RE: 61 years later, an Aston Martin F1 car

[jzakariya]

Volvolover said:

jzakariya said:

Volvolover said:

Sulphur Man said:

Lance Stroll is driving it. That's how much chance they've got.

And?

He's a decent driver, if you don't think so i suggest you don't know that much about f1

I guess it would depend on your definition of decent, some people do have really low standards.
By most people's reckoning though, he is a second class driver, at best.

Is he the worst driver on the grid? Nope but its always him that doesnt deserve to be there despite actually taking his chances pretty well. He's a solid midfield number two and will retire with much better results than a lot of highly rated drivers

He is positively Nuvolari compared to some of the 'talent' on the grid this year.
Nikita Mazepin should nicely slot into the 'talentless son of a billionaire spot' and give Stroll some much needed respite. Nikita appears to be a thoroughly nasty individual to go with his utter lack of talent.

[thegreenhell]

He's still only 22 years old, and already has three F1 podiums and a pole position. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins a race sooner or later. Unfortunately, in some people's eyes he will never be able to shake off the fact that his career is entirely paid for by his wealthy family, no matter what success he achieves.

[The spinner of plates]

Maldini35 said:

That really was one hell of a 'show'.

The opening video with a bunch of blokes in white race suits, open face helmets, goggles and what appear to be Geiger counters, wandering around Silverstone - What a brilliant idea!
It really conveyed the excitement and drama of F1. Top marks to the Soho Massive who dreamt that up.

And wasn't it great that the video lasted so long. I was enthralled. Didn't want it to end. I could have watched those guys in the white suits for hours.
Actually, maybe it was hours.

Of course the video had a suitably youth V.O. character reading the script with 'attitude'. That'll convince the kids to follow F1 and Aston Martin. Job done.

There was a moment of sadness though - during the introduction, poor Lawrence appeared to have suffered a stroke whilst reading the autocue - which was unfortunate.

Now for the drivers.
Strut onto the stage like you're on a catwalk - YES!!!!
Then, when you reach the end stop and fold your arms and pose like a superhero because it'll look really cool. Brilliant!!!!

Ok, now we need the USA to like us..... call Tom Brady.
Tom, a respected authority on such things, then tells us their new "ride" looks "fast". Marvellous.
And tell him to film his piece holding his mobile in his hand to give us the full CTE wobble effect.

Man, this is good.
What next?

Back to the stage and the overly coquettish (and not at all annoying) Gemma Eyecandy to introduce a very sweaty and nervous fella in a shiny grey suit, talking about a great British team in a thick German accent. The perfect follow up to Brady and really dials up the pace and excitement.
Shame the autocue kept freezing (that's why he kept stopping right?)

Now this is entertainment!

What a brilliant show.

Bravo The Aston Martin Cozzysomething F1 team.

Edited by Maldini35 on Wednesday 3rd March 23:46

I couldn’t be arsed to watch it all.. thanks for the TL;DR!!

[PH User]

thegreenhell said:

He's still only 22 years old, and already has three F1 podiums and a pole position. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins a race sooner or later. Unfortunately, in some people's eyes he will never be able to shake off the fact that his career is entirely paid for by his wealthy family, no matter what success he achieves.

I don't care how he got where he did, I just don't rate him. Like I said earlier in the thread, he's an average driver, not the worst and not the best.

[Sulphur Man]

Volvolover said:

Laughable. Utterly laughable. Is it too complicated for you to follow?

Ralph again wasn't a bad driver either, clearly not tier 1 but again you dont win races and get poles being rubbish.

Nobody gets an F1 seat these days without being very good indeed.

It's Ralf, o bard of F1 knowledge.

Ralf spent 9 seasons in competitive teams, three of which in the highest spending F1 team ever, Toyota. He managed 6 wins in 9 years. Glittering. What a legacy.

[Volvolover]

Sulphur Man said:

Volvolover said:

Laughable. Utterly laughable. Is it too complicated for you to follow?

Ralph again wasn't a bad driver either, clearly not tier 1 but again you dont win races and get poles being rubbish.

Nobody gets an F1 seat these days without being very good indeed.

It's Ralf, o bard of F1 knowledge.

Ralf spent 9 seasons in competitive teams, three of which in the highest spending F1 team ever, Toyota. He managed 6 wins in 9 years. Glittering. What a legacy.

Autospell sorry about that ahole man.....whoops there it goes again.

Again Ralf's career stats will be miles better than someone like Nico Hulkenberg/Nick Heidfeld etc who everyone rates highly

I think Alonso has won less races in the last 9 years........he's not rubbish either

[ManyMotors]

carinaman said:

ManyMotors said:

Why is AM pursuing Formula 1? They need to be wooing wealthy women with family ready for the best of SUVs. Formula 1 isn't something watched by that target audience and no technology from the series will prevent cereal from getting strewn in the luxury of a DBX. Come on, Larry! Focus!

Isn't the Drive to Survive programme, Series 3 of which is about to start, widening the F1 audience and getting viewers in the US where many potential purchasers of high end SUVs may live?

Soccer moms and dads don't even know what Formula 1 is. They'll note: "Maybe it has to do with Daytona?"

[Every day a journey]

ManyMotors said:

Soccer moms and dads don't even know what Formula 1 is. They'll note: "Maybe it has to do with Daytona?"

Americans are thick.

Why do you think Advertising became such a BIG thing there?

[Sub5]

I hope the team have an excellent season. However they go about their business in putting two cars on the grid has to be applauded. The team has always been short of resources and still managed to surprise the opposition. Mr Stroll is obviously a very clever cookie and we should be thankful that he has a plan for AM, and very deep pockets to match.

Really looking forward to the team benefiting from extra resources and motivation. Regardless of whom is driving.

PS Vettel haters. One of the nicest and most humble guys on the grid, doing what we all do. Providing for our families.

[Every day a journey]

I wonder if the post-chequered flag incident in Malaysia 2017 had any bearing in discussions???

[PhantomPH]

Every day a journey said:

I wonder if the post-chequered flag incident in Malaysia 2017 had any bearing in discussions???

For those F1 fans who don't know what that is, see here: https://youtu.be/LRAN9pzdwsw

A bit of lapse in concentration, but Stroll drifts a little bit right and Vettel holds his line. You could argue that Vettel should have given him more space and (as the closing speed was higher) been paying a bit more attention, but really just a freak occurrence.

Edited by PhantomPH on Friday 5th March 09:23

[Jules Henry]

'Hey Guys i know we are bankrupt & having to be bailed out by our rich friends & the uk govt, but lets go & piss a load of cash up the wall in F1'

[kambites]

Jules Henry said:

'Hey Guys i know we are bankrupt & having to be bailed out by our rich friends & the uk govt, but lets go & piss a load of cash up the wall in F1'

I don't think AM themselves are spending any money on F1? This is basically Stroll using his F1 team as an advertising platform for his car company.

[PhantomPH]

Jules Henry said:

'Hey Guys i know we are bankrupt & having to be bailed out by our rich friends & the uk govt, but lets go & piss a load of cash up the wall in F1'

Advertising budgets and loss/tax offsets.

Edited by PhantomPH on Friday 5th March 09:38

[PhantomPH]

Another interesting table. Seems like a very fine line between profit and loss - which again suggests things are budgeted in order to minimise profit for the tax man...(you'd be out of your mind to juggle a couple of hundred million to only make 1.8m in profit - that's a hell of a roll of the dice):

Edited by PhantomPH on Friday 5th March 09:59

[thegreenhell]

PhantomPH said:

Another interesting table. Seems like a very fine line between profit and loss - which again suggests things are budgeted in order to minimise profit for the tax man...(you'd be out of your mind to juggle a couple of hundred million to only make 1.8m in profit - that's a hell of a roll of the dice):

Edited by PhantomPH on Friday 5th March 09:59

Well yes, but F1 teams aren't like normal businesses. They aren't set up to make a profit. If they ended a year with £10m profits, everyone would be asking why they didn't spend it on making the car 0.1s faster. As they say, to make a small fortune from motor racing you need to start with a large fortune.

[Volvolover]

thegreenhell said:

PhantomPH said:

Another interesting table. Seems like a very fine line between profit and loss - which again suggests things are budgeted in order to minimise profit for the tax man...(you'd be out of your mind to juggle a couple of hundred million to only make 1.8m in profit - that's a hell of a roll of the dice):

Edited by PhantomPH on Friday 5th March 09:59

Well yes, but F1 teams aren't like normal businesses. They aren't set up to make a profit. If they ended a year with £10m profits, everyone would be asking why they didn't spend it on making the car 0.1s faster. As they say, to make a small fortune from motor racing you need to start with a large fortune.

Profit and cash aren't the same thing, if you spend £10m cash on R&D not all of it will flow through the P&L that year, hence its possible to spend every penny available on the car yet still show an accounting profit

[Red6]

I haven't watched F1 in years but despite thev global appeal and exposure, F1 isn't for Aston Martin. WEC is. Teams like McLaren, Ferrari, and Williams are part of the F1 DNA and if Aston can stick it out. Success is not going to happen over night. I just hope they have taken note of Jaguars experience.

[Volvolover]

Red6 said:

I haven't watched F1 in years but despite thev global appeal and exposure, F1 isn't for Aston Martin. WEC is. Teams like McLaren, Ferrari, and Williams are part of the F1 DNA and if Aston can stick it out. Success is not going to happen over night. I just hope they have taken note of Jaguars experience.

Jag went wrong because it was really a works ford entry only ford decided to run it badly then offload it. I too am surprised AM are aligning with F1 but its a big brand and good to see rather than something generic with no history. F1 needs big brands (but do they need it...?)

[Muzzer79]

PhantomPH said:

Another interesting table. Seems like a very fine line between profit and loss - which again suggests things are budgeted in order to minimise profit for the tax man...(you'd be out of your mind to juggle a couple of hundred million to only make 1.8m in profit - that's a hell of a roll of the dice):

Edited by PhantomPH on Friday 5th March 09:59

Unless I'm missing something here.....

Red Bull own Toro Rosso.

In their 'revenue' there is an $83m payment from Red Bull

So, taking off the $2m (rounded) 'profit', It's costing Red Bull $81m to run their own team?