Your view: Which story this week will have biggest impact?
November 5, 2009 by SJ Skid
Filed under Parc Fermé, SJ Skid, Top Story
Will it be Toyota’s exit from Formula 1, leaving no Japanese makers in the sport?
Will it be Bridgestone’s plan to leave the sport when its contract ends after the 2010 season?
Will it be Renault’s eventual decision — whichever way it goes?
Or perhaps one of the other stories: Ferrari’s shot at the FIA; the FIA’s quiet response to all the news; Danica’s expected announcement that she’s going to do part-time racing in NASCAR. [That's a joke, folks!]
A big part of what is great about F1B — and what drew me when I was reading Todd and Grace’s posts a couple of years back — is the readers and their thoughts. Or, to put it more plainly: YOU.
So, don’t hold back — especially any of you who don’t regularly post comments. It’s easy, it’s [relatively] safe and it helps us get a better sense of what your interests are and why you stop by F1B.
So.. who wants to go first?
Loading ...
I think Toyota’s exit is the biggest story. BMW leaving was bad enough, but Toyota leaving means that Toyota, GM, Ford, and VW now have no presence in Formula 1. That means the 4 largest motor companies on the planet don’t think that Formula 1 is worth investing in.
Given the insane amounts of money Toyota has been willing to put into their program, I doubt money was the only (or even primary) issue. I think they just didn’t want to be associated with a series that has come to symbolize everything wrong with upper-level racing. Very few companies get any meaningful pubilicty through F1 (Mercedes and Ferrari), and with the increasing levels of controversy surrounding the series and the people involved in it F1 has become more of a liability than a help.
You share Ferrari and Ari Vatanen’s views. :)
And I agree. The way they made the announcement in Tokyo was to publicly show shame (a deeply traditional Japanese custom – which simultaneously rids you of all guilt and punishment). It is clear Toyota has literally – no going back – dumped F1, period. And in case Bernie and MaxTodt think this will have little impact, allow me to disabuse them of that notion. In all the far-flung parts of the world where they want all those new race courses, what is the number one car maker? You guessed it, Toyota. And that means, gas, tires, advertising, customer loyalty all go with Toyota’s announcement. In dealings I have had with Japan, I can assure you the public debasing of Toyota’s announcement can only sent one punative message to Bernie – No Toyota dealer, or any supplier to Toyota better think of supporting F1. Petronas will be in a hot spot, as will Mobil and Shell. I am not exaggerating, there will be boardroom discussions in all these companies. There has to be… let me put it this way:
Toho Chairman: “What’s the risk of our advertising billboards and support of the Malaysian GP?”
VP Special Sales: (groan) “Please cancel them, we cannot risk the anger at Toyota! They were forced out of F1, they wre humiliated, if we support F1 we will be part of that humiliation. They will not want us as suppliers of 22% of their tires in Asia supporting this sport.”
I see it will be a combination of all the exits from the sport. Honda, Toyota, BMW and possibly Renault.
Add to that Bridgestone and there will no longer be much Japanese involvement at all. However I doubt anyone (other than the Japanese) will even realise that is the case.
To be honest of all the departures, (if) Renault leave, I think that will have the biggest impact.
Depending on who the replacement is, Bridgestone could have a HUGE impact on the sport. If they are replaced by a single tyre again, the impact will be less, but even a new manufacturer wont be able to produce a consistant tyre, and I think we will be hearing a LOT of complaints about graining, and possibly tyre failures. I see the two tyre rule baing removed.
Basically because the tyres affect EVERY team that will have a massive impact on the sport. A couple of teams leaving wont be as bad because they could be replaced easily (well kind of).
Ferraris comments on the FIA, or the FIA’s lack of response? I dont think that really important.
Whatever the case. The problem is all of these stories take away from what F1 SHOULD be about right at the moment. Button and Brawn are the champions, the racing was good this year, the cars go zoom and rrrrooowww and eeerrrrr. Mark Webber is… Well at least he is still around.
Unfortuantly F1 to the layman is drama… Its more dramatic than Neighbours (Days of Our Lives) for you USofA people.
Considering that the Toyota pullout wasn’t really all that surprising, I’d have to go with the Bridgestone story. They are the sole supplier and are going to really leave FIA scrambling to get the situation sorted out. It could affect the economics of the sports if the teams have to start paying for tires.
Sorry, the story of the year: All the darn politics. it has turned off three avid F1 people that I know of.
Story No. 2? Max and now MaxTodt wanting to turn F1 into Nascar. All the same cars, all the same specs, paint ‘em different.
I mostley second was everyone is saying about who is leaving F1. But its not just Honda left, then BMW, now Toyota and Bridgestone. The big story is yet to come and that will be Max saying, “see I told you so” and his little puppet Jean Todt going yea your right. And pretty soon we are going to end up with with F1 turning into GP2.
No, hold that thought. This is going to be next years big story.