diffuser wrote: ↑02 Jun 2022, 04:17You should look at Merc's overall history in motorsports as a full-fledged team and not an engine supplier. Across various series, from touring cars to rallying cars and even Indy car, Merc has a history of not hanging around too long if they're not at the pointy end of the grid.peewon wrote: ↑02 Jun 2022, 03:55Team's values are all going up. The CAP is helping. More people want teams.diffuser wrote: ↑30 May 2022, 21:09
I wouldn't hold my breath. F1 is first and foremost a business. A business which derives its prestige, and therefore commercial appeal, from the marquee automakers in the world competing in its series. People need to consider why would the so called best car manufacturers in the world show up to be humiliated by boutique teams. Mercedes, for example, is notorious for not sticking around in any motorsport competition where they're not favorites to win. Too much brand value at stake. There's a good reason the big teams will always be there or there abouts. Why the regulation changes were so extensively negotiated (retaining MGU-H and not reducing the size of the car too much). I think they would like a bit more parity for the expanding audience but ultimately I don't see it ever being a completely level playing field.
Maybe the issue is that those smaller teams don't have the tools yet.
Merc has been in F1 for a long time, maybe not as a chassis but as a PU manufacturer. Honda is one that is very fleeting.
When I talk about brand value, I mean global brand value of Mercedes as an auto manufacturer, not necessarily the immediate dollar value of their F1 operation. You will never find them struggling for multiple years and continue in a series. If they cant compete, they leave.
It was intended that Mercedes-Benz would enter rallying with the Mercedes-Benz W201 in the early 1980s.[citation needed] Yet, as all wheel drive and turbochargers were introduced by the competition (Audi Quattro) at that time, this was cancelled.