2021 F1 Driver ThreadFormula 1

[BrainsBush]

Who's his doctor, Peter Kay?

"How is he?"
"Alright."
"But how is he in himself?"

Based on his most recent social media attendance he seems to be ok (despite the broken jaw and the following surgery).

 

[Jimlaad43]

Alpine have signed Daniil Kvyat as reserve driver. I suppose he'll be really ready in Bahrain just in case Alonso's broken jaw starts playing up.

 

[NotThePrez]

Alpine have signed Daniil Kvyat as reserve driver. I suppose he'll be really ready in Bahrain just in case Alonso's broken jaw starts playing up.

Wishing the best for Alonso, but it's good to see that Kvyat still has a presence in the sport.

 

[TheElbows]

Can't imagine vibrations in a race car are all that fantastic for a recently soldered jaw. At 39 he's also not going to heal in a week like some of the 20-somethings.

As far as Hamilton is concerned, I'd like to see him win a final WDC and then move to another sport - it looks like LMDH/Hypercar could be at its best form in 30-40 years, so maybe it's time to go hook up with a big factory there and shoot for a half dozen Le Mans victories or something.

 

[numbnuts70]

Estimated F1 drivers basic salaries.

Probably not 100% accurate but in the ball park.

2021 Formula 1 driver salary estimates
Team Driver Salary* Debut.

Mercedes Lewis Hamilton $30m (£21.9m) 2007
Mercedes Valtteri Bottas $10m (£7.3m) 2013
Red Bull Max Verstappen $25m (£18.25m) 2015
Red Bull Sergio Perez $8m (£5.84m) 2011
McLaren Daniel Ricciardo $15m (£10.95m) 2011
McLaren Lando Norris $5m (£3.65m) 2019
Aston Martin Sebastian Vettel $15m (£10.95m) 2007
Aston Martin Lance Stroll $10m (£7.3m) 2017
Alpine Esteban Ocon $5m (£3.65m) 2016
Alpine Fernando Alonso $20m (£14.6m) 2001
Ferrari Carlos Sainz Jnr $10m (£7.3m) 2015
Ferrari Charles Leclerc $12m (£8.76m) 2018
AlphaTauri Yuki Tsunoda $0.5m (£0.365m) 2021
AlphaTauri Pierre Gasly $5m (£3.65m) 2017
Alfa Romeo Kimi Raikkonen $10m (£7.3m) 2001
Alfa Romeo Antonio Giovinazzi $1m (£0.73m) 2017
Haas Mick Schumacher $1m (£0.73m) 2021
Haas Nikita Mazepin $1m (£0.73m) 2021
Williams Nicholas Latifi $1m (£0.73m) 2020
Williams George Russell $1m (£0.73m) 2019

 

[NotThePrez]

Christ on a bike, why the hell is Tsunoda getting so little?

 

[Liquid]

In what way does Mazepin draw a salary from Haas? Or Stroll from Aston Martin?

 

[EngieDiesel]

Christ on a bike, why the hell is Tsunoda getting so little?

Probably part of the deal Honda has with RBR to take over their engine program. Either that or Honda themselves are making up the difference.

 

[Famine]

In what way does Mazepin draw a salary from Haas? Or Stroll from Aston Martin?

Yeah, I don't know who's compiled this list (it's not referenced, though all the driver names link to Racefans), but very few of the drivers are getting an actual salary from the team for racing.

Most will draw some money from sponsors, and the sponsors are also paying the £2m-or-so it costs to get a seat plus anything else (the "pay drivers") . Others, like Hamilton in particular, will get a salary from the team and from their sponsors. It seems super weird to give some drivers' "salary" as their actual salary and others as what their sponsors might pay them, rather than combining all sources as their "F1 salary".

Hamilton's latest contract with Mercedes is reportedly worth $40m for the 2021 season (which makes the list already inaccurate) and he pulls in at least $55m from that and from his sponsorship. The inappropriate touching enthusiast doesn't get any salary at all from Haas that we're aware of, while his daddy pays Haas something like $20m for his seat and all the replacement bits he needs, and presumably hush money. His team-mate, Mick Schumacher, is salaried though. He's paid $600k a year by Ferrari...

 

[barak181]

His team-mate, Mick Schumacher, is salaried though. He's paid $600k a year by Ferrari...

Newbie question. I've seen lots of comments about Merc "owning" George Russell. Do they pay his salary at Williams, as well?

 

[DG_Silva]

Newbie question. I've seen lots of comments about Merc "owning" George Russell. Do they pay his salary at Williams, as well?

It's believed to be partially paid by Williams, but also that Merc give Williams a discount on their engine supply for the year.

 

[Touring Mars]

Shock breaking news!

Grosjean to Mercedes!!*

* https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...des-test-run-f1-swansong-at-french-grand-prix

 

[TenEightyOne]

Shock breaking news!

Grosjean to Mercedes!!*

* https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...des-test-run-f1-swansong-at-french-grand-prix

Nice, and good publicity for all concerned of course. Most importantly I think it'll be good for Grosjean's mental health, just a feeling I get from his tweet-demeanour-in-general in the following months. Some of which I was very unkind about here, and I'm sorry for that.

 

[MaxAttack]

Nice, and good publicity for all concerned of course. Most importantly I think it'll be good for Grosjean's mental health, just a feeling I get from his tweet-demeanour-in-general in the following months. Some of which I was very unkind about here, and I'm sorry for that.

Good basically free PR for all involved, and it sort of strikes me as a symptom of the well-oiled Mercedes machine of a team.

I get a feeling Grosjean and the end of his career can serve as an example of how F1 fandom can pile a lot of hate on a guy that shouldn't really land on his shoulders. RG made some very questionable moves and radio calls, but as we watch Mazepin limp his car around a second off the pace of another rookie, it perhaps contextualises the real skill floor in F1 - that is to say, there are not the bad drivers and good ones, but good drivers and great ones.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

It's the Drive To Survive effect isn't it? The newcomers to the sport who never saw all his podiums with Lotus and just saw him as that guy who crashed behind the safety car and endlessly complaining about this car (which we now know is actually near undrivable). If DTS were around a few seasons sooner they would probably have Kvyat or Maldonado as the villain.

I fear the same thing is going to happen to Vettel this year unless he and AM can get their act together.

 

[Liquid]

Taki Inoue makes a reference to Taki Inoue.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Taki Inoue makes a reference to Taki Inoue.

In fairness he owns it like no other F1 driver ever seems to have been capable of. Helps that he's a nice guy of course, possibly what separates him from the greats.

 

[ScottPuss20]

Taki Inoue makes a reference to Taki Inoue.

 

[Novalee]

https://www.gpfans.com/en/f1-news/6...lub-f1-inaccessible-to-working-class-drivers/


"Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has labelled F1 a "billionaire boys club" and one which he feels he would now be unable to break into as a young talent.

The divide between those with money and those without has always been evident in motorsport but the Mercedes driver now believes that gap has grown so wide that there is "no way" a talent could replicate his rise through the ranks."

 

[Northstar]

there is "no way" a talent could replicate his rise through the ranks."

Pretty sure it's actually the opposite, the only way you're making it to F1 these days is if you follow the path Lewis took.

 

[Liquid]

Oh come on, Lewis Hamilton signed a contract with McLaren when he was 12. Sure, he proved he was worth the contract by winning championships up the ladder and I've no doubt that his dad worked hard to provide for him but being groomed, or at the very least having an eye kept on, by the then most successful and competitive team in Formula One isn't quite the scruff of the neck, by the bootstraps picture he's trying to paint.

Once again:

You need money to be in motorsport. For some people, this comes very easily. For others, this doesn't come very easily and means lots of sacrifice and for most, this means it's simply not possible. But you'll always need it.

Mazepin is an egregious and transparently pathetic example of a bad one but pay drivers have always been in Formula One. Always. Michael Schumacher came to Formula One as a pay driver; Mercedes-Benz paid Jordan $500,000 to give him a drive.

In 1994 there were 46 different drivers in Formula One. Here's a list of the pay drivers from that year:

Spoiler: 1994's classic pay drivers

Taki Inoue
Dominica Schiattarella
Jean-Marc Gounon
Olivier Beretta
Yannick Dalmas
Hideki Noda
Aguri Suzuki
Jean-Denis Delatraz
Frank Lagorce
Andrea Montermini
Paul Belmondo
Roland Ratzenberger
Mika Salo
Philippe Alliot
Phillippe Adams

Additionally, the following drivers were a slight variant on the classic pay driver model:

Spoiler: 1994's reputable pay drivers

Ukyo Katayama
Christian Fittipaldi
Eric Bernard
David Brabham
Olivier Panis
JJ Lehto
Pierluigi Martini
Erik Comas
Bertrand Gachot
Michele Alboreto

Most were under the "Marlboro World Championship Team" banner, for example, and you could argue the toss over who belongs on what list but together, that's 23 pay drivers.

I completely understand what Hamilton is trying to say and I agree with him. It would be nice if being a talent in Formula One was more accessible to people from lower socio-economic backgrounds but the truth is that it never has been. The gap may be widening but I don't believe that there was ever a time when this gentleman's pursuit was a working man's activity. It's not like things used to be good but now they're bad, this is unfortunately how it's always been.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Oh come on, Lewis Hamilton signed a contract with McLaren when he was 12. Sure, he proved he was worth the contract by winning championships up the ladder and I've no doubt that his dad worked hard to provide for him but being groomed, or at the very least having an eye kept on, by the then most successful and competitive team in Formula One isn't quite the scruff of the neck, by the bootstraps picture he's trying to paint.

There seems to be a feeling amongst some fans and non-fans that they could have done all that Hamilton's done if they'd cheeked Big Ron into a contract. In fact there were numerous drivers in a similar position to Lewis Hamilton but none of them rose even near to the top. Hamilton was given a chance and performed to a high level. Good luck is preparation awaiting opportunity (Brawn, c.1995) and the Hamiltons made their own luck on the way to the big time.

I recall a documentary doing the rounds about one of the lads who was signed alongside Hamilton but didn't make it. He didn't come across as having the greatest PMA but maybe that all came after watching his 'classmate' take a WDC or two.

 

[Liquid]

There seems to be a feeling amongst some fans and non-fans that they could have done all that Hamilton's done if they'd cheeked Big Ron into a contract.

Anyone who thinks this is a moron.

 

[PeterJB]

Hamilton is not from an upper middle class family but he also did not grow up a council estate/the slums as is often purported. At best he was lower middle class. These days however, basically every driver in the feeder formulae has a dad with a salary of at least 100k, or is a full-blown millionaire/billionaire. It couldn't be further from football where he have a Premier League inundated with players who grew up in terraced one-up two-downs that look like they came off the set of Coronation Street. The gap is seemingly getting bigger because drivers with zero measurable talent such as Alessio Deledda are getting put in extremely exclusive and privileged positions because they can pay up (I'm assuming he's from a rich family cause I can't see any reason why anyone would sponsor him) and when you see the way drivers like him, Mazepin, and Amaury Cordeel behave off track, it's obvious they're nothing more than spoiled brats.

Money changes everything. Lando has proven that he has genuine talent, but his dad's bank account made his rise up the ranks a hell of a lot easier than it was for someone like Ocon. Even if he wasn't in motorsport he can do basically anything he wants.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Anyone who thinks this is a moron.

It's certainly not nearly as simple as that, of course. But getting in good with the right people at the right time is also a key part of moving up the ranks in motorsport, especially in the political minefield that the highest series tend to be, and that's something a lot of people tend to ignore.

It's been mentioned that Gunther Steiner was the one who set up the deal to get Mazepin into his seat at Haas, and I imagine that if he and/or his father hasn't gotten Gunther's ear early in in 2020, they would have just as likely pulled someone else from the field that could bring in their own money and ride around for a season.

 

[Samus]

So HAM is signed up for another two years whilst BOT has said he'll be powered by a Mercedes engine next year.

 

[MagpieRacer]

So HAM is signed up for another two years whilst BOT has said he'll be powered by a Mercedes engine next year.

Glad Hamilton has signed on again. Not shying away from the rising challenge of Verstappen and Red Bull, still has a lot to give and will be good to see him in the new generation of F1 car.

 

[Liquid]

What's with Ricciardo? It's like he and Norris are driving for two teams in different parts of the grid, competitive-wise.

 

[NotThePrez]

What's with Ricciardo? It's like he and Norris are driving for two teams in different parts of the grid, competitive-wise.

From what I've read, the MCL35M just doesn't support his regular driving style in any way, and he's having a bit of a time overcoming that.

 

[Touring Mars]

So HAM is signed up for another two years whilst BOT has said he'll be powered by a Mercedes engine next year.