Top 3 "Pay Drivers" in F1 in the 21st century

F1 is a capital-intensive sport and even for the most talented drivers on the grid, there is a portion of the team's budget that they have to bring. It might come as a surprise that even Michael Schumacher, one of the greatest talents ever to drive an F1 car, had to bring in an assured sum of $150,000. He had to do so to ensure his debut with Jordan in 1991.

However, there are certain drivers that made their way to the sport and sometimes stuck around over other talents primarily based on the funding they brought to the team.

Even on the current F1 grid, drivers like Nicholas Latifi and Nikita Mazepin occupy seats on the basis of the kind of money they bring to the team rather than their performances.

In this piece, we take a look at some of the top 'pay-drivers' to have driven in F1 in the 21st century.

Ranking the best 'pay-drivers' in F1

#3 Pastor Maldonado

Pastor Maldonado is fondly remembered as the driver who was a bit of a hot-head and had the propensity to crash during wheel-to-wheel combat. And, if we are being fair, that is an apt description of the driver. However, in 2012, Maldonado showed what he was capable of if he put his mind to it and cut down on the errors.

He won the Spanish GP 2012, beating Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen of all people in a straight fight and will fight for podiums later in the season as well.

Let's be fair though, post-2012 he was only on the grid because of the cash that he brought with him, nothing else. However, in 2012, he showed that on his day he could be a race winner, and because of that he finds himself on this list.

#2 Lance Stroll

There aren't many drivers that get more heat than Lance Stroll on the grid. Driving a car for a team that is owned by your father just does not go down well with anyone. Having said that, Stroll is a decent driver. More importantly, Stroll has already collected some impressive accolades in his career.

He's one of the youngest drivers ever to score a podium (after his podium at Baku in 2017).

Will he find a seat in F1 only based on his talents? It's hard to say yes to that but then again, as a driver, he's not as bad as the criticism he gets.

#1 Sergio Perez

This one might come as a surprise, but Sergio Perez's debut and earlier years were supplemented by significant funding by the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. The driver's debut at Sauber, his move to Force India in 2014, and many other circumstances saw Perez get bailed out because of the funding he brought.

The funding played a significant role in Perez staying with Racing Point in 2018, as Esteban Ocon, who brought in no funding, was let go instead.

At this juncture of his career, after achieving so much, it's fair to say that Checo is arguably the best pay driver in the 21st century. So much so that he does not even get recognized as one.