Minardi defends 'pay driver' Stroll

Jan.16 - Gian Carlo Minardi has hit out at criticism of Lance Stroll's impending debut in F1.

Undoubtedly, the 18-year-old Canadian's rapid rise to formula one has been powered in part by his billionaire father Lawrence.

For instance, Stroll has been embarking on an arguably unprecedented global F1 testing tour with a 2014 Williams, including his most recent outing in recent days at Sepang.

But Minardi, a former F1 team boss, insisted: "Any formula one driver is assessed from a commercial perspective by team management before they are signed.

"So I do not understand, in a sport where teams rely on huge budgets, why there is such a negative connotation about a driver who provides financial support," he is quoted by the Spanish daily AS.

"Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna and Fernando Alonso also had to provide financial support at some point in their careers," said Minardi.

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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