2010 new teams discussion

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I guess this deserves its own thread (considering the closing of a certain thread...).

I'll start off with the emerging Virgin/Lotus rivalry:

http://www.autosport.com/news/grapevine.php/id/80599

After Tony Fernandes said he would commit suicide if Branson beat him, Branson offered a deal that whoever's Formula 1 team finishes lowest next season should act as a stewardess on one of the winner's flights.

Tony accepts, with an amusing picture :lol:
http://www.lotusf1racing.my/article/items/Tony_Fernandes_Accepts_Richard_Bransons_Challenge.html

827.2.jpg


This looks set to be an amusing and friendly rivalry. Thoughts? Predictions? Both teams appear to be so far the strongest two on the grid out of the new teams, Virgin for its wealth of experienced personnel, Lotus for Mike Gascoyne, Malaysian money and the best driver pairing.
But each could fall down in areas, I tend to believe the pure-CFD gamble for Virgin and their low budget may let Lotus beat them in the long run through the development race. Lotus has the problem of being located in 4 different countries at once and apparent split personality when it comes to the team's vision. On the one hand, they want to be a new Lotus team, but on the other hand they want to be a Malaysian national team. I think Lotus may suffer management problems or difficulties in hiring quality staff if they are forced to relocate to Malaysia in future.
 
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I'll be rooting for Virgin, but my money is on Lotus to beat them. They've got the better driver lineup. And for the Schumi return stuff, he shouldn't return. As much as I would adore seeing him back in the cockpit, if he's not fast and ends up like Badoer, he would destroy his reputation as being the best F1 driver in history. They will have to test him with Rosberg before they sign any paperwork.
 
Lets stick to new teams here, Schumacher is for another thread (a thread which is now closed).
 
I think Virgin F1 should do well, Lotus might struggle and Campos might struggle as well.

As for USF1, looking forward to see who they choose as their drivers
 
Virgin - these are the guys I'm looking forward to the most, and will probably become my new team (I'm not backing Mercedes; I have this thing against manufacturers). I like that they're coming into the sport with a rock-star attitude, but also the way they're very self-aware: they know 2010 will be a difficult season, they know they have to perform and they know they have to earn the respect of the other teams. I see no reason why a car designed entirely with CFD cannot work, even if it is a little more complex than using wind tunnels and scale models. I think there are three reasons for the open hostility: 1) CFD is different, and human beings never like anything that is different; 2) Nick Wirth is the man using it - if it were Adrian Newey using CFD, everyone would be applauding him as visionary; 3) people are still sore over the fact that Manor, a team they had never anticipated as being on the grid, beat the likes of Prodrive and Lola.

Campos - probably the team we should be having doubts over because we haven't seen much from them. We know they have Bruno Senna, but we haven't seen anything car-wise from them, and Dallara has been reported as being behind schedule. Adrian Campos reckons he can make it, and apparently negotiations for the second driver seat are still going. I really hope they take Vitaly Petrov, since they've worked with him before; if anyone can get the most out of the team, it's probably him. And they can get the most out of him. Pedro de la Rosa is, I think, a mistake; it might be nice to have a Spanish driver racing for a Spanish team, but de la Rosa was never anything spectacular and Super Aguri proved that having the Home Team All-Stars doesn't work.

Lotus - I want to like them, but I'm having trouble. I have no problems with the resurrection of the Lotus name, and I like that they've acknowledged that it is not a Hail Mary pass. But actions always speak louder than words. Of all the new teams, we've seen the most from them, but what gets me down is their choice of driver line-up. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen aren't exactly the highest-rated drivers on the grid. But their other two choices - Takuma Sato and Fairuz Fauzy - didn't exactly impress me, either.

USF1 - I think these guys are getting a bad rap that they may not actually deserve. I've seen entire threads on the internet designed to pick them apart, with people claiming that it's some giant scam, and born out of a dislike of Peter Windsor. Seriously, I've heard people say that everyone in the SPEED footage seen at Abu Dhabi was done by professional actors, that the computer displays have been pre-programmed animations and the pictures of the factory have been photoshopped. I think the reason for this hostility stems from the anti-American sentiment in Formula One; when you think of Americans in the sport, your mind runs to the Michael Andrettis and Scott Speeds of the paddock when you should be remembering the Dan Gurneys and Mario Andrettis.

Toro Rosso - I've included them here because they are, technically, a new team: 2010 will be the first time they build their own chassis. Until now, I've never really liked them, seeing them as a glorified GP2 team that is only on the grid to make up the numbers. Their drivers are pilfered away by Red Bull as soon as they start showing promise, and the team doesn't get upgrades until Red Bull have been running them for a while (Red Bull got some new kit including a double diffuser at Silverstone; Toro Rosso had to wait until Hungary). When they were Minardi, they were at least allowed to compete instead of being effecively forced down the order by a parent team. For 2010, they'll be able reverse that trend, but I'm not holding my breath. Sebastien Buemi has potential when he can harness it, but Jaime Alguersuari has been disappointing. But then, maybe that's because he's nineteen and Toro Rosso nabbed him halfway through the WSR season. He deserves another go, but I think the pressure will be on this season.

Mercedes - yeah, they're another new team, even if they're Brawn with a new name. They made a mistake in losing Button; now they really need someone special to partner Rosberg. I see no reason why Micheal Schumacher cannot stage a successful comeback, and PJ, he's not going to do a Badoer because Badoer was never on his level talent-wise. Elsewhere, I don't think Nick Fry's screw-up with the Henkel sponsorship will hurt them too much, but the man really needs to go. This isn't the first time he's messed up like this: at the end of 2006, Honda should have been a sponsor's dream, but they showed up with the Earth Dreams concept, which was just a thin attempt to cover up the fact that they hadn't been able to find a sponsor. Add to that Fry's failure to keep Button in the team (it seems he decided Button owed his championship to Brawn and decided to play hardball at the negoiating table, and lost), and it's a wonder why they still keep him around.
 
I never said he couldn't make a successful comeback, I just said he shouldn't because he may not be so good anymore.
 
interludes
And you also shouldn't go outside because a meteor might hit you.
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WHAT THAT COULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN!!!!! lol I liked that comparison I'll have to use it once.

I'm really hoping to see something good come out of USGPE or USF1 or what ever they are going to be named. Seeing as they are trying to be the "anti-constructor" with the low budget I'm thinking they will be 2 steps behind all season and that is not what the team needs. Hopefully they can get a few good drivers in the seats but if they have not mentioned anything as of yet I don't think they are going to have a talented driver base. They will end up with people like Sato and Bourdais who are good enough to get to the F1 level but not prove anything once they get there. I'm really hoping i will be proven wrong and Windsor will have put together a good team.
 
I'm not really sure how USF1 will do. It seems currently there are more questions about the team than what we actually know.

I'm just happy because I will have SPEED so I can actually watch the races. 👍
 
You know what? I agree with you now ludes. Maybe he will come back and be good again, but if he fails miserably, I'll be doing my "I told you so" dance.
 
PJ, this thread is not about Schumacher. Evidently you didn't notice. However:

PJ-FFL
You know what? I agree with you now ludes. Maybe he will come back and be good again, but if he fails miserably, I'll be doing my "I told you so" dance.
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Why would you do that if you agree with him?
 
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Alex.
PJ, this thread is not about Schumacher. Evidently you didn't notice.
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Kind of my fault - I menitoned him in my splurge about Mercedes, because they're technically a new team.

I'm going to make a thread on the return of MS right now.
 
Kind of old news, but got a little distracted...by erm, Kobayashi and Schumacher :lol:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8427020.stm

USF1 and Campos deny they are not going to make it.
Windsor has gone so far to say there are some kind of problems with the Cosworth supply, he's the only one saying this though - almost sounds like an early excuse to me, but we shall see.

No news or indication of drivers for either team yet though (apart from Senna and Lopez). Wurz in contention again for USF1, for their sake I hope they take him, he seems to be the best they'll get.

Oh, and the Stefan GP saga continues:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80646

If anyone reads his press releases, its hard to take him seriously. Why can't he run it through a word processor? Why does he have to use such stereotypical broken english? I actually wonder if its all a joke someone is playing but the guy seems real and serious. I don't get how he is so cheap to not make more effort in other areas though, like his apparently blatant rubbish about space engineering and motorsports parts manufacture.

I can't decide if he's an innocent, simple man with a goal or a fraud. Its all very interesting to read though.
 
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USF1 Haz chassis built. Looks like Bernie was just stirring the pot the other day again with his comments. And now this.

20767_519399841929_53801736_3086105.jpg


May not have wheels, or anything else really, but it can be used for FIA crash testing apparently. Well, it's something anyways. Also, the chassis is "in the hands of Cosworth." Whatever that means, fitting the driveline I suppose?
 
^Yeah, its the same kind of thing that Lotus have done already:


The first chassis a team produces is for crash testing.
 
LSX
USF1 Haz chassis built. Looks like Bernie was just stirring the pot the other day again with his comments. And now this.

20767_519399841929_53801736_3086105.jpg


May not have wheels, or anything else really, but it can be used for FIA crash testing apparently. Well, it's something anyways. Also, the chassis is "in the hands of Cosworth." Whatever that means, fitting the driveline I suppose?
Click to expand...

Looks more like a speedboat than a car at the moment.
 
I think that is because they need to find a way to get for fuel in the car since there is no refueling next year. Still, looks like good progress on the design if you saw the pic at the 1:07 mark for the "introduction to the team" video.
 
Yeah, it's been up for a few days.

People in other corners of the internet have been asking "Well, where's the website?" for weeks now. It finally goes live and those same people start posting "That's really amateurish of them" and "They've got Chad Hurley and his money and this is the best they can do?". You know that these doubters are going to be really vocal when USF1 doesn't live up to expectations on the circuit. And you know that those expectations are going to be really high, like winning their first race.
 
interludes
Yeah, it's been up for a few days.

People in other corners of the internet have been asking "Well, where's the website?" for weeks now. It finally goes live and those same people start posting "That's really amateurish of them" and "They've got Chad Hurley and his money and this is the best they can do?". You know that these doubters are going to be really vocal when USF1 doesn't live up to expectations on the circuit. And you know that those expectations are going to be really high, like winning their first race.
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No different to the usual idiots, why do you even pay any attention to them?

There were people skeptical of BrawnGP too.
 
Yeah, but there was reason to be skeptical of Brawn - Ross Brawn himself wasn't sure that his team would make it.
 
There's a reason to be skeptical of USF1 too....just take a look at the "potential" drivers they are hiring. Plus the lack of news from them until very recently made it only natural people started questioning what was going on with them, seeing as teams like Lotus were making announcements left right and center and they only got entry in September! USF1 has meant to have been planned for years!

Now they are releasing news and Windsor has stated it was his plan to keep slient for a while, but there is still some doubt over them being a successful team. My main worry for them is the drivers being linked with them...Lopez and Piquet Jr? Even Wurz and Villenueve isn't a particularly brilliant combination. I'm actually wondering if they would be better off with 2 rookies, at least they may have more natural skill than the afforementioned names.
 
After seeing the latest story about Stefan GP on Autosport, I'm really hoping the FIA can find a way to get them onto the grid as a fourteenth team. They may be inexperienced and they might have sounded woefully incompetent, but the string of articles about Stefanovic visiting Cologne, about the team wanting to test through 2011 if they cannot make it onto the 2010 grid and the way they're planning for young driver development if they cannot make it all make them sound surprisingly professional.
 
I'm going to say right here now that I don't think Stefan GP will materialise into anything. We haven't had any proof at all that they really exist beyond Zoran. Now I see people saying "oh they should be given a place! they may do better than USF1!". :rolleyes:
Seriously, thats as stupid as the people who think USF1 is a ploy to make money, there is zero proof that Stefan GP is a viable or even existant team. All I have read is talking, mostly from Zoran.

When USF1 came about they mentioned suppliers in America and their base being in the center of NASCAR land and so being well suited for infastructure purposes. They have a credible background.
When Stefan GP came to light lately, the so called companies and resources linked with Zoran (mentioned by himself) all appear to be scams. The military windtunnels he apparently has access to, the space engineering company that has been "working for 20 years" that was set up in 2007, the currently very poor Serbian government that will apparently be backing the team.
Then surprise, surprise, Toyota pull out and say they will sell their designs for the TF110 and who states they will purchase it and goes to visit Toyota Cologne? This is one part I think is true, Zoran probably does have the TF110 designs. But I think he's bought them (or "bought" them) in order to convince people to join his so-far imaginary team as well as to further publicise himself.

I will happily be proven wrong in a year's time but I find it a tad rediculous people are supporting Stefan when all that has been exchanged are words. A team with good intentions and a Toyota design doesn't deserve a grid slot. The FIA knew this in 1998 and they know this now.
I also find this completely backwards from you interludes, how is this team deserving of a grid slot over Prodrive or Lola?
 
PJ-FFL
Does Monaco even have enough space to hold 4 extra teams?
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Think for a moment - do you really think the FIA would have opened up the grid for three new teams (although new, Lotus replaced an existing team) if one of the circuits couldn't handle it?
 
PJ-FFL
Does Monaco even have enough space to hold 4 extra teams?
Click to expand...

They could deal with it in 1990, they can sure deal with it now they have the newer facilities there. They are forcing all teams to use single garages now rather than allowing the top teams bigger garages, so this allows more teams in the same space.
If not, they can always setup in the paddock like the old days, though at Monaco that was quite a bit away :lol:
 
Video of Lopez' testing today in a F3 Dallara:

Says to me he is as confirmed as we can get at USF1 without a team press release. Good luck to him, he will certainly need it. Especially when he can manage to go the wrong way with a car he put on pole position!:

 
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