How to become an F1 driver: Money, dedication, talent and more

Editor 06 Jun 2025 3:44 PM

Future F1 stars Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen share a podium in karting. June 2012.

F1 is considered the pinnacle of motorsport, with many racing drivers only dreaming about what it might be like to race in the elite series.

With just 20 places available on the grid, only the very best of the best stand a chance of ever making it to F1, and even fewer get to compete at the front of the field.

Step 1 – Karting

The starting point for most every contemporary Formula 1 driver is a childhood spent at the wheel of a g-kart. From the age of six or eight, aspiring races are learning and refining their craft well before graduating into a racecar proper.

It’s the route taken by the likes of Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso, even Ayrton Senna’s first motorsport exploits took place behind the wheel of a kart.

Step 2 – The F1 pyramid

Once a teenager, aspiring F1 drivers can step onto the lower rungs of the established ladder designed to feed youngsters through the categories.

The progression through the classes is reasonably well defined: Formula 4, Formula Regional, Formula 3, and Formula 2. While there are other avenues that take in categories in the United States or Japan, the pyramid leading to F1 is designed to feed drivers down the pathway through the availability of Super Licence points.

In most cases, each category is a two-year programme; a year to learn the car before challenging for the title in the second season. The intent is to be ready for F1 by the time a driver reaches their late teens or early 20s.

Step 3 – Get funded

Motorsport is an expensive past-time, with a PlanetF1.com investigation revealing a single season in F4 costs £575,000. But that’s a baseline package, devoid of testing and travel, as well as critical extras such as a manager, driver coach, physio, or nutritionist.

With the serious youngsters competing in multiple F4 competitions simultaneously, costs for the bottom rung of the motorsport ladder can easily exceed £1 million. By the time a driver completes their second season of Formula 2, numbers obtained by PlanetF1.com suggest a youngster can easily have spent £9 million for their chance to reach F1 – without any guarantee.

There are a handful of models to fund those critical early years, with the simplest being family money. Those without access to such funds can head to the market, pitching to businesses and individuals in an attempt to raise the necessary finances.

That can see a driver lurching from season to season, scraping together the money to complete the year ahead. This is the model used by most aspiring racers, and is why many bright careers fade as they find the task of continually securing funding proves too arduous.

Lewis Hamilton’s father Anthony famously worked multiple jobs to help fund Lewis’ racing career at a young age, while networking as much as possible to help him find sponsorship.

Less common is a young driver selling shares in themselves, offering a return once (if) they become a professional racer and begin earning an income.

Through a driver’s junior career, motorsport operates a pay-to-play model, with drivers typically only paid once they reach the very pinnacle of their respective discipline.

Once they reach F1, however, and begin earning an income, a portion of that is then paid up, either to a certain value or throughout their active career.

Another option is to attract the interest of a team’s junior driver programme, though those typically pay only a portion of the necessary budgets.

Getting into an academy can elevate you up the ranks quicker as it provides expert coaching designed to train F1 drivers of the future, as well as crucial financial backing that can help propel young drivers forward.

Red Bull have arguably been the most productive team when it comes to producing young F1 drivers since they joined the grid in the mid-2000s, with Toro Rosso/AlphaTauri/RB serving as a proving ground for the ‘senior’ team and a host of drivers having made their way through the ranks, with Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel having gone on to become World Champions through their system.

Joining the junior team of a constructor already on the F1 grid is not a guaranteed way of getting a drive, but it certainly doesn’t hurt your chances either.

Step 4 – Drive fast, win races

Unquestionably, the easiest way to secure any funding (assuming family money isn’t an option) is to drive quickly and enjoy success.

Even in the junior classes, there is great value in winning races.

While there is an obligation for young drivers to pay their way through the ranks, there is a difference between the teams. The more accomplished organisations are able to both command a higher asking price for their services, but also have their pick of the drivers keen to work with them.

With the junior formulae largely one-make categories, teams can and do play a significant difference.

Strong results also make securing sponsorship easier as it implies greater potential, and also makes it easier for a young driver to find it onto the radar of a driver development programme.

Of course, prolonged success through the ranks also makes a young driver appealing for an F1 berth. There simply is no better way to increase your chances of making an F1 berth than consistently winning races, and repeatedly winning championships.

Step 5 – Earn your Super Licence

Before competing in F1, a driver must earn an FIA Super Licence, a document designed to prevent drivers without the appropriate skill find their way onto the grid. To qualify, drivers must accumulate points through their junior career, amassing a total of 40 points across three years. They must also be at least 18 years of age – unless they are granted a dispensation, which are saved for those who display excellence throughout their early career.

To apply for a Super Licence, drivers will need to pass the following criteria:

Be over 18 years old
Be an international class competition licence holder
Possess a valid driver’s licence in your country of origin
Pass an FIA theory test on Formula 1 sporting regulations
Complete 80 per cent of two seasons in qualifying single-seater championships
Accumulate 40 Super Licence Points over 3 seasons in any qualifying championship
Possess a licence score

More on the inner workings of F1

? FIA Super Licence explained: How drivers can reach the magic 40-point mark to race in F1

? Revealed: The top 10 most expensive F1 cars ever sold at auction

Additional considerations

Today’s F1 drivers are super fit and often enter athletics and sporting competitions between racing seasons; Jack Doohan competed in triathlons while reserve driver at Alpine in 2024, and Valtteri Bottas regularly competes in cycling events.

Drivers need to be strong and resilient to withstand the high G-forces they are subjected to in the cockpit, where forces can reach up to six times their own bodyweight.

That requires a strong core, while drivers pay particular attention to their necks in order to hold their heads upright throughout a race despite the incredible forces they’re exposed to.

They also need strong legs as they stamp on the brake pedal with, at times, in excess of 180kg of force while maintaining the ability to subtly modulate the pedal to balance the car.

Reaction time is also a key area that drivers focus on, performing reaction drills, which gives them incredible reaction time, concentration, and hand-eye coordination.

Underpinning the physical training is the nutrition. Weight is the enemy of a racing driver, with intense effort going in to ensure each driver is under the defined minimum weight set out in the regulations. That can even mean a driver sheds muscle in order to make the 82kg with all their safety equipment. For taller drivers, that can be a significant ask.

Nutrition also plays a role in fitness, health, and strength conditioning and, with training often difficult during the season owing to the intense travel required by F1, plays a huge role in maintaining peak condition.

My physical training is carried out during the off-season, in January, when a baseline fitness is established before the rigour of the championship commencing.

The near-constant travel that results can take a driver away from family and friends for extended periods, requiring a level of commitment and sacrifice for years at a time.

It builds on what they had done in the junior categories, where prospective F1 drivers sacrifice their weekends to race karts, their education to race cars.

Pursuing a racing career is all-encompassing. It is not a professional, it is a way of life that requires commitment and dedication from a driver’s formative years.