http://raconteur.net...-to-formula-one
“I’ve had offers from a number of top teams, including Red Bull and Ferrari, to go on their junior schemes, but I still had to provide some money,” says Evans. “Every driver, whether it’s Carlos, whether it’s Daniel, it doesn’t matter who it is, they still have to bring some money and it is probably more than meets the eye. And those are guys who come from wealthy families so it’s not an issue but I don’t have that option. A lot of driver development schemes are smoke and mirrors in terms of the drivers paying to be there. They are paying through the roof to be there. So a lot of it is just about getting a foot in an F1 team in a roundabout way.”
So junior programs are no golden ticket.
“If somebody is talented, very talented, you probably need to spend €1 million in karting through junior, senior and international races,” says Wolff.
...
So you are talking about €7 million to €8 million so let’s call it $8 million. It’s not possible to bring that cost down because it has become a business so you need to have a sugar daddy or a rich daddy.”
Helmut Marko must have been pleased that he didn't have to spend that much on Max Verstappen