>>> Now imagine that the wealthy father of another average level kid

Indoor kart racing is, in my country, affordable to, say 50% of population (you may have to make some choices though). Count +/-120€ per month (2 training session + 1 race). Swimming lessons are 30€ per month I'd say.

Outdoor karting is really expensive and is for the 1% (which I'm not part of :-)). Count 1000€ per race, gasp !

F1 is well, for ultra rich :-) Plan robbing 1 bank, or 10 (binary joke intended).

But according to many, indoor karts makes you a great pilot because the machine doesn't compensate for your failures.

I have family that do outdoor karting, and they are learning just how expensive it gets. They are certainly not the 1%, and are actually considering switching their kid to spec miata as running a actual car is cheaper than karting. The kids they race against are sons (almost entirely sons) of ex f1 drivers, leading political figures of nations, and ultra wealthy. And this is all US based karting which has no segway into f1. It's truly a 1% sport, you either need to be ultra wealthy or very quickly get supported by someone with that level of wealth.

I've done outdoor KZ class (125cc 2 stroke, 6 gears, both front and rear brakes) karting, apart from a very wealthy parent most kids that make it to the top in Europe drive for factory sponsored teams.

So then I would like your prediction on who would become WDC:

* Hamilton/Verstappen in a Williams?

* Antonio Giovinazzi in a Mercedes?

Don't forget the classic "to finish first, you first have to finish"...a drivers skill is not just better reaction time or better peripheral vision, it's also mental calm, not making stupid mistakes on lap 69 of 70, situational awareness etc.

Antonio Giovinazzi in a Mercedes for sure.