el diablo
I'll take an A for $1000, Alex.
Here's the cycling worlds answer to that.Here is the new RB11 running in camo at Jerez.
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Formula 1 2015 Discussion
- Thread starter TomcatMF
- Start date
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Flatspotter
What?
Rumors are flying that Force India might miss Melbourne.
OGG
Master of the Meh
TomcatMF
Vetteless
It has been a sad state of affairs in motorsports for the last several years (since the financial crisis in 2008 ) that it has been difficult to get sponsorship/financing. Not just in F-1, but NASCAR has been facing the same issue along with Indycar. It also looks like NHRA is starting to struggle too.
The level of competition has driven the costs up so dramitically, that many would be sponsors just don't see the ROI for what is costs to sponsor a race team.
Now F-1 as a sport is rolling in revenue, but the way it is distributed is really hurting the teams that are not Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes or Red Bull, and the direction the series has taken lately is alienating the fan base, and the fact that it moved to pay TV in its core market in the UK has really hurt ratings too.
Unfortunately the people who are running F1 right now only care about the mountains of money they are extorting from governments for the "privilege" of hosting a Grand Prix. At the rate things are going the only place F1 will be able to run race is in the Middle East because they are the only ones who are willing to spend that kind of money to host a race, but if half the field disappears too, it won't make for a very exciting race.
Apparently the USGP is also under threat of going away because of there are questions as to how the funding was secured to pay the sanctioning fee to FOM. It was financed through a special event fund that Texas uses for things like host the Super Bowl, but now the state is threatening to suspend further payments due to the legal issues. As such COTA does not make much many from hosting the USGP either since F1 takes most of the revenue (including advertising space) for itself on top of the sanctioning fee.
At the rate things are going I think F1 is going to completely implode in the next few years. It won't be long before they end up where Indycar is now struggling to find an audience and cashflow.
The level of competition has driven the costs up so dramitically, that many would be sponsors just don't see the ROI for what is costs to sponsor a race team.
Now F-1 as a sport is rolling in revenue, but the way it is distributed is really hurting the teams that are not Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes or Red Bull, and the direction the series has taken lately is alienating the fan base, and the fact that it moved to pay TV in its core market in the UK has really hurt ratings too.
Unfortunately the people who are running F1 right now only care about the mountains of money they are extorting from governments for the "privilege" of hosting a Grand Prix. At the rate things are going the only place F1 will be able to run race is in the Middle East because they are the only ones who are willing to spend that kind of money to host a race, but if half the field disappears too, it won't make for a very exciting race.
Apparently the USGP is also under threat of going away because of there are questions as to how the funding was secured to pay the sanctioning fee to FOM. It was financed through a special event fund that Texas uses for things like host the Super Bowl, but now the state is threatening to suspend further payments due to the legal issues. As such COTA does not make much many from hosting the USGP either since F1 takes most of the revenue (including advertising space) for itself on top of the sanctioning fee.
At the rate things are going I think F1 is going to completely implode in the next few years. It won't be long before they end up where Indycar is now struggling to find an audience and cashflow.
Flatspotter
What?
Another rumor for the season. Jalopnik/Black Flag has an article that the German Grand Prix is probably not going to make the calendar this year due to poor attendance in past years making the race economically unfeasible. Fits in well with TomcatMF's state of F1 post pretty well.
TomcatMF
Vetteless
It looks like Marussia might make it back to the grid. They found a buyer and are out of administration. Apparently the entry fee has already been paid as well.http://www.crash.net/f1/news/214404/1/marussia-set-for-shock-f1-return.html
http://www.crash.net/f1/news/214404/1/marussia-set-for-shock-f1-return.html
http://www.crash.net/f1/news/214404/1/marussia-set-for-shock-f1-return.html
Hey! I remember those days when NA sports car racing attracted the top teams and makes!
Those were the days....
That kind of reminds me of Webber's flip on the Mulsanne straight when he was in the Merc Gp. C car.
Webber did the flip at Le Mans. Yannick Dalmas was behind the wheel of that porsche.
I stand corrected. Webber did flip at LeMans, and in a Mercedes, not a Porsche.
OGG
Master of the Meh
That is fantastic news! I really like that team, they have a lot of grit. I seriously got teary eyed when they scored their first championship points. After the Jules Bianchi tragedy they could use some good news.
nuke_diver
Riding Solo
not that they were all that competitive but losing teams makes F1 overall less competitive...the more teams the better. They need to fix this before they end up with no F1 :(
Last I heard they were not going to do three car teams.
OGG
Master of the Meh
Three car teams were taken off the table back in November. Bernie wasn't hip on the idea and Bernie gets what Bernie wants.
The Marussia yo yo has gone back down, the new investors planned on running a modified version of last year's chassis, which was previously deemed acceptable, but now The FIA is telling them They can't.
Meanwhile, Force India ownership is making huge public assurances that they will have their financial wonkiness sorted in time to field cars at Melbourne.
I have doubts...
So in summary, as of this moment:
Caterham- toast.
Marussia- toast.
Force India- toast.
Not an encouraging build up to the season.
On a side note, who in the world would have bet that Ferrari would be the team to finish testing in Jerez on top of the time sheets and seemingly far more sorted than everyone else at this early stage?
I wouldn't have.
After the shit sandwich those fuckers saddled Alonso, Massa and Raikkonen with the past few years, I'm gonna be well and truly pissed off if they somehow manage to drop that insufferable little twit Vettel into a winning car right out of the gates.
Given the amount of recent turmoil and personnel changes at Ferrari, it's nearly unthinkable that they could even compete for a podium this year.
Bizarre.
The Marussia yo yo has gone back down, the new investors planned on running a modified version of last year's chassis, which was previously deemed acceptable, but now The FIA is telling them They can't.
Meanwhile, Force India ownership is making huge public assurances that they will have their financial wonkiness sorted in time to field cars at Melbourne.
I have doubts...
So in summary, as of this moment:
Caterham- toast.
Marussia- toast.
Force India- toast.
Not an encouraging build up to the season.
On a side note, who in the world would have bet that Ferrari would be the team to finish testing in Jerez on top of the time sheets and seemingly far more sorted than everyone else at this early stage?
I wouldn't have.
After the shit sandwich those fuckers saddled Alonso, Massa and Raikkonen with the past few years, I'm gonna be well and truly pissed off if they somehow manage to drop that insufferable little twit Vettel into a winning car right out of the gates.
Given the amount of recent turmoil and personnel changes at Ferrari, it's nearly unthinkable that they could even compete for a podium this year.
Bizarre.
I assume Ferrari management were too proud or too stupid to sandbag like everyone else. I'm sure when we go racing they will be as lost as everyone else, and still saddled with a massive corporate structure that makes decisive action hard.
As for giving Vettel a great car, I assume the management made it very clear that the 4 time would champion and his world champion team mate will not look bad in the next ferrari chassis. Vettel, despite his douchisness, is a decent driver and can do well in the right car.
As for giving Vettel a great car, I assume the management made it very clear that the 4 time would champion and his world champion team mate will not look bad in the next ferrari chassis. Vettel, despite his douchisness, is a decent driver and can do well in the right car.
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Flatspotter
What?
Marussia is expecting to be at the third race in China with a new car after the teams voted they couldn't use the 2014 car.