Unlike many sports, talent alone is by no means a crucial factor as to whether a promising junior driver is acquired by a Formula 1 team.
Dependant on the team’s current financial plight, a driver may need to bring a significant sponsor package to help bear the weight of the sport’s expensive nature.
Many very talented drivers may also miss their opportunities for the simple reason of bad timing, with most top name drivers having multiple year contracts and title sponsorship packages already in place.
Nonetheless, a driver must seek every available opportunity gifted to them to reach F1 throughout their junior careers or face the risk of being forgotten and cast aside into endurance racing or another form of motorsport.
By no means is this a criticism of endurance racing, however, on many levels, it has become a home to drivers who have the capability to race in F1 but, for one reason or another, have not been given or have failed to seize their opportunity.
Tom Kristensen, Anthony Davidson, Sam Bird and Lucas Di Grassi are just some of the drivers who have enjoyed success in endurance racing who were not given a decent opportunity to showcase their talents at F1.
CROSSROADS
Of the many drivers fighting for a spot in F1, Alex Lynn has reached a crossroad which will determine what path the Britain takes for the remainder of his motor racing career.
Back in 2014, Lynn seemed to be on the right track towards being given a spot in F1. The 22-year old was dominating the GP3 championship and was a member of the Red Bull academy, waiting for a spot at Scuderia Toro Rosso.
With Sebastian Vettel set to leave Red Bull for Ferrari, and the subsequent promotion of Daniil Kvyat from Toro Rosso, both GP3 champion Lynn and 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 champion Carlos Sainz Jr looked set as the ideal candidates to join the junior F1 team.
However, few people could have predicted that Red Bull would acquire the services of European Formula 3 racer Max Verstappen, leaving just one spot at Toro Rosso available in the process.
Sainz was promoted above Lynn for 2015 F1 season, which left Lynn with no option but to depart Red Bull and seek another route into the series.
Williams offered a development role for the Essex-born driver, a job he matched with competing in the GP2 series for the reigning champion DAMS team alongside the Red Bull backed Pierre Gasly.
Much of the talk before the 2015 GP2 season was aimed at the DAMS team, with many predicting both Lynn and Gasly would exclusively fight each other for the crown.
"My aim is to fight for the Championship,” Lynn proclaimed in 2015. “It's a long time since anybody won GP2 in their first year, but if we can get off to a solid start there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to fight for wins and podiums straight away.”
DISAPPOINTMENT
Unfortunately for Lynn and Gasly, the 2015 GP2 season was dominated by the McLaren backed Stoffel Vandoorne, who finished outside of the top four just twice out of 22 races.
Lynn and Gasly finished sixth and eighth respectively in what was an underwhelming season for the DAMS squad, taking just two victories from the season, both with Lynn.
Despite a disappointing 2015, Lynn has been retained by DAMS for 2016 and has been paired with Nicholas Latifi, with Gasly joining Prema.
"I am very happy to continue with DAMS after sharing so many extraordinary moments – including my first GP2 win – in my rookie season," Lynn said upon the news of his retention.
"Thanks to the team I improved all aspects of driving in 2015, especially my ability to manage a race distance. I am now better prepared than ever before and ready to fight for victory at each event.
"The target is to win the championship.”
The Championship is, unfortunately, the minimum requirement for Lynn this year if he is to continue his progression up the motorsport ladder.
The inconvenient truth for Lynn is that a GP2 title may not be enough to secure a drive in F1, especially if Williams continue with Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa.
OVER DELIVERED
Despite what seems to be a closing door for the talented Brit, his exploits as a Williams junior have not gone unnoticed, with Claire Williams singing the praise for their young driver.
"In terms of the job we wanted Alex to do, he has over delivered," Williams told Autosport.
"Alex is quite a complex character, he thinks a lot about everything that he does.
"He doesn't just go crashing in there, everything is well-considered.
"He has gone through this development programme with us and he's integrated across lots of areas of the business.
"Whether it is working in the simulator or with the guys in the composites, everything he has done, he has really outshone himself.
"The level of maturity for his age is quite impressive.”
This fantastic reference from one of the sport’s top bosses will only help increase Lynn’s stock in an overcrowded drivers market and may give evidence that the Lynn is under consideration for the Williams drive in 2017.
TIMING
Perhaps timing is finally on Lynn’s side, with Massa only contracted until the end of this season and Bottas being consistently linked with potential moves to Ferrari to replace compatriot Kimi Raikkonen.
Regardless of what Williams decide to do for 2017, Lynn must continue to impress both in the simulators at the Williams factory and on the grid in GP2.
The remains of 2015 should be quickly forgotten and, with it, the missed opportunity to join Verstappen at Toro Rosso. Lynn has no guarantees that a fantastic 2016 will equal a F1 birth for 2017, however, as Williams’ deputy team principal states, this year must be his year.
“GP2 was up and down for him last year," Williams said. "He's had some great moments but also some disappointing moments.
"But it was his rookie year in GP2 and we need to remember that.
"The series by its nature can deliver tough blows to these kids and can blind you to somebody's true performance because of the nature of the grids.
"So in 2016, I think we'll be able to see where Alex is as a driver.”
