Is F1 a 'Billionaire Boys Club'? | On The Marbles Discuss Lewis Hamilton's Comments

[@tommyrichards1589]

This is one of the reasons why I disagree when people say its the best drivers in the world in F1. Many drivers who are super talented would of never had a chance as they wouldn't have had enough money

[@thebestevertherewas]

I can garuntee you, if this was a meritocratic sport, half the grid would not be European.( Lewis is European). I mean kids in Africa and poor asian countries.

[@Jim553just]

It is so refreshing to have, even such a small part of the media, that will tell the truth. You guys are entertaining, informative and honest. It will never catch on 😉🤣🤣

[@oftengone]

Look at the 2010 grid. The drivers have gotten much richer and younger since then. Yes it's expensive to begin with, but it's gotten much worse...

[@TheTororist]

Wait wait wait. This podcast has video??? I'm very happy right now. Subscribed

[@PeterBrookF1]

This where there is a certain 'purity' in football. Money is far less of an obstacle, which is evident by the amount of Premier League players from working class backgrounds. This, plus the fact that more kids in general aspire to be footballers than racing drivers means that filtering out the good players from the bad is much easier and you can bet your bottom dollar that basically everyone in the Premier League is the cream of the crop. God knows how many supreme talents have been lost in motor racing throughout the years. It still affects drivers who do make it to the very top such as Kamui Kobayashi and Pascal Wehrlein for example

[@samwelagwata3845]

To be fair though you don't need millions to buy a ball and train. Fields are everywhere in every community. On the contrary, racing in junior formulas requires one to actually fund their car development. That is not as cheap as sewing a football.

[@sameerdodger]

@@samwelagwata3845 that's the point. football is a working class sport, simple to understand and anyone can play. the trains in the UK originally were set up to connect the football stadiums so poorer folk can go watch the game. i'm obviously an F1 fan (otherwise i wouldn't be here), i don't enjoy football for a few reasons but i do love the fact that its incredibly accessible and thus brings people together. whereas F1 is not so obvious in face value just to how much goes into the sport, hell a lot of people say the cars look slow just because of the perspective of the cameras making them look that way. but if they understood, or witness one in real life then they may get it. but people enjoy different things for different reasons. the money required to run an expensive sport like F1 is just part of it that will never truly go away, just like the hooliganism of football.

[@McFlashh]

@@sameerdodger F1 is a business, rich people with not much talent can get in whereas very talented drivers who don’t have the money can’t get in. That’s very unfair, but it’s not just in F1 but in society in general. Rich teens who aren’t even smart can get into any top university in the world, as even universities only care about money. That’s why the phrase ‘money talks’ is more relevant than ever in today’s society. This is why I like football so much, anyone with talent can become big. The greatest footballers ever are from poor families, like Ronaldo, Messi, Maradona, Pele, Cruyff etc. In fact the reason why they are better than rich people who get so much training from academies when growing up is because the goats learned playing football on the street. Football is the closest sport to art, so you can’t teach a playstyle, you have to be born with it. Of course in football, the clubs care about money too, however a rich guy can’t buy himself into becoming a professional footballer because he’s just not good enough to play. Ironically though, the biggest contract in sports history is Messi’s which he signed with Barcelona from 2017-2021 which was worth 674 million euros.

[@marcusjones3588]

Parents funding their under talented children to F1 is detrimental. I no longer see F1 as the pinnacle of driving.

[@bakersdozen3216]

Can’t wait for the next podcast!

[@hemanthkumar8424]

Well u still have to score certain license points to get into formula 1. It's not like anyone with money can get in, u also need to be a decent driver. About how lower the costs for junior formulas I don't have an answer

[@oftengone]

Great point at the end by Mark imo

[@Vacancesaventures]

car racing and horse riding have always been expensive sports

[@robstrong5624]

I agree with you all but in fairness Lance Stroll is competitive will he be a Lewis Sebastian unlikely but he's not a lost cause

[@seekyou]

Actually would you pay 15 millions Vettel when your son is doing similar results? I mean if you look at laptimes there is not much difference. Ok Vettel is not in his prime but....Lance isn't bad at all.

[@DOCDARKNESSREAL]

Remember reading an F1 Racing article in the early 2000s discussing who’s the greatest driver of all time. The conclusion was probably in the stands watching or in today’s parlance watching online. Money begets money F1 is ALL about money. We will likely only witness the “greatest” if they’re invested in otherwise look outside the racing ladder and focus online 🤷‍♂️ who knows

[@Justify4935]

The thing is that this is NOT a sporting issue, this is a real wage issue. It's not exclusive to F1/karting - it's an issue in every expensive sport known to man. Speaking exclusively in terms of US, many, many, many people here don't even have six months of living expenses saved away if there is an emergency. Do you really think parents can afford to go karting or buy their kids a motorcycle to go to the track? Hell no. They are barely surviving living paycheck-to-paycheck. Some working only part-time, or some even working two jobs. lol The saying, "The cream rises to the top" may not ring so true in the future.

[@MENQN]

Yes or Pascal Wehrlein would still be in not put off a seat he's a recent prime example.

[@twillis449]

So what's new here? There been wealthy individuals contesting Motor Sports since day zero. Prince Bira contested Grands Prix both pre-war and in the early days of F1. Some wealthy individuals have been top-level drivers. Peter Revson springs to mind. And I don't think Lando Norris is exactly in the poor house.

[@markwoldin162]

This conversation is marvelous. Everyone thoughtful, even one gracious, everyone sold. But do I detect an Aussie accent? Mmm, that's a bummer. (😉)

[@DrumL3000]

Maybe lance stroll would not sit in his current seat if not for his dad, on the other hand he was not a no talent kid. like every other guy he started young and also won many things. he sure had it easier in terms of finance and has basically job security now. he is not doing to bad also.

[@Nashe001]

This conversation reminds me that humanity has already given up on building a MERITOCRACY. Having unqualified people in places they don't deserve is not a fact of life. We can change that. We are not asking the right questions.

[@sameerdodger]

a meritocracy simply cannot exist under capitalism as you can always resort to buying your way to anything.

[@domylee1993]

Should make a Spotify podcast

[@funkyhouseman]

It is on Spotify, no adverts either!

[@JO2GALORE]

Love this!

[@foreverinteriors]

It's a shame that "some people" think that all the drivers are from super rich families. Some are but they are of course a small percent of the drivers. Nothing really wrong with that I would say but a bit unfair but Is it unfair that Japanese engine suppliers contract in a Japanese driver? What else about the sport is unfair ? Some say the team behind the driver. I know a couple people involved in F1 engineering. Two are white and one brown. All three sacrificed a lot to get into F1. They worked in lower formulas, they volunteered, they literally washed dishes just to get into the teams. When you talk about minorities not being given the opportunity to be part of the team I think you have it backwards, if they truly love F1, they need to step up their game and work their way up, just like everyone else. It's a bit like running away to the join the circus. Again while we are talking about minorites, there is a large percent of Japanese engineers in F1. I would say that's super good. I doubt there is a single mechanic, technologist, engineer, truck driver, anybody in F1 that does not truly love the sport and would do it all over again if the opportunity were there.

[@Goaltimer]

Well, Stroll doesn’t seem to be really slower than Vettel so far.

[@aswadsaswad1759]

And lando, Mark missed lando out! £££££££££

[@elysiumnat2958]

He’s needs the billionaire club to pay for his millions. 🙄🤷🏻‍♀️

[@davidmashishi2080]

This statement doest make any sense if you think about it. Lewis drives for Mercedes and Mercedes pay lewis. When Mercedes win the constructors they get more money. He made like close to 85 million when you add up his endorsements and still took a pay cut. Which brand is bigger then lewis in formula 1 non. He got a bigger social media following then Formula 1 itself.

[@elzopiening8412]

Bye bye Lewis the 2nd

[@pierre7275]

What?

[@oscardriver]

Oh please, COME ON .... the hypocrisy is real from Lewis side, they forget that still they need Super License and these kids could DIE doing it.

[@DrumL3000]

Lewis is a big hypocrite in more than one way, but still seems like a good guy at heart and he is a bloody exellent driver. He reminds me a bit of Lebron James also often does not know what he talking about and is a big hyprocrite. Only difference is that Lewis not not getting paid by China but from someone else. In general i would say Lee and Webber said how it is. Done

[@jimbob7534]

Lewis salty because he's not a billionaire, he wanted a big piece of the broadcast and constructors championship money

[@chriscollins550]

No he didn't that's nothing but BS. The fact Lewis is a massive shears holder in Mercedes f1. Do you think he would need to worry about what the team is paying him. Then he already got a job in the team after he retired. Come on stop believing in what people are saying

[@johncale1849]

Are you his manager? if not, how do you know these details?

[@chriscollins550]

@@johncale1849 Lewis being a shear holder is common knowledge and legally has to be given out by looking it the company it self. Second of all Toto and Lewis did a interview together with channel 4 and told everyone that Lewis will be at Mercedes f1 after retirement with some kinda team job. When it comes to what the driver get paid Mercedes have never toto has never told anyone not even the people with in the team. No body knows what each driver gets paid and what's in the contract only that driver and Toto. Rosberg in he's podcast has said this and he's contract with Mercedes is still a secret to this day. All the stuff about Lewis wanting more is BS

[@johncale1849]

@@chriscollins550 What is a shear holder - is that something to do with sheep?

[@chriscollins550]

@@johncale1849 shareholder. Sorry pedantic prick! I didn't notice the predictive text had changed it.