This year in Formula One™ has been a record breaking year for the rookies. It would be understandable that a rookie would not be able to keep up with the more experienced drivers because they are new to the sport. However this year has been the opposite.
Kevin Magnussen of McLaren managed to place his car into a podium position on his debut race in Australia. This is the first that has happened since Lewis Hamilton in 2007.
Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso has managed to gain points for all four of his races with the exception of Bahrain where he finished just one place outside of the points. Even 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel was unable to do that in his first season.
This raises the question: Why are the rookies of 2014 doing so well?
With the return of the V6 Turbocharged engine, the teams were required to completely redesign their cars. The cars are nothing like they were in 2013, which means all of the drivers are learning how to master the driving. None of the current drivers have experience driving a car with V6 Turbocharged engines since they haven’t been used since the 1988 season.
Now it is like that saying: “You can’t teach and old dog new tricks.” The drivers with the experience from last season have a little bit of a disadvantage. Returning drivers have their V8 engine experience still in their head, even though V6 Turbos are very different. If the experienced drivers are trying to drive the car as if it were a V8 and not a V6 Turbo, that is where they get into trouble.
The rookies however, have no experience in Formula One™. They have nothing to compare the new cars to, so they can only drive the cars as a V6 Turbo. That is why they are able to stick with the experienced drivers.
Best of luck to all of the drivers as we prepare for the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix in May.
