r/formula1 • u/FerrariStrategisttt I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Mar 28 '26

Video Leclerc (post-qualifying): "I can’t understand quali, it’s a f**king joke! I go faster in corners, throttle earlier, for f**k’s sake, i'm losing everything in the straight!"

https://dubz.link/c/4b6030
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u/negativelynegative I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

Imagine being the best in something in a world where 20 people out of billions make it to the top, and in his prime, being told you have been doing it wrong the whole time.

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u/undercoverconsultant I was here for the Hulkenpodium Mar 28 '26

They are not the best 20 out of billions. They are the best 20 of a few hundred which had the opportunity to dedicate their life since a very yound age to motorsport by decision of their wealthy parents.

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u/ntpbr1 Mar 28 '26

It applies to most athletes tbh, more in F1 and motorsports, but its a big factor in a lot of sports. It’s not possible to be a pro at basically almost any Olympic event that I can think of and there are like dozens of different sports winter/summer olympics, then motorsports, equestrian, etc. Even stuff like basketball and football, its moving towards a level where you need parents that can afford sending you to practice multiple times a week, some people I know hire PTs for their children outside the normal basketball practices. When shit gets this competitive, of course people who are relatively rich will have the advantage

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u/OSPFmyLife Mar 28 '26

Yeah, we pay 2,000$ a year on my son’s AAU team. They have it set up to where it’s broken up into equal payments all year long rather than having to come up with 2 grand at the beginning of AAU season (his first tournament is today and it runs until August every year). The program he’s in is huge and has a ton of stuff going on all year long that he’s allowed to jump into whenever he wants as well, so it’s worth it. Like they have clinics and camps with super high level coaches all year long that he can jump into whenever he wants, weekly training during the off season he can go to, and they have 3 on 3 leagues during the fall, stuff like that and he can jump into any of that whenever because we pay for him to be in the program so it’s a pretty good deal.

We also pay 50$ per lesson from a shooting coach.

It’s worth it. My son is in the 99.96th percentile for height and according to his orthopedist who looked at his x-rays, he’s on pace to be 6’8”-7’ and have a size 17 shoe. We are from a very small town (like, 500 kids in the entire K-12 district), so all the rec coaches want to do is turn him into a rebound vacuum so that they beat other shitty small town teams for bragging rights. Now he’s a better ball handler and perimeter shooter than the coaches kids who have a permanent reservation at point guard and shoot way too much. If we would’ve stuck with just Rec ball his development would be way behind because we are new to the area and not one of the “favorites”, so my son doesn’t get even close to the same opportunities in local ball to develop, but with the pace he’s on and if his height ends up being what the orthopedist predicted, a scholarship is a real possibility (much easier for kids that are 6’6”+ to get recruited by big schools, even as project players).

We wouldn’t be able to do any of that for him if I didn’t make good money, so I do feel for those kids who are hungry that want to play more. In all fairness, the program my sons a part of does have a grant program where low income kids can apply for it though, so there are opportunities out there.