Formula One on the upswing?

The Indianapolis debacle notwithstanding, it seems that international corporate interest in Formula One is on the upswing. Straws in the wind include a rumored seven (!) potential buyers for perennial backmarkers Minardi and a possible major sponsorship deal for McLaren or WilliamsF1 with either Hilton International or Sheraton Hotels. The byzantine financial structure of F1 makes starting a new team from scratch prohibitively expensive, when compared with the going price for acquiring one of the smaller existing teams. Thus Jaguar (now Red Bull Racing) acquired Stewart Racing, and BMW has recently taken control of Sauber-Petronas. Interestingly, one of therumored buyers for Minardi is none other than Red Bull, who would brand the team as Red Bull USA, with an all-American driver lineup.

By s.waterman@p1data.com
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The Indianapolis debacle notwithstanding, it seems that international corporate interest in Formula One is on the
upswing. Straws in the wind include a rumored seven (!) potential buyers for perennial backmarkers
Minardi and a possible major sponsorship deal for McLaren or WilliamsF1 with
either Hilton International or
Sheraton Hotels.

The byzantine financial structure of F1 makes starting a new team from scratch prohibitively expensive, when compared
with the going price for acquiring one of the smaller existing teams. Thus Jaguar (now Red Bull Racing) acquired
Stewart Racing, and BMW has recently taken control of Sauber-Petronas.

Interestingly, one of the rumored buyers for Minardi is none
other than Red Bull, who would brand the team as Red Bull USA, with an all-American driver lineup.