quote:

Maybe the Red Bull team can bring back their glory days but it won't be that easy.

As your history points out, if they are unable to, and it is hard for any team to these days, I'd be verrrrry concerned that Honda may bail on very short notice. Again.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
The failures of the last 20 years, Honda, Toyota, and BMW have spent combined, over a billion dollars with Button's one win all there is to show for the effort.

I find it hard to believe Ferrari can spend what they do to be competitive in F1 but success there seems to be what the whole company needs to exist. It's not hard to see that Mercedes has the resources to compete but before all the pieces fell into place, when they weren't winning with Schumacher and Rosberg, I think Merc wasn't that far from throwing in the towel.

The series would be so much more fun with more constructors and engine suppliers. When dominance is created by tenths of seconds, most can never be competitive. The technical and aesthetic brilliance of F1 is irresistible but the actual racing mostly makes me feel like a chump for caring.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:
I find it hard to believe Ferrari can spend what they do to be competitive in F1 but success there seems to be what the whole company needs to exist...

It's always been my suspicion that Ferrari's source of funds is not limited to what they generate as a car company. Didn't Mussolini support Alfa Romeo in the pre-war years, when Enzo drove for them? I doubt that support ended with the war, and national pride in Italy has always extended beyond the various Italian governments.

quote:

Originally posted by newtoSig765:
It's always been my suspicion that Ferrari's source of funds is not limited to what they generate as a car company.

You also have to remember, that under Bernie, Ferrari would also get a huge chunkof the payout regardless of where they placed in the championship.

That is one of the things motivating Ferrari's threat to pull out of F1 under the new ownership's desire to equalize payouts based solely on results

Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember hearing about that briefly last year.

Actually, it makes sense that Ferrari got something extra from Bernie. It's a good bet that, over the years, Ferrari has attracted more fans to the sport than any other name.

I've been a fan of Ferrari in F1 since the Phil Hill days.

This should help:

Here is one with a few more lines filled in. This doesn't include the significant sponsorship income they receive.
Ferrari's total is up around the $500 million mark, including money still paid by Phillip Morris even though tobacco sponsorship branding has been banned for years.

http://tsmsportz.com/f1/formula-1-prize-money/

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Here is one with a few more lines filled in...

Pretty graphic representation why the lesser teams are lesser, except for Williams who would don't get enough bang for their buck.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
...including money still paid by Phillip Morris even though tobacco sponsorship branding has been banned for years.

I have to admit, i'd thought that money had run out by now. It was one of the cleverer advertising ploys to get around advertising bans in modern autoracing.

Ferrari removed any mention of Marlboro on their cars, but left the Red/White Marlboro motif on the cars

That multimillion dollar annual payment shows the power of the association of those colors to their product. I didn't think much about that when the logo's first came off because Ferrari always was red with some white.
Maybe they pay Maurizio Arrivabene a few extra bucks to go puff on those Marlboros for the camera every now and then although he was an exec for the company before his Ferrari role.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
I didn't think much about that when the logo's first came off because Ferrari always was red with some white.

The logo was very distinct. The airbox started with the Barcode for Marlboro and then went to looking like a Marlboro pack without the lettering

https://www.motorlat.com/notas...raris-marlboro-in-f1

I remember Eddie Jordan’s Benson & Hedges cars would say “Bitten & Hisses” when they ran in a country that banned tobacco advertising.

quote:

“Bitten & Hisses”

My fav was always Buzzin Hornets, since it worked well with the V10 of the era.

I miss ol' Eddie. Hell, I miss the other Eddie (Irvine) as well. He was a hoot, and perfected the procedure for champagne by slamming the magnum base on the podium to give maximum spray.

And McLaren putting EAST on their West Cigarette sponsored car at some races.

Sounds like Ricciardo is the hot commodity at the moment. Few articles saying he's being courted by McLaren & Renault. Supposedly waiting to sign until he sees what Hamilton does.

Saw one saying Ricciardo was offered $20M from McLaren.

I think he's smart enough to not repeat Alonso's mistake. Ricciardo should stay where he is, unless he can take over for Hamilton. RBR is a strong team, getting stronger again, and I would hope Daniel is still considered Top Dog there. In my opinion, he's currently one of the top four drivers, all of whom are interchangeable on any given day, and deserves a better ride than McLaren or Renault.

Agreed, maybe in a season or two, if McLaren keeps improving. I don't think it would be a wise decision to jump ship for more $$, when the RBR is such a competitive car; though it remains to be seen how it is with a Honda PU in the back.

Also read today the Ferrari is possibly going to put Leclerc in the second Ferrari. The kid has impressed greatly. I would be fine with him in the Sauber or even a Haas for another season if the driver in the other Ferrari was Ricciardo. If it isn't Ric then I would like Leclerc in the other Ferrari.

If Raikkonen doesn't get a seat for 2019, I think Ricciardo or Leclerc would make a good driver for the team.

Sounds like Leclerc is most likely to get the seat. He looked pretty good so far this weekend too.
Kimi, not so much. Vettel was close in the first Q3 run but ratty the second one. Still not too far off on race pace and starting third, anything could happen.
Red Bulls are starting on harder tires and should be able to run a lot longer before they pit. Maybe that will shake things up.
Alonso seems kind of mello considering, philosophical about the whole situation. Maybe he already knows what he's doing next year and doesn't care.