While people like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Ayrton Senna rightly get the recognition their achievements deserve, many other notable drivers arguably are given short shrift when it comes to being acknowledged for their talents.
F1 has long been littered with fantastic drivers, but because they often didn’t hit the heights of those mentioned above, the perception is that they’re not actually all that good. But it’s not that simple; there can be so many reasons someone could have been held back. Was it the car? Was it just sheer bad luck?
However, it isn’t just a thing of the past; even some of the current crop of drivers are superb but may not be portrayed that way in the media. Whilst all eyes will likely be on Hamilton and Verstappen once again in 2022, it is the undercard that people should be watching, with talents such as Charles Leclerc and George Russell putting strong drives in last year. Leclerc is the fourth favourite in the F1 odds with Coral to take the title this season, but he’s still very much an underdog. Some could say it’s hardly a surprise to hear such things when influential names like Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko, is not only reported by Sportskeeda as saying Carlos Sainz is the better driver at Ferrari, he doubles down by having a pop at Leclerc too.
While it would be great to see the likes of Leclerc and Russell upset the formbook in 2022 and beyond, it remains to be seen if they’re going to be able to elevate themselves above these following drivers who all had great talent but always seemed to be underrated for some reason.
Damon Hill
Following in the footsteps of his legendary two-time champion Graham, much was expected from Damon Hill when he arrived onto the F1 scene in 1992, but it would always be difficult in the ill-fated Brabham project. But when Hill was promoted from test driver to being part of the Williams team in 1993, his world changed. He finished 3rd in the championship, improved to a 2nd place finish in consecutive seasons, then lifted the title in 1996. There’s no doubt he’s a hero to British racing fans, but it’s strange how he’s not so revered elsewhere.
Giancarlo Fisichella
It’s simple, you don’t stay in F1 for over a decade if you don’t have any talent, and Fisichella was one of the unsung heroes of the sport in a 13-year stint in the pinnacle of motor racing. Fisichella arguably wrote the script for his career back in his days at Benetton, at the turn of the millennium. He consistently outperformed the future world title winner Jenson Button but saw himself out of a job with Button retained. After a solid season with Sauber in 2004, he moved to Renault, and it appeared to be a great move. But as the season progressed, he wasn’t being given the same car as his teammate Fernando Alonso who was noticeably quicker.
Despite all the hiccups and lousy luck, Fisichella made a total of 231 starts in F1, winning three times and stepping onto the podium 19 times. Although he only earned four pole positions in his career, one of them was driving for Force India, proving just how good a driver ‘Fisi’ was.
Jean Alesi
Although the early signs in the Frenchman’s career didn’t indicate it, he would go onto a lengthy and successful career when he drove for Tyrrell. But things kick-started when he attracted the attention of Ferrari in qualifying for the 1990 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Alesi drove the underpowered car to a 5th placed finish just a second slower than pole man Senna, a performance which arguably got him his move to the Italian marque. However, during his stint with Ferrari, he had a car beset with technical issues. It wasn’t uncommon to see him retiring from a race because of the unreliability of the Ferrari, so a 4th place finish in the championship in 1995 was no mean feat. When he swapped seats with world champion Schumacher, going to Benetton in 1996, many expected it to be his time to shine. However, Alesi slipped down the order after a positive first season before retiring in 2001