The Pastor will reside at Williams.

[Retro Formula 1]

Just another pay driver. He will most probably make Rubens look even more impressive!

Have you only just started watching the sport?

Schumacher had a seat "bought" for him with Mercedes money to start his career as did Alonso at Minardi.

There have been quite a fe "pay" drivers my friend. A quick driver attracts sponsors as they progress who pay for that push into F1.

[Dave B]

Have you only just started watching the sport?

Schumacher had a seat "bought" for him with Mercedes money to start his career as did Alonso at Minardi.

There have been quite a fe "pay" drivers my friend. A quick driver attracts sponsors as they progress who pay for that push into F1.

Sad but true. At any one time there are usually only a handful of teams who can afford two drivers on their payroll, and they tend to plump for experienced and proven talent, often that which has risen up through the smaller outfits. This is one of the reasons I'm glad we now have some new teams: they offer the potential for the next Alonso or Vettel to hone their craft. Every other team has to rely on one or more drivers who can bring a bulging wallet with them. T'was ever thus.

[ioan]

Have you only just started watching the sport?

Schumacher had a seat "bought" for him with Mercedes money to start his career as did Alonso at Minardi.

There have been quite a fe "pay" drivers my friend. A quick driver attracts sponsors as they progress who pay for that push into F1.

MS had one race paid for him, not a season, and after one qualifying session he was the hottest property in F1 and signed by Benetton for good money.

Looks to me that you don't know what you are talking about.

I am sure that Rubens will clean the floor with this no one.

[Retro Formula 1]

MS had one race paid for him, not a season, and after one qualifying session he was the hottest property in F1 and signed by Benetton for good money.

Looks to me that you don't know what you are talking about.

I am sure that Rubens will clean the floor with this no one.

So you agree with me but say I am wrong. Are you some kind of Schitzo?

Everyone knows the rest of the story but he had to be bought into F1.

[Mia 01]

I agree Moore and Youke would have been better options for Williams.

A cheap one for you.

[ioan]

Are you some kind of Schitzo?

Yeah the kind that knows a bigger one from a mile.

[jens]

I consider Maldonado to be a slightly improved version of Petrov. Spent ages in GP2 before finally putting in a strong season. But Pastor has shown spark in the past seasons too, the difference is that finally he managed to put it together on a consistent basis.

But overall do not expect him to be a revelation. At best something similar to Hülkenberg's 2010 campaign, which means almost half of Barrichello's points.

Interesting that the prices for paydrivers have gone really high (+10M &#8364 and even governments are getting involved in buying seats (Petrov, Maldonado). I also remember Baumgartner getting a Minardi drive with the help of government's support, but the cost was much lower back then (something around 2-3M € IIRC).

[Dr. Krogshöj]

I just don't understand the logic behind Frank's decision. Nico Hulkenberg was a GP2 champ and now has a full year of F1 experience under his belt. Nico got dumped in favor of Pastor, but without any guarantee that Pastor will do any better against Rubens. Aside from the money issue, am I missing something here?

Well, it seems you are missing the money issue, don't you? I think the logic behind the decision is pretty simple to understand: racing in F1 costs money.

[gloomyDAY]

Well, it seems you are missing the money issue, don't you? I think the logic behind the decision is pretty simple to understand: racing in F1 costs money.

Yes, well I just think this seems like desperation on Williams' part.

Are they so hungry for cash that they'll hire a driver that got his butt kicked by Nico in GP2 just to stay alive? Sad.

[Sleeper]

A quick driver attracts sponsors as they progress who pay for that push into F1.

You mean like Tarso Marques, Alex Young, Yuiji Ide, Sakon Yamamoto, Ricardo Rosset, Zsolt Baumgartner, Gaston Mazzacane, Pedro Diniz, etc. Quite often drivers will attract money through many reasons other than speed, like very rich parents.