On Top of the World [Max Verstappen - Book 3]

19.5

F1 Returns this weekend: hear what last season's champion had to say about the lineup for 2029
"It'll be a good year but I mean from my perspective and I imagine many others it will be a huge change in the sort of...degree of racing. The newbies all are super talented but it's just not the same for me. When I came to the sport and I was racing against Vettel, Alonso, Ricciardo, Hamilton, Verstappen...you know for me those were the names of the people for at least ten years before I got into the sport and they won titles and it was immense for me personally just to get to race against them. All those names have retired, and then some more from my first season in F1 so yeah, when I step into the paddock I do notice the difference...there's some extra fire about beating someone who you recognise as the best or one of the best of all time and that's sort of gone. I still want to win but it's different for sure." The 2028 World Champion Elodie Carter said when asked about the flurry of new names into cars this season with Lilly Parker becoming the fourth woman on the grid. She's not the only newbie this season however as Arthur Leclerc, brother of Ferrari driver and World Champion Charles Leclerc, also makes his debut for HAAS F1 team. Elodie, who is now a three-time world champion, went on to point out how only four titles are actually represented on the grid this season which shows how new this cohort of drivers still is.
Carter laughed when a reporter suggested that how she views the list of drivers named earlier is how this new season of drivers views her but that is very much the feeling in the paddock. When interviewing with rookie Lilly Parker that's exactly what she said. "I think for a lot of us, racing against Elodie is what she felt when she raced against Hamilton or Verstappen or anyone like that. It's an honour and a challenge and you know that if you can come on top then you've really beaten the best of the best as she has bested both of them at different points in her career. She's a real...shining star for F1, there's no doubt about it. Obviously, there are many of us who can't compete due to cars or whatever but I'll be here week in and week out learning as much as I can not just from my races but from hers as well. She's so early in her career still and has so much time to break many more records that I hope I can get to a point where I can really race against her. That's what I want."
Carter, 27, isn't wrong to point out how much the landscape of racing has evolved, especially in the wake of the somewhat early retirement of Verstappen now 31 years old. His shock exit from Red Bull last year left many astounded, most of all his rival and former teammate Elodie who says that losing him is a real loss to the sport and she hopes it sends a wake-up call to the sport to remember that there are people behind the wheels of the car, not just money. "We race 25 weeks out of the year, they're talking about doing 26 and I think that's absurd. F1 is essentially organised by people who have no idea what it takes to be behind the wheel of a car and to operate at that level week in and week out. I would really support the suggestion by Lewis and Sebastian for ex-driver's to get input on the calendar and rules, obviously, there's drama about these people showing preferential treatment for teams but I don't think we need them stewarding every race...just their input and advice to the FIA. 26 races would be too many, 25 is already a stretch and I think you'd have to be insane to not contribute that to the early retirement of a lot of talent - Max and Seb included."

Lando Norris and Elodie Carter - Mercedes
Pierre Gasly and Liam Lawson - Red Bull
Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher - Ferrari
Carlos Sainz and Joanna Meyer - McLaren
Marcus Armstrong and Lana Hastings - Alpha Tauri
Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu - Alpine
Alex Albon and Lilly Parker - Aston Martin
Felipe Drugovich and George Russell - Audi
Yuki Tsunoda and Dennis Haugher - Williams
Paul Aron and Arthur Leclerc - HAAS