Seems to me both Ferrari and Mercedes are playing real hardball. http://www.planetf1.com/news/ecclestone-breakaway-threat-isnt-a-joke/ You have to wonder what would happen if they actually quit and set up their own series. Would others stay in F1? They might. Mac would stay. RB might stay because Renault and Honda would stay. Williams would go because they would want to race against Mercedes and Ferrari even in last place. Being in last place against RB and McLaren doesn't get them much. And you would have to think Force India, Sauber, and Haas would go as long as the money is there. Then they each start to run 3 cars per squad and you get enough for a field. The biggest problem would be putting together a organizer, rules committee, technical squad, and getting the venues and TV rights. Not easy but possible. I can't see how F1 survives if Merc and Ferrari quit.
LOL Bernie. Even retired he is still trolling everyone. No one cares about Merc but if Ferrari was to leave F1 would die soon after.
It would be like IRL and CART. Both would be **** and not sustainable. One would win, who cares which, and then they’d all come back to one but it wouldn’t be the same show.
I like racing in most forms. I would watch F1 withodn ut Ferrari and I would watch a new series with Ferrari. I dont really care if Ferrari leave. They are not F1 at all. They are a company that sells all cars made without or with F1.
F1 is only F1 because ferrari participate on a works level. No Ferrari, 60% of the fans leave. Let’s face it, I couldn’t give a damn who else is in F1, I watch to see Ferrari racing, and if Ferrari don’t win, it’s crap. F1 loses Ferrari, they lose me and many many others. Sponsors will also leave in droves because they want a little of the Ferrari association, even indirectly. Mercedes and Renault are mass market cars now, nothing more, there’s little special about Mercedes (yes there are some mass produced yet big engines expensive sports cars) but they are losing their prestige by the day trying to appeal to Everyman. Mclaren would follow ferrari if they left, without their nemesis, no matter how toothless they are at the moment, they would cease to be of interest to all but the most dedicated.
Everyone expects Merc to quit sooner or later. It wouldn’t change anything. No one expects Ferrari to quit. If they did it would change everything.
If Mercedes/Ferrari leave the big manufacturers are out, so big budgets largely disappear. Would FIA still be able to push ''road relevancy''? I think not. The teams would get together and have it sorted out in a matter of hours...cheaper, exciting engines, simple aero. An easy way to control spending really. Would likely be the best thing that's happened to F1. And mind my words...Ferrari would crawl back as it would be a cheap way to exercise their marketing campaign.
I don't buy a break away series. It killed open wheel racing here in the States for 20 years. We're only just seeing a start of an upswing. I would believe Ferrari would pull out and take their investment and resources to both Indy car and WEC/IMSA. They could even play that as returning too their roots. If they did that I would see Merc following to at least one series and doubling down on Formula E as well. Overall I see the biggest threat to Formula 1 as being a) costs in the near term and b) Formula E in the long term. Either side would be stupid to allow a split at this point.
Hearing people say they only watch for Ferrari is so strange. I think it actually paints a picture for why the racing is so bad, people don’t care as long as their team wins? Lol.
No it's different. Cart teams did not build their own engines. A team could buy anything they wanted. With F1 if Ferrari and Merc walk they take their engines with them. F1 would have to ramp up independent suppliers or bring in other makers. Not easy to do in a short period of time. Ferrari and Merc could walk out the end of one season and start up again the next. Cart never really had a strong team following. It was more a driver following. Penske was probably closest but people only cared about the drivers. In F1, they care about the teams much more.
Your reasoning doesn’t acknowledge the reasons behind Ferrari’s latest threat... Liberty/FOM are suggesting a dumbed down power unit in order to make it more viable for the independent suppliers. IOW, Ferrari’s exit would coincide with independent engine builders’ entrance. Ferrari has much more to lose than to gain.
I care about Merc, I care about the whole series if this were to happen. You must not know anything about the history of Ferrari, do you? We, the fans, have been saying this for years. We WANT to see innovation, but we also see the cars so far away from their roots that we are losing interest. Yes, we all know about development, we just wish all the cars didn't look damn near identical - and at what cost? Formula E *WILL* overtake what we know as F1 at some point, it might just take 20 years, but it will happen. You can only innovate so much with a petrol engine, but electric has a bunch more opportunities. You're on a 'Ferrari' website and you ask that? Most of us here want Ferrari to win, but at the same time we don't wish ill will one ANYONE - we want Ferrari to win fair and square, against the best competition, and that has exactly ZERO to do with 'why racing is so bad'. But we would rather see a great race, with good competition amongst SEVERAL cars, and I think I speak for most when I say we do not like it when it seems EVERY race is a 6-car race, a long gap, and then everyone else. That sucks, it has always sucked, but we don't know how to fix it because it comes back to $$$$$ and ties to large motoring companies for either financial backing or development support. And I bet we all wish it could go back to the 60's or 70's when you didn't have that, and cars showed up on open trailers, I know I do.
I threw this in the Australian GP practice 1/2/3 thread but thought it bears some issues as discussed here per the team bosses. Best Team boss press conference so far 1.) Parity amongst the teams (Horner disagrees with Mercedes and Ferrari about engines) 10:23 thru 16:10 2.) Disagreement between hiring FIA or FOM personnel into the teams (MA and Horner kinda go at it ) 17:10 thru 22:45 3.) Teams (top 3) not agreeing on anything. 22:45 thru 26:00 4) Possible break-away series 26:00 thru 28:45 2018 Australia - Senior Team Personnel press conference
Enough to know they do not own the series or my opinion. F1 history is known to me and the importance of Ferrari. I have zero care what Ferrari do with its F1 effort. They will sort it for themselves and do what they want. I do not care at all if they leave. I do not watch for Ferrari alone but for racing first. What you think of me and my lack of history is the last thing I worry about. Ciao!
Alas, F1 lost its way long ago. It was born as a constructors' series, as part of manufacturers developing technology for their road cars. Back when Mad Max imposed "economy" (sic) restrictions, trying to attract small teams they could push around (unlike those "uppity" real car makers), F1 lost its raison d'etre. (It started earlier, of course. "Pop-off" valves for turbos, trying to restrict ground effect cars, etc.) By now, it's just a 20 ring circus.
