After Honda who is next?
Discussion
Mercedes have been making noises about reducing costs by 50% or so which seems to indicate they are worried. 50% is a panic figure in my mind.
BMW have a huge problem approaching them, most of their road cars weren't sold but were leased on the premise that their value 2nd hand was likley to still be high when they were returned. As this won't be the case the firm is currently admitting it's facing it's worst crises since the end of WW2. Money for F1 is going to be more than tight then.
Toyota have cash in the bank but as their main rivals have dropped out the onloy reason for remaining would appear to be pride. Whether they'd rather win in F1 or use the cash they could save by getting out to help them get through the credit crunch reamins to be seen.
Renault has just got a load of taxpayers money to stay in business but to what extent is the average French taxpayer going to be happy seeing the cash spent on F1? Considering how hard it seems to be to get the French Govt to spend on French GP these days the amswer is all too obvious.
Ferrari also have a problem coming in the form of less sales of it's products - the high end cars aren't shifting as the world's millionaires feel the effects of credit crunching & the rest of the FIAT group can't be any different really to Renault. Yes, they have no exposure to the US markets like Toyota have & people are moving to smaller cars but still asking for extra Govt cash, as FIAT may yet be forced to do & spending it on F1, however much of a national pastime it seems to be in Italy is still not the best thing an Italian Govt could be seen to be doing.
Any comments?
BMW have a huge problem approaching them, most of their road cars weren't sold but were leased on the premise that their value 2nd hand was likley to still be high when they were returned. As this won't be the case the firm is currently admitting it's facing it's worst crises since the end of WW2. Money for F1 is going to be more than tight then.
Toyota have cash in the bank but as their main rivals have dropped out the onloy reason for remaining would appear to be pride. Whether they'd rather win in F1 or use the cash they could save by getting out to help them get through the credit crunch reamins to be seen.
Renault has just got a load of taxpayers money to stay in business but to what extent is the average French taxpayer going to be happy seeing the cash spent on F1? Considering how hard it seems to be to get the French Govt to spend on French GP these days the amswer is all too obvious.
Ferrari also have a problem coming in the form of less sales of it's products - the high end cars aren't shifting as the world's millionaires feel the effects of credit crunching & the rest of the FIAT group can't be any different really to Renault. Yes, they have no exposure to the US markets like Toyota have & people are moving to smaller cars but still asking for extra Govt cash, as FIAT may yet be forced to do & spending it on F1, however much of a national pastime it seems to be in Italy is still not the best thing an Italian Govt could be seen to be doing.
Any comments?
audidug said:
I hope not, I don't fancy looking for another job this side of Christmas 
Though a couple of months snowboarding in Canada wouldn't go amiss 
re Red Bulletin
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MartG said:
My feeling is that Williams will be the next to go - they are already in financial trouble
Almost everyone else is in F1 for marketing reasons with big corporate shareholders to please, Williams are in F1 because they are a racing team it makes no sense for them not to race. They will just tighten belts and use their budget wisely. If anyone goes it will be another large manufacturer with the decision coming from a boardroom full of marketing executives wearing yellow tinted glasses being egged on by shareholders who wouldn't know a McLaren from a MacLaren.
german tony said:
Mercedes have been making noises about reducing costs by 50% or so which seems to indicate they are worried. 50% is a panic figure in my mind.
BMW have a huge problem approaching them, most of their road cars weren't sold but were leased on the premise that their value 2nd hand was likley to still be high when they were returned. As this won't be the case the firm is currently admitting it's facing it's worst crises since the end of WW2. Money for F1 is going to be more than tight then.
Any comments?
Merc and BMW are commited, or so they are saying at the moment..............BMW have a huge problem approaching them, most of their road cars weren't sold but were leased on the premise that their value 2nd hand was likley to still be high when they were returned. As this won't be the case the firm is currently admitting it's facing it's worst crises since the end of WW2. Money for F1 is going to be more than tight then.
Any comments?
FourWheelDrift said:
MartG said:
My feeling is that Williams will be the next to go - they are already in financial trouble
Almost everyone else is in F1 for marketing reasons with big corporate shareholders to please, Williams are in F1 because they are a racing team it makes no sense for them not to race. They will just tighten belts and use their budget wisely. If anyone goes it will be another large manufacturer with the decision coming from a boardroom full of marketing executives wearing yellow tinted glasses being egged on by shareholders who wouldn't know a McLaren from a MacLaren.http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns21032.html
Grandprix.com said:
Lenovo to McLaren
We hear that Lenovo will announce tomorrow that it is to sponsor the McLaren team next year. The company has been involved with Williams in recent years, but decided not to continue the arrangement. McLaren is not offering on-car sponsorship as was the case at Williams but the Lenovo marketing men seem to have decided that a sponsorship with McLaren plus trackside advertising will bring better returns on the F1 investment.
Lenovo is the third biggest computer manufacturer in the world, following its 2005 acquisition of IBM's PC Division. Originally set up in Beijing, the company moved headquarters to Hong Kong in 1988 and, since the IBM deal, has been based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Williams has had Lenovo support for the last two years.
We hear that Lenovo will announce tomorrow that it is to sponsor the McLaren team next year. The company has been involved with Williams in recent years, but decided not to continue the arrangement. McLaren is not offering on-car sponsorship as was the case at Williams but the Lenovo marketing men seem to have decided that a sponsorship with McLaren plus trackside advertising will bring better returns on the F1 investment.
Lenovo is the third biggest computer manufacturer in the world, following its 2005 acquisition of IBM's PC Division. Originally set up in Beijing, the company moved headquarters to Hong Kong in 1988 and, since the IBM deal, has been based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Williams has had Lenovo support for the last two years.
Eric Mc said:
FIAT and Renault stay as racing is an essential ingredient of what they are.
The rest look on it purely as a business investment.
renault are sponsored by ING and that deal runs out at the end of 2009, cant see them being in a hurry to re-commit and cant see many large sponsors wanting to throw money at F1 in the current climate. Even if racing is part of their core value (which it wasnt between about 1910 and 1977) it hardly leads to an increase in car sales and they already have the world series sucking cash out of them...The rest look on it purely as a business investment.
Force India are an interesting one, on one hand i cant see them being in it for long, the fun of trundling round at the back will wear off soon and they will look to move on, granted they have a lot of finance behind them but even so, its not a cheap sport... then the sport seems to be developing in the far east and there are huge opportunities for an Indian team in that market...
I couldnt agree more. I would say Williams are the least likely team to leave F1.
Like they have stated today they are the only team there purely for racing reasons. As long as they can build a car they will be on the grid.
My only concern for them would be losses last year. (but I would imagine no larger than any other F1 team) But they have stated these losses will be covered in this financial year.
Fingers crossed anyway, they would be the last team I want to see exit F1.
Like they have stated today they are the only team there purely for racing reasons. As long as they can build a car they will be on the grid.
My only concern for them would be losses last year. (but I would imagine no larger than any other F1 team) But they have stated these losses will be covered in this financial year.
Fingers crossed anyway, they would be the last team I want to see exit F1.
FourWheelDrift said:
MartG said:
My feeling is that Williams will be the next to go - they are already in financial trouble
Almost everyone else is in F1 for marketing reasons with big corporate shareholders to please, Williams are in F1 because they are a racing team it makes no sense for them not to race. They will just tighten belts and use their budget wisely. If anyone goes it will be another large manufacturer with the decision coming from a boardroom full of marketing executives wearing yellow tinted glasses being egged on by shareholders who wouldn't know a McLaren from a MacLaren.Forums | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff