Huge respect to Lando Norris for starting his new racing team with the sole aim of finding young talent who do not have the financial means to make it to the top of Formula One.
The reality is Formula One is a rich mans sport and to break into this a youngster would need to make his way through all the various stages starting out with karting. If we look at the drivers on the F1 circuit they all have something in common and that is wealthy parents or they have huge financial backing from sponsorships. A couple of drivers stand out not coming from wealth and that is Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon whose parents sacrificed everything for their children to have a chance of fulfilling their driving dreams.
What Lando Norris is doing is setting out a programmed for a youngster or youngsters to receive financial backing offering them the opportunity to compete and prove themselves. The cost of starting out at the very beginning and progressing through the various stages eventually making it to the Formula One stages is staggering.
£14 Million - £15 Million
That is the estimated price one would have to spend to reach the top over many years and there is no guarantees even if you are good enough. The F1 license supplied by the FIA requires 40 points on their Super License so you need to perform against the best in order to earn those points. The money can get you so far and even buy you a drivers seat in the likes of Formula 2 and 3. Being in the smaller teams you may need money to cover any crash damage if the sponsors do not cover the cost of running the team.
Money does not go far in such an expensive sport as you can see just the early stages over 6 years one would easily spend £1-2 Million. This would include extra coaching which at that age would be so vital. The entry single seater which is where Lando Norris's new team comes in being Formula 4 would still be on the line for an investment of £13 Million for the right candidate.
Yes having a name who is still current is not normal as these types of programs would normally be done by someone who would have retired and looking for a hobby project to keep them involved in the sport. Lando is still only 26 and comes from a wealthy family so having not had to struggle financially at least he recognises the challenges and is at least putting something back.
The plan for LN4 Fusion which is the name of his racing team is to grow the team to eventually challenge in Formula 2 many years down the line and who knows maybe F1 in the future. Finding the talent that would normally disappear due to not having the finances will be tough as many youngsters will be trying to land a seat on this team. The concept and reasoning behind this new team is rather cool and I do not think they will struggle finding willing sponsors. Everyone likes a rags to riches story and unearthing a diamond in the rough polishing it over many years is what this team will be trying to achieve.
Posted Using INLEO
