Not only do pilots need a lot of talent to reach the premier category of motorsport, they also need enormous economic resources

The participation of Latinos in this competition has been scarce and each achievement of these has great value. In fact, only 4 Latin drivers managed to win the Formula 1 championship in the entire history of the category. The figure is really low compared to the 22 Europeans who took the F1, even several of them won on more than one occasion. This unbalanced statistics is generated because most competitors come from the old continent and there are very few Latinos who manage to reach the premier category of motorsport.

Leer en español: ¿Por qué es tan importante el podio de "Checo" Pérez en la F1?

Although the number of competitors in Latin America is low, the Mexican Sergio "Checo" Pérez achieved his podium number 8 in Formula 1, on April 29. "Checo" came in third place in the Azerbaijan GP and showed that he has the level to compete every circuit. Additionally, at present, the Mexican Sergio Perez is the only Latin American runner within the 20 that compete for F1 in the current season. Why is it so difficult for Latinos to get to Formula 1?

Essential requirement of F1: Money

The pilot career does not only require young people with a lot of talent, it also needs a large investment of money. F1 drivers must have a license from the International Automobile Federation (FIA), which is granted to those who make their debut in lower categories. To access these categories, people must enter a pilot school that trains young applicants from approximately 8 to 21 years of age. The entrance cost to these schools is close to 7 million euros.

The stratospheric figure of 7 million euros allows the young driver to be in different categories such as Karting, Formula Renault, F3 Euro Open, World Series, GP2, and Formula 1 as a test driver. However, this expense of 7 million euros does not ensure that the pilot arrives to the last competition as an official driver of a team, because this category is so exclusive that only 20 people in the world can participate in it during the season. Likewise, once the pilot has managed to enter F1 for his talent and his extensive wealth, he must spend approximately 10 million euros in a single season.

The economic cost to be a Formula 1 racer is very high and very few people have the ability to afford these expenses. It is for such a reason that for a Latin American it is very difficult to aspire to F1, because this is a region with several countries of scarce economic resources.

There are a few lucky Latin pilots who have made their way to it. These lucky few arrive at the F1 thanks to belong to a wealthy family, to have found a "sponsor" that pays all expenses, to find a specialized lender, or to have been one of the lucky few to be chosen in the selections of pilots. Anyway, in each and every one of these cases, the protagonist was, is, and will be the money.

The lower the probability of success, the more glory

Only a few Latinos are chosen to belong to the premier category of motorsports, so any triumph of those representatives is memorable and worthy of being considered a feat. Latin America does not have as many chances to have champions of the Formula 1, but those fortunate ones to belong to this category will step on the accelerator thoroughly in order to reach glory.

Latin America is a region with several countries whose inequality is pronounced, where economic resources belong to a few, and where the opportunities to make money in large quantities are minimal and almost non-existent. However, there are some Latin countries whose economic situation is a better, which allows more possibilities to create a path to F1. For this reason, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina are the Latin countries that most drivers contribute to F1.

The odds of a Latino winning the Formula 1 championship are very few, but perhaps this makes it more special to get the title, achieve a victory in a race or even get on the podium of a Grand Prix.

Latin America will always remember with great emotion the following victories:

• 5 F1 titles of Argentine runner Juan Manuel Fangio
• 3 trophies of the legendary Brazilian runner Ayrton Senna
• 3 triumphs of the pilot of his compatriot Nelson Piquet
• 2 titles of also Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi
• 12 victories of the Argentine Carlos Reutemann
• 11 prizes of the Brazilian Rubens Barrichello and his compatriot Felipe Massa
• 7 victories of the Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya
• 2 victories of the Mexican Pedro Rodríguez de la Vega and the Argentinean Froilán González
• 1 title of the Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado

LatinAmerican Post | Javier Aldana
Translated from "¿Por qué es tan importante el podio de "Checo" Pérez en la F1? "