FERRARI ACADEMY FOR DRIVERS WITH A HEALTHY BANK BALANCE – VILLENEUVE

Pay drivers. Whether you love them or hate them, they have been, and always will be, a part of Formula 1. Racing is expensive, and many teams choose to hire drivers with some level of talent and a healthy bank balance or sponsorship backing over higher quality and lower funded drivers simply to be able to afford to turn up.

Some teams, like Williams and Haas rely on pay drivers to race, as they don’t bring in any other income from anywhere else (unlike teams like Mercedes AMG, McLaren, Renault and Ferrari, who have road-going car divisions to finance their racing).

With pay drivers seemingly becoming more prevalent and more drivers with good credentials often passed over for those with bigger bank balances.

The Ferrari Driver Academy has produced recent gems in Charles Leclerc, Antonio Giovinazzi, and Mick Schumacher. But 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve believes most drivers enter the academy due to sources and money power. He added only current Ferrari star Leclerc to the exception list, in the conversation with Sky Italia.

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“He was the only one who did not have his finances in order when he entered the Academy. The others, however, all had a considerable budget and that helps you on your way. Of course, you still have to do it yourself, but even without Ferrari these guys could have walked the career path they are currently taking.”

Villeneuve however added that Mick Schumacher has also done a commendable job considering the weight he’s carrying of the greatest surname in F1 history. The son of Michael is the current F2 champion and will make his F1 debut with Haas next season. Haas is powered by Ferrari engines, and have an agreement in place to allow one FDA driver to race in their team.

“Mick has, of course, been under a lot of pressure in recent years because of his surname. He has certainly felt that pressure and therefore he has been able to learn from it. That’s a big difference compared to the other guys in the Academy.”

Ferrari’s test driver Marc Gene though wasn’t buying in to Villeneuve’s perspective.

“The Ferrari Academy really is of a very high level, the talents in Formula 2 have shown very clearly during the 2020 season,” he said.

FERRARI ACADEMY DRIVERS VILLENEUVE FERRARI ACADEMY DRIVERS VILLENEUVE

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