Hey, We know LdM has been in favor of so called "customer cars" for a while - He makes some reasonable arguments. However, Marussia just issued a release backing Bernie's "we've gotta cut back" stance, and went on; He has a point!..... Cheers, Ian http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98005
I hate the idea of technoligy sharing! I want to see individual ingenuity at work and, after its application at the track, whether it becomes a step forward or a step down a blind alley. None of the F1 revolutions of the past would have had the same degree of impact if everyone has access to the ideas at the same time.
This is always a tough one for me. I don't think I'm in favor of customer cars per se for the aforementioned reasons; however I wouldn't want to continue to see cars in the field that run 5 seconds off the pace and can't make it to any pre season testing. Wiht hindsight I'm actually glad the American F1 team failed before entry otherwise we'd be watching them look like HRT... I sure wouldn't mind seeing a third works team car, or teams that want a third car to be able to field them. The stipulation I'd put in place is that the driver and all crew members on that car can only have 3 or less years of experience in F1. Without testing teams of the past it's really hard to break into F1 for both drivers and crew. Why not allow some young aspiring folks to get a shot while having the mentors and experiences necessary to gain a footing and develop a career?
They should share, but on limited basis, i.e. how Caterham and Renault are sharing gearboxes, and KERS unit, how Marussia and Mclaren are sharing aero development or some sort. The key here is, for bigger teams to share and help develop smaller teams. Ensure that they're not too far behind. Obviously Ferrari and Mclaren and Lotus sharing details would be out of the question, but as i've mentioned...smaller teams.
