Unpopular F1 opinions

[Nessafox]

Red Bull have/will ruin F1

As a team, I don't like them. But I don't see how they could be a threat to F1 as a whole apart from making it boring by dominating every season they're in.

Red Bull will probably change the sport a lot, because it's not a car-manufacturer, neither a garagist, but a random large company. But i think we'll have to get used to this, other than Ferrari and McLaren, i can't see a lot of traditional teams suriving for another 20 years. What i do question is, will Red Bull still have long-term commitment, if they have an unsuccesful period?

[dr-baker]

Red Bull have/will ruin F1

As a team, I don't like them. But I don't see how they could be a threat to F1 as a whole apart from making it boring by dominating every season they're in.

Red Bull will probably change the sport a lot, because it's not a car-manufacturer, neither a garagist, but a random large company. But i think we'll have to get used to this, other than Ferrari and McLaren, i can't see a lot of traditional teams suriving for another 20 years. What i do question is, will Red Bull still have long-term commitment, if they have an unsuccesful period?

But surely you could have said the same thing about Benetton, the clothing manufacturer? They hung around for about 5 years or so after their success with Schumacher (well, five years after Berger's last win in 1997...), then sold up. They did not exactly change the sport a lot, other than being the first non-automotive/racing brand to win the WCC.

[Nessafox]

Indeed, Benetton were pioneers, Red Bull is perfectioning the idea. I don't like the idea, but that's probably how the future looks.

[AndreaModa]

But who could you see realistically coming in as a global brand and running an F1 team? There's very few companies out there with the resources and will to go and do something like that. Benetton did it when it was cheap, Red Bull are known for their involvement in sports, I can't see where the next one would come from.

[Onxy Wrecked]

Wasn't that the race where the track broke up this year ?

I think it may have been. I know the old Detroit GP track certainly had such issues during the 1980s and the climate is just as harsh.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Wasn't that the race where the track broke up this year ?

I think it may have been. I know the old Detroit GP track certainly had such issues during the 1980s and the climate is just as harsh.

There was also the 2008 Canadian GP where the track was breaking up in the heat at the hairpin at the back of the circuit all weekend.

[mario]

Red Bull have/will ruin F1

As a team, I don't like them. But I don't see how they could be a threat to F1 as a whole apart from making it boring by dominating every season they're in.

Red Bull will probably change the sport a lot, because it's not a car-manufacturer, neither a garagist, but a random large company. But i think we'll have to get used to this, other than Ferrari and McLaren, i can't see a lot of traditional teams suriving for another 20 years. What i do question is, will Red Bull still have long-term commitment, if they have an unsuccesful period?

It would probably depend on how prolonged and how severe that unsuccessful period lasted for, given that they have built up a good deal of publicity around their team and have made it fairly self sufficient for now (Forbes reported that Red Bull is the second most valuable team in F1 right now, behind Ferrari, mainly thanks to the fact that it has been pulling in a lot of external sponsors). A moderate dip in performance would probably be tolerable since the team would still be fairly wealthy - as dr-baker points out, Benetton stuck around for several years before finally pulling the plug, so I wouldn't expect Red Bull to pull out overnight unless something pretty catastrophic occurred.

[Klon]

If anything, Red Bull's presence could hurt the sport because it leaves the illusion alive that there will always be companies or people willing to invest nine-figure sums into F1 teams, causing both slowdown in the necessary budget restrictions and support for the dangerous "bathplug the backmarkers" sentiment held by many.

My question as far as Red Bull's commitment is what happens when Mateschitz and that Thai guy pass away (a prospect that is not too unrealistic): will their successors still be as interested in promoting Red Bull with the horrendous expense of a current-era top-running Formula One team or instead go for more conventional approaches or just leave for less expensive sports (hell, even their football teams combined are likely to cost less than STR and RBR).

[Nessafox]

But who could you see realistically coming in as a global brand and running an F1 team? There's very few companies out there with the resources and will to go and do something like that. Benetton did it when it was cheap, Red Bull are known for their involvement in sports, I can't see where the next one would come from.

Could have been Virgin. That didn't end well... But they're still relatively new to the sport.

[AndreaModa]

But who could you see realistically coming in as a global brand and running an F1 team? There's very few companies out there with the resources and will to go and do something like that. Benetton did it when it was cheap, Red Bull are known for their involvement in sports, I can't see where the next one would come from.

Could have been Virgin. That didn't end well... But they're still relatively new to the sport.

But whilst Branson has money, he doesn't have anything like enough to bankroll an F1 team off his own back, that's why the initial idea for the Virgin team was to try and make the £40 million a year budget work. I suspect that in a few years he won't even be involved any more.

[Onxy Wrecked]

If anything, Red Bull's presence could hurt the sport because it leaves the illusion alive that there will always be companies or people willing to invest nine-figure sums into F1 teams, causing both slowdown in the necessary budget restrictions and support for the dangerous "bathplug the backmarkers" sentiment held by many.

My question as far as Red Bull's commitment is what happens when Mateschitz and that Thai guy pass away (a prospect that is not too unrealistic): will their successors still be as interested in promoting Red Bull with the horrendous expense of a current-era top-running Formula One team or instead go for more conventional approaches or just leave for less expensive sports (hell, even their football teams combined are likely to cost less than STR and RBR).

It cost less money to field the ridiculous notion by Team Scandia of 7 IndyCar teams in 1996 than it would be to run a F1 team. Now that is a scary view of how expensive Formula 1 chassis development is.

[TomWazzleshaw]

It cost less money to field the ridiculous notion by Team Scandia of 7 IndyCar teams in 1996 than it would be to run a F1 team. Now that is a scary view of how expensive Formula 1 chassis development is.

Although that day at Indy was incredibly expensive for Team Scandia as four cars had mechanical failures, one was absolutely nowhere and that idiot Zampedri decided to write off the other two cars on the final lap anyway

[Onxy Wrecked]

It cost less money to field the ridiculous notion by Team Scandia of 7 IndyCar teams in 1996 than it would be to run a F1 team. Now that is a scary view of how expensive Formula 1 chassis development is.

Although that day at Indy was incredibly expensive for Team Scandia as four cars had mechanical failures, one was absolutely nowhere and that idiot Zampedri decided to write off the other two cars on the final lap anyway

At least it was no more expensive than having early career Andrea De Cesaris. But Zampedri did that on the last lap no less and that was the last official lap he ran in the Indy 500 as in 1997, Zampedri's engine expired before the 1st lap had even started.

[Gerudo Dragon]

I'll miss Timo Glock

[14 Hundred Hours]

I'll miss Timo Glock

Ditto.

[Sunshine_Baby_[IT]]

Red Bull will probably change the sport a lot, because it's not a car-manufacturer, neither a garagist, but a random large company. But i think we'll have to get used to this, other than Ferrari and McLaren, i can't see a lot of traditional teams suriving for another 20 years. What i do question is, will Red Bull still have long-term commitment, if they have an unsuccesful period?

But surely you could have said the same thing about Benetton, the clothing manufacturer? They hung around for about 5 years or so after their success with Schumacher (well, five years after Berger's last win in 1997...), then sold up. They did not exactly change the sport a lot, other than being the first non-automotive/racing brand to win the WCC.

I think I have to agree with you, I don't think that Redbull will dominate a lot throughout the years. Probably Redbull will end as Benetton ended (being sold up) or will become a midfield team again, as it was until 2008.

[andrew2209]

It cost less money to field the ridiculous notion by Team Scandia of 7 IndyCar teams in 1996 than it would be to run a F1 team. Now that is a scary view of how expensive Formula 1 chassis development is.

Fielding 7 cars at Indy probably doesn't cost that much (in relative terms to F1), considering you don't have to design a car.

[Faustus]

It cost less money to field the ridiculous notion by Team Scandia of 7 IndyCar teams in 1996 than it would be to run a F1 team. Now that is a scary view of how expensive Formula 1 chassis development is.

Fielding 7 cars at Indy probably doesn't cost that much (in relative terms to F1), considering you don't have to design a car.

Also bear in mind that the cars used in the 1996 Indy 500 and IRL were all at least 1 year old (although some were older), which the CART teams no longer had any use for and therefore the cars were quite cheap to buy, although still expensive to run.

[Cynon]

F1 cars are so similar these days that the teams might as well all be given one chassis that they are free to modify. Might be less expensive.

[Onxy Wrecked]

F1 cars are so similar these days that the teams might as well all be given one chassis that they are free to modify. Might be less expensive.

I agree with this... And Adrian Newey will still be a god with the Red Bulls.

[Phoenix]

F1 cars are so similar these days that the teams might as well all be given one chassis that they are free to modify. Might be less expensive.

I swear, when I read that I went looking for the RT button.

[Onxy Wrecked]

It cost less money to field the ridiculous notion by Team Scandia of 7 IndyCar teams in 1996 than it would be to run a F1 team. Now that is a scary view of how expensive Formula 1 chassis development is.

Fielding 7 cars at Indy probably doesn't cost that much (in relative terms to F1), considering you don't have to design a car.

Also bear in mind that the cars used in the 1996 Indy 500 and IRL were all at least 1 year old (although some were older), which the CART teams no longer had any use for and therefore the cars were quite cheap to buy, although still expensive to run.

Then the US 500 lap one crash happened and there wasn't enough old and good CART chassis components making it far more expensive in 1997.

[Ferrarist]

F1 cars are so similar these days that the teams might as well all be given one chassis that they are free to modify. Might be less expensive.

Then we'd have Red Bull Ganassying the rest of the field.

But here's an unpopular opinion: The FIA needs a respected person from the world of auto racing, who has enough authority to enforce drastic changes for the sport. Unfortunately, the only ones in mind are probably way too old by now (Mario Andretti and Jackie Stewart).

[LellaLombardi]

F1 cars are so similar these days that the teams might as well all be given one chassis that they are free to modify. Might be less expensive.

Then we'd have Red Bull Ganassying the rest of the field.

But here's an unpopular opinion: The FIA needs a respected person from the world of auto racing, who has enough authority to enforce drastic changes for the sport. Unfortunately, the only ones in mind are probably way too old by now (Mario Andretti and Jackie Stewart).

Even more unpopular opinion: Schumacher? He had the authority to turn Ferrari into multiple championship winners and is a powerful name in the sport. I strongly suspect he's off to have a quiet retirement this time though

[Phoenix]

What about Ari Vatanen? If only he won from Todt...

[roblo97]

What about Ari Vatanen? If only he won from Todt...

What about Enoch and Jamie?

[Gerudo Dragon]

Lift Me Up is a good song.

[andrew2209]

The Blue/Pink livery on the Brabham BT60 was actually good looking.

[Ferrarist]

Even more unpopular opinion: Schumacher? He had the authority to turn Ferrari into multiple championship winners and is a powerful name in the sport. I strongly suspect he's off to have a quiet retirement this time though

Schumacher? I don't know. I think he's more on the Laissez-Faire side, given that he has had his biggest success in an era, where almost everything went.

[girry]

(Mario Andretti and Jackie Stewart)

Sorry, but I've previously thought this duo is somewhat as 'respected' in motor racing circles as Niki Lauda?

[Ferrarist]

(Mario Andretti and Jackie Stewart)

Sorry, but I've previously thought this duo is somewhat as 'respected' in motor racing circles as Niki Lauda?

Huh? Okay, I could understand Stewart to a certain extent, but Mario Andretti? I can't think of anything he might have done that could have earned him a reputation similar to Lauda's.

[dr-baker]

The Blue/Pink livery on the Brabham BT60 was actually good looking.

Erm, no.

[Cynon]

Lift Me Up is a good song.

I'd have to agree.

(Mario Andretti and Jackie Stewart)

Sorry, but I've previously thought this duo is somewhat as 'respected' in motor racing circles as Niki Lauda?

Huh? Okay, I could understand Stewart to a certain extent, but Mario Andretti? I can't think of anything he might have done that could have earned him a reputation similar to Lauda's.

Race as an American.

In all seriousness, Mario Andretti has a lot more power as a figurehead of IndyCar racing than Formula 1. IndyCar is, after all, where Mario had his greatest success (Indy 500 win, 4 championships, race wins in his 50s...), and also the arena in which he has the greatest knowledge. While yes, he is a former World Champion and has been present at many F1 events, I don't think Mario has quite the same kind of influence that he does in IndyCar.

For example... after Graham Rahal whinged about Marco Andretti only being in the IndyCar field because of his surname, all it took was Mario to tell Rahal "I didn't know we had a problem" to turn Rahal into a scared child to avoid the wrath of Mario. Mario Andretti also was one of the (sensible) few to openly tell the world to be patient and not make any knee-jerk reactions to the Dan Wheldon tragedy.

While I'm on the topic of IndyCar racing, an unpopular F1 opinion is now due. I've probably said this one 8547845 times in this thread, but I feel I need to say it again because... well, I can.

J.J. Lehto, Tarso Marques, Gaston Mazzacane, Antonio Pizzonia, Eddie Cheever (discounting his IRL tenure), and Stefan Johansson prove that not just any F1 driver can hack it in IndyCar racing. Alex Zanardi did, after all, match Michael Schumacher's testing times in Schumacher's Benetton, and Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Mario Andretti were all World Champions...

Another unpopular F1 opinion:

A.J. Foyt deserves an F1 Rejects profile. It's amusing that one of the 5 greatest racing drivers of all time (and easily the best driver ever at the Indy 500) is eligible for a profile on this site, for, of all things, his first few appearances in the Indy 500... which was, after all, a Formula 1 race at the time! If there ever was a NASCAR Rejects (with the same criteria), Jim Clark of all people would be eligible, alongside such names as Delma Cowart, Kirk Shelmerdine, and Steve Wallace!

[UncreativeUsername37]

the Indy 500... which was, after all, a Formula 1 race at the time!

World Championship race, not Formula One. There were, of course, many non-championship F1 races back in the day, and also the F2 races of 1952 and '53 and Indy 500 from 1950-60 that were in the World Championship without being run to F1 regulations.

[Onxy Wrecked]

Race as an American.

In all seriousness, Mario Andretti has a lot more power as a figurehead of IndyCar racing than Formula 1. IndyCar is, after all, where Mario had his greatest success (Indy 500 win, 4 championships, race wins in his 50s...), and also the arena in which he has the greatest knowledge. While yes, he is a former World Champion and has been present at many F1 events, I don't think Mario has quite the same kind of influence that he does in IndyCar.

For example... after Graham Rahal whinged about Marco Andretti only being in the IndyCar field because of his surname, all it took was Mario to tell Rahal "I didn't know we had a problem" to turn Rahal into a scared child to avoid the wrath of Mario. Mario Andretti also was one of the (sensible) few to openly tell the world to be patient and not make any knee-jerk reactions to the Dan Wheldon tragedy.

While I'm on the topic of IndyCar racing, an unpopular F1 opinion is now due. I've probably said this one 8547845 times in this thread, but I feel I need to say it again because... well, I can.

J.J. Lehto, Tarso Marques, Gaston Mazzacane, Antonio Pizzonia, Eddie Cheever (discounting his IRL tenure), and Stefan Johansson prove that not just any F1 driver can hack it in IndyCar racing. Alex Zanardi did, after all, match Michael Schumacher's testing times in Schumacher's Benetton, and Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Mario Andretti were all World Champions...

Another unpopular F1 opinion:

A.J. Foyt deserves an F1 Rejects profile. It's amusing that one of the 5 greatest racing drivers of all time (and easily the best driver ever at the Indy 500) is eligible for a profile on this site, for, of all things, his first few appearances in the Indy 500... which was, after all, a Formula 1 race at the time! If there ever was a NASCAR Rejects (with the same criteria), Jim Clark of all people would be eligible, alongside such names as Delma Cowart, Kirk Shelmerdine, and Steve Wallace!

Not to mention the very forgettable careers of Stacy Compton who is the NASCAR version of Ghinzini, and Clark Dwyer who has eery similarities to Thackwell with a meteoric rise to NASCAR's top series at the age of 19 just to never find success to be put alongside of Jim Clark. Roger Penske is also a F1 reject and just look at all those Indy 500 wins as an owner.

[girry]

ok, I'll take your information on Mario. I don't question him as a driver, the man just had seemed a bit lauda-esque nowadays to me, opinion on all things and no one would rather listen....

I guess its too many times mentioned but Bernie definitely deserves a profile as well. I have a distant memory of Ecclestone which might is wrong but could be right, knowing his dry sense of humour - some reporter asked his opinion who is the worst F1 driver ever, to which Bernie briefly replied 'myself' - therefore, don't rule out the possibility that he might also want a profile on the site as well and be willing to be interviewed for that...

[mario]

While I'm on the topic of IndyCar racing, an unpopular F1 opinion is now due. I've probably said this one 8547845 times in this thread, but I feel I need to say it again because... well, I can.

J.J. Lehto, Tarso Marques, Gaston Mazzacane, Antonio Pizzonia, Eddie Cheever (discounting his IRL tenure), and Stefan Johansson prove that not just any F1 driver can hack it in IndyCar racing. Alex Zanardi did, after all, match Michael Schumacher's testing times in Schumacher's Benetton, and Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Mario Andretti were all World Champions...

Another unpopular F1 opinion:

A.J. Foyt deserves an F1 Rejects profile. It's amusing that one of the 5 greatest racing drivers of all time (and easily the best driver ever at the Indy 500) is eligible for a profile on this site, for, of all things, his first few appearances in the Indy 500... which was, after all, a Formula 1 race at the time! If there ever was a NASCAR Rejects (with the same criteria), Jim Clark of all people would be eligible, alongside such names as Delma Cowart, Kirk Shelmerdine, and Steve Wallace!

I don't think it is necessarily contentious to state that drivers from one series will not automatically adapt and dominate another series, even if certain features are shared between the two series.
Admittedly, it has to be said that quite a few of those drivers you've cited made the switch from Formula 1 to IndyCar racing at a quite late stage in their careers (most of them were in their 30's by the time they switched, whilst Mansell was 40 years old when he tried his hand in IndyCars), so there is the caveat that most of those drivers would have probably already peaked in terms of their performance. Still, given the nature of the US racing scene, which has its own idiosyncrasies compared to the European racing scene (running all the way up from the entry level series into the top tier), it is not surprising to my mind that a driver might do well in one series but find himself with the wrong skill set to compete in the other series.

As for Foyt, despite his talents I would have to agree with the comments of others and say that he isn't eligible for a profile here. As others have pointed out, the Indy 500 was a World Drivers Championship event, but the regulations of both series were quite different (although there had been plans for the two series to run similar regulations, the plans were scrapped fairly quickly) and were run by two different governing bodies, so you can't really say that it was an F1 event.

[TomWazzleshaw]

J.J. Lehto, Tarso Marques, Gaston Mazzacane, Antonio Pizzonia, Eddie Cheever (discounting his IRL tenure), and Stefan Johansson prove that not just any F1 driver can hack it in IndyCar racing. Alex Zanardi did, after all, match Michael Schumacher's testing times in Schumacher's Benetton, and Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Mario Andretti were all World Champions...

I for one would actually argue that Johansson did a solid job during his time at Bettenhausen. I mean, he did score a podium in his first race after all.

[Salamander]

J.J. Lehto, Tarso Marques, Gaston Mazzacane, Antonio Pizzonia, Eddie Cheever (discounting his IRL tenure), and Stefan Johansson prove that not just any F1 driver can hack it in IndyCar racing. Alex Zanardi did, after all, match Michael Schumacher's testing times in Schumacher's Benetton, and Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Mario Andretti were all World Champions...

I for one would actually argue that Johansson did a solid job during his time at Bettenhausen. I mean, he did score a podium in his first race after all.

I think he had quite a few moments of brain fade, though.

[TomWazzleshaw]

J.J. Lehto, Tarso Marques, Gaston Mazzacane, Antonio Pizzonia, Eddie Cheever (discounting his IRL tenure), and Stefan Johansson prove that not just any F1 driver can hack it in IndyCar racing. Alex Zanardi did, after all, match Michael Schumacher's testing times in Schumacher's Benetton, and Nigel Mansell, Emerson Fittipaldi, and Mario Andretti were all World Champions...

I for one would actually argue that Johansson did a solid job during his time at Bettenhausen. I mean, he did score a podium in his first race after all.

I think he had quite a few moments of brain fade, though.

Ah, fair enough then.