Penske, Andretti Green contemplating jump to F1?
If you think the domination of Brawn GP has shaken things up in Formula One, that's nothing compared to what could be in store for the F1 grid in the next year or two. While the FIA toys with budget caps and all manner of new regulations, several prospective teams are lining up at the potential of entering the field at a reduced cost. Following earlier reports that Lola, Aston Martin and several current GP2 teams are toying with the idea of jumping into top-tier grand prix racing, Bernie Ecclestone hinted at a press conference during this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix that not one, but two American entries are in the works.
Now the first we know to be the USF1/USGPE team being prepared for next year by Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor. That squad recently announced the hiring of veteran NASCAR and NASA aerodynamicist Dr. Eric Warren to help design their car and run the team. But reports now suggest that either Penske or Andretti Green Racing could be contemplating taking the leap as well. Both outfits were recently competing in IndyCars and the American Le Mans Series, Penske adding NASCAR to its list and Andretti Green having jumped into A1GP after pulling out of ALMS. And both names are familiar to the world of F1 racing, Mario and Michael Andretti having each raced in F1 and Penske having fielded a team there in the '70s. But Formula One is a different game altogether from the sport which Penske and the Andrettis knew in their day, and the jump would constitute a serious leap for either squad. Stay tuned for more.
[Source: F1-Live | Image: Robert Laberge/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jakub 5:34PM (5/11/2009)
It would be interesting to see F1 cars from these teams, but if the main Constructors quit, it's just not worth watching anymore if all of the great drivers, Massa, Raikonnen, Hamilton, Kovolainen, Alonso and Kubica lose their positions as drivers.
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pmiddle5 8:39PM (5/11/2009)
I dont think anyone is going to let them go without drives for very long.
CHINO 5:39PM (5/11/2009)
Cool...but I'm still uninterested if the factory programs leave.
Why does the world need one more overly-regulated and homogenized (also see castrated) racing series? F1 has always been about R&D, lots of testing and big name manufacturers. With the way its going, F1 will be a whole bunch of motorsports teams running the same chassis with a single engine supplier. Sounds to me like Penske and Andretti Green they'd be leaving the IRL for...a new Euro IRL
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audi_arena 5:43PM (5/11/2009)
I don't believe that everyone will just stop watching F1 if the main constructors do boycott a season; I think this is a pretty weak threat. Further, I think these whiners need to acknowlege what is the best decision for the sport. I'm a fan of F1 as well but lets face it; it's popularity leaves a lot to be desired. I still see NASCAR every time I turn on speed channel or espn 2, despite it being a boring and inferior league.
F1 needs to do whatever it can to bring more people to appreciate and love this motorsport for what it is, and if more teams and competition help then so be it.
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ermax18 2:16PM (5/12/2009)
SPEED TV is partly owned by NASCAR. That is why you see nothing but NASCAR on it. There is less and less good coverage on Speed. They have almost a 3 month delay before they air Speed World Challenge races now. And they are taking the two 50min races and cramming them into a 1 hour highlight show. What a joke. But they air Grand-Am live most of the time. But guess who owns Grand-Am.... NASCAR. Go figure. Speed TV has also banned complaining on the official Speed TV forum. If you complain about NASCAR coverage you get banned from the forum. They don't care what the customers wants. Then they claim that the ratings on the NASCAR shows prove that that the public like the NASCAR coverage. But someone who works for Nelson looked up the details on their account and said they only pay for a overview rating or something like that. It rates the network as a whole. He said they don't get ratings on individual shows. He said it costs big bucks for individual ratings. So basically Speed TV is lying when they say the ratings show that we want NASCAR 24/7. They don't even pay for these rating.
Speed TV/NASCAR SUCKS!! I am not saying I want 24/7 F1 either. There are so many forms of motorsports that could be covered. We need diversity. It is amazing to me that they cut into the 12 hours of Sebring coverage to cover a NASCAR practice session. Come on, a NASCAR practice session has priority over one of the most important races in the world?!?!
Sorry to rant. :)
IOMTT 9:34AM (5/12/2009)
Last I checked, F1 pulls far more viewership than NASCAR globally. You are correct if you only look at North America.
dukeisduke 5:45PM (5/11/2009)
I'd like to see everyone jump from F1 and start a new series. OR, overthrow Max and Bernie.
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Sam 5:54PM (5/11/2009)
How do you start a new series when the one man's approval you need help runs F1?
hashiryu 6:01PM (5/11/2009)
Doesn't need his approval.
why not the LS2LS7? 6:24PM (5/11/2009)
He owns F1, he doesn't just run it. And you sure as hell need his approval to overthrow him.
ale 9:45PM (5/11/2009)
Actually, that idea is a lot more plausible than you may think... in the history of racing, that exact scenario has happened before...
davido 5:47PM (5/11/2009)
The current F1 is closer to what it was in Penske's day than in Andretti's championship year. The cars were still normally aspirated, used front and rear wings and the majority of them used 3 liter Cosworth V-8's.
Andretti won his championship in a ground effects car with a Cosworth engine before ground effects were banned and flat bottoms were mandated.
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Franz 6:04PM (5/11/2009)
I know a lot of people will not agree with me, but here's my two cents:
I've been watching Formula One since the 80s. It has always been the pinnacle of motorsport... the best drivers, the best machines, the most innovative technology that the brightest minds could develop, and the best engineers could build. That's why for me it's been almost painful to watch what F1 has become in recent years: it's slowly being reduced to a spec series... F1 is slowly being neutered.
I understand the need for cost saving measures, but I'm sorry; something is drastically wrong when all of a sudden you cut costs, lower engine revs, ban refueling mid race & tire warmers, restrict aero and all of a sudden all these potential new teams are crawling out of the woodwork because F1 is suddenly on the cheap and so standardized it's almost like a kit car series. Strategy doesn't even rally pay off. It makes no sense. They've banned in season testing... where the hell are new drivers gonna practice, and when will reserve drivers get seat time? Generally speaking, only those who have done well in GP2 have arrived in F1 and made their mark right off the bat. Just ask Scott Speed & Sebastien Bourdais just how difficult driving an F1 car is.
I do not think F1 should be reduced to a spectacle where any bored rich person with a few million can come field a team. I remember in the old days even pit stops were extremely interesting to watch... I used to sit with pen & paper to write down the times, because I've literally seen 10ths of a second make a difference in the pits. I can't even tell the last time I've looked at the stopwatch graphic when a car pitted, let alone the last time I've seen a driver gain or lose a position in the pits due to time.
All the old, historic tracks are being replaced by new ones who's respective owners have more money to dangle under Bernie's nose... it's a better business now I suppose, but it positively sucks as a spectator sport. And if these new two tier rules come into effect, it's gonna kill it. I miss the F1 of old.
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why not the LS2LS7? 6:26PM (5/11/2009)
Okay. You can have a 3-team series then. Have fun with that. Every series battles with car count problems due to cost versus "anything goes". F1 is no exception.
Franz 6:43PM (5/11/2009)
Your rebuttal is pointless. If you read carefully, you'd see that I'm not against cutting costs. I'm against the two tier system that's currently being proposed. Besides, none of the teams are against a budget cap, they're against a cap that's unrealistically too low. In the grand scheme of things, McLaren, Ferrari, Both Red Bull teams, Renault, Force India and Toyota aren't strapped for cash... it'd never be a three team series even if the unlimited budget remains. The problem is that teams like Toyota and Force India have not been able to turn all their wealth into results. Honda wouldn't even have left if they were winning: sponsors don't wanna back losing teams. For the sport to remain interesting, technical freedom needs to remain. The budget cap is fine, as long as it's realistic. In season testing needs to remain, or technical freedom means nothing if you can't bloody test the things you're designing. The tire rules are fine... even if the warmers go, but removing refueling takes away another aspect... another avenue for teams to set themselves apart. Racing should reward innovation and skill. I'm not against the cap, but at the moment, it's just a collection of rantings that make no sense.
Franz 7:01PM (5/11/2009)
They say they wanna cut costs and they introduce KERS... it's pretty much been confirmed that KERS has absolutely no relevance with regards to the technology being used in road cars any time soon, but the FIA decides that teams should waste millions trying to develop it. It would've been better for them to limit revs & displacement, & go back to turbos.
The Overtaking Working Group was conceived, and they decided that according to what the FIA was requiring of them, the "twin diffusers" would ruin the basic principle they were working towards, which was tidying up airflow and using adjustable wings so cars could overtake easier. Then the FIA allow the three teams who were not a part of the OWG to run twin diffusers, forcing the rest of teams to redesign in order to just remain competitive... but testing is banned, so upgrades are still touch and go.
Believe me, budget caps should be the least of the FIA's concerns right now.
pmiddle5 7:21PM (5/11/2009)
the two tier system is not even meant to really exist. Its more so of a "well if you dont like our way you can keep yours but you'll lose". Its forcing them to take the budget but giving them the choice to take it or not.
I see nothing wrong with the proposition. Its just giving an option when they dont want you to be able to take one at all
why not the LS2LS7? 11:23PM (5/11/2009)
Franz:
Your argument as stated is that putting all these restrictions will bring out tons of teams because "it's like a kit car series". This doesn't read like you have a problem with tiers, but that you have a problem with restricting the series so that teams can race more affordably and thus get more teams.
I disagree that if cost controls were not put in force that F1 would be down to very few teams in short order. To be honest, it's a theoretical question at best, because once F1 got down to 5 teams, they would put in cost controls so we'd never find out what would happen without them. I don't agree that any team, including Red Bull is feeling no financial pain. GDPs are shrinking. That affects car makers. That affects beverage makers.
I cannot defend any of F1's stupid technical decisions, especially KERS. It's clear from the tire striping thing that Bernie wants to introduce certain things to F1 (push-to-pass, forced tire variances) to increase passing but Bernie is concerned about looking like he is copying other series. KERS is by far the most expensive way to do what F1 wanted.
If it were me I would have cut the engine size to 60% and put in diffusers that flatten out on the straights. This will slow the cars through and out of the corners, and by lessening drag on the straights the cars would retain most of the their top speed and waste less fuel doing it. It's pretty simple, it saves fuel and it would increase passing.
why not the LS2LS7? 11:24PM (5/11/2009)
Why did I say diffuser? I meant spoilers/wings.
IOMTT 9:44AM (5/12/2009)
Franz, I am right with you.