Formula One's staus quo, like many sports today, is in a transitional stage and it's "older" participants are trying to avoid the cross-hairs of surrender. Is thirty going to be the dividing line for drivers being put out to pasture?
This year, when Alonso was declared "lucky to be alive" in the aftermath of the opening Australian Grand Prix, a lot started being asked about the two time World Champion, now 35 years old. Was his instincts still sharp enough? Does he still have it in him to podium, let alone dodge the Grim Repear? Was that wipe-out an opportunity to bow out and retain his honor? Another World Champion reputation in good standing is Jenson Button, now 36 years old and is currently looking for a seat in a car that he would consider "competitive." Button, still believes there is another Championship within him, if he had the opportunity. William's Felipe Massa had many a championship in Formula Cheverlot, Formula Renault and Formula 3000 and posted second best in F1 in 2008. He's now 35 years old and racing a mundane mid-pack. Romain Grosjean, a mere 30 years old, will do his best to cling on to Haas as a last chance stepping stone to a seat with Ferrari. Speaking off, Kimi went from dodging a early season retirement bullet to re-signing with Ferrari, proving himself still competitive and putting many circling sharks deeper into hotter waters. That leaves the question that's going to be asked to these thirty somethings, retire or not retire?
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A lot of the pressure of that question is no doubt due to the rapid fire success of Red Bull's wonder kid, Max Verstappen. Now legally old enough to both drive a street car and drink his winning sparkling wine, (don't you miss the podium's "and now the champaaaaaagne", now that Pernod moved to Formula Quiet? Sad.) Verstappen's doubt crushing results have put the spotlight firmly on the emerging drivers of today as everyone scrambles to promote the next best thing. The difference afforded the fight of the experienced versus the youngsters is where it can be afforded most, in the second tier teams. Mercedes-AGM has boosted both Pascal Wehrlein and newest teenager on spot, Esteban Ocon, leaping from DTM, into a valid seat. Soon we'll see if Ocon has what it takes in what surely is a trial by fire, the season's longest and challenging Circuit de Spa. Certainly not where most would want to start although it was good enough for Schumacher!
Ocon circumvents another way into a seat in Formula One nowadays and that's just buy it. We see a new trend, governments jumping off the map and into the limelight through advertising in global sports. As circuits of character and history spend some time holding your door open for spare Euros, Azerbaijan ponies up some oil money for a new race (and apparently into Europe?) Ryo Haryanto's paid for "first Indonesian driver in F1" claim to fame failed to sustain the rest of the 2016 season as the Indonesian government ran out of enough rupiahs to keep Manor in business.
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