Quote Originally Posted by jens
Now drivers have hardly got over 30 and even if they are not partered by a rookie, who matches (or is at least close to) them, they are still disliked in some way.
BMW are quite a good example. Ok, JV came as part of the deal and we all know the pro's & con's of his career, but he was doing a reasonable job. However BMW had Kubica waiting in the wings. So they replace JV with Kubica. Now it's Heidfeld under pressure because BMW have another of their own young drivers - Sebastian Vettel - waiting to take his place.

Nothing against Kubica or Vettel, because they both seem to be talented young prospects, but the average age of F1 drivers is falling - it fell from 28yrs last year to 27yrs this year - while the value put on experience seems to be falling as well.

The reason? Are the cars easier to drive so the step up to F1 is not as hard, or as much of a learning process as it once was? Is it simply a case that younger = cheaper for the team owners? Or are the youngsters more 'attractive' from a PR/marketing perspective?

If I were Sebastian Vettel, or a driver in his position, I'd be worried about the longevity of my career, because there are far more young drivers than F1 drives, and impressive youngsters appear every year for team owners to sign up as "test drivers".

One good thing about this is we may see other racing series thrive as discarded drivers, young and old, look to something other than F1.