Will Stevens is a 23-year-old English driver who is racing for Manor F1 racing team this year, who ultimately saved Marussia from ‘crashing and burning’ just days before the 2015 deadline. Manor have had a difficult start to the season as they failed to compete in Melbourne, despite making the trip out to Australia for the opening race of the campaign.
Meanwhile, two weeks later in Malaysia, the team were forced to run just one car at a time and in qualifying, they opted for Stevens’ Spanish team-mate Roberto Mehri – who was five seconds slower than the next slowest car. We take a look at Stevens’ early career and discuss his brief time in F1, while looking at his future in the sport.
He has impressed at junior level
Stevens had an excellent record at junior level and there is certainly a bright future in motorsport for the youngster, even if that does not happen to be at Manor. He did not achieve success to the level of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso, but he definitely possesses raw talent and driving ability.
He had a solid youth career and finished fourth in an extremely difficult field in the highly rated Formula Renault 3.5 series in 2013. Stevens won two races and finished on the podium a further four times. His achievements earned him the opportunity for a one-off drive with Caterham at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. However, due to the weakness of Manor as a team, it may be a while before the 23-year-old can hope for similar levels of success in F1.
Making a breakthrough in F1
At the Chinese Grand Prix, Stevens achieved Manor’s first ever finish in Formula 1. It was clear that the team had progressed, and they qualified just three seconds behind the McLaren-Hondas. The 23-year-old is currently paying to drive for the team, and some are questioning just why he would choose to spend his money to race and be so far off the pace.
Although the youngster admits that he is unsure on where the team is heading towards in the long-term, John Booth – the team’s owner – has excellent leadership skills and guidance, which have helped to provide Manor with a strong racing pedigree, despite their low budget.
Will he have a long career in Formula 1?
Stevens may turn out to have successful career in the sport, but only time will tell. It is likely that Manor will struggle to achieve significant accomplishments while they remain so far behind the competition, and the 23-year-old will need to be noticed by another team if he is to have a long career as a Formula 1 driver. For more Formula 1 news and odds, click here.
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