What's in an F1 drivers contract

[MustangGT]

pistonheadforum said:

AND LOOK AT THAT HE HAS UNLAPPED HIMSELF FROM SENNA!!!

[/Murray Walker]

Thread is back from the pits - let me ask a slightly different question.

You are a young up and coming driver (maybe Max from 4 years ago). You have talent but it could be extinguised if you get yourself into the wrong team and get pasted every week.

What would you want your contract to include to help?

I always liked the line "Shall be provided with equipment and resources not lesser than my team mate" as it covered the widest amount.

There is almost zero chance an up and coming newbie will be able to dictate terms, much less what you suggest.

[gt_12345]

Exige77 said:

MissChief said:

LukeBrown66 said:

Just to add, regardless of your opinion, none of what I wrote originally was hearsay it came from a fairly senior guy who worked at Silverstone, so, please be respectful of what I wrote, whether you agree with it or not.

Depends what it is really. If he wants two guava and mango monster, three watermelon and a fridge with bottled water, that’s not really an issue. If he wants sixteen packets of skittles sorted into colours in glass bowls 7-9” in diameter, no deeper than 4” and the green ones removed then that’s just weird.

Lewis allegedly requested chewing gum and somewhere to charge his phone.

Apparently Silverstone couldn’t afford it and this Hamilton hater takes every opportunity to bring this nonsense up.

So it's true?

I don't think he's a Hamilton hater, sounds more like you're a Hamilton-lover.

[belleair302]

A standard driver contract is around a dozen pages and states what the team will deliver and what the driver is expected to deliver. Payment, clothing, travel, accommodation, passes and appearances. The appendix is where the nitty gritty exists and I have seen these run to twenty pages or more. A young driver will have a few requests but the team will include break clauses, paragraphs regarding performance, accidents, PR and professional behavior expectations too. However as the driver matures these can be re drafted and will evolve season by season with lawyers, agents, sponsors and family all having their say. There are a few excellent Motorsport contract lawyers and the teams will have in-house professionals. It isn’t a complex document but the language used can be somewhat challenging.

[pistonheadforum]

MustangGT said:

There is almost zero chance an up and coming newbie will be able to dictate terms, much less what you suggest.

Ask for a short contact then and renegotiate next year.

[Mark-C]

pistonheadforum said:

MustangGT said:

There is almost zero chance an up and coming newbie will be able to dictate terms, much less what you suggest.

Ask for a short contact then and renegotiate next year.

I think the few rare up and coming talents probably do get more say in initial contracts - I'm thinking Michael S, Lewis and Max here