Williams finally has a leader- James Vowles from Mercedes
https://the-race.com/formula-1/williams-hires-mercedes-strategy-chief-as-new-f1-team-boss/
it will be interesting to see how this plays out- apparently Williams is very short of sponsorship right now, dumping Latifi had its consequences.
Yeah they need some solid longterm sponsorship.
We will see how they can build a team with Vowles at the lead.
Unless some of the teams do not show up for a couple rounds hard not to see Williams at the bottom. It will be cool to see a American, but clearly he isn't going to be fight for podiums. HAAS might be similar speed but probably will be more consistent.
Speculation from The Race about future teams, title sponsors, and powertrain suppliers- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYrvO-odL_8&ab_channel=THERACE
Some of it we've heard, some I wasn't aware of. It will take some time to absorb it all. One interesting thing is that the teams are now balking on the $200M buy in because the NHL has a $650M buy in. The issue I see with that number is that the actual distributions to the teams are roughly the same- $20M/team in F1, $20.3M/team in the NHL. So maybe raise the entry fee to $205M, but not much more than that.
alfadriver said:Speculation from The Race about future teams, title sponsors, and powertrain suppliers- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYrvO-odL_8&ab_channel=THERACE
Some of it we've heard, some I wasn't aware of. It will take some time to absorb it all. One interesting thing is that the teams are now balking on the $200M buy in because the NHL has a $650M buy in. The issue I see with that number is that the actual distributions to the teams are roughly the same- $20M/team in F1, $20.3M/team in the NHL. So maybe raise the entry fee to $205M, but not much more than that.
The NHL buy-in also gets you the right to draft players from other teams. I somehow doubt the F1 teams are going to be willing to let Andretti take 10% of their engineers and a driver or two :)
In reply to alfadriver :
That is the first I have heard of Ford rumors, very interesting. All these manufacturers lining up, you would think with the battery cars in FE would see more attraction to Ford, GM, and Honda. The manufacturers must see what most racing fans see that we are all surprised it has lasted this long. However I still think all these "new teams in the works" are just story lines and will be a elitism flex when they don't make the cut. Given criticism on Andretti, that is probably going to be the biggest flex, because andretti has almost literally fielded a car in almost every professional series. The Mazespin name coming up again, hasn't that money been siezed yet?
In reply to trigun7469 :
The thing is, EV does not mean BEV. So the current F1 configuration (especially w/o the e-turbo), F1 is exactly what will be the gross majority of cars in a decade. (unless the massive change in battery happens- which it could- but for the cost of 1 of the three battery packs in a MachE- a nice little gas powertrain is an easy add WRT price, including complexity).
So in terms of that, F1 is very appealing to all OEs. Just like all racing that's going hybrid.
On a personal note, the Ford news is a big stab in the back to many friends who are long term ICE specialist that have been told to retire or find a new job in the last 9 months.
The ironic note would be that the team that is now known as Red Bull Racing would be Ford again. Bring back the 90's.
As for the geopolitical issues, Nikki's ride is hardly the only one in that video- just the one that has been front and center for almost a year.
Just got an email from F1 for GA tickets for the Miami GP. 3 day "campus pass" is $590 per person.
I think one of the reasons manufacturers aren't all that interested in Formula E is that it's a spec powertrain. Sure, you could brand them Ford and Honda, but underneath they'd have the same battery, same motor, same electronics, etc.
Pretty much what's going to happen with their cars too when they go to all electric, isn't it?
In reply to MiniDave :
Up until the point OEM's understand that they can make more money making their own. Especially since all of them already have the ability to make electric motors.
Which is already happening- many of them are making batteries on their own.
Formula one has lost me as a spectator.
Im not paying to watch a bunch of rich guys play, its lost it's sparkle.
bentwrench said:Formula one has lost me as a spectator.
Im not paying to watch a bunch of rich guys play, its lost it's sparkle.
How is F1 that different than almost all other racing?
bentwrench said:Formula one has lost me as a spectator.
Im not paying to watch a bunch of rich guys play, its lost it's sparkle.
Isn't that how James hunt and Niki laudable started as drivers in F1? I'm pretty sure pay drivers have been a thing since the beginning.
I do understand your point though. However, I think next year is going to have the smallest number of pay for play drivers we have seen in years.
bentwrench said:Formula one has lost me as a spectator.
Im not paying to watch a bunch of rich guys play, its lost it's sparkle.
Schumi got his start as a pay driver.
As for being a spectator, the final straw for me was breaking the Sporting Regs to give Max Ver-crybaby a WDC.
In reply to z31maniac :
I am a hardcore Lewis fan and prime detractor of Mr. Horner and his crew and I have let it go. You can't swallow poison and expect someone else to die.
There will never be the equal to Hesketh in todays F1. The teams that are already there want to keep their piece of the pie.
DrMikeCSI said:There will never be the equal to Hesketh in todays F1. The teams that are already there want to keep their piece of the pie.
Realistically, that went out in the 80s. A handful of teams tried to really do a budget program, but they really just embarassed themselves. And realistically, it was beyond many of the garagistas in the 70s, too.
NY Nick said:In reply to z31maniac :
I am a hardcore Lewis fan and prime detractor of Mr. Horner and his crew and I have let it go. You can't swallow poison and expect someone else to die.
I was already becoming less and less interested. I still keep up with results and the tech info, but I don't watch the practices/quali/races like I used to. And this comes from someone who used to wake up at 5am when he was 8 years old to watch Senna race.
bentwrench said:Formula one has lost me as a spectator.
Im not paying to watch a bunch of rich guys play, its lost it's sparkle.
When was it not that?
I'm liking the look of this:
In reply to wae :
Lets hope is stays that way for a few seasons.
So honestly feeling a bit iffy this year just because of the number of races. I just can't justify watching all the races, let alone the qualifying and practices. And that is a big hit for me. Watching 1 practice session and qualifying always made me feel a deeper connection to the race and better feel for the strategy. Heck even seeing body language of the teams during a practice and clue me in on who may do well or not.
Too many weekends would conflict with my family life. So I am committing to buying into the F1.com service this season. I will have to watch races when I can or on the plane when I travel for work.
But I found last season to be promising that the racing will be better than ever. Not as many run away races like the majority were from 1950.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:bentwrench said:Formula one has lost me as a spectator.
Im not paying to watch a bunch of rich guys play, its lost it's sparkle.
When was it not that?
Yeah I am actually glad I was never a fan of wealthy pay to drive Senna. He always seemed to be proto-Nico Rosberg but even more arrogant plus some cruelty. Many of the greats were from well off families. Not all as rich as Senna or Rosberg but still could afford this super expensive sport for their kids. And no hate on the wealth just on the personality of some of the drivers. Latifi seemed to be a great human from a well off family.
It's official. Ford is running with the RedBulls in 2026
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