We all know that karting is the foundation of Formula One. I mean, how could you be getting to F1 without karting nowadays?
Every single top F1 driver you see today started out on a go-kart.
It’s where the passion begins, where racecraft is born, and where those early rivalries and big dreams first take shape.
I’ve been lucky enough to race against some of them — guys like Leclerc, Russell, even Verstappen for a couple of races.
And it’s crazy to think how much all of them pushed their absolute limits in their go kart before making it big in F1.
Here are just a few of the legends who came up through karting:
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton apparently started karting at 8 years old.
Even back then, people could see he had something special.
By 10, people were already calling him a future champion. And when McLaren’s Ron Dennis spotted him in ’98, the rest was history.
He credits karting with teaching him how to overtake and stay calm under pressure — two things that defined his F1 career.
His father kept telling to brake later and later, and that’s what shaped is legendary braking technique that served him win 7 world titles.
Sebastian Vettel
Vettel’s first kart was built by his dad. He was just 3 years old.
By the time he was a teenager, he was already winning titles in Germany.
For him, karting was the ultimate learning ground — discipline, instincts, and how to win under pressure.
And that foundation led to his four world championships in F1.
He still goes back driving a go kart every once in a while as he seems to enjoy it a lot, even without racing anymore.
Ayrton Senna
Senna started karting at 13, quite late actually, racing on local tracks in Brazil.
He didn’t always have the best equipment, but his natural talent and determination were on another level.
He called karting the “purest form of racing” and often said it shaped everything about his approach to competing in F1.
Fernando Alonso
Alonso started karting at 3. His dad built him a kart and from there, it was game on.
By 8, he was winning races across Spain.
He learned how to fight, how to adapt, and how to beat guys with more money and better equipment — all from karting.
That attitude filled with huunger followed him all the way to two F1 world titles.
And today? He still drives karts and even built his own kart brand, race track and museum. Talk about commitment to the sport!
Michael Schumacher
Schumacher had access to a karting track through his dad, who worked at one. He started racing when he was 4 and quickly showed he was on another level.
Even after he retired from F1 (the first time), he kept karting just for training and I used to see him at the paddock so many times, while looking after his son Mick.
That’s how much he loved it.
He used karting to stay sharp and connected to his racing roots.
Why Karting Matters
Karting isn’t just a springboard to F1. It’s the best (and perhaps only) place to develop:
- Core skills like braking, feeling the grip, race lines, and throttle control
- Racecraft, including defending, overtaking, and building consistency
- Mental strength — bouncing back from mistakes and staying sharp under pressure
It’s the most intense, hands-on learning you can get in racing.
There’s no hiding in karting, and there’s no excuses if performance isn’t there.
It’s the purest form of racing.
That’s why F1 drivers keep getting back at it.
More Modern Greats Who Came Through Karting:
- Max Verstappen — the GOAT, started at 4, dominated from day one
- Charles Leclerc — tons of karting titles and one of the best pure racers on the grid
- Lando Norris — great karting background and still drives for fun under his own kart brand LN
- George Russell — I raced with him a lot in karting, and he was already very talented back then
Even today, guys like Norris, Leclerc, Russell, and Albon keep coming back to karting — for training, for fun, for that pure feeling only a kart can give.
Final Thoughts
If you’re serious about racing, it all starts with karting.
It’s where the best build their foundations. And it’s where real drivers are made.
It’s the purest form of racing, remember.
So whether you’re aiming for F1 or just trying to be the best version of yourself on track — karting is the way.
Just Senndit
– Alessio Lorandi
