Fernando Alonso pleads ‘someone to listen’ over grave F1 rookie driver concerns

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Fernando Alonso believes the limited track time available for rookies is severely hurting their Formula 1 opportunities and desperately hopes “someone will listen” and address this.

It is generally accepted that the challenge of breaking through onto the Formula 1 grid has become much harder for young drivers in recent years, with the paths of the latest Formula 2 champions proving that point.

Fernando Alonso: Teams finding it ‘impossible’ to prepare young drivers

2021 F2 champion Oscar Piastri was forced to spend a year on the sidelines before getting his chance with McLaren, while his successors Felipe Drugovich and Théo Pourchaire failed to secure an F1 seat off the back of being crowned F2 champion.

The F1 grid is unchanged between the end of 2023 and the start of 2024, a very rare occurrence yet reflective of the times, but rookies like Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman have shown in that time that F1 debutants can be trusted to come in and perform.

However, Alonso says the budget cap and packed F1 calendar mean it is “impossible” to have the required testing teams that once existed to ready these young drivers, meaning team bosses opt not to take the risk, a situation which Alonso wants to see urgently address