A racing driver who didn't start karting at six still matches the speed of drivers who did, crediting dedicated training and muscle memory over early specialization. The debate in Formula 1 assumes elite drivers need to begin young, but intensive later training can close the gap.
So as you describe it, it almost sounds like if I'm in shape and I get my muscle memory in place, I can go drive a race car. How, how much of it is that versus innate skill and talent? Ooh, I like this question.
So this is sort of an ongoing conversation in the world of racing because in Formula 1 you have very young drivers and the argument is you can't be a great racing driver unless you've started at 6 years old. And just lived and breathed it. I did not start at 6, so, and I'm just as fast as my driving partner who did. And I think that comes down to training. So there is an element of consistency in finding those last hundredths of a second or thousandths of a second that can come down to skill. But I think if you train hard enough and dedicate yourself to it, you can sort of match innate talent to a certain extent.
