F1: The 10 Year Challenge for current drivers on the grid

Modified Jan 18, 2019 02:32 GMT

The current drivers have had a drastic change over the years

Sebastian Vettel

Four stressful seasons at Ferrari has definitely aged Sebastian Vettel. Ten years ago, Vettel had become the youngest ever winner of a Grand Prix (at the time) thanks to his stunning victory for Toro Rosso at Monza, still the only podium for the Italian team.

The German as promoted to Red Bull for 2009 and the team from Milton Keynes would produce a great car for that season, but not quite good enough to win the title.

Vettel broke down and cried after he missed out in Brazil, but he needn't have worried, winning the next four driver's titles in a row with RBR. Could 2019 be the year he wins his fifth?

Charles Leclerc

Just to emphasize how young Charles Leclerc is now, a decade ago, he was just 11 years old. At the start of 2009, he was a three-time French karting champion, before moving onto the cadet karting series for '09 and winning that too.

He'd graduate to formula racing in 2014, winning GP3 in 2016 and Formula 2 in 2017. After a stunning first season at Sauber, he's now a Ferrari driver at just 21 years of age, it'll be fascinating to see how the Monegasque stacks up against Vettel in 2019.

Edited by Alan John