I enjoy watching formula one racing because it represents the pinnacle of automobile engineering. How to make a four wheel vehicle go as fast as possible around a race track.
I don't have the latest numbers, but at one time I had read that it is the most popular sport in the world. It is an area where car manufactures spend a fortune and bet their reputations on being able to compete.
But it is expensive, and sometimes the cost is hard to justify. Late last year Honda decided that it could no longer justify its participation in this racing series. What struck a lot of people as ironic was that Honda had spent a fortune on its team and cars in preparation for the 2009 season, and then pulled out. So what happened? A new team called Brawn was formed from the Honda team, and the miracle happened. The new team has been number one and left Ferrari and more experienced teams in the dust so far this year.
Now BMW has decided that they will be leaving Formula One this year. BMW become involved when they took over the Sauber team ahead of the 2006 season. So far BMW has had a very poor 2009 season. It is now eighth in the constructors standing.
Mercedes, the other major German car maker involved in Formula One, said it regretted BMW's pullout, "but it will have no influence on our F1 engagement."
Formula One management has been pushing to reduce the costs and add new teams. This latest news from BMW gives strength to their argument.
For more details about this decision: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5id5sOxCNKIZpNSItukVGva9woSiwD99O2M7O0
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Showing posts with label formula one. Show all posts
Showing posts with label formula one. Show all posts
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Formula One | Major Changes
There was a meeting of formula one Governing body today. As a result there were some major changes made. One of the most critical was that the Formula One Championship will be decided based on the number of wins, and not as it used to be based on a point system. If the new method had been in place last year, the Ferrari driver Felipe Massa would have been the 2008 champion as he won six races compared to the 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton who won only five races.
The article I read was a little confusing, as the point system has not completely gone away. In case of a tie the point system will be used. It will also be used for ranking all of the other drivers after the champion. This organization makes nothing easy.
There is a proposed cap of $42 million per year per team. Not sure if this one will pass or not. The governing body also accepted the new Brawn team's purchase of the Honda racing team, and allowed the new team to compete without the normal entry fee.
A couple of other major announcements were made. One was that the teams could have eight one-day aerodynamic tests during the course of the season instead of the former total ban on in-season testing.
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The article I read was a little confusing, as the point system has not completely gone away. In case of a tie the point system will be used. It will also be used for ranking all of the other drivers after the champion. This organization makes nothing easy.
There is a proposed cap of $42 million per year per team. Not sure if this one will pass or not. The governing body also accepted the new Brawn team's purchase of the Honda racing team, and allowed the new team to compete without the normal entry fee.
A couple of other major announcements were made. One was that the teams could have eight one-day aerodynamic tests during the course of the season instead of the former total ban on in-season testing.
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Friday, March 6, 2009
USA Formula One Team?
If you are interested in a formula one team for the USA, check out Nigel Roebuck's column in Autoweek of March 9, 2009. He reports that Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor are setting up an American team which will be based in Charlotte, N.C.
With the new emphasis on cost cutting, this is now a real possibility. Gone are the days when if you wanted to start a new team you had to post a $48 million dollar bond.
Now they still have to round up sponsors, and they are talking about a European base in Spain. It looks like it will be a relatively, small effort of about 120 in-house employees. Mr. Stebuck said that not too long ago the Ferrari team had ten times this number of employees.
There is a lot of support for a USF1 team. It sure would be nice to have our country get back in the formula one game. Perhaps down the road we will even have a formula one race in North America again.
As an aside, I attended a Ferrari Club board of director meeting last night. One of the topics was the idea of getting some of the members together to watch a formula one race this year. One of the problems is the time difference between when it is televised in our country. Looks like we could watch one race together, however we may have to start at 4:00am to watch a live race. Not sure I'm going to be there.
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With the new emphasis on cost cutting, this is now a real possibility. Gone are the days when if you wanted to start a new team you had to post a $48 million dollar bond.
Now they still have to round up sponsors, and they are talking about a European base in Spain. It looks like it will be a relatively, small effort of about 120 in-house employees. Mr. Stebuck said that not too long ago the Ferrari team had ten times this number of employees.
There is a lot of support for a USF1 team. It sure would be nice to have our country get back in the formula one game. Perhaps down the road we will even have a formula one race in North America again.
As an aside, I attended a Ferrari Club board of director meeting last night. One of the topics was the idea of getting some of the members together to watch a formula one race this year. One of the problems is the time difference between when it is televised in our country. Looks like we could watch one race together, however we may have to start at 4:00am to watch a live race. Not sure I'm going to be there.
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Friday, February 20, 2009
Honda's Formula One Fate Getting Closer
Reuters UK reported today on some additional progress on the ultimate fate of the Honda Formula One team. British entrepreneur Richard Branson wants to take over Honda's Formula One team, the sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Reuters on Thursday.
As you may or may not know, Mr. Branson is associated with the Branson Virgin Group. He is not new to formula one racing as his Virgin Mobile company was a sponsor of the Jordan formula one team in 2002. His other ties with formula one also include the Japanese driver Takuma Sato who has been sponsored by Virgin Atlantic Japan for the past four years. Another tie in is that Mr. Branson is a personal friend of Adrian Reynard, co-founder of the BAR team that became Honda in 2006.
One of the open questions is why Honda would be more interested in a sale to Branson rather than the executive buyout which is on the table? It will be interesting to get the news next week as the deal may go through as early as next Monday.
The new owners, who ever they may be, will be looking at a 60 million dollar per year cost. While this sounds like an astronomical number, it is much better than the 300 million Honda spent, and still only finished ninth in the standings. I won't tell you how much Ferrari spent in order to be first.
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As you may or may not know, Mr. Branson is associated with the Branson Virgin Group. He is not new to formula one racing as his Virgin Mobile company was a sponsor of the Jordan formula one team in 2002. His other ties with formula one also include the Japanese driver Takuma Sato who has been sponsored by Virgin Atlantic Japan for the past four years. Another tie in is that Mr. Branson is a personal friend of Adrian Reynard, co-founder of the BAR team that became Honda in 2006.
One of the open questions is why Honda would be more interested in a sale to Branson rather than the executive buyout which is on the table? It will be interesting to get the news next week as the deal may go through as early as next Monday.
The new owners, who ever they may be, will be looking at a 60 million dollar per year cost. While this sounds like an astronomical number, it is much better than the 300 million Honda spent, and still only finished ninth in the standings. I won't tell you how much Ferrari spent in order to be first.
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Monday, February 9, 2009
Will There be a Honda Team in Formula One?
As you may know, in December Honda announced that they were leaving Formula One racing and would not participate in the 2009 season. Since then there have been a variety of rumors about who, if anyone would purchase the team. One of the most interesting ones were about the second richest man in the world, Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim Hel. The story I read said that Honda was willing to sell their team to him for $1.00. That's a price that even I could afford. Of course, once I had the team I could not afford to even buy them one tire - but that's another story.
Yesterday International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley rated the team's chances of being in Melbourne at no more than 70 percent. Now the first race is to be held on March 29, which does not give anyone very much time to pull a team together and race competitively.
The current rumor: The Honda team's hopes of Formula One survival appear to depend on a management buyout led by Ross Brawn and supported by chief executive Nick Fry. It would be interesting if they can afford to run the team. Last year the estimate was over 300 million dollars for the average team. This year changes to the specifications and cars may reduce this by 30%, but that was still too much for Honda.
Along with Honda leaving the sport is the fact that there is no longer a North American race site, nor is there a North American team. Seems a shame we can't do one or the other.
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Yesterday International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley rated the team's chances of being in Melbourne at no more than 70 percent. Now the first race is to be held on March 29, which does not give anyone very much time to pull a team together and race competitively.
The current rumor: The Honda team's hopes of Formula One survival appear to depend on a management buyout led by Ross Brawn and supported by chief executive Nick Fry. It would be interesting if they can afford to run the team. Last year the estimate was over 300 million dollars for the average team. This year changes to the specifications and cars may reduce this by 30%, but that was still too much for Honda.
Along with Honda leaving the sport is the fact that there is no longer a North American race site, nor is there a North American team. Seems a shame we can't do one or the other.
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009
A Honda with a Ferrari Engine?
One of the racing series that I follow is formula one racing. I enjoy it for a couple of reasons. First it is the top auto racing series in the world (at least I think so). Second Ferrari has been the major player and winner for a number of recent years after a long dry spell. I drive a Ferrari, so I share a little of their success.
With the current world economic conditions several teams are no longer interested in spending the millions of dollars per year to field a competitive effort. Late last year Honda announced that they were pulling out of the 2009 series both as a competitor and engine supplier and that their team was up for sale.
Today's news (http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4811532a13275.html) describes how a new team owner might go to Ferrari for engines. The current team is run by Ross Brawn, a former Ferrari technical director. So looking to Ferrari would be a natural step.
There are a lot of rumors of who might purchase the team. Whoever decides to do it has very little time to waste as the first race of the 2009 season opener in Australia on March 29. Besides the time constraint there is a budget constraint also for a potential buyer. Honda spent around $300 million dollars last year and still had a losing season.
Should be an interesting year.
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With the current world economic conditions several teams are no longer interested in spending the millions of dollars per year to field a competitive effort. Late last year Honda announced that they were pulling out of the 2009 series both as a competitor and engine supplier and that their team was up for sale.
Today's news (http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4811532a13275.html) describes how a new team owner might go to Ferrari for engines. The current team is run by Ross Brawn, a former Ferrari technical director. So looking to Ferrari would be a natural step.
There are a lot of rumors of who might purchase the team. Whoever decides to do it has very little time to waste as the first race of the 2009 season opener in Australia on March 29. Besides the time constraint there is a budget constraint also for a potential buyer. Honda spent around $300 million dollars last year and still had a losing season.
Should be an interesting year.
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Race on Sunday, Sell on Monday?
That is the old saying for some American car companies. But it may not be Honda's. Earlier this month we heard: "Honda Motor Co. has come to the conclusion that we will withdraw from all Formula One activities, making 2008 the last season for participation," said Honda president Takeo Fukui at an emotional press conference.
Honda has not done too well in Formula One racing, and with the current economic conditions they have decided to pull the plug. But all is not lost. There are a variety of different individuals and companies who are interested in purchasing the team.
Flamboyant Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya is pitched against Mexican billionaire and one of the world's richest persons, Carlos Slim Helu, among others for buying the Formula One team of Japanese auto giant Honda, a report said on Monday.
Pro Drives David Richards, a swiss hedge fund and Greek shipping tycoon Achilleas Kallakis,have all been mentioned as potential buyers.
It will be interesting to see who is the eventual owner of the team and where it will be located.
It's a very expensive sport where it has been reported that a single bolt can cost $1,000 and a yearly figure of $400,000,000 to host a full team has been reported. Steps are being taken to lower the total cost.
"An F1 team should be able to get by on $60-70m a year," says Max Mosley, president of motor racing's governing body, the FIA.
Honda has not done too well in Formula One racing, and with the current economic conditions they have decided to pull the plug. But all is not lost. There are a variety of different individuals and companies who are interested in purchasing the team.
Flamboyant Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya is pitched against Mexican billionaire and one of the world's richest persons, Carlos Slim Helu, among others for buying the Formula One team of Japanese auto giant Honda, a report said on Monday.
Pro Drives David Richards, a swiss hedge fund and Greek shipping tycoon Achilleas Kallakis,have all been mentioned as potential buyers.
It will be interesting to see who is the eventual owner of the team and where it will be located.
It's a very expensive sport where it has been reported that a single bolt can cost $1,000 and a yearly figure of $400,000,000 to host a full team has been reported. Steps are being taken to lower the total cost.
"An F1 team should be able to get by on $60-70m a year," says Max Mosley, president of motor racing's governing body, the FIA.
I'll keep you posted about the 2009 season to see if costs really come down, or if other teams are put on the block.
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