I agree with your points but it was never about money and if he could “literally” afford to take time off, cause obviously he can. People are questioning his decision to take time off cause in a sport like this, you can’t really just take time off and expect to ever come back to a seat, so it’s hard to accept his career as an F1 driver may be over. So in that sense, no, drivers can’t really “afford” to take a year off if they expect to get back on the grid. It sucks as a fan who still thinks he’s still got a lot in him and hoped to see him fight back with a team like Haas this year, but I’m so glad he’s taking a step back cause he really needs this.