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Comment by eaurouge | Hacker News Reader

The ratio varies - I would say it depends on the car, teammates and team. But ultimately driver skill is what determines who gets to drive for Mercedes, Ferrari etc. So once a pairing has been made, either the drivers are closely matched, or one or both will be changing teams or leaving F1 all together.

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> once a pairing has been made, either the drivers are closely matched, or one or both will be changing teams

That's not always the case. Eddie Irvine spent 4 years as n.2 to Schumacher pretty happily, only changing teams because Jordan offered more money. He was pretty spectacular on good days but nowhere as good as The Michael.

Right. The current era is definitely more competitive than past eras. Teams were often cash strapped back then, so sponsorship money trumped driver skill in some teams. Also Ferrari was very much Schumacher’s team. Irvine was his supporting driver much more than a true teammate, unlike what we have these days in most teams, including at Mercedes and Red Bull.

Teams are still cash strapped!

> Eddie Irvine spent 4 years as n.2 to Schumacher pretty happily, only changing teams because Jordan offered more money

I think you mean Jaguar. He moved from Jordan to Ferrari.

Yes, sorry.

"ultimately driver skill is what determines who gets to drive for Mercedes" - not what happened with Bottas. Doubt that's what happened with Sainz.

You know something no one else does?

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