Like I said, I quit watching F1 for 2026. I do follow feeder series, and I noticed a really bad trend - drivers are promoted to higher series not based on their skills, but based on 3 independent factors - 1. How much sponsorship money they can bring to the team, 2. If they got into the current team's academy (and also #1), and 3. Whatever the specific series deems in their best interest (see #1, but not necessarily from that particular driver). The best example is Myles Rowe in the Indy NXT series. he is far behind the top 3 this year (all rookies!), but is heavily promoted by the series. His only redeeming quality is the oval racing (he is actually good). This may explain why some F2 drivers from the middle of the pack are being promoted to the F1 teams, while others, a LOT better, languish. Regardless, I find that feeder series are a lot more entertaining, because the cars are almost identical.
