Karting buddies
Lance Stroll, Nyck de Vries, Alex Albon and George Russell in their karting days, back in 2011 (picture above). What strikes me with this generation of F1 drivers, and that includes Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, is that even though they are fierce competitors on track, they seem to genuinely mean well for each others’ career, and even be friends.
Alex Albon: “We are close. We all want each other to do well, we are the young generation, coming into Formula One and support each other.”
Lance Stroll, far left, is 13, has recorded many wins in karting in his native Canada, and is since 2010 member of the Ferrari Driver Academy. He will make his F1 debut in 2017 with Williams.
Nyck de Vries, is 16 in 2011, and is about to win the Karting World Championship. The Dutchman will have to wait until 2022, and the Italian Grand Prix to make his F1 debut with AlphaTauri.
Alex Albon is 15 when this picture was taken, the Thai-British racing driver is already supported by Red Bull, and will finish second in the CIK-FIA World Championship, before moving up to the Formula Renault 2.0. Albon made his F1 debut in 2019 with Toro Rosso. He’s seen, picture here-under, with Norris in 2022.
George Russell is 13 in 2011, and is going to win the 2012 FIA European Karting Championship. Russell made his F1 debut in 2019 with Williams, and won the 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix for Mercedes.