Mark Webber has hit out at drivers claiming to have made "bull***t" sacrifices to be in Formula 1. As has been shown on shows such as Drive To Survive , the narrative around drivers making it to F1 can often be centred around the the demands put on young drivers putting hours of practice in and families spending lots of money. But the Australian, who manages upcoming talent Oscar Piastri, spoke on the Performance Hackers podcast about drivers making complaints being already on the "back foot" if they have that mindset. "Let's not beat around the bush, you're being paid a handsome sum of money to do a very, very phenomenal job and that is not a burden," he said. "I never spoke about sacrifices, people talking about sacrifices and 'I gave a lot up' - I think that's an absolute load of bull***t. "These young drivers that have come from Australia and [they say] 'I have all these sacrifices' - Well they aren't. If it's a sacrifice already, then I think you're on the back foot. "It's all upside for me in terms of exposing yourself and working with the best people and getting the best out of yourself."
Webber: My first contract in F1 was for two races, can you believe that?
Webber was famously only on a one-year contract in the latter years of his Red Bull career as the team lined up his replacement to partner Sebastian Vettel at the time, which he says "lit a fire behind me" to continue to deliver. He continued: "Even the last three years of my career, I was on a one-year contract, because I was right on the bubble of being replaced. “Of course there's a fire right behind me to continue to deliver and say ‘Well I am going to be renewed if I bring value to this operation, I bring value to myself and the people around me, my team, and I’ve got pride in how I go about it.' "The stopwatch does not know that I've got a five-year contract, or a five-month contract. My first contract in F1 was for two races, can you believe that? It was three weeks. Brutal! "But I had no cards at the table, that’s how it was. So what am I going to do, spill milk or step up? There'll be someone else that will want to have a crack at that, because there's always someone else."
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