Surviving in the shadows-An economic and empirical discussion about the survival of the non-winning F1 drivers

F1 drivers are the (most) visible faces of a F1 team's performance. Good performances ensure a lengthier contract between drivers and teams. Reversely, humble performances may jeopardize the renewal of drivers' contracts to their teams. This paper will study the capacity of F1 drivers surviving professionally in competition. Considering two major samples of drivers (without points or without victories) and two types of 'exits' (exiting the team or exiting the F1 competition), various regressions of Cox survival models and of parametric regressions have been obtained. The main results suggest that recent worse standings results, higher ages and a higher number of withdrawals contribute to the shortening of F1 careers. It has also been observed that the early decades of competition were not known for providing a higher number of races for drivers. Reversely, adding podium positions (even without winning) ensures a longer professional life in F1.