F1, the return of experience

Jaime Alguersuari, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Hag : all three set off for their first Grand Prix at less than twenty years old. The premier single-seater discipline has been considerably rejuvenated in recent years, bringing together drivers full of talent, whose confirmation was expected at the highest level (Hamilton, Räikkönen, Massa, Kubica?). Pushed towards the exit, some experienced pilots have not given up on finding a steering wheel again. F1. The arrival of Michael Schumacher will only give them more of an appetite.

Seventeen years after being one of the youngest drivers to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher will return to the discipline that elevated him to the rank of world star. Record holder for victories and world championship titles, the German will be, in Valencia, if he passes the medical tests, the veteran of the paddock. He will thus be the eldest of the four thirty-year-olds (Fisichella, Barrichello, Heidfled, Trulli) entered at the wheel of a Formula 1.

Other pilots in their thirties could try to imitate him. Jacques Villeneuve, for several months, has been positioning himself to get a seat in this F1 that he would have liked to drive in the past, what he likes being these “ “old-fashioned” cars, without driving aids or refueling, with slicks and little aero downforce », as he reports in the columns of AUTOhebdo. The Canadian admits to having “ supported the return to these stripped-down F1 cars for years ”, without winning the case. So, getting back behind the wheel of the cars he loves seems like an exciting challenge to him, without his age seeming to be a problem. “ I stayed in shape, I exercise regularly », the pilot emphasizing an important detail: “ The ban on private testing gives more room for experience ».

The 1997 world champion is not the only one hoping to return to the wheel of a car F1. For several weeks, Pedro de la Rosa (test pilot McLaren), 38 years old, and Marc Gene (test pilot Ferrari), 35 years old, are announced as possible drivers for the Campos Meta team, which will make its debut in Formula 1 in 2010. These teams starting at the highest level of single-seaters are thus the most likely to enlist experienced drivers. This is how Alexander Wurz (Brawn GP test driver), 35, is currently in discussions with the US F1 team (US GPE) for the next season. At the start of 2009, the average age of the twenty drivers entered in Formula 1 reached 27,5 years. It could be significantly higher in 2010.