Minardi back in '08? time will tell . . .

The more the merrier. Let's bring 'em in!

 

agreed! what about BAR's former principal..whats his name...dave richards? i thought he was about to start his team, prodrive.. i wonder if alain can re-launch prost...lol...

 

Anyone but Stoddart. Freaking whinging loser that goes crying to the court when he doesn't get his way....

 

I heard Imperial 183 is going to be the Team Manager.

 

Minardi 1-2! Yahoo!

 

Jumped off a bridge in the 2005 season.

 

Stoddart is no fool. With 11 teams signed up and more on the horizon, an entry into the series will be a valuable commodity. Yesterday there were 6 open slots, and today Stoddart is asking for the last remaining spot. If he gets it, how much could he sell it for?

 

Exactly, all he is going to do is whine, cry and b**ch about how a small privateer team can not compete etc. He will bring even more politics unsettlement into F1, as if there isn't enough of that already with Maxie. That's all he ever did when he ran Minardi before it was sold and became STR. So unless he is willing to step up and play with the big boys, he has no business in F1.

 

Agreed in principle, but if that is he sole motivation then I don't understand why he sold it to Red Bull in the first place. Sounds like a dumb move knowing about the spec series regulations Mad Max has in store for us.

That's why I think he and old signore Minardi had a change of heart and miss their name on the cars.

 

Wow! I didn't see it from that angle. I could apply too and Ebay my spot.

 

My understanding is that he sold Minardi to concentrate on his airline business, which just went under in Down Under a month or so ago. He made a statement not too long ago about his mistake and wished that he had concentrated on F1 instead as he misses F1 greatly. IMO, I think he is just an attention seeker with no real love of F1.

 

He wouldn't be the first, thinking back on the numerous backmarker teams in the eighties which eventually all bit the dust.

I can't really say where he is coming from: He didn't invest enough in Minardi to ever make the cars better than dead last, so you have a point. At the same time he was probably hemorrhaging money from his airline biz into F1 to keep them alive and he even sold his private collection for $$$. That almost makes him a saint in my book. Dunno.

 

While it is true that running a F1 team today is completely different compare to the 70's, 80's and 90's. A lot more corporate and $$$ needed to be competitive. However, that's the nature of the beast in today's F1. While he may be credited for heart but his wishingful thinking and lack of research on how to properly run a F1 team makes him undesirable as a team owner.

Look at Renault, they don't have the biggest budget but they are winning. Toyota is spending more money than anyone else but the lack of result is puzzling. It takes a lot more to run a F1 team, just like it takes a lot more than raw talent and speed to win a F1 title these days.

 

Two great examples. Renault, aka the French Government being extremely efficient on one side and a German/Japanese coalition with a huge money pot in the other corner barely functioning. For the life of me I can't explain how they can fail so badly. I used to think it is because Cologne and Japan are so far apart, but by now they should have resolved that and Gascoyne is a brilliant man. So how in the world can they fail so badly? I just don't get it.

 

IMO, I think the F1 cars these days are so much more complex, it only takes one weak link to de-rail the whole train. Aerodynamics are huge, so are the engines: usable power not just power, and at the same time, reliability is a must. Chassis is vital as the relationship of suspensions and tyres are very significant too (This is suppose to be the Achille's heel for Toyota this year so far) and of course, the overall package. From the driver's POV, JT and RS are better than average drivers only and I don't think they are very good technically as development drivers. All these are factors, think back to Ferrari in the early 90's before Todt, Brawn, Barns and MS's arrival.

Few teams can put the key pieces together and fewer can keep them together or be able to adapt and find suitable replacements when someone leaves. I am a Toyota fan and I will like to see them do well, but I feel that will never happen unless they start to bring in the right people. Oh, one last thing, plain dumb luck is another important aspect of F1 racing, from both design and driving aspect.

 

Larini did an excellent job in midfield. What is your point?

My jaw just hit the floor. Are you ok Anthony?
BTW: There was a nice add-on mag from Toyota coupled to the last edition of RACER. All about their various racing programs. I would have kept it for you. I didn't know Toyota had any fans.

 

Admit it Andreas, you are really an Ivan Capelli fan, aren't you? That was a year that makes the 05' season looking like a championship season.

 

Johansson and Giovanardi. The Ferrari dream team from hell.

 

You win, I give. My F1 journey started with Albereto and Berger, I think that is at least 2 years remove from the Johansson/Giovanardi dual.

 

Actually Giovanardi was during your following. But you just might have missed his test drive if you blinked. He only went up and down a straight in Vallelunga. Compared to him Rossi looks like the next MS.

 

Who cares about backmarkers!!!

 

Yeah! let's make a new rule: If you didn't win the last race, you're not allowed to enter the next race! YEAH! Racing would be great if all those cars that aren't as fast as the winner weren't out there cluttering up the track!

And the first to go should be that Ferrari team! They haven't won a race in AGES! Ban them! Ban them NOW! Williams too, get rid of them! And BAR, Toyota, Sauber BMW, they have never won ANYTHING! Ban their sorry cars! Midland, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Super Aguri, why are they even on the grid!?!

Yeah, then we have the good cars on the track, and all those backmarkers are out of the way! New teams should have one race to prove they can win or out they go!

Bagginsmarkers! We hates it! We hates it forever!