drive to survive CF1 AU

S1 EP 4: Hidden talents

'Formula one is a very tough sport as a driver.' Lewis Hamilton said. 'You can be on top of the world one moment, and then find yourself in a dark valley the next moment.'

'All people will remember is your most recent race, make sure it's a good one.' Alex Albon said.

'You always have to be on it, every weekend again.' Zhou Guanyu said.

'We all want to be world champion.' Pierre Gasly said. 'But in the end, only one can achieve it each year.'

'I still want to open a restaurant.' Yuki Tsunoda said with a smile before both him and the people behind the camera started laughing.

'Driving in Formula one is the peak of your career, even if you do a bad job and are out as fast as you came in, getting the experience of driving those cars gives you such an advantage in any other series. It shows how crazy the drivers who are in Formula one all season long are.' Will Buxton said.

'One thing that in CF1 really comes into play, are the reserve drivers. Drivers chosen by teams to be the back up for if anything happens to their main drivers.' Jennie Gow said.

'Im 2023 the FIA used a system that has now been massively changed for 2024. In 2023 the FIA wanted to make sure all reserve drivers got equal running which meant that each time a driver would crash randomly one of the reserve drivers would be chosen to drive in their spot for the feast of the season. This meant some reserve drivers got to drive for five different teams in a single season!' Will Buxton explained. 'From 2024 onwards reserve drivers will be assigned to one team and if another team in relations with that tea, needs a second reserve driver that reserve driver can drive there.'

'At the start of the season these drivers had little to do. As the season moves on though, drivers got faster and less maneuverable, which means more crashes, which meant more reserve drivers. One weekend there were so many crashes almost half the grid was a reserve driver and a reserve driver had to be replaced BY A RESERVE DRIVER because the reserve driver himself crashed. It certainly was a very interesting race to watch.' Jennie Gow said.

'Some reserve drivers are there to gain experience, they are young, most likely in CF2 or fresh out of CF2. They prepare themselves and hope to get an CF1 seat in the future. And some others are ex CF1 drivers who need to show they still got it. Some of them are young but most are a little older and more experienced, most likely driving somewhere else when not reserve driving in CF1.'

'A few of the youngsters are Dennis Hauger, Zane Maloney, Robert Swartzman and Jack Doohan. Some ex CF1 drivers are Daniel Ricciardo, Mick Schumacher and Stoffel Vandoorne. Some of these drivers have really made headlines.

'Jack Doohan becomes the first reserve driver point scorer!' A commentator said.

'STOFFEL VANDOORNE, finishes THIRD in the slide event.' Crofty said excitedly.

'Ahh thank you so much for giving me this opportunity guys!' Stoffel said with a clear smile on his face.

'Daniel Ricciardo, he has finished the race AHEAD of Max Verstappen. That is incredible from place 18 on the grid!' Martin Brundle noticed.

'Some drivers, both full time and reserve drivers are really taking the world by storm. Some being veteran drivers who show they still got it in them and some being young guns that show the next generation of world champion worthy drivers. It's incredible to see.' Jennie Gow said.

'Zhou Guanyu, you have won the sprint, again!' Zhou's race engineer said excitedly as the team cheered.

'Zhou Guanyu is one of the main ones to talk about. At the start of the season he was discreetly getting in decent performances, but as the season has moved on, he's become a more obvious candidate for the world championship.' Will Buxton said excitedly. 'The guy is a six time sprint race winner already, that says something.'