http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/090515093715.shtml Soon to be followed by Hyundai, Suzuki, and who knows what else... I guess Bernie will have his racing-pedigree-less grid in the end. I can see LDM's point very clearly now.
Maybe Mazda will enter as well. On any given weekend there are more Mazda's road racing than any other single car brand...
So what is more important, a healthy F1 that continues on for 20 years, or one or two teams that dominate the sport? Why would Ferrari be concerned about competing on a level budgetary playing field with every team on the grid?
I would welcome Lola, Aston Martin, and the rest of the newcomers. At one time, every team was new to the sport.
F1 is supposed to be about the best of the bestdriver, manufacturer, technologynot about lowering standards (and the ante) to the point where anyone can contemplate an entry. Lola may want to field a works effort, but they've already been given reason to pause when it was announced that the budget cap may be raised. If the FIA could agree and stick to rules and technical regulations for longer than the blink of an eye, teams might be able to develop a strategy for cost savings in a more stable environment.
I thought that statement was clearly a PR bit for the benefit of the FIA. The big budget teams think the cap is too small, FIA wants it to be thought that the cap is "large" and already represents a compromise towards the big spenders. Lola has no reason to make mention of the budget specifics otherwise.
Harder to win that way...and how the hell is anyone going to be able to find out what a team really spends anyway?
Except that Lola announced their joining of F1 in 1997 and when the Interlagos GP came, they were nowhere in sight.
I was thinking rather further back than that in terms of their F1 experience. But they've also been in other formulae very successfully.
I've said this before but --- It's easy to just have a go kart race with entrees from Aston Martin, Mazda, TVR, Maybach, Tata, Jaguar, Porsche, Audi, Ford, Buick, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Skoda, Roush, Yamaha, VW, Bentley, RR, Sabaru, Kia, etc, etc, etc. Heck, why not Duesenberg, Wolf, or Osca? Would it be great to see these marks racing? Sure. But, what kind of racing and would anyone care?
What would you think the ratio of Porsche owners to Ferarri owners is, 50 - 1? 100 - 1? There are a lot of them and if Porsche were to come into F1 a LOT of people would care.
Oh geezus, I can already hear Bob Varsha now: 'And on the front row of the grid we have a pair of Tata's'.
Oh, I'm not so sure of that. Look at Honda or Toyota today - even BMW or Renault.... I don't know many owners of those cars that even know what F1 is, let alone follow it. The few Porsche people I know follow ALMS-type stuff, even if Porsche isn't in it. And by the same token I know Corvette guys that follow nothing BUT NHRA. PS - but some of the Toyota owners I know follow nascar now. I realize you are talking on a world-scale, not just USA, but I don't think Porsche would garner a 'large' following in F1.
