Le Mans winner says F1 is only for rich

Earl Bamber winner of the fabled 24 hours of Le Mans last year says he is not keen on pushing for an opportunity to race in formula one.

Last year, one of Nico Hulkenberg’s winning teammates at Le Mans for Porsche was Earl Bamber, a 25-year-old New Zealander who told the Sun newspaper that F1 is lacking “structure”.

“There are no professionals in there anymore, only people who want to pay money, and the problem is the cars are too focused on engineering,” he said.

“If you are rich you can pay to win. There are only a few seats – Ferrari, Mercedes, Red Bull, where you make good money – the rest, everyone pays,” Bamber added.

He said that for those reasons, he is no longer interested in F1 despite dreaming as a child of racing at the pinnacle of motor sport.

“I would never race in F1. It has changed a lot for me since I was growing up. There used to be more factory-supported teams – Ferrari, Honda, BMW. There were seven or eight competitors but now there are like three.

“Maybe it changes in a few years but for me at the moment I would not look at F1 – unless Ferrari come calling!” said Bamber.

Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247