The Venezuelan had inherited the front position on the grid when Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from qualifying, but he saw Alonso – competing in his home race in a beleaguered Ferrari – enjoy a better start off the line to steal the lead by the first turn.īy the time the two cars had completed a lap of the Circuit de Catalunya, the Spaniard held a 1.3 second lead. Paymen can become legends.BARCELONA // Pastor Maldonado held of the bull-like charge of Fernando Alonso to win the Spanish Grand Prix and hand his Williams F1 team their first race victory since 2004. But the three-times world champion Niki Lauda started as a pay driver, bringing a bag of lolly to March in 1972 before paying his way into BRM the following year. Or the aspiring driver has just too much money to turn away. The worry is that this could lead to a decline in standards if the shortage of money becomes too acute. Teams ultimately want to improve their overall performance and sometimes they can do that better with a driver who brings money more than with a better driver with no sponsorship." "But if you don't you may be better off with a pay driver who can bring sponsorship money which in turn can improve the performance of the car. If you have the money you take the best driver. "I don't think the situation with pay drivers is out of hand, but I can foresee the number fluctuating based on financial wellbeing of the teams. Otmar Szafnauer, the chief operating officer for Force India, agrees that manufacturers are having to look at different options according to the financial climate. "But it is difficult times and we could look at a way to make the cost more affordable, particularly for teams towards the back end of the grid." Ferrari have started their driver academy, McLaren are backing some young karters, and obviously it worked for them with Lewis. "You can see now that's a model that others are looking at. Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne would never have had the opportunity to get in a race car, certainly at Formula Three level, without Red Bull saying: 'OK you've got some talent, we'll invest in you.' But that's perhaps where Red Bull are owed more credit than they are given for investing in young guys. So has the number of pay drivers in Formula One become a problem? Christian Horner, Red Bull's team principal, said: "Financially, it's tough times for some of the teams in F1. "It's all about money and sponsors these days," said Trulli. But it was ultimately money that unlocked the cars for the pay drivers. You are also expected to have proved yourself at a lower level. To drive in Formula One you need a super licence, and to get that you have to drive 300 observed kilometres in an F1 car. Maldonado did win the GP2 title, albeit at the fourth attempt, in 2010, Pérez was one of the standout midfield drivers last year and Pic finished fourth in last year's GP2. "If I was just a pay driver I would never have taken my first podium at last year's Australian Grand Prix," an indignant Petrov told Autosport. Pic's wealthy mother owns an estimated 6,000 trucks in France. Sergio Pérez signed for Sauber clutching a bag of Mexican gold, courtesy of Telmex, and down at the bottom of the paddock HRT have Narain Karthikeyan and Marussia have Charles Pic, who have both brought in about £5m. Little wonder there was no more room at Williams for Rubens Barrichello, the most experienced driver in F1.Īnother old hand, Jarno Trulli, lost out at Caterham, when the team that was formerly Lotus brought in Vitaly Petrov, who is backed by a number of Russian companies, including the petrochemical firm Sibur, to the estimated merry tune of £12m. His team-mate, Bruno Senna, has a wonderful name but not quite as wonderful as the £12m he brought to the table in the form of Brazilian sponsorship, headed by the oil giant Eike Batista. Maldonado is a friend of the Venezuela president, Hugo Chávez. Top of the list is the Williams driver Pastor Maldonado, who is worth an estimated £45m to his team because he has the backing of Venezuela's national oil company, PDVSA. These days, outside the leading teams, drivers are being asked to pay for their seats with lucrative sponsorship deals. The golden age of the manufacturer is over. If anyone thought that the plutocratic world of Formula One was recession-proof they can think again.
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