The two of you said this:
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Originally Posted by DoubleK
Of which there are only 20 on the planet, of which only 8 or so are paid to drive.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lorenavedon
a lot of drivers actually pay to drive just to get their foot in the door
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But the driver isn't footing the bill, the sponsor is. The driver is still paid to drive by the team, who is funded by the sponsor.At worst, the sponsor is paying the drivers salary, but they are still being paid. A 23 year old driver isn't giving the sponsor 45 million to launder through the team, and only getting back 1% of it.
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But the term pay driver is harder to define nowadays. Many of the so-called pay drivers in F1 today come with good racing records. Vitaly Petrov, Sergio Pérez, Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna are all GP2 race winners, drivers with their records usually move up into F1 anyway. The fact that they can bring backing just make them more attractive than their similarly-qualified rivals.[3]
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They may not be as qualified as some drivers, but they have a great sales pitch, and bring sponsors with them.