Just_a_fan wrote: ↑16 Apr 2019, 21:11
sAx wrote: ↑16 Apr 2019, 19:22
Not as unusual as you suggest. I remember the then F2 Champ Dr. Jonathan Palmer taking on a debt of £70,000 to get into F1 ('82/'83), which seemed to be crazy at the time. The only difference is he did not talk about it all that much. Looking back from where he is now, probably the best investment he ever made!
It's still unusual when one considers how many drivers there are and how many funded themselves. Most have a rich daddy (Stroll) or a national company (any number) behind them. The lucky ones get under the wing of a team early on e.g. Hamilton.
Today, I doubt any driver could self fund the rise to F1 unless they were already ridiculously wealthy.
... e.g. Vettel, Verstappen (Jos & Max), Coulthard, Herbert, Alguersuari, Chandhok, Buemi, Salo, Hakkinen, Raikkonen, Villeneuve (Jacques), Bianchi, Schumacher (Michael, Mick and Ralph ), Leclerc, Klien, Kyvat, Riccardo, Liuzzi, Ghasly, Hartley, Sainz, Vergne, Albon, Ocon, Wehrlein, Magnussen (Jan and Kevin), Frenzen, Andretti, Rosberg, di Resta, McNish.....just off the top of my head etc. etc. At least try to be consistent if you insist on using Hamilton as an example of lucky!
