2019 Formula 1 car launches threadFormula 1 

  • Thread starter Jimlaad43
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MatskiMonk
Never heard of Rokit before, but in the last 10 mins I've seen they're sponsoring Williams F1, as well as Nic Hamilton in the BTCC.
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I have, but I thought they were a clothing company. Apparently this Rokit is a telecomms firm. Peculiar!
 
PzR Slim
From what I have seen they are going to be selling cheap phones. I say 'going to be' because there website says 'will be launching soon' on their products. All a bit strange.

https://rokitphones.com/
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Unlike a certain drinks company also being a title sponsor for a team this year, this group is not questionable considering John Paul Dejoria is co-founder of the company and he clearly is a billion dollar backer. So similar to Carlos Slim and Branson when they put backing into teams, it can be trusted I think more so. They also are a major sponsor of the the LA Chargers. DeJoria who is probably (to me) best known for Patron by the way and we've seen how invested that company was in racing.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
Unlike a certain drinks company also being a title sponsor for a team this year, this group is not questionable considering John Paul Dejoria is co-founder of the company and he clearly is a billion dollar backer. So similar to Carlos Slim and Branson when they put backing into teams, it can be trusted I think more so. They also are a major sponsor of the the LA Chargers. DeJoria who is probably (to me) best known for Patron by the way and we've seen how invested that company was in racing.
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Yeah, I've just been checking out the Rok Brands website and can see they have their fingers in all sorts of pies. The phone website makes for some interesting reading, seems they are trying to tie in healthcare to a mobile contract.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
Unlike a certain drinks company also being a title sponsor for a team this year, this group is not questionable considering John Paul Dejoria is co-founder of the company and he clearly is a billion dollar backer. So similar to Carlos Slim and Branson when they put backing into teams, it can be trusted I think more so. They also are a major sponsor of the the LA Chargers. DeJoria who is probably (to me) best known for Patron by the way and we've seen how invested that company was in racing.
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David Sullivan and David Gold are widely reported as the backers, something which they haven't denied. That's about 1.5 billion of net worth right there. HAAS say they've received the up-front payments as agreed, I guess we'll have to see if the doubters are right. Gene Haas seems to be a clever businessman cut from similar cloth to Paul Stoddart. I would imagine that if Rich go one day overdue on a promised payment they'll be off the car - and he'll have told them that.
 
TenEightyOne
David Sullivan and David Gold are widely reported as the backers, something which they haven't denied. That's about 1.5 billion of net worth right there. HAAS say they've received the up-front payments as agreed, I guess we'll have to see if the doubters are right. Gene Haas seems to be a clever businessman cut from similar cloth to Paul Stoddart. I would imagine that if Rich go one day overdue on a promised payment they'll be off the car - and he'll have told them that.
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Not saying there isn't backing what I'm saying is that there was a lot of questionable background to them and this isn't the same. You have a well known figure backing RoKIT and they're not hiding or making it a mystery as to the involvement. That was my point, clearly them (Rich) being on the car means they provided something upfront to be there, or they wouldn't be considering Gene wouldn't let that happen. But there is still some questionable viewing to be considered since 3 teams prior to HAAS didn't exactly try to make the deal happen and one of them actually needed a title Sponsor.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
But there is still some questionable viewing to be considered since 3 teams prior to HAAS didn't exactly try to make the deal happen and one of them actually needed a title Sponsor.
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Williams wanted more than HAAS for the same exposure (and probably fewer points for that exposure), Force Racing India Point India Point Racing were already very likely in the final throes of the Stroll deal behind the scenes. Who was the third team?
 
I've done some digging and this ROKiT business looks kinda shady. I found the home page for the ROK Group of Companies which has 10 companies ranging from mobile phones to beer to water to marula oil and more.

http://rokgroupofcompanies.com/

Here's a section of the ROK Botanics page:
ROK Botanics got its start when serial entrepreneurs, John Paul DeJoria and Jonathan Kendrick needed to purchase thousands of kilograms of pure, unrefined marula oil for their hair and cosmetics businesses but were unable to find a stable supplier who could provide the quantity that they needed or the quality they demanded.
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Patron and Paul Mitchell were both co-founded by DeJoria so I'd imagine he wouldn't be involved in something that isn't legitimate.

Plus, it seems they are actually intending to sell their product, unlike a certain energy drink that has also appeared in F1 this year. :lol:
 
Jimlaad43
ROKiT Williams Racing
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DzIkNgUXQAIfr4N.jpg:large
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What is this
 
TenEightyOne
Williams wanted more than HAAS for the same exposure (and probably fewer points for that exposure), Force Racing India Point India Point Racing were already very likely in the final throes of the Stroll deal behind the scenes. Who was the third team?
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McLaren, hence me saying "especially when one of them needed a title sponsor". Rich wanted to own FI but Stroll was willing to pay more and probably seemed more stable to them and their investors. Williams wanted more cause they need more due to being a bigger outfit than Haas, despite not doing as good as Haas in the last two years.

CLowndes888
What is this
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An F1 car.

ProjectWHaT
I've done some digging and this ROKiT business looks kinda shady. I found the home page for the ROK Group of Companies which has 10 companies ranging from mobile phones to beer to water to marula oil and more.

http://rokgroupofcompanies.com/

Here's a section of the ROK Botanics page:
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@Northstar said and I said prior, one of the founders is not at all Shady unless the likes of Branson and Slim and Cuban are "shady". Also considering Patron has backed racing teams before and even had essentially their own IMSA team, and backed DaJoria's daughter in NHRA...I'm again not seeing how it's "shady". They saw something through there investing that could make them more money and to them be done in a better method than others doing it and thus they expanded it and now said expansion has allowed for sponsor deals across several platforms. This is a lot more in the open than again a certain other group who was hated for a lot less.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
McLaren, hence me saying "especially when one of them needed a title sponsor". Rich wanted to own FI but Stroll was willing to pay more and probably seemed more stable to them and their investors. Williams wanted more cause they need more due to being a bigger outfit than Haas, despite not doing as good as Haas in the last two years.
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Ah, I do remember. You gave the impression that you thought those teams didn't really want to deal with Rich although Williams have said the deal was only "a signature away". It seems that the discussions were thought credible by everyone involved in them.

LMSCorvetteGT2
McLaren, hence me saying "especially when one of them needed a title sponsor". Rich wanted to own FI but Stroll was willing to pay more and probably seemed more stable to them and their investors. Williams wanted more cause they need more due to being a bigger outfit than Haas, despite not doing as good as Haas in the last two years.

@Northstar said and I said prior, one of the founders is not at all Shady unless the likes of Branson and Slim and Cuban are "shady". Also considering Patron has backed racing teams before and even had essentially their own IMSA team, and backed DaJoria's daughter in NHRA...I'm again not seeing how it's "shady".
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But couldn't you say the same about Davids Gold and Sullivan? And the Rich sponsorship portfolio, come to that? I just don't see why you think Rich is so bad unless it's still on the basis of the single document you found from UK Companies House? That's been proved to be wrong as they've made a substantial payment to HAAS already. Evidently the cash base isn't in the UK. That hardly makes them shady. After all, Vijay part-owned and ran an F1 team for years. Now that's shady! :D
 
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Cover's off the RS19. If it ain't ugly don't change it I suppose.
Also, in regards to the Williams, I guess I hold an unpopular opinion in that I think it's a really nice looking livery. Reminds me of a mid-90s style livery.
 
Robin
It's pretty lazy as a livery imo, just two lines of light blue top and bottom that look like they have been crudely sprayed on. It makes them look like more of a start-up team!
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Well I quite like it. But then again there are reasons I don't venture into the livery editor in GTS
 
Wish Renault had added more Yellow, in the sunlight they and Haas are going to look slightly similar, especially from the side. I think it's a better field when all the cars have very clear overall colours that differ but it hasn't been like that as much over the past decade or so.
 
Robin
It's pretty lazy as a livery imo, just two lines of light blue top and bottom that look like they have been crudely sprayed on. It makes them look like more of a start-up team!
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Yep. It looks lazy for a team like Williams, who have been in F1 for over 40 years...
 
TenEightyOne
Ah, I do remember. You gave the impression that you thought those teams didn't really want to deal with Rich although Williams have said the deal was only "a signature away". It seems that the discussions were thought credible by everyone involved in them.
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No, how could I give that impression and say in turn that clearly Rich has capital or they wouldn't have ever been in talks with 4 teams to begin with. It's quite simple, Rich is a unknown company with a seemingly niche product in an already saturated market, and one day out of the blue they want to join F1. Not much at the time could be found on them and thus people had worries and still do just less so. Considering F1s long history and all the many groups that have come in gone in similar ways the fear seems justified.

But couldn't you say the same about Davids Gold and Sullivan? And the Rich sponsorship portfolio, come to that? I just don't see why you think Rich is so bad unless it's still on the basis of the single document you found from UK Companies House? That's been proved to be wrong as they've made a substantial payment to HAAS already. Evidently the cash base isn't in the UK. That hardly makes them shady. After all, Vijay part-owned and ran an F1 team for years. Now that's shady! :D
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Again I don't think they're so bad, I never said they were bad, what I did say was that they're a mystery and not very well known or public about who they are and only recently have started to be. Of course now that they're platform is on a multi million dollar car, within a multi billion dollar circus, one should expect them to be more open. I also said (and you quoted even) that clearly they have something or Gene wouldn't have made a deal.

Although Vijay ran the team, he ran it in the red and even ran it at the expense of his other companies. Others have also run F1 teams in the red that's sort of the fear when a new group joins that one has never heard of and can't find listening to verify who they are (originally).
 
I would have liked just a little more mint on the Merc but it's a great livery with a nice fade on the engine cover.

The Red Bull looks awesome and it's seems like they took a little inspiration from the 'dazzle' camo they used in testing a while back. The Bull made of ribbons is neat.
 

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