Several modern-era drivers have made a difference in the feeder series of Formula 1, so much so that their stay in the latter lasted very little before their arrival in the Circus. The most recent case was that of Andrea Kimi Antonelli, current world championship leader after victories in the Chinese and Japanese GPs. Noticed by Mercedes at the age of only 12, the Bolognese was immediately signed to the Anglo-German team’s Junior Programme, subsequently triumphing in the Italian and German F4 championships, as well as making his mark in the Formula Regional European and Middle-East championships. A curriculum sufficient to convince Mercedes to bring Antonelli directly into Formula 2 in 2024, with performances that pushed Toto Wolff to promote him to F1 the following year in place of Lewis Hamilton, who moved to Ferrari. But who were the other drivers who, along with Antonelli, became famous for fast-tracking their careers in such a short time?
The world champions
The most famous case of all is certainly that of Max Verstappen. Son of Jos and karter Sophie, the Dutchman started with karts at just 4 years old, then participated in his first championships three years later. Born in 1997, his single-seater debut took place in 2014 in the Florida Winter Series and European Formula 3, but already the following year the Red Bull Junior Team promoted him directly to Formula 1 with Toro Rosso as a minor (17 years old), setting the first of many age-related records. Another particularly impressive path was that of Fernando Alonso, who started his karting career almost by chance: his father built a model for his daughter, but her lack of interest meant the Spaniard inherited it, immediately achieving remarkable results. His successes opened the doors to his single-seater debut in Euro Open by Nissan in 1999, where he won on his debut. Moving to International Formula 3000, Minardi focused on him first as a third driver, then placed him on the starting grid in 2001. Also moving to Formula 1 in a very short time, and in the same year, was Kimi Raikkonen. After his successes in karts, ‘Iceman’ moved to single-seaters, with which he won two British Formula Renault titles. Triumphs that convinced Sauber to offer him a test with a Formula 1 car, at the end of which the Finn signed a contract for 2001, debuting with a points finish in his first race. World champion in 2007, the Finn is still today the last driver to have won a title with Ferrari. Rarer and further back in time, however, was the path taken by Jacques Villeneuve: son of the late Gilles, the Canadian moved very quickly from karts to categories such as Italian Formula 3, then moved to high-level competitions such as Formula Nippon, Formula Atlantic and especially Formula CART, where he even won the Indianapolis 500 in 1995. The following year, Villeneuve debuted in Formula 1 at the wheel of Williams, then became world champion in 1997. In this case too, just like Raikkonen at Ferrari, the Canadian is the last to have won a title with the Grove team.
Today’s drivers
In addition to the aforementioned Antonelli, Verstappen and Alonso, there are four other drivers who approached the world of Formula 1 in a relatively short time, and two of these have stood on the top step of the podium at least once in their careers. Returning to F1 just this year after a season’s absence, Valtteri Bottas grew quickly in the feeder series, starting with victories in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup in 2008. Moving to the Formula 3 Euro Series the following year, the Finn’s performances convinced Williams to sign him as a test driver in 2010. In addition to this role, Bottas became Formula 3 champion in 2011, but instead of continuing in F2 he remained at Williams as a test driver, debuting in F1 in 2013. Despite the team’s difficulties in terms of competitiveness, the Finn collected a total of 9 podiums until 2015, enough to convince Mercedes, with whom he won 10 victories as well as two runner-up world titles. Not far from the dream, in this case in 2025, was also Oscar Piastri. An Australian of Italian origins, unlike other colleagues he did not ‘skip’ any category to approach Formula 1, but his curriculum speaks for itself: after good performances in British and UAE F4, Piastri was the only driver in history to win consecutive titles (from 2019 to 2021) in Formula Renault, Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2. His F1 debut with Alpine in 2023 was inevitable after a year as a third driver in the French team, but on the very day of the latter’s official announcement, Piastri denied it with the announcement of his move to McLaren. A controversy ensued between the two teams, with the FIA Contract Recognition Board however ruling in favor of the Woking-based team. Although he is still hunting for his first F1 victory, Lance Stroll is the second youngest driver ever to have debuted in the Circus at 18 years old. A feat he achieved at the wheel of Williams in 2017, when the team decided to focus on him after the excellent successes obtained not only in karts, but also and above all in Italian F4 (in his first year in single-seaters), in the Toyota Racing Series and in European Formula 3, where he became champion in 2016. Finally, the latest prospect in chronological order is Arvid Lindblad, making his Formula 1 debut this season after a career that began in single-seaters in 2022 in Italian F4. From there, the Briton from the Red Bull Junior Team made progress that took him to Formula 3 in 2024, where he achieved victory in his debut race. A feat he would also achieve the following year in Formula 2, with further decisive performances for his F1 debut which took place this year in Racing Bulls.
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