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actually i think where endurance in general is winning over f1 is further down the ladder.
the tolerance levels to keep having a go at getting noticed by a f1 team are lowering by the season. it's so expensive to compete in the big single seater series, let alone manage to get your hands on one of the really top drives that'll reward your talent if you've got it. taking the young drivers in elms from the lmp2 classes because those are the ones i know about....
first one across was nelson panciatici at the end of '11. he was a victim of never having enough money to get a decent seat in the junior series at any level, but was fortunate enough to walk into a far more affordable situation at signatech. bloody prompt straight away, now one of the quickest and cleanest drivers in lmp2 anywhere. i think he's a little old school for the big manufacturers though.
after that at the end of '12 was paul-loup chatin. he had a reasonable drive in the eurocup but it's been obvious that unless you really are max verstappen level awesome you have to have been picked up by a f1 team before that point in your career. the next step up anywhere from there is in the region of £750k so he went into lmp-c in elms to learn and linked up with signatech. now one of the star performers on the elms grid thanks to his relative speed versus driver grade. he's also rather shown up fellow rookie oli webb, who doesn't have the benefit of a season in lmpc and a bit of porsches, but does have a couple of seasons in big cars.
then you have tincknell at the end of '13, after a couple of decent but not earth shattering seasons results wise in f3, but very well regarded for being quick and plugged in. straight into one of the best drives in lmp2, and he's kept albuquerque honest. that's pretty faultless. audi would be making a very good choice if they took him on board.
like i say, those are just the few off the top of my head. but you've got others who have gone into whatever spanish gt is called nowadays, the blancpain series, other things with a roof. josh webster went from gp3 to porsches. the point at which they switch is becoming earlier and earlier, and if the opportunity is right then they're more inclined to go "actually yeah, i'll give it a go" rather than "no, not yet, i still think i can be a f1 driver". there's obviously exceptions like fabio leimer who wait until post-gp2 to switch, but they're rarer than the younger kids who take the opportunity to build up respect in the area of the sport where their career would have ended up anyway.
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