Davidson calls for changes on ladder to Formula 1

Anthony Davidson wants to see a change to the “scary” amount of money needed to climb up the motorsport ladder in the junior categories.

Davidson was discussing that his parents could not afford to move him out of karting and up another level because of the amount of funding needed – stating that when he approached teams in Formula Ford or Formula Renault before receiving backing, the team principals’ first question would always be about how much money he could bring to a team.

The former BAR and Super Aguri F1 driver spoke of how he saw the likes of Jenson Button and Dan Wheldon move up above him when they were a year younger, and opened up about how difficult it had been to get a chance in a higher category – although the wealth gap is even bigger now than it used to be, with even former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi becoming unable to fund his son Giuliano’s path to the top of motorsport.

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Davidson feels a serious conversation needs to be had about how to make motorsport more accessible to people at grass-roots level, not just for the sheer financial burden being taken on to get a seat in a series anyway but that it is also cutting off potential Formula 1-level talent from ever reaching the grid.

“This is one of the biggest turning points, I guess,” Davidson told the My Big Break podcast when discussing his own funding from karting into single seaters. “A driver trying to get from karting into single seater motorsport.

This year I