Teams set for showdown over costs

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Following the collapse of the FIA’s plans to introduce a cost cap, F1’s smaller teams will challenge the governing body to get spending under control.

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F1: May Day crunch talks set to decide whether sport can avoid potential civil war and the demise of the smaller teams on the grid (The Independent)

“Asked whether F1 had reached the critical point of cost control, Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: ‘We reached that point long ago. It is just that maybe some of us have voiced our opinions that we don’t agree to the way it is suddenly going.'”

Big teams not blind to cost struggles (Autosport)

Christian Horner: “The fundamental issues are: what are our cost drivers? If you address those cost drivers, and then create a more level playing field, with more creativity for the teams, then that is a far more healthy way of doing that than suppressing from the top down.”

Paddy Lowe and Mercedes look to put F1’s new world on the map (The Guardian)

“‘I’m not going to mention specific names,’ he adds, though the chief executive, Bernie Ecclestone, must have been uppermost in his mind. ‘But it’s our sport. We’re competing with other sports and we’ve got to make it successful. We should promote the great things we’ve done.'”

New Ferrari boss upbeat for future (BBC)

“Mattiacci said Montezemolo was ‘extremely focused’ on giving as much support as he could to the team. ‘Whatever is needed will be done,’ said Mattiacci.”

New Ferrari boss thought job offer was April Fool (Reuters)

“Mattiacci revealed on Friday ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix how fast things had moved between him being offered the job and accepting it. ‘I received a call at 5.58 on Friday morning and chairman Montezemolo on the phone told me, ‘this is my idea.’ And I told (him) that April Fool’s (day) was already far away, 15 days earlier,’ said Mattiacci, who lives in New York.”

Schumacher medics deny his treatment was ‘delayed’ (The Telegraph)

“The medical team caring for hospitalised Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has denied claims that the driver’s treatment for head injuries was needlessly delayed after his serious skiing accident last year and insisted that their actions helped save his life.”

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Comment of the day

Red Bull broke the rules, but did they cheat? Here’s Sam’s view:

Do understand that in no way I think Red Bull was correct in their doing. Saying they cheated however, not for me.

This is a very competitive sport and every team does what they think is best to go home with the biggest trophy, within the rules. They thought they were in the right but now have been proven wrong.
Sam (@Ardenflo)

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On this day in F1

Sebastian Vettel gave Red Bull their first F1 win five years ago today in the Chinese Grand Prix. It was a one-two finish for the team with Mark Webber taking second.

Image © Sauber

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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19 comments on “Teams set for showdown over costs”

  1. kieth did you see my tweet regarding p0rn-ish pop ups on the mobile site?

    1. Haha, I had those too last week. Not having them now though. They were for a “game”, that happens to have a lot of girls in what appears to be a bodywork for an immensely hot race, with A LOT of bodywork openings. They all seem to be having a huge, sculpted sidepods.

    2. I’m not much of a complainer, and not a paying member of the website, but the mobile ads here are often for viruses or for thoroughly disingenuous or damaging programs that are far beneath the standards that show up in every other aspect of this website. I am not sure what advertising is going on to support this website, but I find the mobile site across the line. I would even be willing to support the website with a membership if it meant doing away with disreputable advertisers (and I do mean this). I understand the need to use advertising, and your unlimited right to make money off all your hard work, but the marketing partners are not people to do business with.

      1. Seems to be happening to a lot of otherwise reputable websites… Seems like in the mobile revolution some ad agencies have decided to go for broke with their reputations and make bank while the sites slowly realise what kind of ads their users are being shown.

      2. Yeah, the situation on the mobile site is quite frustrating, to be honest. Sometimes it automatically opens new pages in the web browser, other times the app store pops up. I try to use it as little as possible.

    3. You sure its not that Toro Rosso nose?

    4. GB (@bgp001ruled)
      19th April 2014, 8:56

      no answer from @keithcollantine ?

    5. @sato113, @chaddy, @w-h, @yobo01, What you google is what you get. These adds are choosen for you based on your internet history. My adds constantly represent second hand Porsche I look for on the internet but cannot buy.

      1. Often but not always. There are some things that have a chance of making money off any randomly-selected person no matter what they Google. Nobody searches for viruses.

      2. What you’ve said, Sam, is simply not how these ads work

      3. thanks for that sam. it was actually a dating advert but had a pic.of a naked girl on it. still no answer from @keithcollantine ?

      4. Sam I agree with you. depending on what sites you have visited, you may get unwanted ads popping up, sometimes at inappropriate moments like when you are showing your boss something at work (they follow you if you use chrome and sign into google apps like gmail).
        Click the adchoice button and choose not to see those types of ads again.
        Also use a pop up blocker.

  2. There is just so much wrong in this statement that the big teams do care about the smaller ones (Horner’s quotes)

    “How could a 200 million dollar cost cap help Sauber?” he asked. “It saves them not one dollar.

    – Easy enough, Christian. If Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes are able to spend northwards of 300 USD to build a car and therefore throw money at any lack of competitiveness and at any idea they see from others, there is just no way to find an edge for smaller teams, and any clever ideas they have will be only very short lived advantages. When budgets go down, naturally that makes it easier to compete – a more even competition, allowing smaller teams to get points and podiums means its far easier to find sponsors. I understand RBR (and the other big teams) supports having the small teams there, but not making them a threat to the order, but its not what F1 needs

    “The fundamental issues are: what are our cost drivers? If you address those cost drivers, and then create a more level playing field, with more creativity for the teams, then that is a far more healthy way of doing that than suppressing from the top down.”

    How is tightening up the rules not limiting that creativity then? It still means that Mercedes can spend a capital at a clever nose solution, and do 4 FIA crashtests to solve it, as well as buy fuel flow sensors for 400.000 USD to ensure they can select the “best” ones, and Ferrari can still spend a capital without being competitive. Indeed, it should rather upset Newey, because his creativity would surely have to be limited.

    1. Let me add that for Horner to mention that

      “They all had a choice when they signed the Concorde Agreement whether to accept it or not, and they all chose to accept it,” he said.

      meaning its whining when they now complain. What to say? Sure, we saw how Marussia had a choice to what to sign up, right. After RBR an Ferrari broke lines and took Bernies deal, there was never going to be much choice for the smaller, less important (at least for Bernie) outfits than to either take what deal they were offered or quit F1. That is not a choice an F1 team should be offered by the promoter of the sport.

      1. @bascb I think this is the single biggest issue in F1. I appreciate Joe Saward’s outspokenness on the topic in particular.

    2. If the teams have to race with box cars, then there is very little aerodynamic profiling that can be done to improve performance.
      So if for example, the front wings are limited to just 2 elements, and then a square floor.
      No DRS wings, reduced turning vanes, etc. The parts will be simpler to design and yield similar performance profiles. But limiting the number motorhomes, is just not it.

  3. The only real way to get Ferrari, Red Bull, Mercedes and perhaps Mclaren to consider the smaller teams is for the rest to get together and create a new formula of their own. F1 with 6 or 8 cars would not be attractive to TV, sponsors etc. If Mclaren could be persuaded to join the break away group it would really put some pressure on.

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