Nico Hulkenberg has used Lewis Hamilton’s own words against him suggesting he take a “generous” pay cut if cash isn’t king.
Recently, Formula 1 teams have been furloughing staff with drivers and senior bosses taking pay cuts to overcome the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
And while Hulkenberg admits he is free to talk as a currently unemployed racer, he believes drivers, who are the highest-paid employees of a team, are right to do their part.
“I am making it easy for myself with a comment, of course, because it does not concern me,” the German told Auto Motor und Sport.
“But I do believe that drivers have to support their teams, especially in times when companies have to fight for their livelihoods.
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“The football players have also waived part of their salaries,” Nico noted. “Not to set an example, that wouldn’t be fair to the people on the team who earn normally, have to pay off a house and have losses.”
Mercedes are one of the few teams who have not used the furlough scheme, with their HPP arm busy producing 10,000 CPAP medical devices for the UK government after developing their own product in partnership with University College London.
But there has still been pressure on Hamilton to reduce his £40m a year salary, following claims he took a pay cut while privately the German manufacturer made up the difference through other means.
“Those who earn more and have more buffers should also be more generous,” Hulkenberg continued. “Now drivers are also obliged.
“Lewis can show how he is doing with his ‘cash is king’.”
Of course, that phrase is the same Hamilton used to call out F1 for travelling to Australia back in March, suggesting financial reasons motivated the decision not to cancel the race sooner.
