Haas driver Nikita Mazepin beat back Lewis Hamilton’s comment during the Monaco Grand Prix, suggesting that Formula 1 has become a “billionaire boys club”.
Speaking to the Spanish AS newspaper, the seven-time world champion said he believed he would not have been able to get into the championship now and that F1 must do more to help people with more humble backgrounds get a chance to compete.
But the 36-year-old, who grew up in a community in Stevenage, has claimed F1 is now just a playground for the rich.
“I grew up in a normal working-class family and there is no way I can be here – the guys you fight have so much more money,” said Hamilton.
As it is now on the grid, Canadians Lance Stroll, Nicholas Latifi and Russian Nikita Mazepin are the sons of billionaires, with Stroll’s father now a partner in Aston Martin F1.
Prior to Formula 1, Hamilton’s father Anthony said he had several jobs to fund his son’s career before he was discovered by McLaren at the age of 13.
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