You do it better

The news that Sergey Sirotkin could race for Sauber next year has been met with widespread disapproval.

Having the view that he would be stepping up too soon for his own good is a very fair one. Having the view that he isn't good enough, even though you only heard about him for the first time a few hours ago, is just plain wrong. Having followed Sirotkin for the past two years, I tackled these issues earlier here.

With Sirotkin's father one of the new investors in Sauber, some have categorised them along with the Chiltons as nepotism and something unacceptable in F1.

In the case of Marussia, and fellow 'new' boys Caterham, the argument has been made before by some that F1 would be better off without them and their 'pay drivers'. Yeah, never mind all the people employed in Banbury and Leafield...

But the new Russian investment comes at Sauber, the popular, independent team. The money that helps Sirotkin into the team secures their immediate future. A team that reportedly had a budget shortfall just to see out the season.

Do the people upset at the rise of 'pay drivers' want to see Sauber fall? Williams crumble? No, of course they don't.

Yet here they are, complaining about the side-effect of the very money that secures these teams, whether it's from Russia, Mexico, Venezuela or Reigate. And the only suggestion of how they would do things differently? Have a more deserving driver.

I'd love to see a deserving driver like Robin Frijns get an F1 seat. But without his own sponsorship, there's no way of making it happen. This isn't teams being greedy, this is just the teams ensuring their safety.

Take away the Mexican brands only there because Esteban Gutierrez is, and Sauber have virtually no sponsors. And it can't be for a lack of trying. No other team from Lotus down to Marussia boasts a big-money sponsor that isn't tied to one of their drivers.

Does F1 need to look in the mirror and ask why it cannot attract sponsors in any other way? It probably does.

But in the meantime, having the likes of Sirotkin are a small price to pay for the security of the F1 teams.

So put up with it, or do it better yourself.