He is the driver Fernando Alonso once considered ‘invincible’ but he failed to score a Formula 1 point

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The list of drivers considered to be racing prodigies but never fulfil their potential in Formula 1 is staggering.

Every generation of drivers has someone known as the next Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher or Fernando Alonso, but very few ever live up to the tag.

Max Verstappen is the most recent driver to reach that level after being spotted as a child star, and his rise to F1 was accelerated by Red Bull as soon as they saw what he was capable of.

Verstappen is expanding his talents into other areas already, but before him came plenty of drivers who appeared to be capable of reaching that same level but never quite made it.

One driver who fits that bill is Italian racer Giorgio Pantano.

Pantano arrived in Formula 1 in 2004 with a glittering racing record but didn’t even last a full season before he was moved on by the great Eddie Jordan.

READ MORE: What Eddie Jordan once said about his ‘legacy’ in Formula 1 resurfaces after his passing

Who was former Formula 1 driver Giorgio Pantano?

Born on 4 February 1979 in Conselve, Italy, Pantano started go-karting as a youngster and turned out to be a natural.

He won several karting titles as he rose through the ranks and was signed by Mercedes at one point, before making his British Formula Three debut in 1999.

Pantano won the German Formula Three Championship the following year and was named as a Benetton F1 test driver.

The Italian flitted between several Formula 1 teams over the years, taking on the reserve role at McLaren and Williams while also competing in International Formula 3000 before he eventually made his F1 debut with Jordan in 2004.

In an interview in the January 2011 publication of F1 Racing, Alonso said, “When I arrived in go-karts at the top level, racing in World and European championships, he was winning all of them.

“I thought that the guy was a really incredible talent,” before going on to describe him as ‘invincible’, according to journalist Will Buxton.

Buxton also revealed that Pantano was Sebastian Vettel’s hero growing up and he used to wear his helmet while he was go-karting.

However, his time on the grid in Formula 1 didn’t go to plan, and he suffered the ignominy of failing to finish his first season in the sport.

READ MORE: Why Fernando Alonso’s 2001 debut campaign was the best point-less season in Formula 1 history

Why Giorgio Pantano failed to make the grade in Formula 1

Pantano was on the back foot before he even made his debut, with many people recognising that he had been signed by Jordan partially to help their financial situation.

In an interview with Autosport ahead of his F1 debut in 2004, Pantano talked about the fact that he had earned a seat at Jordan through his sponsors, “It would be foolish to deny reality.

“Lately people look a lot at this aspect. And it’s right because there are teams with difficulties.

“In any case, I think I’ve deserved this opportunity: it’s not by chance that Jordan looked for me last year too. I don’t deny, however, that my hiring has been eased thanks to the sponsors I brought.”

Pantano partnered with the highly-rated Nick Heidfeld in 2004 and was a step behind the German throughout the season.

It was rare that both cars would finish the same race, but Heidfeld’s points in Monaco and Canada couldn’t be matched by Pantano who only achieved a best finish of 13th.

The final nail in the coffin for Pantano was when he withdrew from the Canadian Grand Prix and was replaced by Timo Glock, who went on to score points on his debut.

Eddie Jordan dropped Giorgio Pantano after disappointing 2004 campaign

In a statement ahead of the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix, via Autosport, it was confirmed that Pantano had been replaced by Timo Glock.

Team principal Eddie Jordan said, “It has been a pleasure working with Giorgio this year however contractual issues have made this unavoidable and we wish him every success in the future.

“Timo’s performance throughout the season as our third driver in testing and free practice has been first-class particularly when he stood in and raced in Canada.

“I am confident that in this unexpected call-up, he will do a good job for Jordan again.”

Jordan called giving Glock his debut one of his proudest moments, while Pantano added his name to the list of drivers who would never trouble the scorers in Formula 1.

He made the unusual step to return to GP2 for the next four seasons, finally winning the championship in 2008, while fleeting appearances in IndyCar followed before his retirement in 2014.