F1 2010 Entries

[Conceptual]

We are not talking about a few small pieces, but the designing and building of the entire car!

Nick Wirth's comments on Autosport http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76057 stipulate that they have a sophisticated and comprehensive digital design process which generated race winning cars in the past. The constructor principle in F1 was always about intellectual property rights and not about material manufacturing capabilities. Both are somewhat related because without inhouse manufacturing there is a significant risk of leaks of conceptual detail to competitors. But imo manufacturing has by no means been a legal requirement.

This part of your linked article (which is the same article that I posted on the last page) states:

Up until recently even my closest friends and family would have confirmed that I had no interest in making a return to designing Formula 1 cars," Wirth said.

"It's only with the exciting possibilities of cost constraints, with a refreshing new emphasis on design ingenuity and resource efficiency, that Formula 1 has now become a viable and fascinating new challenge for Wirth Research, and we will make sure it has all of the race-winning know-how that our previous cars have enjoyed.

That sounds an aweful lot like Wirth is going to design and build the car for Manor GP. Now, Manor may own the IP on this contracted design, but it is still a "customer car" by deffinition.

[modbaraban]

Up until recently even my closest friends and family would have confirmed that I had no interest in making a return to designing Formula 1 cars," Wirth said.

That sounds an aweful lot like Wirth is going to design and build the car for Manor GP.

That sounds an aweful lot like Wirth was caught by surprise to see his name in the list. Did Manor even lodge an entry? The whole story sounds like someone winning a lottery without byuing a ticket


Formula1 is getting more hilarious by the day.

[PNSD]

A lottery ticket of losing millions instead of winning!

[donskar]

FWIW, Georgio Pantano, in an Autosport interview, says Campos' F1 car will be built by Dallara -- it should be thoroughly competent (IMO).

[Conceptual]

Is this the F1 of the future?

Sub-contracted cars?

It reminds me of my post about the "Kit Car" era of F1. If these cars were designed and built for the purpose of modular assembly with universal mounting points for engine/gearbox, suspension, nosecone, rear wing and bodypanels, then you could theoretically see an entire grid of privateers running these Hybrid machines in Kit Car form.

I think this is what F2 should have become with the intent of the FOTA teams making a profit from the parts so as to keep employees, and add to the brand recognition of the manufacturers.

Seeing this in F1 in 2010 may turn out to be a dissapointment, especially since it is forcing FOTA away.

Maybe Max should move the 2010 Cap Regs to F2 for 2010, and add a 4 year extension to the basic 2009 regs, but with a fast path for F2's low cost parts.

That would solve everyones issues, I believe, but maybe Williams would object?

[donskar]

I'm sure Max and Bernie would like "spec" F1 cars run by shoestring operations happy to just be included in F1. Assuming revenues would not decline of course.

Are Max and Bernie so stupid/conceited/deluded/insane (pick any or all of the preceding) that they think fans, tracks, sponsors, and media will pay the same for a bunch of "no-names" as they will for FOTA?

The end game of the "spec car F1" (F3/4?) is Max lording it over a bunch of weak teams, doing anything he please without restraint, while Bernie pays them less, while taking in as much or more as he does now.

Can't possibly happen, right? Right? [-o<

[Conceptual]

I'm sure Max and Bernie would like "spec" F1 cars run by shoestring operations happy to just be included in F1. Assuming revenues would not decline of course.

Are Max and Bernie so stupid/conceited/deluded/insane (pick any or all of the preceding) that they think fans, tracks, sponsors, and media will pay the same for a bunch of "no-names" as they will for FOTA?

The end game of the "spec car F1" (F3/4?) is Max lording it over a bunch of weak teams, doing anything he please without restraint, while Bernie pays them less, while taking in as much or more as he does now.

Can't possibly happen, right? Right? [-o<

Right now the rules are utterly complex. Just the design restrictions alone are expensive when it comes to manhours. I tend to think that optimizing the car under restraint is where much of FOTA's cost lie. The act of actually "laying carbon" is rather simple with the proper machinery, thus inexpensive manhour wise.

I don't care where the new teams come from, but Luca better be savvy on this one. If 2009 has taught him anything, its that a team with a purpose, and a longer time to design/optimize/build can make his team the underdog.

His true brilliance may be in having Ferrari start on 2010 regs when they were published, and use his position in FOTA to stall the other teams' development start.