Six F1 drivers with ridiculously rich parents from oligarch to ex-rally driver
Formula One stories like Lewis Hamilton’s rise from humble beginnings can seem as if they are growing less likely with every passing season.
The seven-time World Champion’s ascent through the junior karting ranks was a grind.
His father Anthony famously worked three jobs and required the backing of Ron Dennis to deal with the monumental costs of funding his son’s dream.
On top of the huge karting fees, drivers are expected to bring millions in either sponsorship money or their own investment to get one of the 20 elusive F1 seats, while smaller teams look to become more competitive by employing ‘pay drivers’ from rich families.
All that has helped to result in a sport dominated by wealthy drivers.
Daily Star Sport looks at five current drivers on the grid who have incredibly rich parents.
Lance Stroll
The fifth season Aston Martin driver comes from one of the wealthiest families on the grid.
Stroll begun his career aged 10 and rose through the ranks as a Ferrari academy driver before landing a place in F1 for the 2017 season, where he initially raced for Williams.
Two years later, his billionaire dad Lawrence bought the Racing Point team and chose Lance to replace the highly-rated Esteban Ocon.
Firmly placed in the category of a pay driver, the 23-year-old still races for the team under its new name – Aston Martin – picking up three podiums in his career thus far.
As of last year, Forbes believed Canadian business mogul Stroll Sr.’s net worth to be £2.4billion.
Nikita Mazepin
Mazepin was controversially given a seat at Haas for the 2021 season having finished just fifth in Formula 2 the previous year.
The Russian also came 18th in his rookie F2 season while teammate Nyck de Vries won the championship, leaving fans stunned when Haas overlooked several other up and coming young drivers.
His ascent, however, was far less baffling given his father Dmitry’s extraordinary wealth and the investment he brought following his son’s appointment.
Dmitry, a Russian oligarch, made Forbes’ billionaires list in 2014 and 2015.
He also lost a Force India takeover bid to Lawrence Stroll back in 2018.
Nicholas Latifi
Williams driver Latifi is the second Canadian on the grid to come from a billionaire background.
His father, Michael, left Iran as a teenager before launching his own food processing company.
The owner, chairman and CEO of Sofina Foods, Latifi Sr. is reportedly worth a monumental £1.8billion which went some way towards forming his son’s racing career.
Nicholas was a reserve driver at Renault, Force India and Williams until 2020, when Williams offered him a seat.
In 2021, he scored points for the first time in his career in back to back races, finishing seventh in Hungary and ninth in Belgium.
Carlos Sainz Jr
Do you think Carlos Sainz Jr is the most talented driver on the list? Let us know in the comments section.
While not a billionaire pay driver, Carlos Sainz Jr. also comes from a wealthy motorsport background.
The Ferrari driver, 27, has proven his own credentials on numerous occasions throughout his seven-year career.
However, the Spaniard has racing in his blood, with his father being former double World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz Sr.
The retired Spanish icon had a lengthy career spanning from 1987 to 2005 and is worth an estimated £5.9million.
Mick Schumacher
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Schumacher is undoubtedly the most recognisable name in all of motorsport due to the achievements of the Haas driver’s father – Michael.
While 22-year-old Mick grew up around enormous wealth, Michael Schumacher came from humble beginnings, running a go-kart track alongside his father and younger brother Ralph.
He went on to win a record seven F1 world championships and 91 Grand Prix wins while cementing his place as the greatest Ferrari driver ever.
Michael’s estate according to The Express is worth around £434million.
Lando Norris
McLaren sensation Lando Norris comes from one of the wealthiest families in Bristol.
Norris has one of the brightest futures across the F1 grid and was hugely unlucky not to win his first ever Grand Prix in Russia last year.
His father, Adam, is the former managing director of pensions advisory business Pensions Direct.
Now retired, Norris Sr. has a stake in Bristol-based Hargreaves Lansdown worth around £187million as of 2019.
He was at one point ranked the 501st richest in the country and is believed to have a worth a whopping £205million.
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