Is winning races key for junior single-seater drivers?

With many point-scoring systems rewarding consistent results, our writers debate the importance of raw speed over championship success

“Drivers need to showcase standout ability to progress up the ranks”

YES

It is arguably an old-fashioned view but, to me, a capability to win races, demonstrate brilliant racecraft and deliver outright impressive speed are the most important attributes for a driver to show when on the early rungs of the junior single-seater ladder. Consistency is important, but they need to showcase standout ability in order to progress up the ranks. There are hundreds of drivers duking it out across a plethora of different championships, with the majority having at least one eye on reaching Formula 1. But only the very exceptional get that chance.

Take the near-unprecedented situation of no completely new drivers joining the F1 grid this year. One factor behind that is a lack of standout performers in F2 that have made a strong enough case for deserving a seat. In a world where many point-scoring systems are weighted more towards consistency than race wins, this scenario is perhaps not surprising. Instead, drivers should be encouraged to secure those attention-grabbing results.

Taking impressive victories, for me, is a better demonstration of talent than continually picking up decent results. Unless a driver goes for that risky lastlap move for glory, makes that slight error and learns from it at an early stage of their career, they are going to struggle further up the ladder. I recognise that championship positions are all-important for talent spotters – and acknowledge the budget implications of hefty repair bills – but less emphasis should be placed upon these standings when they can mask the true stars.

Ultimately, consistency can be learned but delivering that raw speed and outstanding racecraft are far harder to teach. The example of Deagen Fairclough from British Formula 4 last year comes to mind. He was getting a bad reputation during the early events after a series of fairly clumsy collisions, but had also displayed some incredible opening-lap overtakes. Later in the campaign, he’d combined that speed with a touch more maturity, bagged a handful of wins and was very impressive. He’s now one of the title favourites heading into this season having already demonstrated those stand-out skills. I would like to see drivers that excite, rather than just settle for points.