Jenson's Understeer wrote:
Exediron wrote:
Oh, he's absolutely a lifer in F2. I just don't see anything wrong with that. We've never had a situation where there are hot prospects trying to get into F2 who simply can't because there aren't seats available (unlike F1), so what's the harm? He's entertaining, and a good benchmark for the truly good drivers. If you can beat Markelov despite his vast experience advantage, you're the real deal.
That's one way of looking at it, I suppose, but I completely disagree. The point of F2 is to give young drivers their final preparation and evaluation before F1. Leclerc and Russell weren't anointed as future F1 stars because they beat Markelov; it was because they came into the series as rookies, immediately adapted and were immediately successful. F2 doesn't need guys like Markelov there to help identify what is going to be completely apparent anyway. F1 teams aren't going to suddenly go, "Wow, look at this Markelov guy, fighting for the F2 title! Where did he come from? Let's sign him for 2021!" They're all fully aware of him, what he can do, and the fact that only one of them (Williams) actually considering signing him at the end of 2018 (after two seasons in the top five) speaks volumes.
Stick a four, maybe even three season maximum on the series and be done with it already. As I've previously documented, drivers who need four+ seasons to fight for the title are usually getting there purely because of experience and, if they do get an F1 seat, are quickly exposed as such.
As you say, I suppose that's one way of looking at it. I realize the FIA has tried their hardest to turn all of the European Formula series into a direct feeder ladder for F1, but to me it's unrealistic and unsustainable to have all these different racing series positioned into a pyramid aiming at perhaps 20 seats, no more than 2-3 of which are actually available at any time. There will never be a time when every F2 seat is filled by someone with a genuine chance of going into F1. That would be like saying that junior leagues exist to find the stars of the NHL, so only players with a legitimate shot at making an NHL roster should be allowed to play in them. There just aren't enough of them at any one time.
The big budgets needed to compete in F1 are a problem, but they're a separate problem. Frijns and Wickens weren't driven out of F2 by someone like Markelov, they were driven out by the basic nature of racing budgets. That needs fixing, but the solution isn't to ban drivers after four years. You'd just have
different pay drivers, not a field of promising young chargers destined for F1.
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