Next Brit thing? F1 set for British driver flood

While Brazil grabbed Formula 1 headlines with the 2018 season set to be the first in 49 years with no drivers from the nation after Felipe Massa’s retirement, the United Kingdom has somewhat slipped into a driver drought but the floodgates are set to open for British F1 talents.

Lewis Hamilton carries the Union Jack alone in 2018 after Jolyon Palmer’s exit from Renault to mark the fewest ever number of British drivers on an F1 grid.

The reigning F1 world champion’s success and exploits as the sport’s only global star covers up for any lost representation but in a sport previously dominated by the British Isles, including the 1963 season which saw every race won by a Brit, those behind the wheel have dried up in recent years with the departure of Palmer and Jenson Button.

For those fans looking to back the Union Jack wavers, the tide is about to change with 2018 almost certainly acting as the momentary pause before the surge of young British drivers to join Hamilton in F1.

Indeed, while the most recent British F1 graduates may have failed to make a lasting impression after Hamilton’s debut in 2007, there are a number of names tipped for very bright futures starting with McLaren’s current protégé.