F1 News & Gossip (2009)

Pre season is full of speculation, testing, mishaps and performance clues.... Feel free to post anything you find interesting....

LIKE

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Jan.28 (GMM) The opening test of Renault's 2009 car did not proceed as planned for the French team, the Swiss publication Motorsport Aktuell reports.

Although the Portimao test was badly marred by the weather last week, it is suggested that Renault struggled with the early performance of the new R29.

The aerodynamics of the unique-looking racer is apparently the culprit, and at the end of the only dry day in Portugal last week, Fernando Alonso was easily the slowest of the four new cars.

The Motorsport Aktuell report is backed up by suggestions last week in the Spanish press, where Alonso was said to have complained bitterly about the car's low-speed handling.

The Spaniard did not make his concerns public, as he told the sports daily Marca: "The main thing is that there were no technical problems; the times are not important."

Marca said Alonso will only turn his attention to performance at the last two tests, beginning at Jerez, prior to the start of the season in Australia.

"Hopefully we can make some good progress with the performance of the car there," the 27-year-old driver said

OR

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Jan.22 (GMM) A third formula one team has expressed concern about the questionable legality of Ferrari's newly launched F1 car ahead of the forthcoming 2009 season.

It has been reported that the F60 specification launched at Mugello, and currently testing at the same circuit near Florence, features exterior rear exhaust outlets that contravene the new technical regulations.

Mercedes' Norbert Haug and BMW's Walter Riedl have backed the report, and now the technical chief of a third team has announced his similar concern.

"The Ferrari has a few illegal features, like the exhaust pipe," Toyota's chassis technical boss Pascal Vasselon is quoted as saying by the BBC.

"We expect that to change as it is outside the regulations," the Frenchman confirmed.

AND

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Jan.14 (GMM) Ferrari's world champion of 2007 Kimi Raikkonen is an "unbelievable" character, team boss Stefano Domenicali said on Wednesday.

At the traditional 'Wrooom' ski and media event in the Italian Dolomites, Domenicali was asked about the famous personality of the team's reticent Finnish driver, who carries the nickname 'Iceman' on his helmet.

"Kimi lives in another world; on another planet," he is quoted as saying by the German news agency SID.

Domenicali's point is reinforced by an anecdote of the Italian press following the launch of the new F60 single seater earlier this week.

According to colleagues who attended the Mugello roll-out of the 2009 car, while drivers Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher, Luca Badoer and Marc Gene conversed in the paddock, 29-year-old Raikkonen was asleep in a car in the carpark.

"Kimi isolates himself," Domenicali confirmed. "If he feels pressure, then it's only because he has put it on himself.

"Nothing that is coming from the outside affects him at all -- and that is unbelievable," he said.

Domenicali said he would never expect Raikkonen to emerge from the winter break and "has suddenly learned Italian", or is "suddenly smiling".

"That is not the way he is," the Italian explained. "But he is completely impatient to drive and win races again."

Anything you find interesting....and think someone else might like to read....

It doesn't have to have any heavy technical details (jezza will be upset) or photos but please provide a source for the info using the, (insert link) button ....

Source F1 junkie

This post has been edited by bigbaldybloke: Jan 29 2009, 03:41 PM

Honda to get government help (Source, sorry it's in German)

Since they have not been able to secure financial backing from private investors yet, the Honda F1 team is looking at the possibility to get a part of the financial help package promised by the UK Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson. A speaker for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) said there was no reason Honda Racing shouldn't apply.

Excellent IR just what this topic is about...

Here's a similar report in English at pitpass

This post has been edited by bigbaldybloke: Jan 29 2009, 04:36 PM

Well now Honda denies asking for tax money. They say they were only talking with government officials about the future of the 700 employees at their factory...

The mentioned exhaust was illegal because of a late change in regulations. That change prohibited the use of external exhaust components to prevent those from being used as aerodynamic components. Ferrari has already reacted and revised their design.

Qualifying weights to be published?

The rumour says the teams and the FIA are seriously looking into publishing the weight of the cars after the qualifying. This would of course make the real worth of time and positions easier to see, but some argue it could be bad for suspense.

Yes, although they could try it for a season ans see if it works

MARK WEBBER decides to stay with British based red bull

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The 32-year-old, still recovering from his badly broken right leg, is approaching his third consecutive season with the Milton Keynes-based squad but insists he is in no mood to go onto the driver market.

"I am happy with Red Bull and I hope Red Bull will be happy with me," the Australian is quoted as saying by redbulletin.com.

Alongside David Coulthard, Webber scored 21 of Red Bull's 29 points in 2008. In 2009, he will be partnered with the impressive German youngster Sebastian Vettel.

"If I keep my consistency and get everything out of the car, I will have no worries for the future," Webber claims.

"I plan to stay on with Red Bull long-term. In fact, I do not see me working with any other team."
source

Mark broke his leg in November a pretty bad compound fracture in a cycling incident in Tasmania ... He had a collision with a 4X4 and a set of bull bars in a bicycle race named after him.. The double irony includes the fact that his F1 career has been injury free and he is the patron of the Amy Gillett Foundation, set up to improve safety for cyclists... DOH! source

I certainly hope this is a street circuit. It would make for another great location for local fans to get the opportunity to come view the event. And street circuits are just cool.




Rome considering Grand Prix bid


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28 January 2009

The city of Rome in Italy is considering a bid to host a Formula One Grand Prix around the streets on its outskirts.

The idea was originally raised back in the 1980s but never progressed. However the success of the Valencia and Singapore races last year seems to have revived the aspirations.

"It's an idea that has been proposed and the mayor has said is possible," a Rome council spokesperson confirmed.

Supporters of the bid want to see the race join the calendar in 2011, but is thought to be unlikely it could make it onto the tour so soon, especially with India and Russia lined up in the wings ahead of it.


Source: GPUpdate.net

Street circuits have so much more.... charisma... Monaco despite the limitations of the circuit is a huge favorite of drivers and spectators Singapore was stunning but where would loose out to Rome.....

Bernie wants Alonso with Ferrari (Source)

Bernie seems to have said the following on a visit to Valencia: "He is one of the world's best drivers and I believe that he should one day show his talent with Ferrari"

Also in the (gossip) news:

Mercedes stays in Formula 1, but by the narrowest margin (Source)

The management board of Daimler Chrysler got to vote whether the engagement in F1 as engine supplier and McLaren partner was to be continued. It seems the vote went 3 votes for and 2 votes against.

Is the Donington GP in jeopardy?
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by
Andrew Frankel


How big a disaster was the resignation on Friday of Lee Gill, the Chief Operating Officer of the company that holds the contract to run the British Grand Prix at Donington Park in 2010?

At first glance, it’s very serious indeed. Gill is a highly experienced operator with a reputation for getting things done and although no reasons have been given for his departure, a man like Gill does not take on a commitment like that and then give it up on a whim.

Nor will Gill walking out do anything to improve what I detect are fairly low confidence levels in Donington’s ability to host a Grand Prix in less than two year’s time.

Indeed, among the journalists I’ve spoken to about it, I’ve yet to meet one who reckons it’s going to happen.

But there is another side to this story. In fact all Donington needs to host the Grand Prix is planning permission (to which the council appears currently to be lending a sympathetic ear), plus the money to make some fairly straightforward track revisions and install a new pit and paddock complex.

Raising this cash via a debenture scheme has been entrusted to Goldman Sachs and IMG, companies that did not build their considerable reputations by taking on no-hopers.

I expect the more troublesome, time-consuming and expensive issue is one of access. Such a fuss was made of the legendarily awful approach to Silverstone that a huge stretch of the A43 was turned into a dual carriageway to fix it, yet Donington is known to jam solid every year at Moto GP time, and that’s just with motorbikes. And quite what the owners of the adjacent East Midlands airport will say if punters start missing flights because of the congestion is all too easy to predict.

So there are, in fact, two questions here: first, will Donington host the British Grand Prix in 2010 and, second, will it continue to do so in years thereafter?

We must hope the answer to both questions is ‘yes’, because the one of very few things we do actually know is that Bernie Ecclestone is on the record as saying ‘If there is no Donington, there is no British GP.’

And that doesn’t bear thinking about. source

more reading at pitpass

This post has been edited by bigbaldybloke: Feb 2 2009, 01:11 PM

USF1 Exclusive: The pitch behind the American F1 team
by Damon Lavrinc on Feb 4th 2009 at 8:49PM


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When reports began to surface about the formation of a U.S.-backed Formula One team, we weren't surprised. Every three-to-five years, speculation about a new U.S. campaign crops up, and inevitably – almost routinely – they're shot down within a month. However, our lack of surprise didn't stem from the rumor's cyclical nature; we've known about USF1 for over a month and have been waiting to drop the details about how the franchise, the players and the financial backers that plan to bring America back to F1 in 2010.

Get the scoop after the jump.


The Players

As reported earlier, the two principals behind USF1 are Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor.

Anderson has a storied career in both four-wheeled and two-wheeled motorsports dating back to 1979. In the interim, he's served as the technical director for the Ligier and Onyx F1 teams, helped design several open wheel racecars, was instrumental in five Indianapolis 500 victories and recently completed work on the Windshear Wind Tunnel – already booked by several top F1 teams for testing – near USF1's home-base in Charlotte, NC.

Anyone who's watched F1 in the past decade is familiar with Peter Windsor. He's served as the English-language interviewer for SpeedTV and Fox, along with writing for F1 Racing and Autosport Japan. More importantly, Windsor served as a Drivers' and Constructors' Championship-winning team manager for Williams F1, once oversaw Ferrari's F1 chassis and suspension departments and is currently the director of Fifty-Four Nine, the clandestine driver coaching company that helps develop F1, GP2 and F3 talent.

The Pitch

The USF1's mission is to stand apart from the other 11 teams by hyping U.S. technology under the tagline of "Made in America." The vehicle will be designed and built in the States and piloted by a duo of American drivers.

The main operational center would be based in Charlotte, NC, where several associated companies and research universities could help develop the racecar. In Europe, USF1 will work out of the newly erected Epsilon motorsports facility located outside of Bilbao, Spain.

As opposed to Major League Baseball, Football and NBA franchises, the crew behind USF1 maintains there are better branding opportunities in F1, not to mention a global audience of three billion viewers, putting F1 among the World Cup and Olympic Games as one of the most recognizable sports in the world.

The average viewer age (25 to 44) and a more affluent consumer base, many of which are located in emerging markets, are both touted in the USF1's business plan. In 2007, Formula One was estimated to take in about $4 billion in revenue, with the front-running teams grossing over $200 million each through sponsorships, television rights, technical support and merchandising.

Supposedly, F1's heads are excited at the prospect, approving USF1's application for matching funds and according to our sources, the start-up has already completed a round of successful fundraising. Naturally, the exotic locales, sexy sponsors and luxurious lifestyle that surrounds F1 are key to getting backers on board.

The Media

The new media landscape will be an instrumental part of delivering content to viewers, and USF1 plans to tap several foreign and domestic distribution companies to keep viewers up-to-date on the American F1 team's exploits. The crew is partnering with television producers and documentary filmmakers from Perpetual Motion Films to create long and short films, high-definition video, photos and stories detailing USF1's progress. All of this will be delivered both online and through selected TV outlets, providing fans with extraordinary access.

The Timing

Depending on your perspective, the launch of the USF1 team couldn't be better, or more poorly, timed.

On one hand, the newly imposed limits on spending, research and development make it one of the easiest times for a new team to compete at the upper echelon of motorsport. The new rules put a cap on budgets, staffing and development, while limiting the vehicles' technical requirements in an effort to make the sport more appealing to the audience.

USF1 would be the first team born under these new regulations, allowing them to be highly adaptable, focused and streamlined, and the team's principals make it abundantly clear that the USF1 crew is the future of the sport.

Of course, on the flip-side, we've got the global economic meltdown. Getting full-fledged funding for an unproven team in these market conditions is a Herculean task of epic proportions. And its success is dependent on continued interest in the sport from both the fans and the money men.

If USF1 succeeds, it hopes to be running in the middle of the pack during the 2010 season and working its way up to the podium within two years. Those are high aspirations for a team that hasn't even publicly confirmed its existence. Judging by recent history, USF1 may never get the chance, but if there was ever a time to make an attempt, it's now.


Source: AutoBlog

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The opportunity of a lifetime awaits for the F1 fan as a bid to secure a permanent memorial to the great Welsh driver Tom Pryce gathers pace.

Pryce was a driver of great skill and regarded as one of the shining stars of his time, and remains the sole Welshman to win a Formula One race thanks to his victory in the 1975 International Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, a performance that raised eyebrows in the paddock. He was killed in a tragic accident when driving a Shadow in the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami in 1977.

The drive to build a memorial to him in his home town of Ruthin, Wales, has met with approval in the modern day paddock, and has led to an amazing auction that is about to begin.

For nine weeks, F1 fans will be able to bid for a package at one of the European races, and it is quite a package: the nine prizes are for a full hospitality package with one of the teams – each team hosting a separate race – including paddock passes and the full hospitality treatment. The auction takes place at www.tomprycememorial.com, and the dates on offer feature a fantastic range of opportunities.

McLaren Mercedes will be hosts at the Spanish Grand Prix on May 8th to the 10th, while Force India are the entertainers at the Monaco Grand Prix on May 21st – 24th.

The Turkish race, on June 5th – 7th, will see Toyota play hosts, with Williams providing hospitality for the lucky winners at the British round, at Silverstone, on the weekend of June 19th to the 21st. For the German GP Renault will be the winner’s destination (July 10th – 12th) while BMW-Sauber play hosts at the Hungarian race from July 24th to the 26th.

Valencia holds the second street race on the weekend of August 24th – 26th and the hosts will be Scuderia Toro Rosso, with Red Bull Racing providing the prize at the majestic Spa Francorchamps, in Belgium, on August 28th – 30th.

Perhaps the most sought after of the prizes, however, will be the opportunity to be treated to the full hospitality package by Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix, at Monza, over the weekend of September 11th – 13th.

This is an unmissable opportunity for Grand Prix fans, and to help honour a well-loved man whose career was cut short in its prime.

Bourdais to stay with Toro Rosso (Source)

There will be some french speaking this year in the Toro Rosso pit. Sébastien Bourdais has now been confirmed as second driver, next to Sébastien Buemi. It seems they like that first name, since last year's driver had the german version of it, Sebastian... The name might not be the only reason, though, as Toro Rosso always said they needed a driver with money, so it seems Bourdais had better sponsors then Sato.

Ferrari and KERS: how is the Scuderia getting on?
Rumours abound about the state of play in Maranello. There were reports of panic, and that the team was in the process of developing both a KERS and a non-KERS car. Others have boldly stated that KERS has proved to offer no performance advantage in races, and there is speculation that Luca di Montezemolo has been trying to put back the introduction of KERS because Ferrari in particular has big problems with the technology.

The fact is that many months ago the team began to have serious doubts about the sub-contractor Magneti Marelli's ability to develop a competitive KERS system. Aldo Costa and Rory Byrne were particularly critical of Marelli's plans. In view of these doubts the team went ahead, in combination with an amazingly capable USA-based technical partner, to develop its own system. It was this Ferrari system that has run on the car from the first test and will be used in the races this season. The Ferrari KERS has proved very reliable from the start, and offers an absolute performance advantage for races and qualifying. Teams that do not develop an effective KERS package will be at a big disadvantage this year. The decision has been taken by Ferrari to drop the Magneti Marelli system. I have been told that it simply does not work.

There is remaining controversy at Ferrari. Some argue that Magneti Marelli have not come up with a usable system and should not be paid. Others (could this be Montezemolo's line?) say that Magneti Marelli is a Fiat subsidiary and that the contract fee should therefore be paid. But this is money that will come out of the race budget and I am told that if any outside contractor had failed to deliver in this way it would certainly not get any money at all. I cannot say what motivates Montezemolo's public statements on KERS, but one thing is certain: Magneti Marelli has dropped the ball on this. Renault, Red Bull, and Toro Rosso are committed to start the season with this currently lame system while Ferrari has its own design which is showing tremendous promise and potential.

The energy for the electrical generation of the KERS batteries comes off the rear wheels under braking. This means that the brakes themselves do less work. This does complicate the issues of pedal feel and brake-balance, and I suspect that this could be more of a problem in the wet than in the dry. As an outside observer not privy to the detailed design of the electrical motor-come-generator I believe that some way of adjusting the efficiency of generation, and therefore reducing the back-EMF (in effect the braking effect of KERS), will have to be found by, for example, moving the magnets away from the armature. This would reduce the braking effect of the system but also reduce the energy passing to the batteries, which could prove to be excessive on circuits with heavy braking from high speeds.

This is a fascinating area and it is certain that the solutions adopted within Formula 1 to maintain good driver feel, regulate the maximum energy recovered so as not to overcharge the batteries, and to control and adjust the balance between the driven wheels, that are braked by both conventional friction rotors and pads and the KERS generator, and the undriven wheels that will only have disc brakes, will find their way into road cars of every shape and size in the fairly near future. source

*That was a really interesting article on the KERS system. It is amazing how much brain power is available in an F1 team to sideline the contractor and develop your own. I do wonder about spreading the resources during the season for trouble shooting and development of the system.*



Mosley gives Honda 70 per cent chance

07 February 2009


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FIA president Max Mosley believes that the signs are still positive that Honda will make it onto the grid in Australia, despite there being no news on who will take the outfit of Honda's hands. He put the chances of there being a successful management buy-out at 70 per cent.

"I have no inside knowledge but my feeling from all the circumstances is that it is more likely than not," Mosley was quoted as saying by Reuters. "Talking to the people around the team, they seem optimistic, but they always are until the moment comes."

Mosley believes the most likely successful option will be the management buy-out led by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry.


Source: GPUpdate.net

STAR OF THE FUTURE

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Hulkenberg Eyeing Race Seat For 2010

One of F1’s brightest young stars, 21 year old German driver Nico Hulkenberg has admitted that he is hoping he can turn his test role into a race one for the 2010 season.

The protege of Michael Schumacher’s manager Willi Weber is one in a long line of bright new German motor racing stars, with Sebastian Vettel lighting up the track at the moment.

Hulkenberg joined Williams last year as a test and 3rd driver, while still racing in the F3 Euroseries. He has been highly successful in that category, winning the F3 Euroseries title in 2008, and the Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort in 2007. During the 2006-2007 off-season he won the A1GP title with Team Germany.

Williams can see the talent in the rookie, and trusted him with the track debut of their new car, the Fw31 a couple of weeks ago.

“I hope they turn to me if a place becomes available,” Hulkenberg told Swiss magazine Motorsport Aktuell

“That is absolutely my personal goal [to get an F1 seat],”

“Last year I drove ten days, this year [with the new rules] there will be probably no more than five. But the team already knows from last year how I drive.”


AND

Bernie and Nadal Drop Massive Alonso-Ferrari Hints

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Bernie Ecclestone, and suprisingly enough world tennis #1 Rafael Nadal have both dropped rather large hints that Fernando Alonso could be on his way to joining Scuderia Ferrari at the end of the 2009 season.

Bothmen acknowledged that Fernando, the winner of two F1 world championships in 2005 and 2006, was the best driver in F1 at the moment.

Ecclestone, on a visit to Valencia claimed “[Alonso is] one of the world’s best drivers who should one day demonstrate his quality with Ferrari.”

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal, fresh from winning the Australian Tennis Open grand slam in an epic final against Swiss man Roger Federer claimed “Ferrari should have the best driver in the world, and that is Fernando,”

Also

Schuey Admits He Is Unlikely To Test In 2009

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Michael Schumacher, statistically the greatest racing driver of all time has admitted to a German newspaper that he thinks testing the Ferrari F1 car in 2009 is becomingly a less likely prospect.

Schumacher, who won 7 F1 world titles 5 with Ferrari undertook testing work on the slick tyres driving an F2008 during last season. However with increasing in-seasonn testing restrictions, Schumacher doesn’t see himself as a priority tester.

Not just concerned for his own lack lack of miles, Michael, now 40 years of age reckons that Ferrari test drivers Luca Badoer and Marc Gene will have little testing to do as the main race drivers familiarise themselves with the new car.

“These next weeks and tests are now for preparation of the entire season,” Schumacher told Express

Schumacher will be competing in the German Superbike championships this year.


And Finally


Toyota and Williams Could Be In Trouble Over Aerodynamic Irregularities


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It has been revealed in this week’s Autosport magazine that both the Toyota F1 Team and the Williams F1 Team could be in trouble over designs of their rear diffusers which other teams believe to be illegal.

The design is certainly an interesting one, and something that went relatively unnoticed at launch time as everyone was caught up in the shocks over the new front and rear wing elements - completely different to anything we have seen before.

However technical analysis has proven that there is the possibility that the rear diffusers fitted to these cars breach regulations. The diffuser is split into two parts. The centre of the first part which is underneath the main ctrash structure is said to be below the 175mm height restriction. The second piece, which protrudes out of the back is said to be 35mm over the regulation limit for the length of bodywork allowed.

The above may seem slightly trivial but being longer it allows the air to flow better, and with the longer tunnel of air it could potentially lead to Williams and Toyota having more grip through slower speed corners.

It is interesting that Toyota now find themselves in the dock over a design breach after their bosses were so open in criticising Ferrari for having exhaust pipes which allegedly are 10mm over their length restriction.

Toyota and Williams did not want to comment, but Renault technical director Pat Symonds talked about what he thought of the device.

“They (the diffusers) are certainly interesting, although I don’t think I can comment on their legality.” He told Autosport

“That’s something for the FIA to comment on. For sure we will be asking the FIA about it, for clarity.”

Meanwhile an FIA insider had this to say;

“The FIA has had some correspondence with Toyota about diffusers but hasn’t actually seen what they’ve been testing.

“One design has been approved by the FIA but I do not think it is the one in question. I could not say, meearly that a design has been clarified as legal, whether this is it or not is unknown”


Schumacher will be competing in the German Superbike championships this year.

Source

This post has been edited by bigbaldybloke: Feb 8 2009, 01:26 PM

Istanbul may be the next in line (Source)
It seems even relatively new GPs are not secure. As new (or returning) countries like South Africa, Russia, Bulgaria and South Corea want to have their own Grand Prix, Bernie Ecclestone has told Turkish GP officials that he wants only 3 more races in Istanbul. That would mean 2011 would be the last F1 GP there, for a while at least.

An african GP would be good there's none on the whole continent

F1nvestor: Planning for growth


03/02/2009
With each passing day bringing further bad news to the international motor sport community, and Formula One in particular, it's been hard to decide the point at which we knew things were getting really serious. I have been trying to pinpoint that pivotal moment when the global financial crisis hit Formula One so hard as to send us wheeling in the direction of the nearest drinks cabinet, shaking our heads in disbelief at the extent of the catastrophe.

Now, however, we know. Because when McLaren and Ferrari make up, start visiting each other's factories for a corporate love-in and tell the media that they are working together in harmony for the future of the sport, we know things must be bad. It's like Bill Gates popping in to Apple to say he much he loves the iPhone, oh and by the way he just adores the Airbook.

I think we all knew that the financial crisis which dawned in late 2007 was the hors d'oeuvre to the main course of a broader collapse in global business fortunes in 2008. Little did we know that this was going to develop into a mutli-course 'banquet for the damned', with industry sector after industry sector posting ever more depressing results, the car industry in particular imploding as sales and shareholder confidence disappeared faster than Lewis Hamilton off the starting grid.

With Formula One sponsors such as the Baugur Group, Credit Suisse and Dell disappearing, ING 'cutting back' - which probably means they wish they could cut and run - and the recent launches showing us that (a) the new cars fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, and ( have more space available to explore than the USS Enterprise, it's no wonder that the future of Formula One seems even more difficult to imagine.

Back in the days when RBS was a successful bank, Honda had a Dream and a sudden contraction was something felt by women rather than the manufacturing sector, McLaren and Ferrari didn't like each other very much. One man, from Ferrari, apparently popped their secrets into his briefcase and offered them to another man, from McLaren, whose wife nipped down to the local photocopying shop and kicked off the biggest scandal in recent F1 history. One that made Ferrari appear bitter, damaged the reputation of McLaren - unfairly in my opinion - and ultimately cost them one hundred million dollars.

Now however, that's all forgotten. What's one hundred million dollars between friends, after all, when you've both just realised that fighting each other is the least of your worries.

In his interview on the Official Formula One web site this week, Ron Dennis gave a typically comprehensive response to the questions, including the statement that, "I firmly believe that the business model of a Formula One team operating as a financial entity on its own is an anachronistic one. It used to work, but it won't work in the future."

Hmmm. Interesting statement that. If you read further, you'll see he believes that a team should either be subsided by a car manufacturer or billionaire as an 'entity' that presumably does not really make money, or else is part of a group - like McLaren or Ferrari - which Does Other Things That Make Money.

So there we have it. Formula One teams cannot stand on their own two feet unless subsidised to win by a car manufacturer or crazed billionaire who has forgotten how he made a billion in the first place. Not much of a future for the sport is it?

A Formula One team should really be an asset. Something that makes money, given that your team is one tenth or thereabouts of a multi-billion dollar sport that still produces vast global TV audiences and generates fascination for hundreds of millions of fans. So when someone of Ron Dennis's acumen states that 'independent' teams are an anachronism, it really is time to take stock of where we are - and where we will be in the coming years.

I remember Eddie Jordan's speech at his car launch in 2000 warning against the dangers of car companies buying F1 teams, pointing out that their involvement would only last as long as it suited their commercial needs and the patience of their shareholders. His comments came about specifically because of Ford's purchase of Stewart Grand Prix and the creation of Jaguar Racing. Honda, too, was starting its partnership with British American Racing (remember them?), one which would lead to its eventual take over of the team in 2004.

Both companies are now gone. Ford withdrew with a whimper at the end of 2004 thanks to people in Detroit who knew the cost of everything and the value of nothing, while Honda is the most recent casualty. Everyone now seems to spend his time trying to figure out who's next. Is it Renault as a result of its share-price collapse? Toyota after posting its first ever loss and having to revise its forecasts in a significant downward direction? Only Mercedes, Ferrari and BMW seem to have the unwavering commitment of their car-backers, and it's not difficult to see why; you are at the front, get most of the TV coverage, the lions share of the TV revenue and are the first port of call for any new sponsors evaluating the sport.

But Formula One cannot be contested by three or four manufacturers and an energy drinks company. It's just not that interesting, it doesn't allow for a proliferation of new drivers, new nationalities, new sponsors, new blood.

As a sport which has gone global in terms of events, it really ought to be doing so in terms of teams and drivers. In 1999 there were 16 races split 11 in Europe, three in Asia-Pacific, two in the Americas. For 2009 there will be 17 races split nine in Europe, five in Asia-Pacific, two in the Middle East and one in the Americas. The trend is obvious - the sport has gone east, embracing the Middle East and Asia at the cost of Europe and North America.

However, when you look at drivers there were 10 nationalities in 1999, the same in 2009, yet the geographic spread does not reflect the changes in the location of events. In fact the majority of drivers used to come from Britain and Germany, and still do. Last year the season started with nine drivers from these two countries. Nine from 22. A further look shows that 20 years ago, in 1989, there were 15 nationalities of driver - 47 in total, with 20 teams - and whilst a few of the drivers were very average and some of the teams an embarrassment, it was certainly a bigger show in terms of participants.

The reason for today's smaller spread of talent is, I believe, is fairly simple. Thanks for the explosion in budgets the few remaining teams are principally British and German in location and/or ownership. Throw in the usual dose of talented Italians, Brazilians and Finns plus the token Asian, from Japan, and there you have your driver-pool.

This is not good for the sport, and especially now. The world has gone global, indeed the races have gone global, yet the teams and drivers remain local - essentially European - and are desperately trying to maintain that structure.

One of the most satisfying aspects of competing in A1GP is the proliferation of new blood - whether drivers, team owners or sponsors from all over the world - and I can't help but feel that Formula One would benefit from a similar injection of world-appeal in its line up.

Rather than wondering how we can maintain the status quo in Formula One, and stop existing teams from collapsing under the strain of being a liability rather than an asset, we really need to be looking at how to attract new teams. New teams, from new markets, attracting new nationalities of drivers, with new sponsors and new fans. Maybe even a team based in the Middle East or Asia-Pacific, since almost half the races are there. More of the same is no longer enough because we have been in a financial and technical cul-de-sac for some time.

How come every other industry can rationalise, merge, integrate, cost-cut and streamline, but Formula One (teams especially) find change so difficult? So much of what is suggested is aimed at maintaining the status quo, protecting the hegemony of the few and prolonging the protectionism created by making the sport unaffordable.

As an example of what can be achieved you only have to look at the FIA Formula 2 series, new for this year, with its £195,000 cost to drivers (that's USD$285,000 in real, American money…). Quite why any aspiring driver would spend seven times the amount to race in GP2, or three times the amount for Formula 3, defies understanding. It isn't good for teams, because in the case of F2 there aren't any, but it shows what can be done when people put their mind to the task of making the sport affordable, attractive and sustainable.

And so to Formula One. As Gerhard Berger put it earlier last month, "What is being done now with budgets of $300 million per year can also be done with $30 million, when reason returns." And if a figure of thirty, forty or even fifty million dollars could be achieved as an operating budget for an F1 team, then I believe that rather than worrying about losing the tenth, Honda, we'd be interested to see who the tenth, eleventh and twelfth teams would be, with the resulting increase in numbers of drivers, sponsors and fans.

The decisions made by the FIA with FOTA and then the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on 12th December were an enormous step in the right direction, but even more can be done, and this includes in the area of so-called customer cars. A lot of people get worked up when talking about Manufacturer Teams and Independent Teams, and equally so when the subject of Customer Cars is debated. Frankly, I don't know what the issue is; Teams are Teams irrespective of their name or identity of their shareholders, and all should be able to make money from participating in Formula One. Similarly cars are cars, and one only has to pop into the local showroom to see what the car industry thinks of sharing parts; witness the Toyota Aygo aka Peugeot 107 aka Citroen C1. You don't see anyone suing them for daring to share a design.

So what's the big issue in Formula One, especially when we haven't seen anyone have a heart attack yet as a result of Red Bull Technologies supplying RBR and Toro Rosso? The so-called 'purists', who also maintain that F1 is all about the technical challenge and to hell with the cost of it, say that each team really has to design and construct its own cars, otherwise we are all going to die because they'd be a bit similar and that just wouldn't do at all.

A similar argument erupts when 'standardised engines' gets mentioned. Yet the sport didn't fall over when everyone ran Cosworth DFV's apart from the eccentrics at Ferrari and Renault who insisted on developing weird things like flat-12's or turbos, so I don't think the future of Formula One with teams and the FIA working hard to generate efficiencies of scale and common innovations would be such a bad one.

Quite honestly I'd quite like to see David Richards running a likely modified Renault with a Mercedes drive train, Ferrari suspension, a driver from Mumbai and a sponsor we'd never heard of.

This sport needs new teams, teams to take advantage of the economy when it begins to recover, spawning a new age of Formula One in which the colour, drama, excitement and competition of the sport is enjoyed by more people, not less, and the old brigade accept that times have changed. It would be so much better to concentrate on growth rather than survival.

Mark Gallagher
mark@pitpass.com


Source: PitPass




*This is not officially gossip but should be a good read.*