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WHEN THE REJECTS REACH THE TOP! F1 'Rejects' That Did Well in Endurance

Aidan Millward

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There's that thing, isn't there? If it's not F1, it didn't happen. If a driver doesn't reach F1, they've failed. It's almost like these people saying that Messi isn't as good as Ronaldo because Messi never played in the Premier League.

But there are more than a few drivers out there who didn't do so well in F1, or make it at all, who ended up being solid endurance drivers with a lot of success. Martin Brundle gets a lot of flak, so I thought I'd put him in here, but we've also got a Red Bull castoff, a guy who was stuck in with the DNPQ lads, one who needs more respect put on his name, and the last one being one who ended up being quite the surprise. Because in F1, he was just yet another pay driver.

Obviously, there's many more, but these are the ones who stand out immediately. But who did I miss? Tell me who I 'forgot' in the comments!

Enjoy! And remember to like and subscribe for more!

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20 Comments

@AidanMillward Creator 3 months ago Pinned

So who was 'forgotten' then? :_loeb:

@sujjo 3 months ago

It's so weird to say this. Antonio Giovinazzi is a Ferrari World Champion before Charles Leclerc.

@bmstylee 3 months ago (edited)

3:05 Mark Webber is so good he's on the list twice. He's better known as The Stig's favorite airline pilot.

@Midgley-xe6sj 3 months ago

If your wife recognises all those names, she's an absolute legend. ig watching the longest f1 race in history together has its benefits then

@nalamisseb4305 3 months ago

People have been knighted for less than what Nick Tandy has achieved

@No_Body_Dan 3 months ago

Everyone forgets that Michael Schmacher drove sports cars before he went to F1. It was his antics in the Sauber Mercedes that got him his call up in the Jordan.

@hawka-4711 3 months ago

It's never been that f1 rejects are bad, rather f1 doesn't have room for every great tallent.

@WagnerianoItaliano 3 months ago

A lot of drivers with lackluster/terrible spells in F1 hava a Le Mans win to their name: Paolo Barilla, Jo Winkelhock, Volker Weidler, Johny Dumfries and Vern Schuppan, just to name a few. Then, there are people like Martini, Warwick, Wurz and Kubica, for whom Le Mans was the crowning achievement of a brillant career that, under different circumstances, could have been even better in the Circus. Hulkenberg sort-of fits in as well, but he was a one hit wonder,

@ballisticchillz 3 months ago

Out of all the F1 rejects to do endurance i think Kamui has to be at the top. Hes pretty nuts as a driver and I think was able to make a name for himself pretty well in the top class.

@therandom1st 3 months ago

With all these former F1 drivers in WEC, it's almost like F1 is a WEC Feeder Series! 😏

@BobGeogeo 3 months ago (edited)

A variant of the move to endurance theme is Dale Earnhardt. He did some racing with the Corvette team and said he could take up endurance racing when he retired from NASCAR.

@HATECELL 3 months ago

Thinking that F1 is the one and only pinnacle of motorsport is a bit like thinking everyone who graduated from a notable university is smart and everyone else isn't.
Both require a very specific type of person, and your personality and style of doing things matters at least as much, if not more, than raw skill.

@Javadamutt 3 months ago

I think a lot of people were spoiled in the 60s and 70s when F1 drivers raced in many other categories. It was directly easy to compare and contrast and see who stood out. Mansell especially really cemented reigning F1 champion, heading off to the USA and dominating trope. I have often wondered has the real origin or at least the definitive example been him and all current fans have held onto that and passed that status on.

I would say now with how hyper professional all motorsports are that the sterotype is nowhere near as clear cut or remotely true. Yes there is an element of F1 attracting the cream of the crop, but with so many other paths and so few seats never mind other racing requiring slightly different skill sets is there an element of so many great drivers ending up in indie, sports car, endurance etc that in years gone by would have been in F1 or disappeared

@charamia9402 3 months ago

It's almost like people are good at different things. Runners are good at different distances, football players in different positions and racing drivers in different cars...

@PurestBollocks 3 months ago

3:25 you forgot Mark Webber

@janiandelin93 3 months ago

I was sure JJ Lehto'd be the last driver you'd cover, especially when he wasn't even on the shortlist at first

@D3Vlicious 3 months ago (edited)

Putting this video out right before Nyck de Vries wins his first 24 Hours of Le Mans (alongside Kamui Kobayashi winning his second) is definitely something.

@areasquirrel 3 months ago (edited)

The mentality pissed me off the most when I saw a 'comment' branding Formula E a "participation trophy for talentless rejects and not real cars if Wehrlein is winning", indicating that Button putting him in the wall at Monaco was his fault, and that his 'rEaL' talent level was him flipping at the Race of Champions leaving Vettel to win single handed. Also whilst not explicitly seeing it said, the attitude also gets thrown at De Vries. World Champion? Huh, must be piss easy, then. Let's be honest, hands up, it works the other way, too, I once scoffed at WEC because Hulkenberg won Le Mans. 'Did all the endurance veterans break down, then?' It's like that Father Ted line by Dick Byrne, "I'm sure you'd win it... if all the other contestants were killed! Ha!"

@VkmSpouge 3 months ago (edited)

Great video. Drivers who may not have had sparkling F1 careers finding their calling in other series. Not all drivers will be suited to F1 but might find another form of motorsport, stock cars, touring cars, rally cross, endurance that will suit them better. F1 isn't the pinnacle of motorsport, it's simply a high peak in a mountain range of motorsport.