GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: John S on July 07, 2021, 11:26:16 AM
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Appears Mr Norris snr has spent $44m so far to get Lando a place at Macca and another $15m more to ensure race seat going forward. :swoon:
I'd not an inkling of these kind of figures previously, the impression given is that he's there on merit - which he undoubtably is - did anyone else on here know he's a pay driver???
Nice though that Lando has retained that boy next door personality and can mount a turn of speed equal to most at present in F1.
A revelation like this must make Danny Ric a little less comfortable with his present placing in the drivers table. ;)
https://www.grandprix247.com/2021/07/05/in-the-pit-lane-lando-norris-bucks-the-trend/
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It doesn't seem very plausible for Lando to be paying that much for a seat. That's more than Nikita Mazepin's paying at Haas. If Lando was paying that sort of money, I'd have thought Haas would have pursued him with a view to starting in 2019...
Also, Lando took a salary cut due to COVID last year. Pay drivers don't get the sort of salaries worth cutting due to COVID.
(Lando's dad can definitely pay the cited amounts of money. That's not the problem with this story, and Lando's down-to-earth attitude despite coming from a family which has been very successful in business does him - and the people who raised him - credit.)
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It doesn't seem very plausible for Lando to be paying that much for a seat. That's more than Nikita Mazepin's paying at Haas. If Lando was paying that sort of money, I'd have thought Haas would have pursued him with a view to starting in 2019...
The article makes clear McLaren was targeted as a team that could potentially run higher up the grid, now be honest if you had the cash to buy a seat at either would you seriously take Haas over Macca long term? ::) Hell even Mazepin snr wanted your adored FIF1 before Haas.
Rather think that by the time Haas realised how much Norris snr was prepared to pay he was already contracted with Macca for 2018 Test driver role with possible advancement if he proved fast enough.
Also, Lando took a salary cut due to COVID last year. Pay drivers don't get the sort of salaries worth cutting due to COVID.
Even someone on a Pound/dollar a week can take a pay cut, not sure anyone officially spoke of figures. Reckon they talked percentages if any figures given, no way to tell salary from that.
Although taking a pay cut most probably was from altruistic motives, it also was desirable PR to show recognition of hardship and furlough faced by so many during covid pandemic since Lando was becoming a bigger celebrity name.
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Lando's dad is rich so a paycut isn't going
to make Lando scrounge for food or shelter.
Under todays F1 people like Stewart, Hill, Clark, etc
would not be in the record books.
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From Lando's perspective, McLaren is indeed better than Haas. From Haas' perspective... ...they needed the money, so would logically have at least tried.
And yes, the Mazepins did prefer Team Silverstone to Haas. One day they'll get the hint at Team Silverstone isn't theirs (it's still in the Appeals Court, and at least in theory they could still get the team if they win and get the right category of restitution), which is another reason I'd have expected Haas to bid - depending on a pay driver who wants to get out of your team ASAP without a backup plan is a bad idea. (OK, going for two drivers who want to get out ASAP isn't exactly ideal either...)
If Haas didn't realise the Norrises had money, they needed much better due diligence - it's not like the Norrises kept it a secret! (They just didn't make a big deal of it).
My point about the pay cut is that you can't have a pay cut if you are a pay driver, since pay drivers aren't paid in the first place. If Lando was on a salary that could be cut, even by a penny a year, he'd be a paid driver instead. This is due to minimum wage laws (which require £8.91/hour as a minimum), and if McLaren was bothering to pay a salary worth cutting, it wouldn't make sense to make that contingent on pay (when a strict minimum-wage salary could have done that just as well).
Dare is right to say that ridiculous amounts of money (from family or elsewhere) is needed to get onto the grid these days.