Is racing in the genes?

[duke_toaster]

Or the Karelian pies?

[thejester]

Originally Posted by mjstallard

I was thinking today - there's gotta be something in either the genes or water in Finland for the amount of Finns that fly per capita

Their mountains so lofty?

Their treetops so tall?

(Finland has it all)

[Bononi]

Actually in the TV special they say that most of the families give go-karts to their kids as they learn to walk and there are go-kart tracks everywhere... Kimi lived in a poor wooden house next to a go-kart circuit.

[JeremySmith]

And that's a "real story" right there...

[Taz Q2]

A lady i know who studied the effects of genes & the resulting legacy's of the diseases that were so called passed on, found an alarming situation when she took a look at those who were adopted at birth & not raised under the birth family.

She had found that not one of those children she studied, ( who were adopted & raised without any knowledge of the birth parents health problems ), had developed any of the problems that should have otherwise been there if the so called gene factor was true.

So it would seem very apparent that the presiding factor in all of this could be more to do with wanting to do what mum or dad does, or suffering what mum or dad has because they see & experience it first hand, more so than what mum or dad is made up of genetically & have it passed on to them.

Most of the time it is every childs greatest ambition to follow in their fathers or mothers footsteps thus inducing the same needs, thoughts, to get to where they need to be to achieve that, & as the child gets older & is more reciprocal to information, then the greater the chance of that child achieving success, & it will always be under the watchfull eye of mum or dad picking up on their mistakes & correcting them as they learn & definately not from the gene factor, if it really was due to genes, humans in general would advance at an alarming rate without any assistance from the parents & that is simply not happening.

Aside from the Brabhams who have not achieved their fathers success of three world titles, or perhaps the Andrettis, who else is there to represent this being a valid situation, every world champion who has a son or daughter racing, should be world champions as well without question, & while that has occured in some situations it is not par for the course as it should be if the gene factor was so prevelant.

[steve nielsen]

Originally Posted by steve nielsen

Here's one to look for in the future, his father was a F1 driver and his mother has won several kart GP's in her time:

he's won the Dutch and Belgian karting championships this year: Max Verstappen

http://www.verstappen.nl/picture_alb...NAF,_Amsterdam

Originally Posted by Bononi

Never give up Steve !!

Told you so

[VIVA GT]

Whereas I'm sure that there will be strong genetic reasons why the children of racers become racers themselves, I am also sure there are other reasons too.
If your formative years are spent surrounded by/immersed in a motor-sport environment it's surely not a surprise if you follow that path yourself. Plus, if your parents are already racers, they will probably encourage your interest in their passion too.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

I've seen this all the time over the years and IMHO you "normally" get the sons of drivers (especially mediocre ones )given loads of money by the old man to make up for their own shortcomings.
OK I know that the (good) ones do as well !

Why is it a sin for a father to spend money on his son's racing whether that son be gifted or not? I have never understood the animosity to anyone who is fortunate enough to have the money to go racing. Those who do spend the money inject it into the sport which is helpful is it not?

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by Casper

Why is it a sin for a father to spend money on his son's racing whether that son be gifted or not? I have never understood the animosity to anyone who is fortunate enough to have the money to go racing. Those who do spend the money inject it into the sport which is helpful is it not?

I knew I'd seen this stuff about committing sins somewhere before... in fact I was on the receiving end of it here

[JacobP]

Fathers often try to make their sons to inherit the family profession or tradition. So it's not surprising that many racers encourage their children to race. And the successful racers may have the money and connections that are necessary to push their children into carting and then the higher levels of sport. Moreover, the parents have built a considerable amount of knowledge with regards to "how to work the system".

So in my personal opinion, it's not surprising that there are a few racing dynasties out there. It's not due to the genes, it's due to the upbringing.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by davyboy

I knew I'd seen this stuff about committing sins somewhere before... in fact I was on the receiving end of it here

Yep, I really get P'd off when this subject comes up. I am glad you remembered it and obviously it stuck in your mind. No one has given any good reason why a parent can't fund his child's racing apart from the obvious one not mentioned, jealousy.

[Paradise City]

There's so many drivers that haven't a dime to rub together, can't get on the F1 grid, yet so searingly deserve to be on that grid on the back of their driving ability. So, yes, it's not unreasonable to occasionally reflect in disappointment when some mediocrity barges past an impoverished hotshot, pockets packed with parents cash and be a little frustrated at that.

We all want the best of the best to be on that grid and when that doesn't happen, it's a cause of understable frustration. It's also an inevitable state of affairs given the cash intensive character of the sport.

But I kind of like the characters who weren't quite up to the mark but got on the back of the grid on the cheque of powerful backers, daddy or otherwise, despite not being the best. As long as there isn't too many of them, I find it interesting. It's traditional too. That kind of thing has always been a part of the sport.

[Armco Bender]

Theres been some racing family connections not do very well in F1 too...just because your name is or Senna or Andretti etc,pushy parents dont help.

[JeremySmith]

To answer the thread question, no its not.....

[Born Racer]

Undoubtedly, the environment plays a central part in sons of F1 drivers reaching F1, but as a complete non-expert on genetics, I struggle to see how it can't remain hugely genetic, given that we're led to believe anyone in F1 is still a seriously, seriously talented driver.

If it's true that we are mere mortals who couldn't dream of controlling an F1 car at those speeds, then it must be genetic, because despite a Jacques Villeneuve not being as good as a Gilles or a David Brabham as good as a Jack Brabham (very quick sportscar driver nonetheless), they must still be excellent drivers. Surely there are just too many cases of relatives being so good to say that there isn't much of a genetic factor. If your dad's an F1 driver, there's a good chance you can manage to get the car round the circuit too.

[davyboy]

Originally Posted by Born Racer

Undoubtedly, the environment plays a central part in sons of F1 drivers reaching F1, but as a complete non-expert on genetics, I struggle to see how it can't remain hugely genetic, given that we're led to believe anyone in F1 is still a seriously, seriously talented driver.

If it's true that we are mere mortals who couldn't dream of controlling an F1 car at those speeds, then it must be genetic, because despite a Jacques Villeneuve not being as good as a Gilles or a David Brabham as good as a Jack Brabham (very quick sportscar driver nonetheless), they must still be excellent drivers. Surely there are just too many cases of relatives being so good to say that there isn't much of a genetic factor. If your dad's an F1 driver, there's a good chance you can manage to get the car round the circuit too.

It's possible that David Brabham, Jacques Villeneuve, Alex Brundle, Mathias Lauda etc... failed to eclipse their illustrious dads because their DNA was a dilution of the 'racing gene' their dad had... However Max Verstappen is a concentration of his parents' DNA... it'll be interesting to see how that works... theoretically he should be better than Jos.

[JeremySmith]

Max Vestappen it would seem has a lot more natural talent than his dad, but as you say Davyboy he is a result of combined DNA of his parents..