Mark Webber is finishing the last half of his final season in Formula 1 before going back to Le Mans where he raced before his F1 career began. He says that in his time in F1 he has seen the quality of the F1 grid drop, and he blames the drop on the rise of for-pay F1 drivers that bring sponsorship or money to a team in exchange for a driving contract as opposed to being hired based on skill. 

"When I was on the grid at the back with MinardiMinardiItaly, 1978 > 20047 models
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you had Irvine, Salo - all those guys had been on podiums. The grid was just packed full of guys who had won in F3000, won a lot of impressive races.

"There are a lot of talented guys out there, but a lot are slipping through the net unfortunately. That's a sad state. [Robin] Frijns for example is a phenomenal young talent, [but] has got no cash," said Webber.

The primary example of pay drivers in Formula 1 is Sergey Sirotkin racing for SauberSauberSwitzerland, 1970 > present21 models
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 next season. To have money to keep racing, Sauber accepted money and technical support from several Russian companies and in return gave the 17-year-old Russian driver a guaranteed racing seat for next season. 

It has become routine for teams like CaterhamCaterhamUnited Kingdom, 1973 > present9 models
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and MarussiaMaRussiaRussian Federation, 2007 > present4 models
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to accept pay drivers in recent years, but Sirotkin shows that pay drivers for joining higher teams on the grid.

Webber joined Minardi in 2002 and had been a test driver for ArrowsArrowsUnited Kingdom, 1977 > 20016 models
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in 2000 and BenettonBenettonUnited Kingdom, 1985 > 200112 models
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in 2001. Prior to that he raced in the FIA GT Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1998 and at Le Mans in 1999. 

Source: Autosport