With the 2021 Formula Two season set to kick off this weekend, we take a look at the very best of Carlin Racing graduates who have graduated into Formula One as the team celebrate 25 years of racing.
Since their beginnings in 1996, Carlin has participated in 14 junior feeder series past and present so as they celebrate 25 years of motorsport, we take a look at some of the 25 plus drivers who they have directly helped guide into F1.
Carlin have also helped other drivers like Daniel Ricciardo, Jolyon Palmer and George Russell on their way towards F1, albeit without being their immediate feeder team prior to landing in F1.
We therefore take a look at four stars past and present who have directly secured their F1 drives through their performances at Carlin, as well as what they have gone on to do in F1 and once they departed the pinnacle of motorsport.
Takuma Sato
Takuma Sato first joined Carlin in 2000 where he enjoyed strong success with four wins and six poles en route to third place in that season’s British F3, before going on to win the title with Carlin a year later along with Macau GP and Masters of F3 events.
Sato overall enjoyed a strong period of his junior career with Carlin which saw him become BAR Honda’s F1 Test Driver in 2001, eventually making the huge leap into F1 in 2002 where he spent seven seasons at the pinnacle of motorsport with a total points haul of 44 points despite switching to Super Aguri from 2007-08.
Since 2010, Sato switched to IndyCar where he has enjoyed strong consistency with six race victories, of which two came in the iconic Indy 500 in 2017 and 2020 respectively as the 44 year-old now prepares for a 12th straight season racing Stateside.
Sebastian Vettel (2006-07)
Although Sebastian Vettel only drove 11 races across 2006-07 for Carlin in Formula Renault 3.5 as well as in 2006 Macau GP, it is hard to underline Carlin’s role in providing the ultimate final stepping stone which secured Vettel a F1 drive with BMW Sauber then Toro Rosso across 2007 F1 season.
Since then, Vettel has gone on to become a 53 time race winner in F1 across Toro Rosso, Red Bull and Ferrari, with Red Bull also guiding him to the title in four consecutive seasons between 2012-13.
Vettel however is set for a new challenge in 2021 as he joins Aston Martin after a disastrous final season at Ferrari in 2020, as he recorded just one podium to his worst overall finish in F1 since his rookie season as he finished only 13th in the standings.
Lando Norris (2016-18)
Having enjoyed a solid British F3 season in 2016 with Carlin in which he finished eighth, Lando Norris turned out to be one of of Carlin’s best young talented graduates.
After a promising 2016 campaign in British F3, Carlin handed Norris an early opportunity in F3 Europe ahead of a 2017 season in which the Brit went on to dominate with 20 podiums including nine wins plus eight pole positions as he sealed the title in comfortable style.
That season also saw him finish second in Macau after a tight battle with fellow Brit and coincidentally current Carlin driver in F2 for 2021 – Dan Ticktum as the latter won out by just 0.568 seconds.
2018 saw Norris continue with Carlin as he stepped up to F2 where he dominated the first race in Bahrain before strong consistency saw him finish as vice-champion after a double-retirement in Sochi saw his title dreams fall apart.
Norris however did enough to secure a promotion to F1 with McLaren, where he has gone on to record 146 points in 38 races including his maiden F1 podium in Austria last season.
You therefore have to consider Norris as one of Carlin’s finest graduates to have reached F1 and at just 21 years-old, the young Brit continues to be one to watch as his talent continues to mature with strong drives.
Yuki Tsunoda (2020)
After impressing in his rookie F2 season in 2020, Yuki Tsunoda is the latest Carlin graduate to reach F1 as he joins AlphaTauri for 2021 season.
Tsunoda was joined at Carlin by fellow Red Bull junior, Jehan Daruvala but the former showed exceptional raw talent throughout the season with four poles and three wins to earn a promotion to F1 as he finished third overall.
F2 also represented Tsunoda’s first season working with Carlin at any level which made his rise all the more special, as evidenced by a stunning drive from the back to sixth in the Bahrain Feature Race which underlined Tsunoda’s potential that Carlin has brilliantly nurtured in just one season.
I therefore can’t wait to see what Tsunoda can do in F1 and beyond given the success that several other F1 graduates of Carlin have gone on to achieve.
Leave a Reply