Go-karting, or Formula Ford? Can an F1 racer choose which type of racing he wants to start in?

Question

I'm just curious, a lot of F1 racers started in go kart racing, but some like jacques villaneuve and takuma sato, jumped straight to the lower formula series. Can a racer simply move to europe, join a race school, and then start their career in the formula ford series, or is it mandatory for them to have a background in go karting?

Answer 1

There is no mandatory way of advancing `up the ladder' to Formula One.
While many drivers start out in karts, it's highly unlikely any will then hop into a Formula Ford or Formula 2000 car and be competitive without some racing-school training. The skills learned in kart racing don't always transfer to formula car racing and you don't learn to `heel-and-toe' in a kart.
By the way, (Jacques) Villeneuve went to racing school in Canada, not Europe. Although he's lived in Europe (mostly Monaco) since he was very young, his first training was at the Mont Tremblant, Quebec.,-based Jim Russell Racing School and he followed that with a season at the Spenard-David school in Shannonville, Ont., where he drove in their `in house' series.

Answer 2

Sure. But it takes substantially more money. And maybe a driver would have learned something in karting that would help.

Finally, the competition is tougher in Formula Ford than in karting. If you want to be a major pro racer, you'd better win in Formula Ford real fast. There's little time for a beginner to learn about racing.

Note that Sato had personal connections that were very helpful in starting his career.

Answer 3

Normaly as child they start in Go-Kart and continue in Formel Series but ther's no must.

Answer 4

background is mandatory, despite what you just said about villaneuve and sato. mandatory. period.

Answer 5

I think you could start in 1/4 midgets too. Doesn't matter - time sorts em out.