Does anyone know how formal 'driver development' is among F1 teams?
I've been told that Hamilton was already under McLaren scrutiny when
he was 12 or 14, in karts. Is that true?

Which teams do this kind of junior recruitment, and how structured and
budgeted is the process?

(OT but parallel, I read with a shudder that Nick B's tennis academy
in Florida, when Jennifer Capriati was a kid, waived their normal and
very firm age regulation when she started there at age ------ 4 years
-------)