Previously, drivers with significant private wealth or backing from major sponsors could effectively buy a race seat at teams towards the lower end of the grid who were in need of a cash injection.
But the rollout of the FIA superlicence - whereby a driver must accrue 40 points based on their finishing position in other categories to be allowed to race in F1 - and the current commercial boom that the series is enjoying has mitigated the need for 'pay drivers'.
