Juan Pablo Montoya reveals interesting take on pay-driver debate in Formula 1

Speaking to Vegas Insider, Juan Pablo Montoya has had his say on the pay-driver debate and suggested that many of the drivers that get that label perhaps aren’t as bad as people think.

F1 sees the best of the best drivers competing with one another but you do also see drivers getting into seats with the aid of financial backing and the sponsors that they can bring, sometimes over drivers that might be more talented.

Montoya, though, says it makes sense for the teams sometimes, and suggested that they’re not always that bad even if they are there primarily for their money.

“Mostly people in F1 are there because they have enough talent, and even with enough talent they need enough backing to make it.

“Even the guys with extra backing to make it, they’ve done a good job in the previous Formulas. They’re not bad drivers.

“That’s the problem. You look at people paying for seats and stuff and you go – ‘they’re terrible’. The guy terrible is finishing top 3 in F2. There’s a lot more terrible behind him.

“The problem, in the environment of the sport, is when you have someone paying for a seat like that they feel – ‘oh my god, he’s just there because of the money’. Yeah part of it is the money but they still did a decent job. Mazepin did a decent job. Was he the fastest guy out there who would light the world on fire? Probably not. But he wasn’t terrible. He made enough points to get a super license, so, whether you like it or not, he’s there.

“That’s a very hard argument because the paying drivers nowadays are pretty good. Are they super stellar and going to be world champions? Probably not. But can they make a career out of it? Probably yes.

“And the thing nowadays, the way the economy is, how unpredictable it is and