JohnsonsEvilTwin wrote:Yes that was basically what Zetsche had said. And I hope you are right about Mercedes staying in F1, but I just dont see them blowing 250 million a year to be competitive...
...With the RRA being blown apart, Red Bull can literally burn cash and the others wont be able to do a thing about it.
It riles me that because of this, Mercedes-Benz involvement could come to an end.
The reasons are that they will not accept 4th forever....
@JET-- I think you need to re-read the statement Ferrari issued when they left. Not even Ferrari seems to want to go back 10 years ago to when championships were won by whoever burned through the most cash. I could also mention RBR, but frankly, why? If
Ferrari doesn't want to go back to the "cash burning" era, then suffice to say F1 as a whole won't do it.
Ferrari is irritated with the state of the sport, and obviously believe they have more clout on their own (which, ironically, they probably do). Their issues though seem to be reasonable. The state of testing right now is asinine as it effectively prohibits driver training. As for the cars themselves, the current formula relies far too heavily on aerodynamics, a technology that doesn't translate too well to road cars. More testing? More mechanical grip? Yes please. And if done reasonably, that's not going to break HRT's bank, let alone MGP.
Although Ferrari's statement has been posted elsewhere, here are the good parts for our convenience:
“Some of the major achievements of the association during these years, also worked out in conjunction with the FIA, centered around cost reduction, which was of significant benefit to everyone, the big teams and the small ones. Ferrari was on the front line in this area, even before the birth of FOTA and it intends to continue down this route to ensure the sustainability of the sport in the long term. Now, however, it is necessary to find some new impetus to move it along because FOTA’s drive has run its course, despite the excellent work of current president, Martin Whitmarsh, in trying to reach agreement between the various positions for the common good.
“Ferrari will continue to work with the other teams to make the current RRA, Resource Restriction Agreement, aimed at controlling costs, more effective and efficient, modifying it to make it more stringent in key areas such as aerodynamics, to rebalance some aspects such as testing and to expand it to areas currently not covered such as engines.
“Formula One, like the rest of the world in fact, is currently going through a delicate period. Ferrari wants to work with all parties for the future of a sport that expresses the highest level of motor sport technology. We must return to a situation where Formula One is really a test bed for advanced technological research, the results of which can be transferred to Granturismo cars.
“In addition, we must not forget that this sport must become more user-friendly and more accessible to the general public and furthermore, it cannot be the only professional sport where it is practically impossible to do any training. The number of days of testing must be increased so that the drivers, especially the young ones who lack experience and the teams, can be adequately prepared, as well as providing more opportunities for them to come into contact with spectators and sponsors.”
