Zhou Guanyu finished a distant 14th in last year’s Chinese Grand Prix, but Formula 1 highlighted his achievement as if he’d won the championship.
The Sauber driver was given a dedicated spot on the grid to park on after the race so he could celebrate with his home fans. The justification for this peculiar moment was that Zhou had just become the first of China’s 1.4 billion citizens to compete in an F1 race before their home crowd.Surely someone at F1 reckoned there was a good chance it would also be the last home appearance for a Chinese driver for several years. Zhou hadn’t set the world alight in his previous two seasons at Sauber, and he duly lost his drive at the end of the year.
That was one half of a double blow for Liberty Media. China is one of two nations it is especially keen to do business in, but both it and the other – America – lost their representatives on the grid during last year.
Of course the kind of long-term, dedicated F1 fans who read RaceFans are less likely to be drawn to the sport through shared nationality with a driver or team. But it does help pull new viewers in, and that is Liberty’s priority.
Simply put, more nationalities represented on the grid means more obvious points of contact for potential new fans. But while 15 different countries were represented on the grid at the start of last year, that has fallen to 13 this season, the lowest in five years.
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Arguably, that figure could be regarded as even lower. Four drivers have British licences but Alexander Albon, who raced under a Thai licence, has dual Thai-British nationality, was born in London and schooled in Britain. Classifying him as British would make this the least diverse grid at the start of a season since 2013.
Still, it bears pointing out that Britain’s newest F1 driver, Oliver Bearman, arrived via Ferrari. He joins Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris and George Russell (plus Albon, depending on how you slice it). Others are waiting in the wings, notably Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad and Williams’ Luke Browning, both of whom will race in Formula 2 this year.
Marketing aside, it wouldn’t matter if F1’s 20 seats all went to drivers from the same country, or 20 different nations. What matters most is how well F1’s grid measures up to the ideal of containing the 20 best drivers on the grid. How far that may be the case will always be a bone of contention.
Realistically, a field of 20 cars are never going to accurately represent almost 200 countries. But it’s striking that while the championship increasingly reaches out to audiences beyond Europe, its competitors remain predominantly drawn from there.
But taking all that into consideration, if we take it as read that the best drivers in the world are likely to be scattered across it, it’s noteworthy that the mix of countries represented by F1 has shrunk this year. The departures of Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen and Valtteri Bottas leave Mexico, Denmark and Finland respectively without representation. The latter doesn’t have a driver in the field for the season-opener for the first time since 1989, during which time it has produced champions such as Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen.
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However, two countries with storied F1 histories which have been without regular competitors in recent years, return this year. Italy’s Andrea Kimi Antonelli debuts for Mercedes and Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto is one of Zhou’s replacements at Sauber.
No doubt Liberty would prefer F1’s mix of driver nationalities to look more like the upper end of the Olympic medal table. But it may face a long wait until it can point to competitors from both the USA and China again.
There is a lack of Chinese names in the upper echelons of F1’s feeder series, though there are a few in the lower levels. Zhou therefore remains F1’s best chance for Chinese representation in the short-to-medium term, though he is yet to announce his 2025 plans.
There are a few more American names working their way up through the levels. But as always it remains to be seen whether any opportunities will appear for them. F2 driver Jak Crawford is part of Aston Martin’s young driver programme – but so is Felipe Drugovich, who won that title three years ago and has been on the sidelines ever since.
Liberty Media’s best chance of getting an American driver on the grid again may therefore rest on a change it previously resisted. This time last year FOM resisted pressure from the FIA to allow an 11th team to enter, but since then it has relented, and US brand Cadillac looks set to gain admission next year.
Mario Andretti, America’s last F1 champion who is now serving as consultant to Cadillac’s operation, named last year’s IndyCar runner-up Colton Herta as a leading driver under consideration for a seat. Liberty Media may therefore finally see an upside to their grudging acquiescence.
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Formula 1
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matiascasali (@matiascasali)
4th February 2025, 12:48
Well, it happens the same in football. The best players in history comes from Argentina or Brazil. Why britons have more drivers? Becauese more teams and sponsors come from britain than any other place, and maybe because it’s relatively cheaper to race for them. If your briton, you can be racing karting in elite level not farter away than 1000km away from your home, family and school, but if you’re from latin america, that’s impossible, and almost unaffordable unless you’re rich.
MacLeod (@macleod)
4th February 2025, 13:42
That is why Senna could cart and had the best gear to race with it. That was when I was in that circuit racing but I had to stop because my family couldn’t afford it.
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
5th February 2025, 1:48
Also: how many scouts from gp2 or F1 are in south america looking for talent for their academies? They won’t bother in traveling as far, since they had a lot of talent in europe anyway.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
4th February 2025, 15:13
Theres no link between Messi/Maradonna/ Pele/ Ronaldo and why motor racing drivers from the UK have an advantage in getting up the pyramid. In fact its almost the diametric opposite reason. Sponsorship is global too, i doubt many of the multinational sponsors are British companies, even just as a guess because the UK doesn’t have many uk owned multinationals.
anon
4th February 2025, 21:56
@tonymansell it would depend what stage of the career ladder you are thinking about – whilst a driver might attract more global sponsorship when they start becoming better known in higher ranking series, national sponsors may well play more of a role at the earlier stages of a drivers career.
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
5th February 2025, 1:53
If you’re european, it’s easier to get sponsorship wich can support your career, bit still living with your parents, near the races. A southamerican one, need more money for living far from home with fewer sponsors who could afford that.
matiascasali (@matiascasali)
5th February 2025, 11:05
How many kids play football in Argentina, and how many kids goes karting? Almost everyone can afford a ball and play football. Almost no one can afford a karting career in the country, let alone a european karting career.
David
4th February 2025, 16:07
Britain has a huge car racing culture and arguably more operational racetracks per capita than any other country in the world. We’re also a pretty wealthy country (the stats don’t lie). That’s why we have so many car racing drivers in the upper echelons. The presence of the F1 teams here is a boost to engineering professionals, but doesn’t bring in the drivers.
Meanwhile Italy and Spain are motorcycle mad which is why hardly any Brits run in MotoGp end even our historic category of Superbikes is far more international than it used to be.
America is a world of it’s own of course. Cars turn left, bikes run on dirt. No surprise they are missing from the international series, and it doesn’t actually bother the US in the slightest. I imagine they watch Drive to Survive solely to laugh at the real-life Jean Girards with their funny accents and slender waistlines.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
4th February 2025, 17:48
Yep, I was just going to raise the point re: MotoGP.
anon
4th February 2025, 21:48
David, there have been many phases in Formula 1 when drivers have overwhelmingly come from a particular nation, depending on cycles when sponsorship and national racing series meant a larger group of drivers from a particular nation tended to climb the motorsport ladder at a similar time.
If you were to go back to the 1990s, for example, Italian driver were extremely numerous on the grid – there were some seasons where around a third of the drivers who competed in those seasons were Italian. There have also been times when, in part due to strong sponsorship from nationalised companies and a strong single seater championship, there was a glut of French drivers in the sport.
Equally, in the 2000s and early 2010s, you had periods when German drivers were making up around a quarter of the grid, which was attributed to the increased sponsorship and interest in motorsport due to Schumacher’s success in the 1990s helping more German drivers through the junior series.
The success of Hamilton and Button in Formula 1 in more recent years may well have had a similar effect on the UK motorsport sector, whilst in other countries, the halo effect of a prominent and successful driver may have faded and made it more difficult to attract sponsorship and backing.
David
5th February 2025, 11:20
British drivers have appeared in every F1 season since 1950 (no other nation has managed this, even among the European and South American stalwarts)
British drivers have won 20 WDCs ( next nation is Germany with 12 mostly thanks to Schumacher and Vettel’s multiple wins).
10 British driver’s have won a WDC (next nation has 3).
163 British drivers have competed in an F1 race (next nation has 99).
This is not a sign of changing fashions. British involvement has dominated F1 from day one.
Drg
6th February 2025, 18:07
Yep weird that…
Given pretty much all the F 1 teams from the start have been..
In Britain – and still are.
F1 investment is right here in Britain and has nothing to do with ‘bias’
Just history.
Take a look at the adult karting classes – how many of the long circuit 250cc (150mph plus) karts are developed here as opposed to the tight twisty 125 and equivalent classes are developed elsewhere?
Again – Britain
Jeez people see plots and bias everywhere since Verstappen appeared – it’s pretty ridiculous frankly.
Mr A
5th February 2025, 21:34
I don’t know where you get your information from but there is absolutely no way the average British person can afford to support a karting career, never mind do anything in any of the higher disciplines.
It is a sport for a minority of rich people.
Don’t believe the nonsense about Hamilton, Button, Norris etc. coming from working class backgrounds. They didn’t.
David
5th February 2025, 23:52
You’re making a fool of yourself. Norris comes from a very privileged background, I’m not sure anyone has tried to deny it. Button and Hamilton both come from very average backgrounds. And nobody is stupid enough to think that every Briton can afford a karting career. But there are a heck of a lot that can. And a heck of a lot that want to spend the money on giving their child a shot at motor racing.
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
4th February 2025, 12:54
I don’t care where the drivers come from as long as they’re the best. Same with teams. I wanted Andretti’s team not because they are from US but because I think they will compete. If they can’t compete I don’t mind seeing them or any other uncompetitive team relegated.
Coventry Climax
4th February 2025, 13:35
Exactly. Nationalist behavior hasn’t brought us anything – ever – except feud, for lack of a more to the point word, connected to the loss of lives.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
4th February 2025, 15:08
err its motor racing dude, not the revolution.
sam
4th February 2025, 17:32
It depends on the Nation. Grow up.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
4th February 2025, 13:36
And this is where Soccer / Football excels. Where people were born on the earth and their background offers comparatively little obstacles so long as they’re good enough. Scouts are everywhere, and the game is played everywhere. It’s mostly a merticoristy.
Lando, George, Alex all came from money. They represent a small percentage of Britons. I’m not saying they ‘made it’ because of money. But the idea that they’re the best, is statistically unlikely. There’s many others who never started, or fell by the wayside once financing it got into crazy figures.
El Pollo Loco
4th February 2025, 13:45
I don’t think any (OK, 90%+) fans would disagree. Fans just want the best drivers available on the grid. It’s just a shame that we’re limited nearly exclusively to the progeny of the wealthy and connected. It’s why of the few who’ve made it to F1 without such a background, an insane percentage have been head and shoulders above the majority of the field.
Let’s also remember the title/article was written and published by a Brit and is not the result of fans complaining about the grid make up.
Ironically, not too long ago, half the grid was German with only a few Brits. It’s shifted back and forth throughout the years. Once upon a time there were more multiple junior formulas considered legit feeder series.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
4th February 2025, 15:07
Please let me know when half the grid was German !
Davethechicken
4th February 2025, 16:13
It is known as “a figure if speech”
Davethechicken
4th February 2025, 16:14
*of, I do love autocorrect
MichaelN
4th February 2025, 19:14
Not quite half, but in the early 2010s you had Vettel, Rosberg, Schumacher, Sutil, Hülkenberg, Heidfeld, Glock and Klien as the honourable almost-German. About a third of the grid in some races.
El Pollo Loco
4th February 2025, 21:38
Yep. 2010:
1. Vettel
2. Rosberg
3. Schumacherj
4. Hulk
5. Heidfeld
6. Glock
7. Klein
8. Sutil
In 2001, we had six Brazilians appear on the grid.
In 1989, 15 Italians would appear on the grid. By 2012, it was zero. It’ll be odd to be Finn free for the first time in a long while in 2025. These things are cyclical.
Leksa (@leksa)
4th February 2025, 13:34
The lack of teams is the main reason for this to happen. If there were 13 teams, totaling 6 extra seats available, I’m sure Zhou, Bottas, Perez, Magnussen and maybe even Sargeant would’ve been able to continue in F1.
I’ve said it many times that F1 keeps shooting itself in the foot by not constantly doing everything they can to fill the grid with 26 cars.
rprp
5th February 2025, 13:53
I know this article is about different nationalities being represented, but with regards to the number of teams on the grid, more importantly, it means it’s less likely that we’ll discover the next Alonso, Webber, Ricciardo, maybe Bianchi had he had the chance, all of which started in teams that wouldn’t pass the made up “they’re not going to be competitive enough” test that the teams were pushing when they didn’t want Andretti joining.
MichaelN
5th February 2025, 14:10
That claim was such a joke, thankfully Zhou eventually spared Sauber the embarrassment of finishing the season without even scoring a single point in the same year as backing that statement.
Alesici
4th February 2025, 13:40
Another type of diversity would be the diversity of racing categories the drivers learnt their skills in.
At a glance, I see that all of this year’s numerous rookies have come from Formula 2. Perhaps that’s not a compliment of F1’s feeder series, but instead an indictment of its super licence system…
Adrian Hancox (@ahxshades)
4th February 2025, 14:43
Have to disagree there – the super license is doing exactly what they want it to – funnel the drivers from FIA feeder series to the pinnacle series within the FIA. They are prioritizing their own series as they have every right to do, and the onus is on other series drivers to be that much better.
It is clear that there is a preferred route to F1 and if young drivers chose to go a different route (Indy car etc.), well that’s their decision. They still have a pathway to F1, but they are outside the FIA rules and sphere of influence – so they SHOULD work harder for a place that others that follow the preferred pathway do.
Alesici
4th February 2025, 19:29
Regarding the success of the super license, you seem to be judging that on the basis of how much it benefits the FIA, whereas I’m more interested in how much it benefits world motorsport through healthy cross pollination.
I guess you didn’t get to enjoy the sight of Juan Pablo Montoya come from nowhere (some thing called Indycar) and showing no respect, being the only driver on the grid to stand up to Michael Schumacher on track.
Or Jaques Villeneuve teaching Patrick Head that it is suboptimal to set up a racing car’s suspension perfectly symmetrically on any track – not just on ovals.
Or Gilles Villeneuve applying his snowmobile skills to excel in poor visibility F1 races, as their races featured machines blowing snow across the track. He also applied his dragster experience to his F1 starts.
El Pollo Loco
4th February 2025, 21:43
They have every right to force their monopolistic, money driven agendas! After all, it’s not like they’re supposed to be a neutral arbiter or anything! What were you thinking?!
FIA: Pay the right people or no soup for you!
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
4th February 2025, 18:02
Alex Albon scores points for Britain, but when he crashes he’s representing Thailand. That’s how F1’s usually been covered in the UK.
Unicron (@unicron2002)
4th February 2025, 18:09
I must admit I’ve never noticed that before, I’ll look out for that this year.
I remember Coulthard saying that when he crashed he was Scottish, when he won he was British. Same as Andy Murray. I don’t know whether this is anecdotal or based on fact.
Tommy Scragend
4th February 2025, 18:31
Andy “I’ll support whoever England are playing against” Murray? He brought that on himself.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
4th February 2025, 20:28
Ahah, a friend of mine said that too, talking about other sports: when scotland wins at something they’re british, when they lost they’re scottish!
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
4th February 2025, 20:29
when they lose*
Mr A
5th February 2025, 21:37
No, he crashes and scores points under a Thai license. We do not even attempt to claim him.
Stop that now.
Sumedh
5th February 2025, 11:11
More than the nationalities, I am more concerned about how many drivers are from wealthy families / related to ex-drivers (Norris, Albon, Stroll, Verstappen, Doohan, Borteleto, Antonelli).
Of course, many of the above names are talented. But the pool of racing drivers is getting smaller and only the privileged few are even getting into racing.
One would never know how ordinary kids would have driven had they got access to what these wealthy kids got access to.
El Pollo Loco
6th February 2025, 21:46
“It’s a yoke” as our buddy Alonso, the only driver from a blue collar family on the grid since Schumacher, would say. This will never change though. Racing is too expensive. It could improve though if F1 and the FIA made any attempt to provide scholarship type help to just a few star karters each year from non-moneybag families.
Tomas Temichele
5th February 2025, 23:22
Too much british driver, not good for buisness and not good for people watching and if they are not british they are from one of their colonies. They better start to look on other sides of the world, there are good drivers all over the world even with backing but if you are from uk you get the upper hand for gaining a seat. BORING!!
Alastair MacDiarmid (@almacd64)
6th February 2025, 3:59
You could equally argue that having just one New Zealand driver skews the grid too, given the country’s small population.
Cameron
9th February 2025, 0:54
I don’t know about China, but Americans aren’t going to be excited about an American driver unless he’s winning races. Just having an American driver who is the worst on the grid on a back marker team isn’t going to do much.