Mark Webber has hit out at a select group of drivers who he doesn’t believe deserve to be in Formula 1, claiming the current pool of drivers aren’t as talented as they once were.
The former Red Bull driver and nine-time race winner, who now competes in the World Endurance Championship, claims the influx of pay drivers has lowered the overall quality of the grid.
“We know we’ve got quality at the front, but I just still think there’s the swing of the financial [pay] drivers, who are coming to basically decide what teams they want to go to, and also if they’re going to stay there,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“There have always been commercially-driven drivers on the grid in F1, don’t get me wrong, but in 2002 when I started, or 2010, even mid-90s, I just think there was a sniff more depth in there because there were more chances for the guys who have got the runs on the board [in the junior categories] to get in there purely on results and not with a government behind you supporting you.
When asked if he was referring to the PDVSA backed Maldonado as a driver who doesn’t deserve to be in F1, Webber replied: “Yeah. Quite a few [other too].
“They need to be treating the sport with more gusto, more professionalism and more purpose of why they’re there and not trivialising [by saying] ‘oh, I’ll just come up the next race and have another go’.
“We used Pastor as an example – there’s a few of them who shouldn’t be there.
“There are a few of them who are like that and it shouldn’t be like that,” Webber added. “There just has to be the hunger. You want to see the best guys who are driven, focused, professional, hungry and it means a lot to them.”
