ltc

Starting with the karting ranks (considered to be the entry level for a career in professional racing), it is generally accepted that if you are not racing in Europe by age 12, you won't really have any chance of moving up the career ladder. Yes, there are kids 10-12 years old who are traveliing between continents to race karts.

The exception to this rule are kids who are self funded and can essentially buy a team or buy a seat.

Bryan Watts

I don't think what's taught at racing schools has anything to do with the racing talent in America. A racing school makes up about 2% of what a top driver learns/knows. The reason we don't have drivers in open wheel cars in the US is because it takes buttloads of family $$ and traveling to Europe at a very young age to make it happen. It doesn't make sense when you can make a solid living in the lower levels of regional stock car racing without traveling more than a couple states away.

Bryan Watts

It seems it takes self funding no matter which way you do it. You don't see many poor kids (from the US or anywhere else in the world) traveling around Europe racing karts and open wheel cars.

ltc

Agreed.
It's always interesting to meet a 10 year old with a 2 million dollar race team...

Henry964

Lopez, at the age of 14 was living and racing karts in Italy, the family takinng turns to watch over him.
His father is a wealthy businessman here.

To add info, he was winning one of Kart World championship finals (over Lewis Hamilton none less) when a mechanic failure put his dream over

NaroEscape

I always wonder what a really good sports car driver could do in an F1 car - someone like Patrick Long. The ALMS prototype cars are about as close to formula cars as you get - basically a formula car with body work.

Would be interesting to see.

A.Wayne

Don't be so hard on yourself Lewis ....

pole position

Well.......try Alan McNish (sp)............unless you were bred to do F1 and hip hop yourself thru some series until you end up at F1 at a EARLY age you are **** out luck aka uncompetitive. Fact.

jcb-memphis

So, by the time I learned about F1, I was out of date.

Fun times.

dp35

In an announcement almost as surprising as the "Michael Schumacher is the Stig" thread here on RL today, USF1 has now confirmed that Jose Maria Lopez will be their 1st driver. SpeedTV link.

Interesting note in the last line of the Speed story:
According to reports the favorite to become teammate to Lopez is British driver James Rossiter.

What's Rossiter's story?

Anyone know how old Lopez is?

Henry964

Lopez is 26 years old, he won the European Renault V6 series at 19, after spending many years racing karts and Formula Renault single seaters (champion of italian F. Renault over Kubica in 2002)

Flying Finn

He might be pretty good at turning wheel but the $8 million bucks he's bringing from Argentina might have affected in him getting this deal...
USF1 is looking for paying drivers only, and López is one of them. I hope he is as fast as you say though!

ltc

I'm pretty sure $8M had something to do with it.

It would appear as though, at this late stage, USF1 adopted a " Weekend at Bernie's " approach to driver selection:

Superlicense (required)
Sponsorship $ (required)
Pulse (optional)

In the world of F1, you wouldn't think $8M would make that much of a difference over the course of a season for most teams.

At this point, I'm far more interested in seeing the design of the car rather than the drivers...I still remember the goal of American drivers in the cockpit...

TheOtherEric

So the USF1 car will advertise Argentine tourism. LOL!!

ilko

I'm glad that USF1 is getting more complete. I don't care if they have Kermit the frog behind the wheel as long as it brings the team further along. If what it takes is Argentine money than fine - whatever. I hear yesterday's signing was quite big in Argentina BTW - it happened at the presidential palace under the watchful eye of the president himself, nationally televised, etc. Pretty cool if you ask me! Now those guys better deliver!!

Now Lewis, please change Henry's "Addict" status to something more à propos consdiering he's Lopez's #1 fan among us