Luca Montezemelo Stirring the Pot!

I don't care what he says, as long as he keeps getting under Bernie's skin, it's fine by me.

 

Never liked the guy. Just watching the whole Schumacher retirement announcement unfold told me enough about him and the way he works. I wasn't even a MS fan and I felt bad for the guy. Ferrari has always been a Machiavellian org, but LM seems to relish and wallow in it. IMO F1 could have and can survive without Ferrari. Especially now that they seem to be heading back more to the sports roots, toward the privateers. I remember the 80s and 90s when Ferrari was at times a second tier team and still loved them. Actually I think I loved them more back then. If anything Ferrari has done more to destroy F1 than it has to build it. All that glitters is not gold and I'm not too happy about many of the changes the sport has gone through over the past decade. A large part of that is because of Ferrari, Schumacher and LM.

What a cry baby... if you can't KERS to work properly then make up for it in other areas. Stop crying to daddy to get your way... which is what LM usually does.

 

I think it's the other way around... if it wasn't for F1, Ferrari wouldn't be a fraction of what they are today.

Ferrari's spot in F1 could have been filled by McLaren or whatever other teams came and went. That's why it isn't a deal killer for F1 if any one or few teams leave. It has an immensely strong brand that won't disappear overnight.

 

HMMMM... Not sure if I agree or not. I think LDM has ruined the traditional Ferrari brand, but who knows how bad it would be if he were not there??? as for F-1 I totally disagree with you ... from the Ferrari point of view... I think Bernie and max have been the ones that have ruined F-1 .. LDM just played the game as best he could.. just like Enzo would have!

 

Actually I disagree with this statement. The FIA and Bernie paid Ferrari 80 million to stay in F1 because without Ferrari there wouldn't be F1. Bernie admitted that publically this last week. So that's 80 million reasons your statement is wrong... Put in with the fact that 40%+ of all F1 revenue comes from Ferrari product/ticket/tv sales revenue and without Ferrari there for sure isn't F1..

As for who ruined the sport, it for sure is Bernie and Max who have priced themselves out of the market. The average fan can't afford to go the races and since the number of rich people in the world interested in F1 is on the decline, it makes perfect sense that both of these bozo's need to be put out to pasture with the rest of the stock heading for the glue factory as they have no value.

 

F1 without Ferrari is like MLB without the Yankees...both are the biggest forces in their respective sports. F1 needs Ferrari for worldwide marketing and television revenue, just as MLB needs the Yankees for their ability to draw ratings and sell merchandise. And to set the record straight, I am a Ferrari and METS (not Yankees) fan...

 

You are making several leaps of logic which are not based on fact.

Bernie luring Ferrari away from the GPMA is in no way a confirmation that there would be no F1 without Ferrari. Bernie needed to divide and conquer and that's exactly what he did. He poached one of the teams away. You are drawing too large a conclusion based on the available information.

Regarding 40% of all F1 revenues come from Ferrari product/ticket/TV sales, I call BS. Back it up with some data or else it's just a made up number. Something isn't true just because someone claims it, whether in regards to Rolex lubricants, KERS systems, or ticket sales.

As for Bernie and Max pricing themselves out of the market, that clearly is not true, because there are countries who are waiting to get a race. When demand exceeds supply (as it does), a claim that the product has been priced out the market is clearly wrong. Don't forget that the tracks are Bernies customers, and the fans are the tracks customers.

 

'...As for Bernie and Max pricing themselves out of the market, that clearly is not true, because there are countries who are waiting to get a race. When demand exceeds supply (as it does), a claim that the product has been priced out the market is clearly wrong. Don't forget that the tracks are Bernies customers, and the fans are the tracks customers...'

This statement may have been true a year ago, but I think the 'waiting list for an f1 race' is evaporating as quickly as the waiting list for a new Ferrari. When Russia has to close it's stock market for numerous days; has to lend the oligarchs $100B, and the global economy plumetting - do you honestly think there are that many countries willing to pony up? Highly doubtful.
And when you have G8 countries like France, Germany, US & Canada UNWILLING to pay the fees demanded, then clearly the product is overpriced.

SRTMike - I'm not trying to attack every post you make; but I clearly disagree with your recent assessments.
Ferrari is larger than the sport - if they go I'm sure I will too, and I won't be alone.

Happy Holidays.
Kevin

 

Thanks Mike, I agree 100%. I also think it shows which team was able to be bought by Bernie and Max. That's not exactly something I'd be proud of.

 

Mike;

I think you missed the point. No matter how many countries want an F1 race, sooner or later, the success of any particular race is the revenue it generates. While TV and other means generate money, spectators are an important aspect of any race. F1 has gotten too expensive for all but the wealthy, and that means that sooner or later there will a day of reconning. I was a fun of F1 in the 60s, we paired with them at Las Vegas in the 70s when they ran in a casino's parking lot, and it was interesting to walk around the pits and look at their cars. However, like MotoGP, the series has priced itself out of bounds, and with the downturn, we'll see fewer and fewer people competing, and no one wants to see a 10 car grid.

Art-

 

Possibly LdM's ploy is to get more money from BE and that's why BE cut him off at the knees by disclosing what he's been paying F to date. For LdM to be biting the hand that feeds suggests he may have an ulterior motive other than being concerned for the fans. If it were really about the fans than where's the other team bosses? Everyone else seems to be silent on the topic for the most part.

 

Yet again great points, Mike Charles and counter points, I like the fact Luca is speaking up, just not sure for who's benefit as yet, but I can't believe it's for the whole, although that's what I would hope.

 

I've gotten the impression that Ferrari didn't think KERS would be a "go" and, therefore, Ferrari is not as far with the project as some other teams. Those were Kimi's comments a few weeks back.

 

i gotta disagree. I think the history of F1 is permanently intertwined with the history of ferrari. Ferrari's spot couldn't have been filled by teams that came and went. the whole point is that ferrari didn't come and go. I think it would be a real deal killer if ferrari left. i know i would follow them. Ever looked out into the crowd at an F1 race? lotsa red. as far as ferrari not being a fraction of what they are without F1, again i disagree. Le mans isn't a bad place to make your name. And lamborghini ain't doing too bad without any racing. just my opinion.

 

As for the F1 revenue for sales items being more than 40%, ask George at edgemotorsport.net, ask the owners of Speedgear, and all the other F1 replica vendors... George sells 10 to 1 Ferrari, to the point where he can't get rid of his McLaren stuff, but can't keep enough Ferrari stuff around to satisfy his customers. His autographed Hamilton helmets sit on the shelf much longer than his Autographed Schumacher helmets... Send him an email and ask him..
BTW, from what I have been told by several of these vendors is that Nando gear still out sells Hamilton gear....

http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/press_release/0,1014,sid%253D8528%2526cid%253D201352,00.html

So 3.9 billion total, half goes to Bernie and Max which leaves 1.87 billion ( 1.95 - 80 million guarantee to Ferrari for being there ) between 11 teams...

Ferrari pulled in an esimated 700+ million a year in revenue from F1 this last year. The Marlboro contract alone is over 150 million a year to the GeS..

(I am looking up the actual number, I saw it at about 785 million from F1 related revenue but want to put the link to it instead of my opinion. It's part of their annual report.)

Here are other links with their numbers...

http://www.ash.org.uk/ash_xtkb52kv.htm

http://www.planet-f1.com/story/0,18954,3213_4675638,00.html

http://www.tifosi-club.com/temp/tcnew_files/FerrariSponsors_JPG.jpg





As for the pricing issue.. If there are so many rich people paying the tab for F1 why does F1 owe 5 Billion and why are they going broke? Why are teams quitting and going broke? Maybe because there isn't any revenue to go around?

If it's not true then why is F1 bending to Ferrari's demands?

BTW, KERS is stupid, just as I said it was, and because of it hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted to the point that Honda quit and the only team that will really have a potent KERS will be BMW and most likely the whole stupid idea will be dropped before the first race of the season and BMW will be paid for their efforts by the FIA/F1 to keep them happy. Piero said it all along, stupid.

 

pricing themselves out of the market is exactly what they are doing. The fan base they need is the people that buy the manufacturer's cars. The people that watch it on TV and the people that buy the products that the sponsors sell, like red bull. if you price the race out of the US and Canada you are pricing yourself out of the "market". Singapore paying 30m race fee does not mean singaporeans are going to buy more hondas than the US. It doesn't mean that singaporeans are going to watch the race on tv generating more tv money. it doesn't mean they will drink more red bull than americans. I think they are indeed pricing themselves out of the market, or worse, not developing the larger market.

 

A bang-on assessment. F1 really stands for Ferrari#1 and Bernie knows who is golden goose is.

Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada