PUTTING UP THE DEFENCES TO AVOID MISTAKES OF THE PAST
It was interesting to note the news recently that any prospective new entrant to Formula 1 would have to pay rival teams a total of $200million, as part of a prize-money ‘dilution fund’, if they want to join the grid from 2021.
Mclaren boss Zak Brown said it was justified as a means to protect the value of existing teams, and to prevent “random announcements” from teams abundant in enthusiasm if not the wherewithal to make it work. In doing so, Brown namechecked US F1, one of the outfits that was granted an entry to the world championship for the 2010 season, only to never make the grid.
“I don’t think you’d ever see it in other major forms of sport,” he added.
There can be no doubting that the US F1 debacle didn’t reflect well on F1 as it’s desire to have a Us-based team – eventually fulfilled by Haas in 2016 – meant several more worthy candidates were left high and dry with well-advanced projects. A decade on, and against the background of F1’s new budget cap – the promise of which provided the impetus for new teams to join the grid in the first place – Jake Boxall-legge has unearthed the stories behind the entries that were rejected (see page 12).
One can only wonder what a Prodriverun customer Mclaren might have achieved, or whether Lola might have avoided biting the dust with its presence in F1 restored. Instead, we were ‘treated’ to a HRT, which ran in launch-spec all year, an all-cfd-designed Virgin with a fuel tank that was too small (raced by our columnist Lucas di Grassi) and a revived Team Lotus bearing little resemblance to its storied namesake. Small wonder F1 is putting up a high barrier to entry now…