A sign of things to come?

When the South African F1 driver, Jody Scheckter, became World Champion way back in 1979, a lot of people predicted that it would be just the start of a procession of young South African drivers into Grand Prix racing. After all, didn’t South Africa have its National F1 Championship between 1960 and 1975? It was a motorsport-loving country to be able to not only fund its championship but also introduce so many expensive F1 cars into the championship. They included models from Lotus, McLaren, and Cooper and even boasted a few F5000 cars. The last ever South African F1 Championship Winner was Dave Charlton.

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When a host of young South African Formula Ford drivers packed their bags and headed for the UK in the footsteps of their new World Champion, Jody Scheckter, the future had looked positive.

Formula Ford 1600 in the UK was the proving ground for young drivers worldwide, and entry lists of 120 cars per round of the various Championships were commonplace. It would mean a stricter lifestyle, cold weather, rain, and grey skies, but what an opportunity in motorsport. Right at its very heart, it was also a reasonably priced series, due mainly to the fact that drivers could look after their cars, probably with a friendly mechanic, and the days of the professional teams such as Carlin, Rushen-Green, and Fortec hadn’t hit the scene at that time. The racing was dramatic and exciting, with little difference between the marques ensuring close racing.

The brigade of South African drivers who shone in this highly competitive era included Roy Klomfass, Rad Dougall, Kenny Gray, Bobby Scott, Basil Mann, Mike White, and Trevor van Rooyen, among several others. Surely, this would result in more South African racers entering F1? Amazingly, and for many reasons, some political and some financial, the expected stream of South African F1 drivers has never materialised, not even one!

Here we are, some 45 years since Jody Schecter was crowned World Champion, and we haven’t had a single South African F1 driver. For a country so passionate about motorsport, that is surprising. South Africa has succeeded in sports car racing, rallying, touring cars and off-road events, including the Dakar. In the USA, another South African, Wayne Taylor, has achieved exceptionally high success in sports cars, as have his two sons, Ricky and Jordan. It begs the question, though. Is there any likelihood of a South African making it to Formula 1 in the foreseeable future? What will it take? When can a South African racer do what South African Brad Binder has done in motor racing in MotoGP?

I can confirm that the answer to that question is much more promising now than it has been for a long time.

A young South African driver competes in the premier British single-seater series GB3, established by former Grand Prix driver Dr Jonathan Palmer. Now halfway through the season and 18-year, 18-year-old Jarrod Waberski is currently lying 8th in this highly competitive championship, which also visits some F1 circuits, providing the young drivers with real-life experience of top echelon motorsport.

Jarrod’s most recent race was at the famous Hungaroring Circuit, and he achieved his second Podium of the season, securing 3rd place in an entire F1 Grand Prix circuit. A sign of things to come?

The Waberski family has a fascinating pedigree within South African motorsport. Jeff Waberski started the motorsport involvement in 1975, and the Waberski-backed cars ran the distinctive D.A.W livery on their bodywork, denoting the initials of Dorothy Ann Waberski, Jarrods Grandmother. Waberski gradually became a highly respected name in South African motorsport, as well as to many international drivers who came into contact with the brand in their travels.

Jeff Waberski started racing Formula Fords in South Africa before moving to the extremely popular Formula Atlantic championship. Interestingly, the Waberski company entered Formula Atlantic with Mazda Rotary power for the first time. Waberski Racing was also the first to try and develop a Nissan Turbo engine for racing. They then created the Maurer F2 car before the 1983 F2 season, using the services of a young Stefan Bellof, who made a massive impression on the sport in his far too brief career.

Returning to my question as to why 45 years have passed without any South African driver involvement in F1, I have expressed my opinion that it is not due to a lack of driver skills or interest in motorsport. One only has to look at the global explosion in the popularity of F1 since Liberty Media took over at the helm, as well as the extraordinarily popular Netflix Drive to Survive series.

That only leaves two real options regarding the lack of South Africans in F1: the concern that the cost of involvement is prohibitive and the concern about political issues.

With the highly innovative pricing options now available for South African companies to join a South African driver in the FIA Formula 3 Championship next season and visit 10 of the F1 tracks at which the Championship is a support race to the F1 Grand Prix, it can only be a matter of time before South African businesses see a great opportunity. The timing couldn’t be better with the stability since the recent RSA elections.