It’s a terrible state of affairs that two of the eleven Formula One teams are no longer with us. It’s even worse that they pulled the plug before the end of the seaso,n leaving Sauber to achieve ninth place by virtue of attrition, knowing full well that it was neither earned nor deserved.
I’m sure they’ll still take it; I would. The money is desperately needed, as the signing of Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr prove. I won’t even mention the fact that ditching Geido van der Garde and Adrian Sutil open the team up to legal prosecution, suffice to say the team’s desperation is sadly evident.
Teams from Colin Kolles and Gene Haas remain speculative; little more than a nucleus around which solid foundations are yet to be incubated. Even if they do eventuate and the field returns to 22, how will F1 look beyond the symptoms and treat this issue at the root?
We have the benefit of already knowing how to do this. The big teams will insist F1 is only the spectacle it is because of their involvement, while we all know the opposite is true. The prestige that a cupboard full of F1 championships gives manufacturers like Mercedes and Ferrari can’t be bought (although, I wouldn’t put it past previous FIA administrators).
Their arguments are tiresome, also:
If you can’t afford to race in F1, don’t race in F1.
The argument seems simple, until you consider that rising operating costs and unpredictable regulations make the sport unpalatable to those looking to establish a new team. It takes years of experience, hard work and determination to be the best—even in the face of humiliating failure—to make a mid-level F1 team feasible, let alone back-markers. It’s a sucker’s bet, really.
You should expect to lose money if you want to race in F1.
Guess what happens when people continuously lose truckloads of money doing something. They stop doing it, and leave. That’s what we’re trying to prevent, so I don’t find this argument particularly salient either.
Although Red Bull will finish second this year, their dominance over the past six seasons is undeniable. They are a rare case of a new operation becoming extraordinarily successfully at a very fast clip. The introduction of the Torro Rosso squad might have been cause for consternation, however they remain a distinct mid-level team. There’s a clear divide between the “top” team and the support team; the most talented drivers, engineers, strategists are promoted to the big show at the pointy end of the grid.
There is a clear path for progression, and the performance gap between the front runners and the also-rans remains in place. Indeed, it gives teams with a strong racing pedigree like Williams a benchmark against which to judge their performance.
Torro Rosso is the manifestation of Red Bull’s commitment not only to F1 but to Motorsport in general. With the retirement of Mark Webber last year, the promise of their investment finally came to pass, with both of their main drivers boasting graduate diplomas from the Red Bull School of Awesome Driving.* Although TR are toying with the idea of retaining the services of Jean-Eric Vergne, it too will soon take up its rightful place as a training ground for promising young drivers.
When Dietrich Mateshitz parts with enough of his fuzzy water money to go racing with more conviction than the Ferrari group, we have to ask ourselves whether adopting the Red Bull model is such a bad idea for the main teams as well.
I know the idea of a “three car” series is on everyone’s lips at the moment. However, I’m talking about filling the grid with teams that can experiment with signing exciting young talent, be bold with their designs and take brave racing strategies to the track knowing that the parent team guarantees their solvency.
There’s still plenty of room for the Force Indias and Saubers of the world, but at least we have a plan B.
- Not a real school, or if it is I wouldn’t expect much more than a four-pack of Red Bull Zero for your efforts.
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