Across the pond, the current system — or lack thereof — to drive the best talent forward, pushes a bigger emphasis on funding for the majority, or being aligned with a driver academy to ease the financial burden.

For Crawford, being the only American signed to a driver academy as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team has been a game-changer for his F1 pursuit.

“Yeah, obviously it’s not easy for Americans to go race in Europe and follow the Formula 1 path — all the sacrifices you have to make,” says Crawford. “Academies are the best way to F1 at the end of the day if you’re not super rich and can’t just pay your way up.”

Part of being with an academy, though, is that Crawford’s fate regarding what series he competes in rests squarely with Red Bull and its head of driver development, Dr. Helmut Marko

Crawford currently sits 14th in his rookie season in F3 driving for Hitech Grand Prix, with a runner-up finish at Spa his best result to date. The 16-year-old Texas native is also running a partial campaign with Motopark in the Euroformula Open Championship, claiming six wins and eight podiums to sit third in the points standings despite not participating in five of the 18 races thus far.

Despite his run of successes in Europe, which includes finishing runner-up for last year’s ADAC Formula 4 title, there is still a need to secure some level of sponsorship, even if that’s made easier to some degree under the umbrella of Red Bull.

“At the end of the day, the biggest part is the funding,” says Crawford. “I’ve found it difficult to get sponsors as an American in Europe. So it’s definitely not easy. All the Americans have everything against them, it seems, when trying to get to F1, but it’s definitely possible. And being a part of an academy boosts your chances probably 80-90 percent, I’d say. So you definitely want to be with an academy. I think anyone would want to join one at the end of the day if they got the opportunity.”

Frederick brings a different perspective on the topic. He made 30 appearances in USF2000 from 2016-18, finishing a best of fourth in 2017. In 2019, he made the transition to British F3 with Carlin, finishing the season in ninth. He remained in British F3 for a second year and overcame the unique circumstances of the pandemic to capture the title. 

Frederick (No. 24) spent three years in the Road to Indy before moving on to the junior formula ranks of Europe. Mark Sutton/Motorsport Images

The decision to move up to F3 this season, while remaining with Carlin, came earlier this year — much later than his rivals — and has delivered less than satisfying results. The 19-year-old Marylander injured his thumb in a crash back in June at the Red Bull Ring, which required surgery — two screws and an anchor — and forced him to sit out the next contest in Hungary. He was slated to return at Spa but was put back on the sidelines after testing positive for COVID-19. In all, he’s missed seven of 18 races and is mired down in 24th in the standings. Frederick confirmed he will return for another season in F3, but has not yet committed to a team.

Reflecting on a six-year journey split evenly between the RTI and racing in Europe, Frederick agrees with Sargeant that a financial support structure could make sense, unless there’s a catch.

“There wouldn’t be a negative in it having something like that, unless it means that everyone has to pay more to come up with a sort of prize bonus,” Frederick says.

“It’s tricky. For me, it wouldn’t be a negative. I don’t know why it wouldn’t be able to be implemented. I just don’t really know what would have to happen to make that happen.”

Without such a European support structure, Frederick and others are left to learn from the successes and the failings of those who have come before them until — if ever — something changes.

“Look at Callum Ilott — F2 driver last year, was battling for the championship until the last race,” says Frederick. “His Ferrari Driver Academy teammate Mick Schumacher gets the F1 seat, and now he’s trying to find another type of drive when he was on the brink of getting an F1 seat. And he’s probably not going to get that seat, I don’t think, ever.

“I don’t know his situation, but it’s unfortunately just the way it is. If you have the right ties, you can be in a fortunate situation where if you’re in the top three, like (Yuki) Tsunoda was, he didn’t win the championship or anything; third (in the F2 championship) and he made it to the AlphaTauri drive. Unfortunately, that’s just the way it is right now. Whether that’ll change, I have no idea. But in most cases, those situations are like that because they were given a fair chance to prove themselves and they didn’t quite make it. I guess they just don’t like giving second chances around here. I guess that’s the big thing. It’s really hard to say. I don’t really know what would have to be put in place to make something like that happen.”