Felipe Massa says that F1 has found itself in an 'absurd situation' thanks to the increasing number of pay drivers on the grid.
Massa was speaking after countryman
Rubens Barrichello became the latest driver to lose his drive to a rival with extra budget, with Bruno Senna being named as his replacement in the
Williams line-up.
HRT, the only team yet to confirm its full driver line-up, is believed to be looking for a driver who can bring extra backing to partner Pedro de la Rosa, with Tonio Liuzzi – who has a contract in place for the 2012 campaign – having made no secret of the fact that he doesn't have a massive budget behind him.
A number of other teams have been forced to look at drivers with financial support and Massa said it wasn't a good position for the sport to be in, with young drivers now finding it ever more difficult to make a breakthrough.
"Today, there are only four teams that can afford to operate without drivers that bring money," the Brazilian told
Totalrace. "It's an absurd situation and I don't think it's good for F1 and especially the young drivers.
“Even if you get very good results in the formulas below, you either have to be lucky or have money in order to get a seat. That's not F1."
