Eddie Jordan says Mercedes will be out by end of 2018. They won it all, they can only go down hill from here. Makes sense to me.
OH yes, absolutely! What else can Mercedes achieve? I think they can very well retire with a history of having F1 destroyed twice. Been there, done that, now they can move on doing other things.
A bit like Niki Lauda at times, except... That usually Niki says very intelligent things, but from time to time... Eddie usually says whatever comes to his mind, but from time to time has first class intelligence. His last "scoops" were on april 29th, that "McLaren will have a Mercedes engine in 2018" (It has been since confirmed that they will still be "powered" - if that is the right word - by Honda in 2018) and that "Sebastian Vettel is talking to Mercedes" (May, 4th) Rgds
Mercedes since their involvement in F1 have made them much more competitive in being top dog for luxury car sales globally with them trading blows with BMW and Audi. They weren't really competitive with either since 2005, then their F1 team started bagging championships and as of mid 2016 their sales were #1 globally by some 20,000 units. Additionally, as of late 2016, the F1 team was just about financially self-sustainable due to very high revenues, so what is the harm in keeping an incredible advertising venue which just happens to be free now? The level of advertising they had last year alone is conjectured to be some $3 billion, which more than offsets any investment cost. They are deep in F1 and rely on F1 which has objectively furthered their brand. F1 had 400 million viewers in 2016, do they really want to lose that kind of exposure when they're winning, or at least able to compete in a very close championship which usually makes viewership even higher? Lastly, with the change in management I am certain other viewer markets will be more interested once changes are made (the American market is too big to ignore). Mercedes are not going anywhere.
Hardly anything to do with their F1 team/tech though, is it? Mercedes has build far better cars than BMW have in recent past (I say that as someone that's always preferred BMW's before), Audi has made the exact same VW for years now (I honestly can't disguise between the A4-A6-A8). Mercedes has build a better product, there's always brand loyalists and big companies ordering a big fleet seeing what they get the best price on or just what car they want their companies' image to have. Their success in F1 has pretty much nothing to do with it. Neither does it have anything to do with building more technology advanced cars, despite the hugely complicated formula at the moment, Mercedes isn't any more advanced than BMW or Audi. Will they leave? Who knows...Eddie is right that they can't improve on their previous form anymore. I noted a few times last year the same statement and also they've set themselves up rather nicely for a swift exit if needed. However...Mercedes/Daimler does so incredibly well financially they don't ''need'' to leave, and I think the actual battle they have now will be better for Mercedes than the 2 car championship they've participated in over the last 3 years.
Mercedes calls Eddie Jordans predictions about F1 exit "rubbish" and baseless: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-mercedes-rubbishes-baseless-claims-915204/
The tech, maybe some, but it's primary advertising. Zetsch himself stated their sales started taking off when the team really started winning. That's free advertising for them now. Renault is back in F1 for a reason, the same reason Mercedes is staying.
WE all now That Eddie has 0 credibility...the only thing with less credibility is the spanish press talking about Alonso...
I know Mercedes is working hard on being attractive to younger generations. But I think most other automakers are jealous on Mercedes holding firmly onto the older generation. Those are the guys with the deep pockets.
They've got to sell it to the Marketing team somehow, don't they? PS if it was worth the billions a year then we'd have far more manufacturers in F1.
They don't care about how many cars they sell, its all about ego. As long as Ferrari is in F1 they will stay so they can beat them.
The amount of air-time and online talk and articles Mercedes gets vs any other team is absolutely valued in the billions. You know there are only so many key players in F1. A company has to be ready to drop a billion to make their F1 team any good or the juice will not be worth that massive squeeze. F1 is seen as a high-end or European type of thing in general which narrows potential entrants. Until perception is changed we're not going to see many or any other kinds of outside manufacturers getting tangled up in the business, but for those who fit that paradigm there is no better place to rub elbows and push your brand. Haas entered for the specific reason of making the brand more global. Perfect example of a way to gain global currency for a global company.
That's a broad generalization that I know for a fact not to be true. It wasn't when I lived there and I have several friends there now that are not even 50 that drive Mercedes.
1) Formula 1 would be better off without that whining waste of space Toto guy. A man who cries like a woman is not much of a man in my eyes. 2) Hamilton is a weird guy if you know what I mean, with his multiple earrings. 3)What exactly is Lauda's role within the team? 4) I have never driven a Mercedes I liked. They are generally cheaply built and heavy. BMW has always made superior cars.
Just reporting what I have seen living here for 51 years. The frienda that have the Mercedes cars (not SUVs) are all over 60. I drive through downtown, Cherry Creek and Cherry Hills daily. SUVs, Teslas, Audis and BMWs seem to be the choice for vehicles here. It is regional, I see many more Mercedes in California and they were everywhere in Italy when I was there last month.
I never thought much about MB but since they are winning in F1 I have new respect of them. To the point that my next car is likely going to be a Merc. And I love Lauda. My fav Ferrari champ. I hope they stick around for years to come
I agree. Mercedes is the BEST vehicle brand, IMO. That includes street cars, SUV, GT, vans, trucks, etc ... They don't get things right all the time, but they have the most comprehensive range of vehicles, mostly well built and reliable.
A company that describes a 1550kg behemoth as a true sports car just can't be trusted. Mercedes has never had any guts. They have always had to outsource everything cool, from their pushrod Indy engines to the CLK GTR. I can't wait for some Mercedes marketing broad to devise a "Le Mans" special edition of their GT. Aahah. If I was at the helm over there I would buy Sauber, rename the company Sauber-Benz and actually start building real sports cars. I really hate Mercedes and their faux heritage.