FIA makes fresh appeal for new entrants to F1

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: The FIA has invited prospective new F1 teams to enter the championship from next season or 2017.

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Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.

FIA opens Formula One grid to prospective new entrants (FIA)

"The overall long-term interests of the Championship will determine which candidate is selected."

Maria De Villota F1 crash: Family to seek compensation (BBC)

"The family said they would analyse the report 'to evaluate the next legal steps to claim the corresponding civil compensation from those responsible'."

We will do whatever is needed to make sure India is back. There are no added challenges to the event. (The Times of India)

"We will do whatever is needed to make sure India is back. There are no added challenges to the event."

F1 Strategy Group has 'no strategy', claims Manor team (Autosport)

"Refuelling and customer cars are not strategies. A strategy articulates a road map of how you are going to get somewhere.."

Magnussen: Something wrong if Vandoorne isn’t in F1 (Crash)

"Stoffel is doing a really good job and he deserves to get to Formula One. I think there's something wrong if he doesn't get to Formula One."

Valtteri's Monoaco GP Blog (Williams)

"We were never expecting Monaco to be one of our best tracks, but we never expected our performance to be this bad."

Why Michelin would be good for Formula 1 (Motorsport Magazine)

"It was with no great surprise that I learned of Ecclestone’s lack of enthusiasm for a Michelin return. The financial aspects apart, it is clear that the company has no interest in constructing tyres ‘dumbed down’ in the mistaken belief of the powers-that-be that this creates the sort of motor racing the public wants to see."

Mercedes' Monaco GP call explained and why data is king in F1 (Sky)

"Even around Monaco, 6s per lap would be enough to get you overtaken on-track against a grippy new option-tyred Ferrari in the remaining eight laps."

FIA will not ban F1 alcohol sponsorship - Jean Todt (ESPN)

"The use of advertising for alcohol is not linked to the FIA."

A near-miss in Monaco (Joe Saward)

"Where are Lawrence, Jolie, Theron, Cotillard and Johansson? Surely F1 can do better than a bit part player in the Kardashians?"

Tweets

Snapshot

Nissan has announced that one of the GT-R LM NISMO LMP1 cars it has entered for this year’s Le Mans 24 Hours will use a special livery designed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the pole position lap driven in the car by F1 racer Mark Blundell. The 1,100bhp machine hit a top speed of 366kph (227mph) despite that year’s Le Mans race being the first in which two chicanes had been added to the Mulsanne Straight.

The number 21 car will be raced by Tsugio Matsuda, Lucas Ordonez and Mark Shulzhitskiy.

Comment of the day

The stewards had surprisingly little to say about the crash which turned the Monaco Grand Prix on its head:

Why did we only learn about Lotus’s evidence on Wednesday? How about a bit of communication from the so-called FIA and stewards, beyond the useless ‘Car 33 caused a collision so we’re giving him a grid penalty’?
@Bullfrog

Find details of all the major investigations and penalties so far this year:

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Chris, Hughes, Silverkeg and Danny11!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is via the contact form or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Kimi Raikkonen was on course for a third consecutive win in the 2005 season ten years ago today when a flat-spotted tyre destroyed his suspension as he began his final lap in the lead of the European Grand Prix.

That handed victory at the Nurburgring to Fernando Alonso.

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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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64 comments on “FIA makes fresh appeal for new entrants to F1”

  1. I can’t wait to drive that GT-R LM NISMO.

    In GT6 that is.

    1. Somewhat confusing article suggests the car set a pole position 25 years ago, you should have driven it by now.

  2. So is ART (currently GP2 (with Vandoorne), GP3 (with Ocon), DTM) making a bid for entry? They retracted their 2011-entry when Pirelli was chosen over Michelin, as ART is a Michelin-partner. Co-owner Nicolas Prost at least said “it would make sense to consider to go to F1”.

    1. @crammond Perhaps ART will be a McLaren-Honda junior team? Magnussen & Vandoorne for 2016? With Ocon moving up to GP2? McLaren-Honda do need to run more engines and gather more data..

      1. @crammond and @fastiesty Isn’t Ocon a Mercedes driver right now?

        1. Yes, he is.

          1. So, it would make sense that we would probably see Ocon driving for another team in GP2 if Art does become a McLaren b team.

            Maybe Art could buy Manor entry (or something like that) if they are really interested in this. I don’t know if Manor can survive much more without running a Ferrari driver, like it was doing some time ago.

            But yeah, it would be great to see Magnussen back and Vandoorne driving alongside him.

          2. @corix Well ART or DAMS are the top GP2 teams.. Ocon was almost in alongside Gasly at DAMS so that sounds like where he’d go. But Mercedes could also nominate him as F1 reserve if Wehrlein doesn’t have a superlicence in 2016.

    2. I have been wondering something similar, McLaren have a real predicament on their hands with two skilled world champions who are signed up for at least 2 years at McLaren and two junior drivers who they really need to get into F1 soon (K-Mag and Vandoorne). I think I remember reading an article a few months back that Ron Dennis was putting pressure on Honda to provide engines to another team so they could place their junior drivers somewhere, ART would make for the perfect junior team.

      Oh and by the way, the co-owner of ART is Nicolas Todt (Jean Todt’s son), not Nicolas Prost (Prost’s son, who currently races in Formula E)!

      1. @polo

        Oh and by the way, the co-owner of ART is Nicolas Todt (Jean Todt’s son), not Nicolas Prost (Prost’s son, who currently races in Formula E)!

        At times like these I wish there was an edit-button. You are perfectly right, thanks. Probably a slip of thought.

  3. Manor is nowhere to see. Mostly of the times there isn’t even one image of them during the race. Bernie don’t like them… and so on! But Graeme Lowdon sure knows what is talking. Great article!!

    1. I had just assumed it was because they were never fighting with anyone and were just driving around on their own (as the race director usually just cuts to action – we don’t tend to see much of Sauber/Force India/McLaren etc. until they start battling with another car either).

    2. @key75 – Pretty sad that Graeme Lowdon makes more sense in one article than Bernie, the Strategy Group and the FIA combined. No wonder Bernie doesn’t seem to like them much. The points Lowdon makes in the article are straightforward common sense and the obviously responsible and logical way for any proper venture to proceed. Someone in charge should be following logic like that instead of acting like writers for Bennie Hill.

      1. @bullmello Yeah! I always thought the Strategic Group took decisions a little to fast (when there were some decisions taken lol) without a clear goal defined! Right now, they decided to go back to refuel, they want cars faster and so on. But they don’t tell you how it’s gonna be achievable or what’s the future interest to take that direction. It seems something decided in a pub, with a bunch of “friends” throwing ideas to the pot! haha

    3. Indeed. Strategy Group is acting like a “quick fix” Group.

  4. I like the Nissan.

    Quite similar to the Toyota paint scheme. :/

    1. f1 sucks, no one in their right mind would enter it at this point. the haas team chose the wrong f1 formula to enter, haas should have bought a midfield team in the v10-18 era, like redbull did, and invest the way redbull did. good luck to them but, dont expect much from them or anyone entering f1, honda this year has shown how difficult this limited testing era is. maybe some rich philanphropers will enter year old chassis like Manor, just to make a bit of investment money, and then drain the team until they are bankrupt, that is the only type of teams i see that might take up Bernies offer.

  5. Speaking of potential new entries, what ever happened to that Forza Rossa project?

    1. @stigsemperfi

      That was with Colin Kolles, who then went on to buy the near-bankrupt Caterham and go fully bankrupt with an F1-team again, after having already done so with HRT before and nearly with MF1/Spyker (which was baught just in time by Vijay Malya and renamed to Force India). However, Kolles has gone back to the rumanian partners of Forza Rossa, so maybe there´s a fourth chance for him.

      1. Kolles isn’t a bankruptcy merchant, he’s Bernie’s go-to Winston Wolfe, sent in to manage broken teams on the minimum amount of money possible to ensure their competition and fulfilment of the contracts to supply cars to race.

        The whole reason why he’s associated with these failures is because he’s sent in with no money and a lot of edicts saying ‘keep this team running as long as possible, even if you fire all the staff’. The money behind the teams often dries up, but the team treads water till the end of the season.

  6. Simon (@weeniebeenie)
    29th May 2015, 1:07

    Anyone thinking about joining F1 right now that isn’t a manufacturer with huge funds needs their head testing to be honest. You’d have to crackers to throw your hat in the ring right now.

    Lowdon makes a great point about the latest plans.

    1. Customer Ferrari, for team Kardashian maybe, lot’s of sponsor income, and lots of TV coverage for the back of the grid.

      1. Not sure if it’s still running around, but didn’t Paris Hilton own a Moto team?

        1. Truth stranger than fiction ?

    2. my guess is someone who will run a “customer car” team would be the only one that might be interested @weeniebeenie

    3. +1
      We will see next year if Gene Hass has got the new entrant thing right; if so then hopefully that will gve prospective teams / constructors a good idea of how to practically enter Formula 1.
      Its unfortunate that the proposal of budget caps get snubbed by the big teams, which to an extent is understandable, but if Formula 1 can’t be sustainable for new teams, it will never be an attractive prospect for a sensible team owner.

  7. Link to video of Blundell’s pole lap. Looks like an absolute handful. I can’t believe he was able to hang on to that thing, judging by how much he’s sawing at the wheel.

    I remember reading somewhere that Blundell said it was an ‘unsanctioned’ lap. The Nissan crew, fearing an engine detonation after a couple of wide open laps, had requested that he pit – but he knew that he could squeeze a little bit more out of it and blew by the pit entrance.

    1. Hard to believe (now) that the tyres were still capable of a pole lap.

    2. The Wikipedia page says the wastegate was jammed the entire lap, giving them 100 extra bhp, but probably not making it any easier to drive!

    3. That thing is so twitchy under braking, nuts considering the only braking points at Le Mans are from 220+ mph. They didn’t have ABS or TC then right?

  8. Anyone getting their hopes up re Fifa-FiaFom similarities should prepare to be disappointed, the sad fact is that F1 is being stripped of far more of its income than football is but due to the cozy little deal between Bernie and his buddy Max it’s all legal, unless there is proof that the original deal was corrupt.

    1. The EU might get involved on the grounds of unfair competition if they find the Strategy Group is effectively a cartel.

      1. Yeah someone (can’t remember their name) pointed that out on Ted’s Monaco Qualifying Notebook. While it would be really good for the politics of the sport to have a FIFA style situation, I’m not sure whether I would prefer something like that to take place behind the scenes just because F1 could do without massive political controversy right now.

        1. That was Joe Saward.

    2. For corruption charges maybe but for cartel etc no. Also the FIA and FOM already violated the European Commissions clearances. Last time the EU got involved they ask for clear separation of duties. Basically FOM doing the commercial thing and FIA the rules with none of the two meddling in the business of the other and collaborating.
      But the FIA took stocks from FOM and also made a deal with FOM to get a say in rules threw their 6 votes in the strategy Group. Both of those things are violations of the EU instruction.

  9. Nigel Roebuck (motorsport ) has been following and commentating on F1 professionally since 1971, his comments on tyres are worth reading and to my mind correct. However I imagine there are quite a few people who think the tyres did what the were designed to do at Monaco and produced a win for a slower driver.

  10. I have no time for civil action from family members, particularly when it relates to obvious risk in a dangerous sport. “The family said they would analyse the report ‘to evaluate the next legal steps to claim the corresponding civil compensation from those responsible’.

    Pure garbage.

    1. Yes and no, sure F1 is risky and errors have serious consequences, what we don’t know is whether the accident was caused by driver error or a technical fault, if the former, I agree with you @dimsim, but if the latter then a lawsuit may be the only way to get at the truth and ensure action is taken to prevent it ever happening again, no matter how unlikely it may seem. From my uninformed position there seem to be parallels between the accidents of De Villota and Bianchi in that both were accelerating whilst trying to brake, if there is a common cause and the possibility was known but ignored for commercial reasons then a lawsuit is absolutely justified.

      1. ColdFly F1 (@)
        29th May 2015, 7:25

        @hohum, from what I recall they tested the car and concluded that nothing was wrong with it (used in the next race). But they stayed short of calling it ‘driver error’.
        Just my recollection though.

  11. I remember Kimi’s suspension braking in 2005 so well – and my exasperation at the terminally stupid decision to keep going on that tire… but just look at how much more aggressive the driving was then – today’s F1 is a pale shadow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw-USwauS9s

    1. @maciek
      Actually it was only after Kimi’s accident that the rules were changed to allow for changing damaged tires. Until that point, all tire changes were banned except for changing punctured tires or to wet weather tires. So the accident was a result of the rules at the time, well thought through by the FIA as usual.
      Perhaps they could still have changed tires despite the rules but they would have received a penalty in doing so.

  12. fully agree with that COTD. Its a disgrace that the stewards don’t give any information to support their decisions.

    1. ColdFly F1 (@)
      29th May 2015, 7:28

      @bascb, “we want to teach the young guy a lesson” wouldn’t have sounded very professional.

      ‘racing incident’ to me, and that is still consistent with Max being to blame (he mounted the the other car in the end.

      1. yes, I would also agree. Especially at Monaco, there is not much that I would qualify as anything more really.

    2. @bascb I agree in principal, but on this occasion did they really need to say more. It was apparent that Max simply ran up the back of the Lotus. Of course it’s right that they check the data to see that nothing more complex happened and rule out any strange or unlawful behaviour of the car which was hit but in the absence of that then stating that it was simply Max causing a collision.

      Had they decided that Grosjean was to be penalised and Max was not then I can see that they would need to provide evidence to back up what would otherwise appear outwardly to be a strange decision.

      1. Hm, well, I don’t think that is right (if you meant that in this case they did NOT need to say more) @jerseyf1.

        Would have been enough to make is short:
        – telemetry showed driver RG braked later than previous laps
        – driver MV braked later and hit car in front.
        Penalty for driver MV – driver coming from behind has responsibility for not running into car in front.

        With maybe a bit of extra details added or something like that. It would have prevented the “Grosjean braktetested me” humbug.

  13. Three cheers for Bernie. Hope the race comes back to India soon.

    1. Probably at the expense of Canada or Spa…

      1. Why? Can Spain not be dropped, since the track isn’t popular with the fans due to lack of action and the recent ban on Alcohol based drinks is only going to reinforce that image. Or Bahrain maybe.

        I would hate to see Spa/Canada being dropped but I also want F1 in India. Fingers crossed.

  14. Who would come into F1 with Bernie still there? Surely Todt is looking for someone else to tell CVC they’ll join when they get rid of him.

    1. Todt has no say on the matter. The EU-enforced breakup mandated that the FIA has no involvement in the commercial handling of the sport.

      1. This is the FIA inviting a new entrant @optimaximal so of course Todt has a say. He’ll make a fresh start with Bernie’s successor and get rid of Charlie too. Then there’ll be a French GP, among other things.

        1. @lockup I meant he has no say on who CVC employ or anything to do with the commercial handling of the sport.

          Firstly, that was done away with when Mosley sold to Bernie for 100 years.
          Secondly, anything like that would be a ‘confrontation’. Jean Todt doesn’t do confrontation (at all).

          1. Todt doesn’t do confrontation? I dunno about that @optimaximal, ask Ron! Anyway it’s a political move to create the opportunity, not Todt deciding. Bernie has made F1 extremely unattractive for a new team, don’t you think? Losing audience, poor value for sponsors, so much of the money and power going to a few top teams, 2-tier championship in the offing, Bernie badmouthing the small teams and the engines…

            I am only guessing of course but who would want to start a new team at the bottom of that heap? Well anyone who might would much rather do it with Bernie gone, like Audi. So they’re quite likely to mention that fact to CVC, I reckon, and if they don’t Jean kindly will on their behalf :)

          2. @lockup I don’t disagree with your overall opinion (it’s mostly correct), just making the point that Jean Todt cannot legitimately have a say in how CVC & Bernie conduct their business with regards to the commercial side of the sport.

            Also, he sold the FIA’s right to solely govern the sport in exchange for Bernie throwing him some pocket change – he’d rather everyone ‘just agree on a solution’, but of course, that’ll never happen.

            I’m not sure what you’re insinuating with the Ron Dennis mention.

          3. With Ron vs Todt I am thinking 2007 @optimaximal. Yeah I am not saying legitimate, just motive.

          4. @lockup I suggest you look up who was in charge of the FIA in 2007.

          5. @optimaximal I suggest you look up who dishonestly linked the dossier with the emails, and had a pitlane confrontation over it.

  15. Fikri Harish (@)
    29th May 2015, 8:22

    Well anyone who’s played enough GT would recognize that lovely Nissan livery.

    This year’s Le Mans is like a blast from the past isn’t it? Porsche and Nissan is going classic with their liveries and the new Ford GT is slated to make an appearance somehow.
    Can’t wait.

  16. petebaldwin (@)
    29th May 2015, 11:27

    Why would any potential new teams want to join now? Last time, 4 teams joined, 3 made it to the grid and we’re now left with 1 who nearly went out of business, get no TV air-time, are in a class of their own at the back of the grid, get next to nothing from FOM and are constantly criticised by the man who basically runs F1.

    I honestly cannot see how this could be appeal to anyone unless they have a specific plan to tie in with another team like Haas. Virgin/Marussia/Manor, Lotus/Caterham & HRT have shown that it doesn’t work and until something changes which reduces costs or provides the teams near the bottom with more money (fair sharing of money or more TV time), it’s not going to be any better for anyone joining now.

  17. Sorry for this random thought, but this is what I thought of when Max hit Romain.
    I miss the Williams BMW…

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fIXiuEyiNU
    Brasil 2001, Montoya was leading when this happened. Jos can’t judge Max too harshly!

    More footage and race highlights
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aETKfgj3-GQ

    1. Apologies! I meant to post this on the Grosjean article. Can you remove this? I’ll post it where it should be.

  18. I was hoping for Andretti Autosport to enter according to Mario. The customer cars are there for the future. ut as far as funding goes, he is busy with other series.

  19. I was hoping for Andretti Autosport to enter according to Mario. The customer cars are there for the future. But as far as funding goes, he is busy with other series.

Comments are closed.