The Italian paradox

When it comes to the countries in which Formula One is the most popular, the three that spring to mind first are the UK, Germany and Italy. Why is it, then, that while the first two nations in that shortlist account for over a third of the current grid, F1 is currently devoid of Italian drivers?

Inevitably, the popularity of a sport in any given country often boils down to whether the nation in question can boast a successful player or team in that particular sport, which generates news coverage and thus public interest.

Sebastian Vettel's three world titles, coming not too long after Michael Schumacher's dominant streak, has made F1 one of the most popular sports in Germany. Likewise, the recent successes of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have kept F1 in the headlines in the UK in spite of some strong competition from numerous other sports.

On the other hand, Italy hasn't had so much as a race winner in F1 since Giancarlo Fisichella in 2006, and you have to back much further to find an Italian finishing in the top three of the championship - Riccardo Patrese in 1992. As for an Italian champion, there hasn't been one since Alberto Ascari racked up his second title all the way back in 1953.

So, while the popularity of F1 in Italy can't be accounted for by the presence of star drivers, a certain revered constructor - the one constant factor throughout the sport's history - most certainly can.

For all the herculean efforts of the likes of Michele Alboreto, Patrese, Fisichella and Jarno Trulli, Italian F1 fans remain fixated on Ferrari, and most likely will continue to do so while the Maranello concern remains in the sport.

It doesn't matter who drives the distinctive scarlet cars - whether it's a German, a Finn, a Brazilian or a Spaniard - as long as they have what it takes to ensure Ferrari come out on top, the roars from the grandstands at Monza will be equally as deafening.

But, therein lies something of a problem for young Italian drivers hoping to scale the single-seater ladder.

Though F1's popularity in Italy means there are no shortage of hopefuls hoping to follow in the footsteps of Ascari and Alboreto, because it is the Ferrari, and not the driver, that matters to the Italian public, little interest is paid to where the next Italian driver is going to come from.

Since GP2's inception in 2005, every champion of the series has progressed to F1 with the exception of two, both Italians. Giorgio Pantano is the first, winning the championship in 2008, but his age (29 at the time) and his underwhelming previous F1 attempt with Jordan in 2004 prevented him from getting what would have been a deserved second crack of the whip.

The second is last year's champion Davide Valsecchi, who was seemingly never in real contention for a race drive this year, even amongst the backmarking teams, but has been able to bag himself a reserve role at Lotus. Better than nothing, but still hardly a just reward for the 26-year-old's prowess in GP2.

Though you might argue Valsecchi's age and considerable GP2 experience would count against him when it came to securing an F1 seat, it's worth bearing in mind that these factors didn't prevent the older, equally experienced, but  better-funded Giedo van der Garde landing a drive with Caterham this year.

Cigarette brand Marlboro used to be a prolific backer of Italian talent during the 80s and 90s, but in more recent times funding shortages has proven an even larger obstacle than normal, resulting in many promising Italians missing out on F1 altogether - Valsecchi and GP2 runner-up Luca Filippi chief among them.

Since 2000, the only Italians that have managed to break into F1 have been Pantano and Gianmaria Bruni in 2004, both of whom only lasted a single season, and the Red Bull-backed Vitantonio Liuzzi in 2005, who dropped off the grid at the end of 2011 after driving for Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT.

Because so little attention is paid to Italian drivers in their homeland as a result of the national obsession with Ferrari, it makes it extraordinarily difficult for them to raise sponsorship. Contrast that to a driver from somewhere like Russia or Mexico, countries for which success in F1 is a complete novelty, who would have a far easier time assembling the necessary budget to advance their career.

There are nonetheless a couple of drivers in the lower formulae who have what it takes to buck this rather paradoxical trend. What it takes, as Valsecchi and Filippi can tell you, is more than sheer talent alone, though.

Anybody who follows Formula Three will no doubt have their eye on a young Italian by the name of Raffaele Marciello, who currently leads the championship comfortably following a triple victory at the Nurburgring. What marks Marciello as different to the promising Italians that have come before, though, is that he is a member of Ferrari's Driver Academy.

That crucial link means that Marciello, who is clearly a prodigious talent, won't run into funding problems as many of his compatriots have done as he ascends the single-seater ladder. And, when it comes to stepping up to the highest level a couple of years after that, he will be ideally placed to slot into one of Ferrari's customer teams.

Further down the ladder, another Ferrari-backed Italian youngster, Antonio Fuoco is leading the championship in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps series. He may only be 17, but it's not inconceivable that his Ferrari backing could see him break into the ranks of F1 five or six years from now if he continues to deliver the results.

Not since Ivan Capelli way back in 1992 has there been an Italian driving full-time for Ferrari, but as a result of their Driver Academy, it's possible in years to come that having at least one Italian driver at Maranello could become de rigeur - something which would surely do much to bolster the popularity of F1 in Italy.

There is a danger that, with no representation on the grid, Italian interest in F1 could drop off very quickly indeed should Ferrari ever decide to quit the sport. Thus, by investing in some promising Italian talent, Ferrari stands to give Italy's passion for the sport a somewhat more solid footing as well as to end the Italian paradox.