Company cars are great. But imagine if you could only choose between three models, all from the same company, and each one guaranteed to be slower than your work vehicle?
That's the 'depressing" reality for F1 driver Fernando Alonso. The poor lamb can only pick a Ferrari 458 Italia, a Ferrari California or a Ferrari 599 GTB as his company car. It's the same throughout the grid, so no wonder most Formula One drivers supplement their company vehicle with a garage full of flash motors.
Here are some of the cars current Formula One stars have owned.
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
In the garage: Maserati GranCabrio, Maserati Quattroporte, Ferrari 458
Italia
This garage has it all - apart from maybe a Toyota Prius to cancel out all that CO2 guilt. As well as a couple of Maseratis - the GranCabrio for when it's sunny and the Quattroporte for when the nieces and nephews visit - Fernando has his very own custom 458 Italia. It's got his name embossed on the headrests and everything.
Mark Webber, Red Bull
In the garage: Porsche 911 Turbo, BMW X5, Nissan Navara, Renaultsport Mégane 250
Australian Mark Webber's collection covers every eventuality. Broken fridge-freezer? No problem - Comet, here I come in my Nissan pick-up. Grandparents want to go to the garden centre? Easy - stick them in the X5. The 911 Turbo is for fun, obviously, and the Mégane is for inconspicuous trips to KFC. Sorted.
Jensen Button, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
In the garage: McLaren MP4-12C, Nissan GT-R, Bugatti Veyron, Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG, Mercedes CLK DTM AMG, Ferrari Enzo, Audi RS6 Avant, BMW M5, Ferrari F430 Spider, Ferrari 360, Ferrari 550 Maranello, Ford GT, Porsche Carrera GT
Jenson Button's car history could only be cooler if he'd owned the Batmobile, with a collection of cars worth well over £2m passing through his hands. He says that his current ride, the McLaren MP4-12C, is the best road car he's driven on a track. He could be contractually obliged to say that of course.
Lewis Hamilton, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
In the garage: McLaren MP4-12C, Mercedes-Benz GL 320 CDI
Yes, Lewis drives a huge Mercedes 4x4 - and a diesel one at that. His justification: "On public roads I like to relax, kick back and cruise. The GL is perfect for that." Or maybe it's because in a GL he won't be tempted to do doughnuts in front of police vans...
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes GP Petronas
In the garage: Ferrari FXX, Ferrari California, Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz GL, Mercedes-Benz S 55 AMG
As a current Mercedes driver but one synonymous with Ferrari, Schumacher's garage comes as no surprise. His most famous road car isn't actually a road car at all: the Ferrari FXX is based on the Enzo Ferrari, costs about £1m to selected customers, and can only be driven during approved Ferrari track days. It famously lapped the Top Gear test track with a time of 1:10.7.
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing
In the garage: BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz SL Black Edition, BMW 320d
Vettel calls the first F1 car he drove to victory 'Julia'. Who said Germans are serious all the time? When he passed his driving test at 18, BMW gave him a brand new X3, widely regarded as the company's weakest model for a while. Still, it's not a bad maiden ride, especially when most of his mates were probably knocking about in F-reg Fiestas.
Robert Kubica, Lotus Renault GP
In the garage: Renault Laguna Coupé
For a young F1 star, Kubica has a modest daily ride, which is surprising given his well-established penchant for speed. It was during an extra curricular bout of rallying in Italy recently that Kubica narrowly escaped death in a crash. We wish him all the best, and a speedy return to Formula One.
Jarno Trulli, Team Lotus (the other one)
In the garage: Lotus Evora
Trulli might have bought his own Evora, but it's safer to assume Lotus gave it to him, which is funny now that the company is trying to wrestle its name back from his Malaysian owned F1 team. If Lotus succeeds, will they send the bailiffs round Trulli's house to get the Evora back too?
Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso
In the garage: SEAT Leon Cupra R
The fame and fortune that Formula One brings hasn't made Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari forget his roots. He's done what any good Spaniard would do, be they an F1 driver or a factory worker on minimum wage: bought a SEAT. Granted, without his F1 wages he might have bought a diesel - fuel prices in Spain are quite steep too.
Timo Glock, Marussia Virgin Racing
In the garage: Nissan GT-R, MINI Cooper, Toyota iQ
We understand why a driver without a company car list would buy a Nissan GT-R; one of the quickest road cars ever made. What we don't get is why an F1 driver would buy not one, but two city cars with extremely limited rear seats and boot space. Maybe he and his partner both struggle with parallel parking.
Mark Nichol
Porsche 991: 2011-2019
Porsche 997: 2004-2012
Porsche 996: 1997-2005
Porsche 993: 1993-1998
Porsche 964: 1989-1993
Porsche Carrera 3.2: 1983-1989
Porsche Carrera SC: 1977-1983
Porsche 930 Turbo: 1975-1989
Porsche Early 911: 1964-1977
Porsche Carrera GT
Porsche GT1
Porsche 959
Porsche Macan : 2013-
Porsche Panamera : 2009-
Porsche Cayman: 2005-
Porsche Cayenne: 2003-
Porsche Boxster: 1997-
Porsche 968
Porsche 944
Porsche 924
Porsche 914
Porsche 912
Porsche 904
Porsche 550
Porsche 356 Speedster
Porsche 356
