The growing pay driver debate in F1

F1 is considered as the pinnacle of motorsport. It is the crown jewel among the different series which operate under the FIA, for its relentless push towards innovation and new technologies. The F1 cars themselves are state of the art machines which have grown considerably complicated with each passing year. As such, F1 is not only about the car but also the drivers themselves.

The drivers in F1 are considered the crème de la crème among all the drivers in the different categories of motorsports. This is not only because they have earned their right to be in F1 by competing and mostly winning in lower category formula, but also because of their innate talent. Very few drivers have the ability to drive flat out through Eau Rouge, one of the most fearsome corners in F1 while experiencing G-force higher than in a Jet Fighter during take off.

Even though to an outsider, F1 may look glitzy and glamorous, yet there is much more to it than meets the eye. The economic downturn hit the sport hard. One of the notable casualties was the withdrawal of Honda from F1. With the economy still struggling to recover momentum, very few companies have been brave enough to invest in F1. This has created a very bleak economic scene for the F1 teams, especially the ones which are not very successful. Nowadays most teams have very less sponsorship. Any additional sponsorship they gain is always welcome, more so for the smaller teams. This is what has led to the rise of a new breed of drivers called pay drivers. Unlike other drivers, who have spilled their blood and sweat to prove themselves and get into F1, pay drivers get the chance to drive for a team usually based on the amount of sponsorship they bring into the team. A pay driver may pay as much as 20 million Euros for a seat in a small team for the whole season.

The start of the 2013 saw the pay driver debate take centre stage when drivers like Heikki Kovalainen and Kamui Kobayashi were replaced at their respective teams by untested drivers who had significant financial backing. The issue was also further highlighted when experienced driver Timo Glock had to leave Marussia because of funding problems.

The crux of this debate is whether pay drivers deserve to be in F1 or not. There are very few people who haven’t heard of Michael Schumacher. The seven time world champion who almost single handedly resurrected Ferrari from doldrums is arguably one of the best racing drivers of the world. But what very few people know, is that Michael Schumacher was a pay driver. Schumacher paid $150,000 to the erstwhile Jordan racing team for his first race. Many people are turned off by the word pay driver and gain an inherent dislike for the driver associated with that tag. But people also tend to overlook the fact that every driver who competes in F1 must have an FIA Super License. This License can’t just be bought but rather has to be earned. To gain a Super License, one of the criteria is that a person must have been a champion in a lower category of motorsports or must have had consistent good results in them. This small fact proves that a driver who has earned the right to drive in F1 is no pushover and has earned his spot, contrary to what most people think.

The ban on testing also has a part to play. Before the economic downturn, F1 had unlimited testing, best signified by Ferrari, who had their own private test track at Fiorano and a test team. New drivers were blooded through testing rather than being thrown into an F1 race outright. This gave them a chance to get used to the team and the cars, as well as develop their skills. Lewis Hamilton, who famously debuted for Mclaren in the 2006 season without ever having driven in an F1 race before, revealed that he was fully prepared for the races due to the extensive amount of testing he did before the start of the season for Mclaren. But the ban in testing has made track time precious for the teams. This in turn, has worked against rookie drivers. The only solution in sight was for rookie drivers to pay a certain amount to a team for a chance to drive their car.

People may say that giving a rookie a drive in an F1 car is a very dangerous game to play. Because in the case of an accident, the life of other drivers are also put at stake. Examples of rookie drivers being the cause of silly accidents can be easily found throughout the season. But before stereotyping drivers as “dumb pay drivers”, it would be well served to think that if the same driver had a chance to test an F1 car extensively, then he probably would not have reacted the way he did.

The current trend of employing pay drivers is a necessary evil in F1, considering the lack of testing time for rookie drivers as well as the bleak economic condition of the teams. The only way out of this would be to start some kind of a testing program for talented youngsters wherein they can gain valuable testing time in an F1 car. The program could be sponsored by the FIA as well as all the teams so as to ensure a balance. Also, no F1 team should be allowed to supply cars or team personnel to the tests so that no team gets any untoward benefit from these tests. F1′s position as the pinnacle of motorsport could be in danger if this trend keeps getting encouraged.