Christian Danner names Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton while talking about pay-drivers

Christian Danner names Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton while talking about rising inclusion of pay drivers in Formula 1.

Christian Danner has made a controversial statement about Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel while talking about the rise of pay drivers in Formula 1.

A way which has allowed Lance Stroll and Nicholas Latifi into the lineup. His comments came after when asked whether the financial impact caused by Coronavirus will resort to bring in more pay drivers.

Stroll’s father owns Racing Point1, which helped him to secure a seat in the team, whereas Latifi’s father is linked with a Williams team buyout.

“Money always helps in Formula 1,” he told RTL. “But nothing will change about the classic pay-driver. I assume that the driver market will be as balanced as in previous years. The drivers who leave will be replaced by other talented drivers.”

Danner continued, “Ultimately, almost all Formula 1 drivers are pay-drivers in a certain way. Sebastian Vettel was promoted by Red Bull long before Formula 1, and Hamilton was financed by McLaren during his karting times.”

Danner further defended Latifi and Stroll, despite the deep pockets, both had significant achievements in Formula 1. Last year, Nicholas Latifi finished as the runner-up in Formula 2, while Stroll won the Formula 3 championship in 2016.

The 62-year old also mentioned Nikita Mazepin and Guanyu Zhou, both of whom have rich parents but are equally talented. He even mentioned Mick Schumacher, who brings a lot of sponsors to help him in Formula 2.

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He concluded, “Latifi brings money, that’s for sure, but George Russell is from Mercedes so there is definitely a financial benefit for Williams, such as engine discounts.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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