Maybe I'm off but I believe they'd be 2 seconds a lap faster than anyone. The students at MIT are out-of-the-box geniuses, all of them. The projects they constantly have going there on any given day are nothing short of remarkable. They'd probably think it was too easy
Andretti wouldn't be so "independent" since he relies on GM as protector, supplier, and sponsor, IMO. Don't GM have "corporate boards and shareholders to answer to", just like the other big manufacturers ? There are hardly any truly independent F1 teams nowadays; they all need big business.
Andretti still wouldn’t be an all-in factory team. More like Red Bull than like Mercedes or Audi in that respect.
Mercedes-AMG F1 team belongs to 3 shareholders: Daimler-Benz, Toto Wolff and INEOS for 1/3 each. Most manufacturers franchise part of their racing teams, without direct involvement. Even Alpine has US investors as 25% co-owners.
I think you are mistaken. F1 is not a "project" but an industry. The technical regulations for F1 are very "narrow", i.e. there is no room for big innovations: MIT students couldn't just slap a plasma-drive to the back-end of the car and call it a day. Competitive advantage in todays F1 is typically found in tiny innovations and micro-optimizations, developed by people with several years or decades of experience in their areas of expertise. MIT has a racing team (for Formula SAE), but it doesn't seem to be more successful than your average Formula SAE team. So extrapolating from there, I claim that an MIT F1 team would be fighting against the 107% rule, they wouldn't be challenging Red Bull.
Simulators are nothing like the real thing because they have no real life penalties for a mistake. No matter how "life-like" they seem at first, they are just a video game.
Exactly, removing the potential danger of crashing makes ALL simulators irrelevant when it comes to how fast someone is. Put a bag of rattlesnakes above their heads, released in case of crash, and watch the kids lose ten seconds a lap lol. They are useful to learn a track. If I am to test a car for an article on a circuit new to me I watch many dozens of on board laps, of relevant speed, over and over.
I agree on the your points about simulators, but I'm not sure why we are discussing simulators here - as far as I follow that topic came out of the blue?
GM Motorsport Boss- "will not allow Andretti fail" Interview with GM Motorsport Boss Eric Warren on current F1 situation. https://racingnews365.com/gm-issue-battle-cry-in-andretti-f1-bid-after-outpouring-of-support
The more that F1 fights Andretti's entry, the more I'm convinced they are simply a dying organization, filled with patronage and fat.
It would appear that GM is signaling that there is only one path/partner for them coming into F1 and FOM can quit thinking they have any opportunity to keep GM while locking Andretti out. As the years have demonstrated, OEMs leave for an assortment reasons so having a nice assortment of them should be important to FOM; if one drops out there still remain a number of others still in.
With all due respect Jeff, how many OEMs have any interest in F1? F1 is dying a slow death at the hands of the OEMs, Liberty Media and a complicit FIA.
Andretti making POLITICO website now. It's being reported Andretti is hiring lobby firms from both sides of the aisle to aid in their cause. Full details here: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2024/05/16/andretti-lobbies-up-to-fight-f1-snub-00158545
Subpoena coming. Or whatever the legal next stage is, not familiar with the vernacular. Would love to see arrogant Liberty dragged into a hearing and get a good DC whipping.
I hate that politics and lawsuits have come into sports in a big way, but the enormous amounts of money involved have made it inevitable. Since that’s where we are, then this is a smart, hardball move by Andretti. The last thing Liberty wants is politicians saying “antitrust “ out loud. Remember, Liberty’s interests go far beyond F1. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Liberty is considering divestiture strategies before this gains momentum because if potential buyers get a whiff of a forced divestiture the market value tumbles. Liberty’s board has fiduciary duties to shareholders.
I read he was leaving but didn’t know where he would land. What does this tell us, class? Symonds must have a good sense that there’s a chance, and that this is an astute move by Andretti.
