons Button'
, BUT I think he's father had the links in motorsports to get Jenson up the ladder, rather than have to funds to do so. I'm sure there's others...
Edited by Leroy902 on Saturday 24th October 11:54
Edited by Leroy902 on Saturday 24th October 11:55
t is he? Seems nice too, (compared to his dad at least).
marshalla said:
Smollet said:
I don't recall Graham Hill helping Damon out to get a drive or even Gilles Villeneuve with his son.
Might be a reason for that.Also, palmer beat vandoorne in his 4 year of gp2, vandoorne was a rookie, not a fair comparison.
But, its good to have another Brit on the grid, just wish we had more Hamilton's and Button's coming through than Chilton's and Stevens...
marshalla said:
Smollet said:
I don't recall Graham Hill helping Damon out to get a drive or even Gilles Villeneuve with his son.
Might be a reason for that.Edited by Smollet on Saturday 24th October 12:31
Is Jolyon a paying driver or being paid to drive? I've tried to find details of the deal but there doesn't seem to be any. Jonathan doesn't have the money to pay for him. MSV and MSVR do quite well and even though he flies around in a helicopter like its a Mondeo, there is no way they would spunk money to Renault. So he must be bring sponsorship from somewhere else.
Seems like a very negative statement OP he's a very good driver and has worked his way up through the formula's eventually winning GP2 series.and has been doing a good job as 3rd driver comparing well with the other drivers.
If you have listened to him on TV where he does some of the commentary he comes across very well being very articulate, intelligent and insightful.
He is not there on the back of some massive sponsor which if you look through the grid, especially the South Americans they are on the grid because they bring piles of cash.
Good luck to him let's see if they can sort out the mess at Enstone and give him a decent car for next year. According to Joe S the teams £30m debt has now been cleared opening the way for Renault to take over.
If you have listened to him on TV where he does some of the commentary he comes across very well being very articulate, intelligent and insightful.
He is not there on the back of some massive sponsor which if you look through the grid, especially the South Americans they are on the grid because they bring piles of cash.
Good luck to him let's see if they can sort out the mess at Enstone and give him a decent car for next year. According to Joe S the teams £30m debt has now been cleared opening the way for Renault to take over.
No one's disagreeing he'd probably (eventually) be there on merit regardless, he looks like an amazing talent. But having a former f1 driver for a father doesn't hurt...
Though I am pretty certain he wouldn't be in f1 at this age if it wasn't the case.
Though I am pretty certain he wouldn't be in f1 at this age if it wasn't the case.
Allyc85 said:
Daddys boy is a ridiculous thing to say really. He out raced Nasr, who is doing a decent job at Sauber this year. In fact Nasr sulked like a little girl every time Jolyon put the moves on him 
Smollet said:
I don't recall Graham Hill helping Damon out to get a drive or even Gilles Villeneuve with his son. Mansell's sons were pretty naff compared to him even with his help so I don't think the "Daddy's boy" bit holds much water in the grand scheme of things.
If OP is true then Alex Brundle would've had a stint in F1 by now considereing that dad ran a management company with Mark Blundell.Dads has made their money in racing, kids want a shot and the dads let them without airs and graces.
The 'Daddy's Boy' tag is more fitting to someone like Max Chilton who had an under whelming CV and I'd never thought he'd become a competent F1 driver.
Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff