19/12/2013
FEATURE BY MIKE LAWRENCE
A reader once criticised me for referring to Team Lotus as 'Fake Lotus'. After the FIA came up with their daft proposals, the guys at Lotus came up with their own hilarious list. I am sure that Colin Chapman would have approved, I will never again refer to Lotus as 'Fake'.
They are also skating on financial thin ice, just like Lotus always used to do.
Double points for the final race is supposed to produce a TV cliffhanger for the organisers who anyway pay a premium to stage the first, and last, races in a season. All such ideas are proposed by a sub-committee of team representatives.
We can guess that Team Lotus disagrees, but that Force India is on board. No sooner had Sergio Perez announced that he was taking his considerable talents to Force India than he was publicly supporting the proposals, though I am not sure how many people were desperately awaiting his opinion. (I mean 'talents' in the Biblical sense: hard currency.)
That great American President, Harry S. Truman, had a plaque on his desk which read: 'The Buck Stops Here'. Everyone in authority should have one.
Having driven some teams to the edge with an unnecessary new engine formula, the FIA is now inviting a new team to join F1 under a 2015 budget cap, which has yet to be decided. As Inspector Clouseau once said, 'There is a time to laugh, and a time not to laugh, and this is not one of them.'
There is a maximum of 24 places on the grid and 22 of those are currently filled. I cannot help but wonder if Jean Todt is hedging his bets against at least one current team failing.
The last time the door was open was after banks squandered our money and made us pay for their incompetence. The FIA (then led by Max Mosley) carefully scrutinised applications and approved the risible US F1 bid.
Another that passed the eagle-eyed scrutiny of the FIA was the team that finally became known as HRT F1. To be fair, at the time Spain seemed to be prospering, it was not widely known that, since it had joined the Eurozone, it had been like a teenager given use of a credit card with no cap.
I was sceptical of the Spanish bid and expressed my misgivings in this column. My reasoning was simple, HRT had outsourced the design of its car to Dallara. Dallara has become a very important maker of production racing cars. It also ran in 78 Grands Prix, 1988-92, and scored 15 points. The company gave up F1 and turned to F3 in 1993. It began with few orders, but ended the year driving Reynard and Ralt from the F3 market, a most impressive feat.
Nobody has been successful in production racing cars and F1 since 1972/3. The disciplines, the mind set, are completely different. Dallara makes very good cars, within a budget, it does not have an F1 mentality.
Where is the elusive 12th team to come from? I guess, I have no inside knowledge, but I suspect that overtures have been made to the FIA from more than one prospective bidder. Why else would an announcement, giving dates and fees, have been announced?
Prodrive made a bid for the 2010 open door and, as well as its WRC successes, Prodrive is the technical force in Aston Martin which is mainly owned by Middle East money.
There have been rumours of Toyota returning, but with their team branded as 'Lexus'. These rumours have been denied, but what value has a denial? Honda is to return, with McLaren, in 2015. Infiniti, which is Renault/Nissan's luxury car branch, and a direct rival to Lexus, is a title sponsor of Red Bull Racing, which uses Renault engines.
Toyota competed in F1 between 2002 and 2009 and while it gained 13 podiums, the exercise was not considered a success. There was also the matter of industrial espionage involving Ferrari data purloined from a subcontractor. Charges were brought against several leading members of Toyota Motorsport though these have not come to court. Team Lexus would begin with a clean sheet.
There is one other point to consider: next year's F1 cars will be hybrids and Toyota's Prius range both pioneered, and has led, the domestic hybrid market. Rolls-Royce has built a hybrid (to deafening silence from customers) and that used a Toyota petrol engine, even though R-R is owned by BMW.
Toyota's experience was that success in F1 is not guaranteed, no matter how much money you throw at it. The last new F1 team to win races was Stewart GP (later Jaguar, now Red Bull). As Paul Stewart Racing, the team had been preparing for years through Formula Three and Formula 3000. It had built up its personnel and equipment and had established links with gifted young drivers.
BMW had links with Williams and then bought Sauber. Robert Kubica even won the 2008 Canadian GP. Like some other manufacturers, BMW not only faced a changed market after 2008, but also a freeze on engine specifications.
There is also the matter of perception. It is hard for a company to justify Formula One to its shareholders at a time of economic downturn. Renault sold the team which bore its name while maintaining a presence as a seller of engines. Mercedes-Benz has faced incessant criticism from the powerful German auto workers union. A withdrawal by Ferrari is unthinkable and would probably involve the Vatican.
Some of the aftershock of the 2008 banking crisis has dissipated, but there is another factor: endurance racing. It is growing year on year and there are even hints that Ferrari may return to Le Mans in 2014.
Porsche is back in full force, led by Mark Webber, and Porsche is the benchmark in endurance racing. Everyone wants to beat Porsche, just as everyone wants to win Le Mans.
In endurance racing there are several categories and each is important. Forget Ferrari, which is being flirty, in 2014 we will have Porsche, Aston Martin, McLaren, Bentley, Peugeot, Audi and Toyota. I reckon that trumps Pastor Maldonado moving his money around.
Endurance racing does not have the instant gratification of Formula One, but then cricket does not have the instant gratification of football, yet cricket is the second most watched game in the world. A Test match may last five days, six if there has been heavy rain.
Le Mans has been called a 'public holiday laid on by the French for the British.' About 50,000 Brits go to Le Mans every year, which is more than the attendance at many a Grand Prix. There is nothing to beat seeing a racing car at full chat at night with the headlights stabbing the darkness and the brakes glowing white hot.
The FIA has advertised for a 12th team to join Formula One. It will be interesting to see if there are any fishes nibbling at the bait and, if there are, who they are.
Part of the bait is that there will be a budget cap for 2015, but details of this have not been finalised, nor will they be finalised by 5th January, 2014, when initial bids have to be received. The budget cap will be decided by a sub-committee, such as the one that decided that Abu Dhabi shall be twice as important as Monaco, Montreal, Monza, Silverstone or Spa.
Am I alone in placing little faith in such a committee? There will be some very bright people there, but it will be a committee. A camel is a horse designed by a committee. Here is another definition: the overall intelligence of a committee is the IQ of the dumbest person present less one IQ point for every member.
Learn more about Mike and check out his previous features, here