Cost to run a semi-modern F1 car?

Right off the bat: Yes I'm well aware that "if you have to ask...."

But I got to thinking about it and I'm still curious. Take this 2003 Jordan car for example: http://www.racecarsdirect.com/listing/33074/jordan_f1_2003.html

How do you maintain something like that? Assuming you have the occasional off, and de tune the engine a bit to extend the service life before overhaul, where the hell do you find spares? I figure the engine parts would be the easiest to get a hold of, and worst case scenario you modify the car and drop in a cosworth.

I imagine owning and running a car like this would allow you to make contacts in that fairly small circle to trade parts with and such.

But what about things like wings, suspension parts, radiators, intercoolers? SOFTWARE? Lets say you can't find a part, where the hell do you get your hands on the documentation to get it fabricated? I assume you'd need to keep your local machine and CF shops on speed dial.....

Any thoughts? I'm really curious about if you can even run a car like this outside of something structured like Corsa Cliente.

 

As you said, "if you have to ask"......

Seriously, as with pretty much all motorsport, the cost of the car itself is just the tip of the iceberg.

As for an "old" F1 car my 02c; A nightmare, plain and simple - It's not like there's a WSM for these things........

Unless you enjoy a *big* project - There's a guy over on F1 Technical who bought a "surprisingly complete" Honda RA107 from 2007 - He's subsequently learnt "complete" doesn't actually mean complete - The gearbox (no internals) was carbon and can't be used for example - Hewland are doing him a new one "surprisingly cheaply"......

He first posted just over a year back and is sharing his journey ala Scuderia Glickenhaus;

http://www.f1technical.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=9325

Nothing so tacky as costs though.......

Cheers,
Ian
PS - Beware! The thread is very interesting reading and now runs to 26 pages - Be careful if you don't have a few hours to spare.....

 

Keeping it original, the costs would be astronomical because you can't buy spare parts.

These cars normally get a "standard" race engine, transmission and electronics. Racing shops around Indy can do such mods and maintain the car (PM me if you need details).

Along with the powerplant you also would need different tires and probably your own set of electronics. Although from the description I'm guessing the original electronics have already been replaced as teams normally don't leave that stuff in the car anyhow. So the software issue might not be as big.

As for running costs, start with budgeting $ 10k for a weekend where nothing breaks.

Also a car like this has very limited potential to be run. BOSS series is probably ok where it will run with a bunch of other modern racecars (e.g. Indy).

Given all the costs, that's why I gladly jump at the chance when somebody offers me a drive for a few thousand bucks because I know anything else (aka ownership, partial ownership) would cost a LOT more.

 

As Andreas said, the BOSS series is most likely the "cheapest" way to run such a car, although I disagree with the concept of the series: Most cars there are gutted out and the drivetrain is replaced with components from Judd, which are considerably less expensive than the one-off-parts that F1 cars normally consist of. However, as to the hard numbers.. I don't have a clue either.

 

Thanks for the link Ian!

Just to be clear to everyone offering to put me in touch and such, I have zero money or inclination to try and buy or run one of these cars. I know a LOT of what goes into them and exactly how one off they are.

That said it was an interesting thought experiment and I was curious if what even possible to run without factory support. It's an interesting avenue to explore the guys that have

 

You're very welcome - Fascinating reading, huh?

IIRC, he admits to selling his house and moving in with his G/F (who's a mechanical engineer apparently) to fund this "little project"......

While I (and many others if you read the thread) are full of admiration for him and what he's doing, I've gotta say I think he's full on crazy!

There are *plenty* of "older" race cars around that are capable of scaring the **** out of anyone without the pain inherent in what is basically a one-off.

Cheers,
Ian

 

A private jet is cheaper to run.

 

I figured they'd be about on par TBH...

 

Probably more like $20K, once you pay the pit crew and supplies for the guests.

About 6 years ago I was at Road America when Brian Redman held a 'gathering', and one team had 6-ish older cosworth F1 cars (late 1970s, early 1980s. The trailer behind them carried no less than a dozen Cosworth engines, which were replaced regularly--just like the old circus.

Down the paddoc a bit there was a team with a couple of older 3.5 litre V12 Ferraris, these guys were having troubles with the flippy paddle gear boxes, while the engines seamed to run just fine.

And then across the pits from us was a Chaperal 2J....while we were running a Lola T70 with a measly 700 HP SBC.

 

I'm with Andreas....

3 - 5k to turn 5 or 6 laps is MORE than reasonable...I'm seriously looking at doing a trip to AGS formula 1 in the next year or two. But with almost no track time (and maybe an hour or two of seat time in a kart) I don't know how well that will go

I lust after track time...but there's no way it can happen anytime soon...

 

I thought the old DFV engines were super robust etc?

 

Well, I have exactly that trip lined up for next month.

I've done the "AGS" thing before and can assure you that they take good care of you: First the track is being visited while riding a van and they explain to you all the nuances. Then they put cones at the braking and corner in/apex/out points, so your basics are already covered. Then they give you a lot of laps in a F3 to get used to the track, single seater and power. And only then will they let you behind the wheel of a F1.

Most people there have little to no experience in formula cars, so don't feel bad. You go as fast as you are comfortable with. There is (deliberately) no timing for the laps and from a distance everybody looks slow.

I'll report back here how it went.

I'm sure there are ways to make it even more expensive.
My 10k came from my friend Mike's experience: He runs a Can Am and an Indy light car and uses one of the racing shops from Indy to prepare, setup and maintain the cars. The shop normally has one engineer and one mechanic for his support, but they also tend to other cars and they also maintain some F1.
So 10k is the bottom line (and as I said nothing breaks), obviously it can easily go higher.

 

Only $2500 per lap