Abiteboul: Non-paying drivers are "almost irresponsible"

Cyril Abiteboul, director of Caterham F1, reflected in an interview with Autosport on the financial difficulties of teams and, consequently, on his perspective regarding “pay drivers”, as a leader of a top-tier discipline.

The Frenchman believes that drivers are also opportunity creators for their employers: « For me, drivers are just an additional aid to see these business opportunities that can be generated by them or us. » He wishes to move beyond the widespread dichotomy that tends to be particularly emphasized currently: « It is not that there are paying drivers or non-paying drivers »

For him, drivers loudly proclaiming that they won’t bring money or sponsors to a team are a problem: « Some drivers have publicly stated – and it bothers us – that they won’t make any form of contribution, which honestly I don’t like because everyone contributes in some way […] for example, Fernando and some of the sponsors who have believed in him and followed him since the beginning of his career. » He is particularly referring to the Spanish bank Santander, which significantly contributes to paying the salary of the Ferrari driver.

In recent weeks, while some seats have been secured with millions in financially struggling teams, like Lotus with Pastor Maldonado, some drivers like Nico Hülkenberg or Heikki Kovalainen have declared that they will not become pay drivers to remain in F1. An attitude condemned by Cyril Abiteboul.

« Almost all drivers feel there must be some form of involvement beyond their sporting duties. That’s why drivers who say: « I’m not a pay driver, I don’t want to be one », it’s almost irresponsible because we invest a lot of money to create value around these people and around these drivers. So, for me, it’s only fair that drivers make a contribution, not [necessarily] financial, but at least help create opportunities for teams to generate value. It’s a bit more complex than the way people tend to summarize it, » he added on this topic.

On the specific situation of the Caterham team, with its two drivers Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde providing various financial inputs for 2013, Abiteboul does not hide that 2014 is a turning point: « We have a season that is going to be expensive, our earnings are down, we hope to make progress on the grid. » However, he considers that his structure is attractive: « There is always a lot of interest in what we are, as a project. The Caterham project is something that is extremely attractive and, in fact, I am very positively surprised by the interest generated and the belief that people continue to place in us, even after four years. That is why it is important to keep promises. With just a little bit more performance, we will have fantastic commercial opportunities. »