Should there be an age limit for GP2?

Question

Or at least stop former F1 drivers from participating?

I have to admit I don't like seeing drivers like Giorgio Pantano there. Glock has disappointed me to some extent and I think former F1 drivers have more experience so it masks their true talent compared to that of the real rookies.

What do you think?

Answer 1

There isn't one currently? Well then there should. GP2 is like a stepping stone to F1. Therefore the chance should be given to youngsters instead of allowing former F1 drivers (normally test drivers or those unsuccessful after a season or two) to have another shot. Plus, the extra experience actually gives the former f1 guys a slight upper hand over rookies. It won't be very fair.

Some might digress saying the two series are completely different. I'm not sure why people like Glock and Pantano returned to GP2 but maybe they were hoping that from there they;d have another shot at F1. They've had their time and sometimes it' better to move on to other series. F1 seats are really limited and at times it's best to step aside and give the youngsters a chance.

Answer 2

I think that people take prior experience into account when looking at the GP2 results (people who understand motorsport, at least...explains why Toyota hired Glock...). Competing against others who have more experience is part of a racing career - beating people with 5/6/7 years more karting experience than him was how Coulthard got himself noticed, winning his second hill-climb got Lauda up the ladder more quickly. In the good old days, it was how the very best prospects jumped straght from F3 to F1, by beating well known, established, yardsticks in that formula - Piquet, Prost and Senna all took that route. The less successful drivers in F3 had to move up to F2 and then hope to get into F1 if a spot opened up - the De Cesaris and Johansson route.

So no, there shouldn't be an age limit. Drivers will never learn anything just competing against others who have the same level of experience as they do, which will leave them very unprepared for F1.

Answer 3

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Yes, 18 months!

Throw them into the footwell and let em have a go!

Anyone who hasn't got to the required level within 6 months should not be in the sport.

EDIT: My apologies, I thought I was in the NAZzzCAR section, oops!!

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Answer 4

Thing is, a driver wants to win the GP2 championship to impress the F1 team bosses.

The general idea is he's so talented he deserves to step into formula one.

If that's the case then no Pantano or any other very experienced driver should be able to stop him.

They may be experienced but they should be less talented than our young hero here if he is to go to F1 and they shouldn't be able to beat him.

It's also good to have older drivers in GP2, they pass their experience onto newcomers as well as keep driving ethics and aggressiveness in control.

If you can beat Pantano who's both an experienced as well as fast driver then all the better for you.

An 18 year old beating a bunch of 18 year olds, all of unknown quality doesn't look very impressive and is difficult to judge the driver so the older ones serve as yardsticks.

In any case we should not forget that GP2 is a stand alone racing category.

It was created with F1 in mind as a training ground for aspiring champions to prove their worth, but they couldn't possibly ban drivers on the count of age.

In fact I think that banning a 30 year old driver for being too old would not b legal.

If he took the case to court he'd probably win this one, plus I'd want him to.

The exact same thing happens in karting, karting is an independent sport for those who love to do it.

It so happens it's a wonderful trainning ground for wannabe champions of the world.

Every race has a mixture of young guns and older enthusiasts and it works perfectly.

I'm 34 and race against 17 year olds, it's more difficult for me than it is for them, they're younger, fitter, more determined, more aggressive, and even though I put my experience to good use at every race, at the end of the day I know I have to drive real fast to get to the flag first, you can't beat talent, you can't beat speed, at least not consistently.

Answer 5

No I don't think an age limit would produce any thing other than rich little Daddies boys having a go.

However what they should do is introduce is a limit on points drivers can score i.e. If you have won the GP2 championship , you can not win it again,or If you have competed in 2 or more full GP's you can only count race wins towards your point score. Which means a young driver can count all of there points and therefore finish higher than a GP reject , hence you take away there advantage of experience.