In reply to Advan046 :
If they sell, can the name change?
But for all of the specialists they hired, they did a pretty dismal job- going backwards in the standings. Kinda sad that they had all of that time, and did such a poor job. And had so little money, they could not use the 2022 car to develop the 2023 car like I think Mercedes did.
Three races in the USA will be interesting. I hope many of the pandemic fans will stick with the sport for the racing. I am curious if demand will fall off in 2024.
Feels really weird going into 2023. I guess we have a few new drivers and new team bosses and drivers at new teams. I am sure it will seem normal once we get to Australia GP.
I am also curious to see how all the teams package the increased size mirrors. I just think it will cause a rather big change in airflow.
alfadriver said:In reply to Advan046 :
If they sell, can the name change?
But for all of the specialists they hired, they did a pretty dismal job- going backwards in the standings. Kinda sad that they had all of that time, and did such a poor job. And had so little money, they could not use the 2022 car to develop the 2023 car like I think Mercedes did.
I hear you. I don't think they could have turned the 23 car into a winner with the time they had in team. It sounded like with the Williams family selling, that whole structure of the team was based on relationships that Frank cultivated and now needed to be reformed. Maybe Capito was there to be the bad guy all along and create bad blood by being cut throat on realignment of staff. Now the nicer guy will come in and build from here. IDK, I am not in their building to get a feel for how the team is doing.
So I just saw a speculative video about Red Bull's engines for '26.
Apparently Honda AND Red Bull Powertrains have applied to be engine makers in 2026 (along with Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari, and Audi). And the video was speculation of an OEM that would get a little technical out but a lot of advertising to put on the RBR of that vintage.
The two names were Alfa Romeo and Ford.
To me, unless the former is sold off, that's a non-starter since it's Fiat and therefore Ferrari- and it would be odd to have an Alfa Romeo powertrain beat a Ferrari powertrain when they are the same company. And, yes, I'm quite aware of the F1 history of ALFA as well as Ferrari. And, yes, I also know that Porsche and Audi are part of the VW group. But Alfa isn't anywhere near as independent of a company that Porsche is- they haven't had their own engine since the Colombo V6. (the Alfa modern TS engines are Fiats that have an extra spark plug in them). So I honestly can't think that will happen.
Then there is the latter. And I literally laughed out loud at that. Many of you many not remember that the day I retired back in April was the same date that a bunch of ICE experts at Ford were told to retire. Ford has very, very heavily shifted away from ICEs- so it would be so very weird that they would be so willing to attempt to advertise their name as an F1 powertrain now. Many of these same experts were part of the V6 engine program that powered the GT to LeMans victories in the last decade (over Ferrari, I will add)- so it's not as if there wasn't skill to at least attempt an F1 engine- just not the experience. For all of that work and for all of those people, slapping their name on an F1 powertrain would seriously be a stab in the back to the people who didn't get to retire on their own terms.
Let alone the small problem that Ford is still struggling for profits- how in the world can they justify the money to put their name on the side of an F1 car, let alone on the cam covers????? I would have been happy to have 1/100th of that over 5 years to work a project in research.
For anyone in the know, lump sum, baby.
AlphaD are you truly retired or putting things in order to pursue new opportunities?
alfadriver said:The two names were Alfa Romeo and Ford.
Alfa could simply be a rebadged Ferrari engine, they've done things like that before for marketing reasons.
The Ford one would be comical, since Red Bull bought their team from Ford in the first place.
codrus (Forum Supporter) said:alfadriver said:The two names were Alfa Romeo and Ford.
Alfa could simply be a rebadged Ferrari engine, they've done things like that before for marketing reasons.
The Ford one would be comical, since Red Bull bought their team from Ford in the first place.
But it's to put on Red Bull's home made engine. It's not going to be a Ferrari engine.
Susie Wolf being considered to lead Williams?
kevlarcorolla said:Susie Wolf being considered to lead Williams?
She has the experience....not sure if Williams want that conflict of interest going on though. Maybe as a sporting director or something.
Advan046 said:kevlarcorolla said:Susie Wolf being considered to lead Williams?
She has the experience....not sure if Williams want that conflict of interest going on though. Maybe as a sporting director or something.
Not sure it's a conflict of interest, they're still a Mercedes feeder team so they're in the family. And she was a test driver for them. She ran one of the Formula E teams so she's got some experience. She's a smart cookie, I'd love to see it.
It was nice to see things get shaken up in 2021 and someone else take the top spot !
2022 was a great season for the mid-field with a lot of changes happening there,but having the same front runners, taking the lead and kepping it, make for sort of a boring race IMHO.
I've started watching the Moto GP and SuperBike racing ,I find what those guys are doing on two wheels much more impressive to watch !
The Race is reporting F1 is planning on letting new teams bid for grid positions... Big change from a year ago.
Seriously? Or is today 4/1 and I missed a few months? 
In reply to MiniDave :
Serious from the Race, but who knows if it's real.
What the hell is going on here?
https://racer.com/2023/01/05/andretti-partners-with-gm-as-andretti-cadillac-racing-for-f1-entry/
In reply to bruceman :
Very unexpected.... Other than the concept that GM sponsors a turbo V6 that will soon be hybrid for Indcar racing. Just like Honda does.
I'll say this for Michael, he's persistent.
Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:I'll say this for Michael, he's persistent.
Thing is, his team's performance isn't really all that good. Last major win was in 2017 with Sato at Indy, and last championship was 2012 with RHR. If it were Penske or Ganassi, I think there would be more confidence in at least repeating what Haas has been able to to. But given Mike's track record, I don't see anything but a back marker- especially starting with a brand new, clean sheet F1 powertrain.
alfadriver said:Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:I'll say this for Michael, he's persistent.
Thing is, his team's performance isn't really all that good. Last major win was in 2017 with Sato at Indy, and last championship was 2012 with RHR. If it were Penske or Ganassi, I think there would be more confidence in at least repeating what Haas has been able to to. But given Mike's track record, I don't see anything but a back marker- especially starting with a brand new, clean sheet F1 powertrain.
Agreed. Michael is already spread too thin, IMO. In fact, last year his Indycar team was kind of a E36 M3show, culminating in the fiasco at Mid-Ohio. With the budget and driving talent they've had, they should be doing a lot more. Their last championship was in 2012 with Ryan Hunter-Reay.
I would not be surprised to see Andretti drop out of other series to return their family name to F1 but they need a huge sponsor in addition to GM. Walk in at the full budget cap limit and they have a chance.
Advan046 said:I would not be surprised to see Andretti drop out of other series to return their family name to F1 but they need a huge sponsor in addition to GM. Walk in at the full budget cap limit and they have a chance.
I would be stunned if that happened. "Andretti" is a far, far, far bigger name racing in the US than it is in Europe. He raced a handful of years- granted he did win a championship, but his legacy there is nothing compared to Lauda, Prost, Senna, Brahbam, etc. Whereas in the US, Mario's history is pretty massive- he's still tied for 3rd in total number of championships, and third for total number of wins. Mike is even 4th for total wins- something he didn't do in his short time in F1.
If they go full F1, it's because they think that the Netflix show will make them more money.
Advan046 said:I would not be surprised to see Andretti drop out of other series to return their family name to F1 but they need a huge sponsor in addition to GM. Walk in at the full budget cap limit and they have a chance.
IIRC, they have significant Gainbridge Capital backing the F1 effort too. I think Gainbridge "owns" one of the Andretti sponsors.
Let's give Andretti/Cadillac Formula 1 Team a few years before we start planning their funeral
loosecannon said:Let's give Andretti/Cadillac Formula 1 Team a few years before we start planning their funeral
If a different US team was starting this, I would have a lot more confidence.
As for Cadillac- if they just sponsor a Renault powertrain, that would mean that they should be able to be competitive. But if they start fresh, well, Honda.
alfadriver said:Tom_Spangler (Forum Supporter) said:I'll say this for Michael, he's persistent.
Thing is, his team's performance isn't really all that good. Last major win was in 2017 with Sato at Indy, and last championship was 2012 with RHR. If it were Penske or Ganassi, I think there would be more confidence in at least repeating what Haas has been able to to. But given Mike's track record, I don't see anything but a back marker- especially starting with a brand new, clean sheet F1 powertrain.
Thanks for posting what I keep thinking. They can't seem to get it together in Indycar so I'm not sure how that is going to translate to good results in F1.
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