'Perez brings money to Red Bull, you can't beat that'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
Mitch Evans (30) was close, but once again the New Zealander missed out on the Formula E title last season. Second, third, second; those were his final rankings the last three years in the electric class. Just as Evans repeatedly missed out on the absolute top prize in FE, he has regularly been passed over by Formula 1 teams throughout his career. The reason, he believes himself? Lack of sponsorship money.
Speaking to Total Motorsport, Evans reveals that he feels he is being ignored because he does not bring a bag of money. "A lot of guys get opportunities bring money," Evans says. "Look at Sergio Perez, you can’t compete against that. He’s not a bad driver but you are competing against that."
According to Evans, motorsport is an unfair sport. Unlike tennis, football or golf - where you come out on top purely on your qualities - other factors come into play in motorsport, so bringing along funding. "It’s hard to go up against a driver on pure merit. That’s the way it is," said Evans, who is saddened to see how drivers even pay handsomely to be test drivers.
Evans finds the sport 'demented'
Evans comes up with the example of Nyck de Vries, who was ignored by F1 teams for years. "When you are really in the fickle of it and know how it works, the sport is demented. Look at Nyck de Vries. He was not going to chance at all for an F1 seat, then he got a free chance when Alex Albon got sick [at the 2021 Italian GP], did a good job and all of a sudden he’s the best thing since sliced bread. He’s the same driver he’s been for all the other years."
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi