Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez drew attention to a little-discussed difficulty in Formula 1, involving drivers born outside Europe. According to the two competitors, the biggest challenge is not winning races or competing for titles, but rather managing to reach the category.
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Currently, only seven of the twenty-two drivers on the Formula 1 grid were born outside Europe, a number that highlights the barriers faced by young talents from other continents. The topic gained prominence during a conversation about the recent absence of non-European world champions, something that has not happened since Jacques Villeneuve’s title in 1997.
Perez pointed out that the path to Formula 1 is naturally easier for European drivers, due to the structure of the junior categories: “The path to F1 is definitely easier for a European driver because everything is based in Europe,” said the Mexican.
The Cadillac driver also recalled the difficulties of having to leave his country at a very young age to pursue an international career: “When you come from outside Europe, you need to arrive here very early, and there are other issues involved in that,” he added.
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According to Perez, however, the situation changes once the driver manages to reach Formula 1. For him, the opportunities within the category end up being balanced, and success depends much more on the moment experienced by the driver and the team: “In Formula 1 it depends a lot on how things happen and the timing of your career with the team. If you are in the right place, at the right time, then you can be very successful,” said the Mexican. He also emphasized that several non-European drivers have already been successful in the category throughout history.
Piastri, who also had to move from Australia to Europe during his junior career, agreed with the Mexican’s assessment. The McLaren driver stated that leaving his country at a young age was probably the biggest challenge of his career until reaching Formula 1.
The Australian also highlighted that, once on the grid, there are advantages in representing his country alone within the category: “Checo and I, for example, are the only ones from our countries on the grid. There are positive points in that,” he said. Still, Piastri reinforced that the path to Formula 1 requires difficult decisions and extra challenges for drivers born outside Europe.
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