Is Formula 1 the hardest sport in the world to enter?
Roar Guru
By Tristan Rayner, 22 Feb 2010 Tristan Rayner is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- 2010, Adrian Newey, Bernie Ecclestone, Brawn, campos, F1, fia, Formula 1, Formula One, Melbourne, Mercedes, motor sports, Motorsport, Red Bull, red bull racing, Schumacher, USF1, Webber
The 2010 Formula 1 season kicks off in just under three weeks time in Bahrain. The off season has generated its usual round of rumours, threats and innuendo, but this year more than ever, there has been intrigue and speculation.
There are a number of aspects of the 2010 season contributing to the off season speculation.
The return of seven time world champion Michael Schumacher as a 41 year old, racing not for Ferrari as expected, but for the rebranded Brawn (and newly German team) Mercedes. Good old German efficiency has many touting Schumacher to win a few races this season even if he needs a walking stick to get to the car.
This season will see the return to true Grand Prix racing with the refuelling ban introduced to sweep away the complicated fuel-stop strategies which have seen races won in the pits rather than on the track. Barcelona, which is well known to all the drivers, can be as exciting as watching a Kevin Rudd speech.
However, the development of four new teams to the F1 mix has highlighted the tremendous barriers of entry to the sport.
No other sport requires a couple of hundred aerodynamics geniuses – or at least people who know how to copy the next Adrian Newey design.
The technical infrastructure and finance required to get going from scratch is close is insurmountable. Whilst the irrepressible (and very rich) Sir Richard Branson has carefully forged the new Virgin Racing team, and the Malaysian backed and based Lotus team look to be going forward, the same cannot be said for the Campos-Meta F1 team or USF1, a United States venture headed in part by general F1 know-it-all and Channel Ten’s “own” Peter Windsor.
Campos, who have the late Ayrton Senna’s nephew Bruno Senna as a driver to try and gain some publicity have struggled to raise the required funding needed to compete this season.
With rumours swirling regarding the team, Jose Maria Carabante a Spanish entrepreneur has taken the helm and will likely change the name of the outfit before it starts. Campos are yet to hit the track – and will probably be running something that’ll be lapped by the second lap.
Meanwhile, USF1 have admitted they might miss the first four races before entering at Barcelona in round 5. USF1 team director Ken Anderson spoke to The New York Times and said the team is seeking permission to start late. They haven’t tested yet either, and rumours are the NASCAR conversion just isn’t working, given the F1 tracks have right turns.
Bernie Ecclestone has floated the idea of missing races being a possibility, whilst the FIA have issued a statement saying that any teams missing a race would cop a penalty.
Classic F1 stuff: Bernie doing anything he can to make money, the FIA reading from whichever rulebook is convenient, and the love/hate relationship between the US and F1 continues.
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James said | February 22nd 2010 @ 10:01am | Report comment
These teams were doomed from the start. They came in at a time when the budget cap was trying to be implemented, so they thought they could compete on an equal footing. As usual, F1 couldn’t agree on cost cutting, the budget cap was dropped, and these teams had to go to their backers and explain that.
The biggest problem was these teams, especially US F1, greatly underestimated the cost of a completely new startup F1 team.
Marshall said | February 22nd 2010 @ 2:45pm | Report comment
US F1 was always a flawed concept. Having two factories on two continents, one in America, was never gonna work let alone keep the budget manageable. The American motorsport dollar is tied up in Nascar and Indycar so sponsorship was always gonna be near impossible to find.
Tristan Rayner said | February 23rd 2010 @ 7:41pm | Report comment
James,
The budget cap idea had some merit but the potential for a two-tier system was all kinds of wrong for the actual practicalities of it.
Marshall,
Ah the US market and Formula 1. I’m just not sure it will ever catch on despite the obvious attraction for Bernie and the manufacturers. It’s funny you know, when doing some research for this article I found more than one blog post or opinion that went something like “Why is F1 so boring compared to NASCAR?”.
That question doesn’t make sense to me either btw.
James W said | February 23rd 2010 @ 7:46pm | Report comment
I agree. NASCAR can be awful It’s like Americans bagging cricket but they love baseball. What’s the difference? F1 has a core supporter base in the US – IIRC the first GP at Indy in 2000 got a record crowd in the sport – but F1 burnt some series bridges. Who could forget the six car race!
PS: Good to see some F1 live in Roar of the Crowds.