Ever wondered what the current grid of Formula 1 drivers might look like in 30, 40 or even 50 years time?
Well thanks to the power of AI and FaceApp, you don’t need to wonder any longer.
Too old to race?
Fernando Alonso is now 42 years old and has competed in more Formula 1 races than any driver ever. Yet his recent run of stunning performances at Aston Martin show that, despite having first competed in Formula 1 over 20 years ago, he is very much back in his best ever form.
‘Nando is showing us that a Formula 1 career can now span over two decades, and maybe more. Who knows how long he’ll keep performing at the very top of his game for? I don’t see any end to it just yet.
How will F1 drivers look when they're old?
And that got me thinking. How old is too old for an F1 driver? The oldest ever racing driver to finish a Formula 1 race was Philippe Étancelin who placed 8th in the 1952 French Grand Prix at the ripe old age of 55.
Alonso needs another 13 years of competitiveness to beat that record. At this rate I don’t think anyone would dare say that’s not achievable.
So to preempt the current grid of F1 drivers going on to have long careers in the sport, I decided to see what they might all look like in 30, 40 or even 50 years time.
Some of the results below are absolute corkers.
First off it’s the the world champ, and it appears that in 30 years time it looks like he’s going to resembled Max Mosely more than Max Verstappen.
There is a definite resemblance to his dad Jos Verstappen in there as well.
Max’s recent dominance has made us all wonder how long he’ll keep racing for, when he’s got it so easy. Even he himself has said that he doesn’t see a long career in F1.
Next up it’s Checo, the Mexican Minister of Defence. The ‘tash is a great addition and suits him well in his twilight years. I can see him becoming the people’s champion in his home country and maybe even a career in politics awaits, with a look like that.
This is Carlos Sainz Jnr. But if you squint a little you can definitely see a big chunk of his dad, Carlos Sainz Snr. It appears he’s been enjoying the Mediterranean diet and let his training slip a little.
Obviously AI has decided that Leclerc’s arms won’t age at all, but his face and hair will. I wonder if he’s taken some influence from fellow French F1 legend Alain Prost with his long hair looks.
Lewis is looking as suave and as stylish as ever.
George appears to have turned in to a professor. Those long white locks and unframed glasses give him a cool air of sophistication. Evidently he’s found the same miracle cure for anti-aging arms at Leclerc.
If he does become a professor, perhaps he’s lecturing students on how not to design a fast Mercedes F1 car…
Given his current performance, it seems there’s no end in sight for Alonso’s incredible F1 career. This could quite conceivably be Aston Martin’s 2054 driver announcement.
And now to the other Aston Martin driver, Lance. He looks to have put a few pounds on, but he’s still in Aston Martin team colours. I guess his Dad’s still employing him as part of the team.
He also looks like the kind of driver you’d expect to see pounding round the ovals in NASCAR.
Lando I’m so sorry about this one, FaceApp has kinda done you dirty here. In a ‘smokes 50 a day and has bad coffee breath’ kind of way.
Let’s just pray you’ve got a win by this point.
Obviously after he’s finished competing in motorsport Oscar doesn’t need to train so much or be so careful with his diet. Althought all of the additional weight seems to have gone entirely to his head and neck and left his compartively small body untouched. Lovely smile though.
Oh lord. Mothers lock up… yourselves. Housewives everywhere are not safe.
Daniel ‘the Don’ Ricciardo’s good looks aren’t going away any time soon. If this is the sight that greets you from behind the bar when you pop down your local for a drink then they’ll be queing up along the street to get in.
Yuki definitely looks older, wiser and a touch greyer. But probably no taller. This one had me in stitches.
Alex Albon’s short stint with bright blonde hair will perhaps make a return when he’s older. Or maybe it’s just going grey. Things are also definitely starting to droop at this point.
Logan Sargeant looks like your local neighborhood fire station chief. Or the kind of neighbor that invites the whole street around for a BBQ. A thoroughly decent and trustworthy chap.
Let’s face it, if there’s one driver who might end up hairless on the grid it’ll probably be Gasly. But he looks all the better for it in my opinion. Definitely keep the beard.
Ocon looks exactly like the next guy to become the Alpine team principal. His impeccably black hair shows no sign of ever going grey.
Bottas’ well known and loved mullet appears to have morphed in to a long lock of grey hair when he’s old.
Then there’s an older and slightly podgy looking Zhou Guanyu.
And finally we come to the two HAAS drivers who, I reckon, are two of the driver’s who look like they’re going to age the most gracefully (Danny ‘the Don’ Ricciardo aside).
First up its the Hulk Hulkenberg. We’ve already seen him with bleached blonde hair when he did his best Ken impression last year, so the full silver fox with big beard is working the well. Kind of looks like a weathered salty old seadog.
It’s K-Mag to finish. Look at those luscious locks. If the Hulk looks like an old fisherman, K-Mag looks like he’s spent a couple of years stranded on a small Danish island in the North Sea.
I might check back on this page in 30 years time to see if any of these visions of the driver’s futures have come true.
Got a favourite? Drop a comment below.
i think your a little to wrong , with k-mag , he will be bald like he’s father
they look incredibly similar
Maybe! But I hope for long hair for him
Alonso forever! No matter how old he gets.
Forever and always
J adore
Fernando for ever