Deploy Folding Table of contents
Norway has yet to produce a Formula 1 driver, a curious fact I stumbled upon during a recent vacation, and now I understand why.
Recently, I spent a week in Norway, seeking peace away from the racing chatter. No more discussions about “Pérez needs to go,” or “how long will Horner last,” and certa.comy no “Max should move to Mercedes.” I truly needed this break. We stayed in a picturesque house by a private lake complete with its own pier and a sauna floating on the water. If something were to go wrong, it could take years before anyone would come looking for us. It was absolute bliss.
Withdrawal Symptoms in the Wilderness
After three days, I started experiencing withdrawal symptoms. My behavior became peculiar. In the nearest café—an hour and a half drive away—I found myself unexpectedly signing napkins with “Toto” and “Checo.” Unsolicited, I loudly proclaimed to anyone who would listen just how remarkable Max Verstappen is. The barista regarded me as if I were speaking an alien language.
“Mæx Vërståppø?” she asked, puzzled. No, she had never heard of him. Desperation set in as I scanned the café for anyone who might share my enthusiasm. An elderly gentleman timidly asked if he was a long-distance speed skater, given Norway’s history in that sport. “Ard Schenk, Kees Verkerk!” he exclaimed, referencing Dutch legends, “against our three S’s!” “Yes!” I shouted back, “Stenshjemmet, Sjøbrend, and Storholt—but how do you not know Max? He’s our greatest athlete ever, a three-time world champion!”
The Bar’s Big Revelation
Blank stares greeted me.
“Auto racing?!” I shouted across the bar, mimicking a power slide with exaggerated gestures. “Aah, rally driving!” the entire café sighed in relief. So, was Mæx Vërståppø an unknown competitor to the Solberg brothers? Defeated, I sank into my chair and sipped coffee that was as far from espresso as Norway is from Italy.
A Surprising Discovery About Norway’s Racing History
Fueled by curiosity and with Wi-Fi accessible even in remote places like Nova Zembla, I searched for “Formula 1 drivers by nationality.” To my astonishment, Norway has never produced a Formula 1 driver in the entire history of motorsport. Sweden has graced the grid with twelve drivers, F.comand with ten, Denmark with six, and even smaller nations like Liechtenstein and Chile have at least one representative. Yet, Norway stands at zero.
The Future Looks Challenging
I did discover that there is currently a Norwegian in Formula 2: Dennis Hauger, who has achieved some victories and spent time in Red Bull’s junior program. Someone even brought up a packaging for chicken nuggets featuring him. “We thought he was just the fry guy,” they joked. I concluded that Hauger would likely never reach Formula 1; it seems Norway simply lacks the appetite for the sport.
Then a man in sandals and woolen socks, the type you .comy see around a racetrack to protest, raised his hand with a theory of his own: “In Norway, wealth is distributed ev.comy. We have much less poverty and significantly fewer outrageously wealthy individuals, so sponsorship opportunities are limited. The absence of Formula 1 drivers reflects how well we’re doing. The fewer Formula 1 drivers we have, the better off the rest of us are.”
He slapped me jovially on the shoulder. “Oh, you folks just got an ultra-right government, right? Terrible news for asylum seekers, culture, healthcare, and poor people! But fantastic for the ultra-wealthy, so mark my words: in ten years, you’ll have more Formula 1 drivers again.”
This theory struck me as rather bleak.
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