YOU WILL not know the names yet, but Lucas di Grassi, Romain Grosjean, Nelson Panciatici, Dani Clos, Ben Hanley, Oliver Rowland and Will Stevens all have one thing in common with Lewis Hamilton. They are on F1 young driver programmes, grafting hard to prove themselves worthy of becoming the sport’s next big thing.

McLaren, pioneers in developing young drivers for the future, signed Hamilton when he was 12 years old. It was a huge risk but it has reaped rewards. “Over the past four or five years things have changed, but prior to that F1 did an abysmal job supporting young drivers,” says McLaren F1 chief executive Martin Whitmarsh, who is responsible for their programme. “Now we take on two or three new drivers per annum, although there are potentially thousands of high-potential children, but it’s all about timing and being in the right place at the right moment. Sadly, motor racing is littered with could-have-beens, and we have learnt that the most important aspect is the complete package.”

McLaren have just signed 14-year-old Rowland, who is showing he has the talent and commitment to reach the top. Most teams have woken up to the fact that their future talent is in the lower formulas, with Ferrari signing the young Felipe Massa in 2001, placing him as a test driver and then with Sauber as a race driver before he returned to the Scuderia to race last year. Each team have their own young driver programme, offering financial support for the series the driver is competing in and a physical training programme, with the youngsters embedded in the senior team to experience the technical aspects of racing, such as car set-up and race strategies. They are also given advice on how to deal with the media and sponsors, and McLaren insist their young hopefuls are in full-time education.

Rowland was recommended to McLaren by karting guru Martin Hines, who played a key role in Hamilton’s development. Hines’s Zip Young Guns racing team has produced drivers of the calibre of David Coulthard, Anthony Davidson and Gary Paffett, as well as Hamilton. After seeing Rowland in action the Woking-based F1 outfit agreed to support the Sheffield teenager through their young driver programme, in the same way they supported Hamilton.

Whether he goes on to emulate Hamilton remains to be seen, but Hines is certain that Rowland has the ability. “Oliver has the talent, there’s no doubt about that, and now he has the right support, but there’s a lot more to it than that,” he says. “The big unknown is how he matures, because one of the biggest parts of the equation is character, what he’s got inside him.”

Being prepared to go outside the comfort zone is important to Renault, Toyota and Red Bull, who all run young driver programmes. “[British driver] Ben Hanley took himself off to Italy, which was away from his friends and family, and showed his willingness to stretch himself, and that is important if you’re going to compete in F1,” says Bruno Michel, who runs the Renault programme.

The Renault driver development programme was launched in 2002 and selected drivers have one season to prove their potential on track in their championship.

Heikki Kovalainen, the other F1 rookie along with Hamilton in 2007, says Renault’s development programme gives him a huge advantage. “Being on the programme gives you the chance to work with the team from a young age, which gives you confidence in the difficult times as you’ve bonded with the team,” he says.

Kovalainen has had his fair share of difficult times in the first few races, finishing 10th in Australia, 8th in Malaysia, 9th in Bahrain, 7th in Spain and 13th in Monaco. In Montreal he redeemed himself, starting last due to an engine failure and finishing 4th. Proving your worth is important, as motor racing does not come cheap. A season in GP2, the F1 feeder series, costs about £500,000, Formula Renault costs £250,000, World Series Renault and F3 £300,000, so the investment has to pay dividends. Toyota spend about £3m a year on their young drivers, with Yoshi Arimatsu charged with managing their driver programme. Their big success story is Kazuki Nakajima, the new Williams test driver. “We presented three Japanese drivers to Williams and they chose Nakajima,” says Arimatsu. “He got the job not only because of his talent but also because of his commitment. He never took any holidays or went back to Japan to see his friends and family, he just worked hard and that was very impressive for a young man,” said Arimatsu.

Red Bull spend about £3.5m a year on their young driver programme, but if you find a jewel in the crown, the rewards far outweigh the investment.