Join host Glenn Freeman and a range of guests as they take a deep-dive into a golden age of F1 from 1989 to 2005, when superstars like Schumacher, Senna, Mansell and Prost were thrilling fans and rising talents like Alonso, Button and Raikkonen were establishing themselves as modern greats.
1984 Monaco Grand Prix: The Battle in the Rain. In the heart of Monte Carlo, the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix stands as a masterpiece of endurance and driving skill. ...
1976 German Grand Prix: the epic battle at Nürburgring. ...
2008 Brazilian Grand Prix: The Ecstasy of Interlagos.
A November 2022 survey in Great Britain revealed that around 38 percent of avid Formula One fans in the country were aged 55 or older. Meanwhile, one fifth of avid F1 fans were aged between 18 and 29.
In a wide-ranging Q&A on discussion website Reddit, F1's global research director Matt Roberts said “the average age of a global F1 viewer is 40. 14% are under 25, 30% are 25-34, 20% are 35-44, 20% are 45-54 and 17% are over 55.
All drivers must be women and be 25 years of age or younger, and 16 years of age or older when entering their first race event of the season. Additionally, all drivers may only compete in two seasons of the series.
There is no upper age restriction WHATSOEVER in Formula 1. In theory you could drive until you're 88. The most recent successful F1 driver over 40 was Nigel Mansell, who won the 1994 Australian Grand Prix at the age of 41.
An experienced F1 driver is much more likely to retire at 37 than any other age. Drivers who continue into their 40s typically have breaks away from F1.
“Why did I look in my rear-view mirror every time I left home to race and wonder whether I would see it again?” Formula 1 was one of the world's most dangerous and exciting forms of sport. Its golden age, the 60s and 70s, was also its deadliest, when drivers lost their lives at frightening rates.
The 80s & early 90s was the most competitive generation of drivers ever seen. Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet, Jones, Lauda, Rosberg & Schumacher all won championships in this era. Berger, Alesi, Laffite, Watson, Pironi, Reuttemann, G. Villeneuve & Patrese all won races during this period.
Fernando Alonso is the oldest driver on the grid in the 2024 Formula 1 season. In July 2024, Alonso celebrated his 43rd birthday. It made him only the second driver this millennium to have raced beyond his 43rd birthday. Michael Schumacher is the only other driver to have done so in F1's recent history.
In his debut year, he finished 3rd overall in the FIA F3 Championship and 7th in the F3 Macau GP. In 2015, he moved to Scuderia Toro Rosso for his first full season in F1, becoming the youngest driver in history to start a race at the age of 17 years and 165 days.
There is no official maximum age limit to be a Formula 1 driver. However, drivers must hold a valid FIA Super License, which requires them to meet certain criteria, including experience in lower racing categories.
It differs. For most drivers it is mid- to late-20's. But there are some who peak early like Jacques Villeneuve who was at his best at 23-26 and some who peak late like Jacques Laffite, at his best at 36-40.
It is never too late to start racing successfully in F1, as Damon Hill proved among others, so we'd encourage race fans of all ages to try a motorsport experience to see how they handle a single-seater race car. You never know, it could unearth a future star.''
You could've done this in the far & distant past. Five time champion Juan Manuel Fangio first entered motorsport at age 25 and raced until he was 46, retiring in 1958. Some more recent drivers also started relatively late, notably Damon Hill starting to race cars only at age 23/24, making his debut in F1 at age 32.
The oldest driver on the F1 grid is Fernando Alonso, with the Spaniard starting the season aged 41. His birthday falls on 29 July, meaning he will be 42 by the time the 2023 Formula 1 season finishes. Alonso returned to the grid with Alpine in 2021 after being away from F1 for two years.
There isn't a specific age that is universally considered ``too late'' to become a Formula 1 driver, but most drivers start their careers in karting at a young age, often around 5 to 10 years old. By the time they reach their late teens or early twenties, many are already competing in lower formula racing series.
The minimum age for a Formula 1 driver is 18. That means it takes over 10 years to become an F1 driver, as most drivers start in motorsport at about 6 years old.
F1 drivers typically retire in their late 30s, but that's just an average. Some have retired in their early 30s, while others have retired beyond their 40s. F1 does not have maximum age restrictions, so drivers retire at various ages for non-age related reasons.
