Fast, exciting cars that are loud and race other fast cars…
It’s every child’s dream to become a race car driver, isn’t it?
And whilst it may look exciting on the TV, in real-life, F1 drivers are true athletes with a fighter-pilot mentality.
There is a lot of hard work, focus and determination that goes on behind the scenes that we don’t, as fans, often get to see.
But with the release of Netflix’s Drive To Survive Season 3, we thought it’d be a great time to help Mums and Dads get their children into the sport if they didn’t already know how to do so.
It’s not as easy as it is in this article, but these are some of the most common steps to becoming an F1 driver!
Start Karting
First, you need to buy a go-kart and here at FunBikes, we have you covered.
Shop the go-karts range at FunBikes and start by taking your children to some race tracks near you to get a feel of the track and how to drive their go-kart around it.
If they like it and continue to get better and better, maybe think about going up to the next level of competition.
Maybe their friends are doing it, or they already love Formula 1 and want to experience the thrill of a race for themselves.
Take a look online to see if there are any karting competitions near you that you could enter your kids into and see how they go!
Whilst it’s at a significantly smaller scale, karting introduces the basic fundamentals of a racing driver and ignites that flame and passion for the sport. As well as the hunger to win!
Many, if not all, of the greatest F1 drivers, started out Karting from Aryton Senna, Michael Schumacher to Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton. It’s the perfect introduction to the world of racing cars.
Commitment, Dedication, Hard Work
Once you’re in the sport, you’re in. You need to be committed to practising, improving your skill and getting better and better.
This is why it’s important to gauge whether or not your child loves racing and karting before starting to introduce the importance of hard work and dedication needed to succeed at the top level.
If they love Formula 1 and racing already, it shouldn’t be too much of a push to help them to stay focused on their goals, taking them to race tracks each weekend and sharing that experience with them.
And you never know, if they do succeed at the highest level, those fond memories of Mum and Dad at the race track with them, may become the driving force as to why they push themselves and keep on going.
But this isn’t a quick thing. It can take years to hone your skills and train. It may even mean seeing less of your family and friends and seeing more time on the track competing at competitions.
Not only that but it can be quite an expensive hobby for your child to have as it’s not a cheap sport to be in and the costs of becoming a racing driver can sometimes be a financial burden to climb the ranks!
Train The Body And Mind
First, it’s important to address the element of experiencing losses time and time again until finally, you become the one everyone is trying to beat.
But those losses, crashes and heart-stopping moments are not for the faint-hearted. It’s important to develop a strong body and mind in order to succeed.
Furthermore, most drivers are in their top, peak physical condition and whilst on the karting tracks, health isn’t as important as the ranks of the F1, those little focuses on diet, exercise and more could prove to give your child the advantage of being quicker than others.
Reaction times too are important and thinking on the spot is crucial to be able to react quickly to the events unfolding on the track. Whether it’s the opportunity to overtake, reacting to a crash or being one step ahead of the competition, it can all go to who comes out on top!
Build Relationships With Teams And Sponsors
In order to get to the next level, parents, you may need to build relationships with other Mum’s and Dad’s on track, as well as other teams and sponsors. Even at the lowest level.
If your child is very serious about it and they’re good, then networking can help jump to the next level.
This is where it’s make or break as it can be quite expensive to fund the journey of a young racing driver, without the help of a sponsor!
But more often than not, the better your child is at racing, the more they are likely to be scouted with sponsors wanting to work with you.
Have Fun!
Being a race car driver is a lot of work and there’s so much time, money, effort and energy that goes into becoming an F1 driver that, you can forget why you started in the first place!
Even if you don’t make it to the F1 podium and your kids only having fun competing at karting level, it’s still important to have fun, racing your friends, teammates and enemies, whether that’s on a local karting track or under the bright lights of Silverstone!
Conclusion
Whilst this is more of a fun article on how to become an F1 driver, some of the tips we talked about can actually help you break onto the circuit of karting.
There should be no forcing or pressuring your child into becoming an F1 driver as it’s an extremely difficult sport to get into and stick with.
Ultimately what it comes down to is your child having fun, regardless of whether they’re driving against their friends in a local competition, or at the highest level.
