Formula One: Exciting emergence of young drivers

Behind the masks F1's youngest podium, Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris at Monaco. Photo / Supplied

Apart from changing the lead for both the drivers' and constructors' championships, the Monaco Grand Prix result could also signal the start of a new F1 era.

Since 2014, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton have dominated both championships, to the extent that Hamilton is now seeking an eighth drivers' title and his Mercedes team an eighth consecutive constructors' title.

Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 as a teammate to then incumbent Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton beat Rosberg to the world championship in 2014 and 2015, but in 2016 Rosberg turned the tables. His aim in entering F1 was to become world champion like his father Keke achieved in 1982.

With his mission accomplished, Rosberg retired five days after becoming world champion. He was 31 years old when he retired but he remains involved in motorsport through driver management, as a TV commentator and running his own team in the Extreme E series.

Hamilton was joined at Mercedes by Valtteri Bottas in 2017.

Although Bottas led the driver's championship in 2019 after winning the season opener in Melbourne, he has failed to beat Hamilton in the championship in his four seasons as a teammate.

But with Max Verstappen winning at Monaco and taking the lead in the championship for his Red Bull team, it seems finally there is a non-Mercedes driver capable of winning the title.

Furthermore, the average age of the podium was just over 23. Verstappen is 23, and the youngest winner of the race since Sebastian Vettel won it as a 23-year-old in 2011. Carlos Sainz, who was second for Ferrari, is 26 years old, while Lando Norris who was third for McLaren is just 21.

Hamilton, who is 36, was only seventh in Monaco, which given his domination over the last six seasons, and winning three of the first four races this year, was quite a surprising result.

Monaco is just one race and Mercedes will have analysed its data to see what went wrong. But it has given not just Red Bull, but all the teams, some hope.

If Mercedes can have such a poor result, which was added to by Bottas having to retire from the race when running second due to a jammed wheel nut, then there could be a more permanent change at the top. There might also be a changing of the guard as the younger, perhaps hungrier drivers, come to the fore.

Former F1 driver and now TV presenter David Coulthard has suggested we might be seeing the "Hamilton era" coming to an end and the start of a "Verstappen era".

"He has the skills and is a man for the coming seasons," Coulthard says of Verstappen. "There is no doubt in my mind that we will see a shift from the Hamilton era to the Verstappen era. I don't know if that already happens this year, it will be due in the development race between the teams.

"We are now only in the early stages of the season.

"In Barcelona, Mercedes was far too strong for Red Bull, but in Monaco, it was Red Bull again too strong for them. I think it will be a change this season."

Coulthard also likes the fact that Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Norris are showing how good they are, and he is excited for the future of the sport with the talent coming through.

"Lewis is a great driver, don't get me wrong, but he's not a man of the people in the paddock. Max, Charles, George and Lando on the other hand, understand their job consists of not only driving race cars but also they have to deal with the media and sponsor, that they just have to be open, which has not always been the case with various drivers in the past."

Current F1 boss Ross Brawn, who is a former Ferrari boss, is impressed with Leclerc and Sainz and the way they "are working together to lift the team".

"They have recognised they have to take the team forward to get into position to win races before they start battling each other," Brawn said.

But he also gave a nod towards Vettel, noting it was great to see him back in the points.

"I will openly admit I've had my doubts about him in recent times and he's been a bit lackluster in his final years at Ferrari and then when he joined Aston Martin. But in Monaco, Sebastian definitely found his mojo. His performance in the race was very strong and reminded us of what we had we had come to expect from the four-time world champion."

Verstappen desperately wants to become Red Bull's next world champion, but he insists that he is not getting carried away with finally becoming the championship leader.

"Taking the lead in the championship feels good but we need to be there at the end of the final race, that's all that matters," Verstappen says.

"Where we are now feels good and of course it shows that we had a decent start to the year, but we have to keep on pushing because we still need to improve and do better. Nobody is ever perfect or standing still in this sport."

Honda F1 managing director Masashi Yamamoto can see similarities between Verstappen and the late Ayrton Senna.

"Honda won the Monaco Grand Prix six times in a row from 1987 to 1992, five of those victories coming from Ayrton Senna," Yamamoto noted.

"Coincidentally, this is the first time for Honda to win in Monaco since Senna, but I always see an overlap between Verstappen and Ayrton Senna, who is a very special driver for Honda because his driving is very similar to Senna's.

"At just 23 years of age, he still has the potential to match and surpass Senna's record of six Monaco victories and I'm delighted to have helped him take that step," he added.

This is Honda's last year in F1 since returning in 2015, but they are doing all they can to help Red Bull win the championship.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner is happy with the way things are going, stating "it's about time Toto Wolff [Mercedes team boss] had something to do".

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko believes Verstappen's youth could be a decisive factor in the championship.

"It's a long season and I hope he has more reserves, even though Hamilton has driven incredible races so far this year," Marko explained. "We've been humiliated by Mercedes for seven years, unsuccessfully chasing the title. Now we see the chance to strike back. We will mobilise all reserves and possibilities to achieve this."

Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve has never been a great fan of drivers entering F1 at too young an age. Verstappen was 17 years 166 days old when he made his F1 debut at the 2015 Australian GP driving a Toro Rosso.

The following year he replaced Danii Kvyat in the Red Bull four races into the season and won the Spanish GP, in his first drive in the Red Bull, becoming at 18 F1's youngest winner, a record that may never be beaten.

So, youth is still well and truly on his side, but Villeneuve sees no reason why someone like Vettel, who is only 33, shouldn't continue in F1 if he is having fun and making money.

"People always say 'oh, he's not winning, he should retire'. It's like everything in life - it is a job too," Villeneuve said. "It's fun to race but it's also a job. It's how you pay for your kids' education. It pays for everything.

"If you can still race in Formula 1, be something like competitive, have fun driving a car and make millions in the process, why should you step back? Unless you're scared of dying, or something. It's always the craziest question I'm asked."

The oldest driver on the grid is Kimi Raikkonen, aged 41, a year older than Fernando Alonso. Some critics say both those drivers are past their use-by date.

But while youth may be coming to the fore, 46-year-old Helio Castroneves has just won the Indy 500 for the fourth time, at a record speed.

His victory proves that age is just a number. Former F1 driver and two-time Indy car driver Juan Pablo Montoya aged 45, finished ninth. New Zealand's Scott Dixon, aged 40, started the race on pole. He lost a lap when his engine stalled, but he is still favoured to win a seventh Indycar title this year.

Last week, 50-year-old Phil Mickelson became the oldest golfer to win a major. Playing golf admittedly is quite different to travelling in a racecar at over 300km/h, but his victory proves that age and experience can often overcome youth.

Experienced athletes can often perform better than their age might suggest they can, but David Coulthard is right to be excited about the likes of Verstappen, Sainz, Leclerc, Norris, and Russell, when he gets to drive a Mercedes.