"Seventeen, and not yet a woman," sang The Regents one bleak December back in 1979. Jody Scheckter won the Drivers' Championship that year with Ferrari, with his team mate Gilles Villeneuve runner-up, thereby securing the constructors' title. A good year for the tifosi, a good year for one-hit-wonders The Regents, possibly a good year for many turning 17.
Age is just a number, cry some. Age shall not weary them, lament others, "180!" cry yet others with glee. Love them, hate them, ignore them, fudge them, what you cannot do, is escape them. Miss Physics and the numbers do not lie. You can indeed run from them, at a pace that can be defined and measured, but ultimately you cannot hide. Numbers for the ages, or age by numbers, let us amuse ourselves for a few brief minutes with both.
So! declares Sir Lewis Hamilton of Kimi Antonelli, "he's only 18". Well your dear scribe is "only a bit older". Heck, compared to the age of the solar system, Sir Lewis, Kimi and I are all of identical ages to about 17 decimal places.
Lewis was 21-and-a-half when Kimi was born on 25th August 2006 in Bologna. As recently as the 24th of August this year Kimi was still just seventeen, and as far as we know most certainly not yet a woman. As of the Monza weekend, his F1 free practice debut, he was 18 years and one week old. At Monza Lewis was close to 39 years, seven months and three weeks old. The wonder of mental maths tells me that double 18 delivers 36, meaning Lewis is more than twice Kimi's age. Indeed in fast-out-the-blocks families Lewis would be old enough to be Kimi's father.
The 2007 Australian GP was Lewis' first F1 start, aged 22. Kimi was seven months old. Kimi started in junior karts in 2014, aged 8. Lewis was 29 at that point, and on his way to his second title.
Vettel leapt into the F1 universe at the US GP of 2007, aged 20. Seb started karting aged 3, and joined Red Bull (the junior karting team) at the grand old age of 11. In 2004 he won the BMW ADAC championship with 18 wins from 20 starts, aged just 17.
V. Max! Ah, now this feels an age ago. In September 1997 when he fell to planet Earth, Lewis was already 12 years old. Born in a rush, V. Max was behind the wheel of a kart aged 3, and was competing in junior races aged 7. In 2005 he won the VAS junior karting championship, aged 8. Zip forward to 2013 and V. Max had a ridiculous year. Aged an entire 15 years he won (deep breath, checks teleprompter...) In 2013 V. Max won the South Garda Winter Cup (KF2 class), WSK Euro, and Master Series KZ class. He also won two European Championships and a World Championship in the KF and KZ classes. The chap he beat for the KZ World Championship? Why, Charles Leclerc.
V. Max was 17 years and 166 days when he took part in his first F1 weekend, the 2015 Australian GP for Toro Rosso. May 2016, and five races into his second season, V. Max, at 18 years old, was promoted to Red Bull winning the Spanish GP on his debut with the 'big team', aged a modest 18 years and 228 days. As a result he replaced Vettel in the record books as the youngest driver to lead an F1 lap, step on to the podium and win a race.
2016, what a season. Lewis was 31, Seb was 29, Kimi was 10 and V. Max, as just noted, was 18. Jody Scheckter was 66 and Gilles had been dead for 34 years. Gilles died three years before Sir Lewis was born, in May 1982. Time does not fly, it evaporates faster than a dry Martini spilt on the teak deck of a super yacht moored in Monaco.
Think on that. Gilles died before everyone on the current grid other than Fernando Alonso was born. Alonso was ten months old when Gilles left us. All our other current pilots were but musings in their parents minds back in May 1982.
What other time pilots can we consider? What other numbers may induce a smile or a grunt?
We've covered Jody as champion in 1979. Alonso was born 1981, the year Nelson Piquet won the championship in his Brabham, a team at that time run by a gentlemen called Bernie Ecclestone. Lewis was born in 1985, when the champion was Alain Prost in his McLaren TAG. Seb was born 1987, a year which saw Nelson at it again, but this time in a Williams Honda. He won his third and final championship, just beating team mate Nigel Mansell.
V. Max! Well, born in 1997. 1997... the bells of the ages rang loud that year! Jacques Villeneuve won the Drivers' Championship which many felt his father fully deserved, but did not live to win.
Rather like the Tibetans believe the Dali Llama's soul recycles through people, could one think the combative, artistic genius driving of Gilles was echoed in both his son's victory and the newly born spirit of V. Max? Regardless, all three are pure racers of the finest order. It remains the last championship won by a non-European driver, the most recent Drivers' and Constructors' Championships for Williams, and (scribe wipes tear from eye) the last championship won on Goodyear tyres.
Goodness! 1997 was a year of epic proportions! I'm sad to say it was also the year Michael Schumacher rammed Jacques off track in the final race of the season, marking potentially the lowest point for one of the finest racers of all time.
So, Kimi Antonelli. Only able to watch 18-rated movies for a little over a week and confirmed as joining the 2025 grid for Mercedes, while we had Franco Colapinto lining up on the Monza grid for Williams. Franco is a towering 21 years old, so while new to F1, he has been around motorsport for some time.
Kimi was born this century in August 2006, a season won by Fernando, after a year-long battle with Michael. A battle which saw them amass seven victories each. Amazing to think Alonso will be racing Kimi next year! Franco was born just three years earlier in May 2003, Michael won his sixth championship that season, finally beating Fangio's five titles. He battled Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren and Montoya in the Williams for the title. 2003 was Alonso's third year in F1 and saw his first win at the Hungarian GP. This broke Bruce McLaren's record as youngest GP winner. Alonso was a mature 22 at the time.
When a 20 year old Alonso first raced in F1 at the 2001 Australian GP, Oscar Piastri was still over a month away from being born. So for Oscar, Kimi and Franco it is true to note that Alonso was racing before they were born. Yet here he still is!
Ricardo Rodriguez died behind the wheel of a Lotus in the non-championship 1962 Mexican GP aged just 20. More recently Jules Bianchi died following injuries sustained in the 2014 Japanese GP aged 25. Next season Alonso will have been racing for 24 years. His career is already longer than the life of Ricardo and by the end of next season will be as long as Jules entire life. Dear Ayrton was only 34 when he met his end.
Strange how the players move in and out of the game, yet the mighty racing houses live on. While Ferrari, founded in 1939 (85 years old) is the oldest the fact that McLaren (founded 1963, 61 years old) and Williams (founded 1977, 47 years old) were battling for titles before any of the current grid were born is a reminder that time waits for no one. As one of my most beloved progressive rock bands noted "The sands of time are eroded by the river of constant change".
The wonder of F1 marches ever onward, new drivers bow in and take the stage, as others bow out, exiting stage left pursued by a bear. Now surely dear reader, we'd all like the chance to be just 17 once more? Welcome to the stage Kimi and Franco. Just remember no matter how long our star shines bright, they all fade. It's only a matter of time. So enjoy this amazing moment. None of us will be 17 ever again.
Max Noble
Learn more about Max and check out his previous features, here
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