Too many newbies in F1

It's a ridiculous game by the FIA and FOM, who think the viewers are actually dumb enough to think this is really serious F1 competition applications. It's not... it's probably teams being *solicited* by the FIA or FOM to submit applications. These teams are mostly jokes.

The only ones who I think have a shot in hell of ever seeing the grid are USF1 and ProDrive, and I'd only give USF1 a 20% chance of being there in '10.

 

I think the only team seeing the grid is Prodrive. USF1, now re-named per Bernie to USGPE, would be there as a "gimme" back-marker team. Hadn't thought about other teams being "solicited", but in retrospect perhaps that's what Max/Bernie have done to attempt to intidimate FOTA - if you don't want to play by OUR rules there are others who do .... game playing. Anything is possible!

Carol

 

I agree and I think this is a very dangerous game for Bernie and Max to play.

It's like if I have 20 big muscle guys and I am coming to beat you up, and you say "oh yeah, well I have 20 guys too!", but it's your grandfather, and uncle bob in the wheelchair, and your 5 year old nephew. Yeah, you have quantity, but not quality

 

Are we sure all these silly teams are not McLaren, etc. being smart and registering their teams via a back door ... ie. Alex Wurz team for example smells to me like a way to ensure McLaren stay in the game ... AND can play hard ball with Bernie/Max in current talks.

Otherwise it's a bit like the 70's again, when tiny little English based teams littered the grid and usually made it through the first corner if they even started.
Pete

 

+1 its surely moving towards a more diluted, spec-like series by the month.

 

Or it could be Bernie's way of making F1 more entertaining to americans.

Fact: Americans like crashes
Fact: ''Unexperienced'' drivers in F1 will cause chaos

= more viewers world wide, + the states and bernie & co will see their bank accounts go through the roof.

 

Let'em crash!

Just what F1 needs: A little less predictability. Fine by me.

 

I agree with Andreas.

I don't have a problem with these new teams, reality will weed them out anyway. Sponsors are being promised all sorts of stuff that is in all probability not going to happen for most of these teams. At some point, these will be the old teams and you'll be complaining about the new teams entering the sport in 2015.

There is only room on the grid officially for 13 teams of two. If at the end of the day more than 13 teams qualify for approval by the FIA into F1, looks like some people will be going home Saturday afternoon. And please, the current list of "the best drivers in the world" can't seem to make a full lap in their entirety at most circuits anyway, so assuming only these new drivers will constantly crash and burn is silly.

Yet with the threat of losing two of the major teams by the end of the year, and with the Russiann roulette that is jointly being played by FOTA and the FIA, we may still only have 10 teams for 2010, if that. I think PSK had an interesting concept about current teams entering through the back door using some of these new teams.

 

+1 and it seems F1 is usually. Just look at this year and Brawn....NO ONE saw this coming at all.

 

What sponsors?
Anybody seen any serious money behind any of the minnows?

 

Let's hope Bridgestone can keep pace with the increased number of tires they will need to bring to each event.

 

Superfund, and I forget the name of the group that financed David Richard's acqusition of Aston Martin. Both big, no, actually HUGE money. Maybe the Kinks will sponso Lola.

 

Well what Lola wants, Lola gets

 

As TifosiRon already pointed out, some of these new teams simply will fill the void left behind of some of the manufacturers (Toyota, Renault) leaving the sport.

I'm not worried about Bridgestone at all. More is better.

 

I dont see it that way. With new mfgs chassis and engines, how is that more like spec? The problem I see is too many backmarkers causing traffic problems. What is Zsolt Baumgartner doing these days?

 

That seems to be the big question. Many of the current sponsors are contractually bound and those whose contracts up are ALL bailing out.

I don't understand how the four new applicants (8 cars) will find room between the (supposed) six open slots and the few sponsors interested in a commitment to an unstable sport in less stable times. I think the newbies, along with a couple veteran teams, may find themselves in a revolving door soon.

 

Actually FIVE applicants - Prodrive, Lola, Litespeed, Team Superfund, Campos Meta 1 and USGPE. Significant financial backing are Prodrive (Middle-East-based finance and logistics company Dar Capital) and Team Superfund (International investment group), Lola (Martin Birrane is an Irish millionaire/owner of Lola Cars/Mondello Racetrack/former race car driver).

Carol

 

And add March to the list. Remember March Engineering?? Not really a newbie.

 

It's kinda funny how now some people complain that F1 is getting diluted and no longer is the top of motorsports because of all the small teams joining.

I remember not so long ago, when suddenly all the car manufacturers joined, people complained, that the true spirit of F1 was getting diluted by the big companies who were only in it for the money.

Guess what: There is a place and a formula for both. And that's a good thing.

 

Or they could have been right back then. The big manufacturers have increased the buy in so much that no one can afford a seat at the table any more. (Including them!)

 

Have they? Got some actual numbers/stats to make that point?

 

The fact that they're saying that they can no longer afford compete without a spending cap might be a sign.

 

It is the spending cap of 45 million USD that has everybody tied in a knot.

Because that is really way too low. That is about what Minardi operated on in its last year. But any midfield team was already easily at 100 million +. And any front team was in multiple of hundreds of millions of dollars.

I think the bar was raised considerably when a) sponsors joined (early seventies) and b) when McLaren introduced the carbon fibre chassis. From then on, costs were a mere afterthought.

The mass joining of the car manufacturers happened somewhat recently (like the beginning of this decade) and I would think, that F1 was already way beyond even the 100 million cap at that time.

 

Its chicken or egg. Did tech drive costs or did funds allow tech? Both of course.
Personally I blame Chapman and the Cigarette money
Point is that now no one can afford to play and how it started is irrelevant.