For some Formula 1 stars, it takes more than just speed and driving skills to claim a starting place, but also deep pockets.
A karting career at the highest level just to get started can cost over £ 100,000 a year – not the kind of money most people make on the back of the sofa.
Lewis Hamilton’s father Antony worked three jobs to help finance his son’s F1 dreams, while Michael Schumacher used discarded tires from wealthy competitors in his early go-karting days.
Hamilton and Schumacher, both seven-time world champions revered around the world, made it to the top the hard way. Daily Star Sport take a look at four drivers who had a slightly more comfortable route into F1.
Lance walk
Lance Stroll drives for Aston Martin
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Perhaps the most obvious example of a paid driver in the paddock, Lance Stroll is the son of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll.
Stroll senior is worth over £ 2 billion and collects vintage Ferraris, according to Forbes, one of which he bought for a record £ 20 million in 2013.
Stroll Junior is unlikely to ever race for the horse jumping, but he has had a pretty decent career in F1 since he got past the F2 or GP3 series to switch to the Williams in 2017.
Should so-called “pay drivers” be allowed in F1? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Stroll is a huge fan of surfing
(Image: lance_stroll / Instagram)
Stroll’s father Lawrence invested in Aston Martin in 2020
(Image: lance_stroll / Instagram)
In 2018 Stroll Snr. led a consortium that took over Force India and converted it into Racing Point, and Stroll Jnr. was soon enlisted to drive for her.
Lawrence then headed another consortium that invested £ 182 million in Aston Martin in exchange for a 16.7% stake in the company, renaming Racing Point the Aston Martin F1 for the 2021 season.
Son Lance has impressed for the team over the past few seasons, barely taking his first Grand Prix win at Monza in 2020, only to finish second behind Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly.
Lawrence Stroll (left) is a Canadian billionaire
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Away from the high pressure world of Formula 1, Stroll enjoys mountain biking, skiing, surfing and golfing. He’s also a huge fan of the New York Giants.
Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Latifi was a model of consistency for Williams
26 year old Canadian Nicholas Latifi has a lot to offer. He’s calm, humble, and despite Williams’ largely poor performance over the past couple of seasons, he’s done pretty well.
After the team’s brief upturn in earnings in the middle of the 2021 season, Latifi was even able to collect his first Formula 1 points and score points in both Hungary and Belgium.
Latifi is also a fan of surfing
However, it is questionable whether he would even be there without the influence of his billionaire father Michael.
Michael Latifi is a billion dollar businessman who loaned Williams to keep her afloat in the face of a decline in sales from the Covid-19 pandemic and consecutive tenth-place design engineers.
Latifi will be driving for Williams again next season
His father made his living in Canada with Sofina Food, the company that is also Williams’ main sponsor and that adorns the car’s iconic paint job.
Despite his rich background, Latifii has shown himself to be a solid and capable driver over the past few seasons and will be racing for the UK team again next season.
Nikita Mazepin
Nikita Mazepin didn’t make many friends in F1
Nikita Mazepin’s first season in Formula 1 was disastrous. The Russian has earned a reputation for spinning his car, with fans jokingly calling him “Mazespin”, and has not yet scored a single point.
In addition, its off-track actions left a lot to be desired ahead of its Grand Prix debut. Haas was forced to issue a statement condemning his “heinous” acts, which were filmed in the back of a taxi.
Mazepin’s father, Dimitry, is believed to be worth over £ 5 billion
Mazepin had a difficult start to his F1 career
Mazepin uploaded a video on his social media in Bahrain in which he appeared to have groped a woman. The video was quickly deleted.
From the start, a # SayNoToMazepin hashtag kept popping up on social media as fans rallied against his introduction to the sport.
But in F1 money talks and with an alleged investment of $ 20 million in Haas for each of the next two years from his father, Dimitry, who is worth over £ 5 billion, Mazepin has remained a part of the F1 paddock.
He will stay with the team for the 2022 season, where he will continue to be a partner of Mick Schumacher, the son of Michael.
Guanyu Zhou
Guanyu Zhou will start in Formula 1 next season
It’s time to say hello to F1’s newest paid driver – Guanyu Zhou. Zhou ousted British ace Callum Ilott to a spot on the grid in 2022 after signing from Alfa Romeo, where he becomes the sport’s first Chinese driver.
Zhou, 22, is a pretty decent racing driver himself and still has every chance of winning this season’s Formula 2 championship, but money has undeniably played a role in his quick rise to the top.
Zhou’s parents are believed to be worth a lot of money
Very little is known about the boy’s parents, but it is believed that their net worth is less than a million miles from that of paid driver Mazepin.
In fact, former Formula 1 driver Christian Danner mentioned Zhou’s name alongside the Russian’s when talking about drivers supported by wealthy parents.
Alfa Romeo team boss Frederic Vasseur even admitted in an interview with BBC Sport that money played a role in signing the Chinese driver through Ilott.
Zhou replaces Antonio Giovinazzi at Alfa Romeo
“Our sponsors also want to be happy in the end and develop their commitment to the future, and the financial side cannot be hidden,” said Vasseur.
Antonio Giovinazza, the man he will replace at Alfa, was not so friendly in his assessment. When he found out about the news, he posted on social media: “Formula 1 is talent, cars, risk, speed. But when money rules, it can be inconsiderate.”
Ouch.
