Teams we would like to see return to F1

[Python]

So with 7 new teams tempting to get the 3 "remaining" (I use that term loosely) spots on next seasons World Championship season, it made me come up with this question "What teams would we like to see return to F1?" This is regardless if the team was good or if it was a reject team.


I'll post what teams I would like to see return in another post.

[BorderReiver]

Lotus and Tyrrell are obviously the two biggest "Legacy" names missing from the sport which could be feasibly brought back as privateers.

Of course I'd love to see a return to a Italian manufacturer to rival Ferrari (Maserati or Alpha being the obvious ones) however in the current economic climate that's not happening.

I'm Lotus to the core though, so I'd love to see them return to F1 if it was done properly. I've not no desire to see them tool around at the back or in the midfield like they did towards the end of the early 90s.

[dr-baker]

I started following F1 in the early-to-mid-1990's so have a certain fondness for some of the teams of around that era - namely Minardi, Simtek, Pacific, Lola. I never really seemed to become infactuated with Forti, mind you.And I loved the Castrol livery on the 1994 Lotus, a beautiful car in my opinion. Nothing to do with being given a free Castrol Lotus poster from a car garage at the time, honest! (Which I subsequently lost...)

[StoneColdSpider]

Life and Andrea Moda
my 2 favourite reject teams of all time.....

[noisebox]

Lotus and Tyrrell are obviously the two biggest "Legacy" names missing from the sport which could be feasibly brought back as privateers.

I would add Brabham to those two.

[AIZZY100]

How about the all conquering Zakspeed then they can bring back Mr Brundle to drive it again!

[Paul Hayes]

How about the all conquering Zakspeed then they can bring back Mr Brundle to drive it again!

Or if they really wanted to go for full reject mode, Alex Brundle!

[watka]

I think Lec are perfectly capable of making a comeback after 32 years out of the game.

I would also love to see the Midland name revived in Formula 1.

[Irisado]

It has to be Minardi, as they certainly did a good enough job as an independent team, in my view, to deserve a place in Formula 1, and I would love to see them return, arguably in place of Toro Rosso, so that they can have their old factory back. F1 has lost an awful lot of soul and passion ever since Minardi left in my view.

[RejectSteve]

Lotus, Tyrrell, Minardi, and Brabham would all be nice to see but I'm going to go further into history for my two choices. First, there is Matra, the cars that started the Tyrrell dynasty. Secondly, the legendary constructor largely responsible for the current layout of grand prix cars, Cooper!

Jaguar, Prost, and Ligier would all be acceptable but none of those teams were ever pulling in one direction.

[bigslydoc]

Ah no contest, Lotus, Brabham and Tyrrell with Minardi buying back Toro Rosso to make up the four. Don't know of anyone owns the name of Tyrrell. Did it go with Craig Pollock to BAR?

[dr-baker]

Ah no contest, Lotus, Brabham and Tyrrell with Minardi buying back Toro Rosso to make up the four. Don't know of anyone owns the name of Tyrrell. Did it go with Craig Pollock to BAR?

F1 Racing reported recently that Brawn was nearly named Tyrrell instead, but Ross Brawn' name just carried more clout in the current paddock...

[Ross Prawn]

If VW-Audi stopped messing around with diesel trucks at Le Mans, then we could have Bugatti on the grid once more, and Auto Union come to think of it.

[FullMetalJack]

I would love to see Jordan, Minardi, Sauber, Arrows and Ligier return. But I would want Jordan to be competitive like back in 1999. Tyrrell, Brabham and Lotus would be good as well, just so there are about 19 or 20 teams again.

[RejectSteve]

Ah no contest, Lotus, Brabham and Tyrrell with Minardi buying back Toro Rosso to make up the four. Don't know of anyone owns the name of Tyrrell. Did it go with Craig Pollock to BAR?

F1 Racing reported recently that Brawn was nearly named Tyrrell instead, but Ross Brawn' name just carried more clout in the current paddock...

Or was it nearly named because he wanted to reinstate the name, only to be denied by Ken's family for fear that the team would race poorly and bring dishonor to the deceased man's name?

[DonTirri]

Or was it nearly named because he wanted to reinstate the name, only to be denied by Ken's family for fear that the team would race poorly and bring dishonor to the deceased man's name?

I think 97 and 98 already did that but I digress

[Yannick]

How about the all conquering Zakspeed then they can bring back Mr Brundle to drive it again!

All that is left of Zakspeed at the time are one car privateer entries for the 24 hours of Nürburgring each year.

[Faustus]

How about the all conquering Zakspeed then they can bring back Mr Brundle to drive it again!

All that is left of Zakspeed at the time are one car privateer entries for the 24 hours of Nürburgring each year.

Not true. Zakspeed does run at least one car at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, they run a racing school at the Nordschleife, assists several teams with technical support in VLN (Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring - not quite literally Endurance Championship on the Nürburgring) and ran the Borussia Dortmund and the Beijing Guoan Football Club cars in the 2008 Superleague Formula, which by the way they won with the Beijing car.

[watka]

Fondmetal are still around, and proud of their F1 heritage.

[tristan1117]

Fondmetal are still around, and proud of their F1 heritage.

Really? That means we have to sign up Eric van de Poele again to finally prove his worth.

[Faustus]

Fondmetal are still around, and proud of their F1 heritage.

They certainly are, still making wheels and other cast bits and pieces at their foundry in Bergamo (Italy). And, of course, there's Fondmetal Technologies and their 2 windtunnels, including their really nice 50% scale 2nd windtunnel opened in 2007. Really awesome, absolutely state-of-the-art tunnel, run by Jean-Claude Migeot (he of Tyrrell and Ferrari fame, among others, he was also responsible for the aerodynamic development of the stunning Tyrrell 019).

[Debaser]

On Tyrrell, Ken quit early in 98 because Craig Pollock told him to sack Verstappen and hire Ricardo Rosset which Ken refused to do (and who can blame him???). Good to see Migeot's doing well, the Tyrrell he designed was ingenious with the anhedral nose.

[Shadaza]

I want Arrows to come back, especially if they can get Orange sponsorship again.
Otherwise it would have to be Wolf, I have no idea who owned the team but a name like wolf and in black! come on. Plus they were reasonably competitive.
But the one I would like to see most is Lotus, even if JPS sponsorship is out of the question.....

[Popi_Larrauri]

Shaow would be a team that, in the era of the raising dead shuold have a place of their own. And, in the end, BRMshould have his too.

[RejectSteve]

Not true. Zakspeed does run at least one car at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, they run a racing school at the Nordschleife, assists several teams with technical support in VLN (Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring - not quite literally Endurance Championship on the Nürburgring) and ran the Borussia Dortmund and the Beijing Guoan Football Club cars in the 2008 Superleague Formula, which by the way they won with the Beijing car.

The Borussia Dortmund car might have done better if they hadn't run four drivers in that entry over six race weekends (Nelson Philippe, Paul Meijer, ex-Minardi Friday driver Enrico Toccacello, and James Walker). This year Zakspeed will once again run the Beijing Guoan car (driver TBA) and the Sporting Club de Portugal entry with the largely unknown Pedro Petiz at the wheel.

[Faustus]

Not true. Zakspeed does run at least one car at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, they run a racing school at the Nordschleife, assists several teams with technical support in VLN (Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenpokal Nürburgring - not quite literally Endurance Championship on the Nürburgring) and ran the Borussia Dortmund and the Beijing Guoan Football Club cars in the 2008 Superleague Formula, which by the way they won with the Beijing car.

The Borussia Dortmund car might have done better if they hadn't run four drivers in that entry over six race weekends (Nelson Philippe, Paul Meijer, ex-Minardi Friday driver Enrico Toccacello, and James Walker). This year Zakspeed will once again run the Beijing Guoan car (driver TBA) and the Sporting Club de Portugal entry with the largely unknown Pedro Petiz at the wheel.

Pedro Petiz is a half-decent driver. He raced in the Portuguese Formula BMW championships and then did the Mazda MX-5 and Renault Megane Trophy one-make series in Portugal. He won the latter in 2007. It's quite a significant step up in terms of power, downforce and grip, so it'll be interesting to see how he'll cope.

[Paul Hayes]

Who was saying Lotus...?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75903

Litespeed to use Lotus name for F1 bid

By Matt Beer Sunday, June 7th 2009, 03:12 GMT

Litespeed has announced that it will use the historic Lotus name for its attempt to enter Formula 1 next season.

The Norfolk-based Formula 3 squad's founders Nino Judge and Steve Kenchington are both former Lotus engineers, and have received permission from Lotus name rights-holder David Hunt to use the evocative title for their F1 bid.

"Team Lotus is synonymous with great British engineering and F1 innovation, such as the Lotus 25 being the first monocoque chassis in F1 and the introduction of groundbreaking sponsorship, both of which easily demonstrate why ex-Lotus personnel would want to bring this championship-winning name back to the formula," said Judge.

"Litespeed was born from a similar British background - a factor that was at the core of Colin Chapman's beliefs and subsequent success.

"David Hunt has been the custodian of the name for so many years and we thank him for entrusting us not just with its safeguard but, more importantly, its development in the racing world of tomorrow."

The team had already revealed that former Tyrrell, Jordan, Renault, Toyota and Force India technical boss Mike Gascoyne had begun design work via his MGI organisation. Gascoyne also welcomed the news that the project would use the Lotus title.

"I am Norfolk born and bred," said Gascoyne. "For me to continue my F1 career under the banner of the Team Lotus name and help to bring it back to its deserving place in the world championship is a fantastic feeling and something that I am extremely proud to be doing."

Litespeed will base the Lotus F1 project in the RTN facility in Norfolk previously used by TOM'S and which later housed Audi and Bentley's Le Mans projects.

The team has also recruited Johnny Herbert, who raced for Lotus in F1 from 1991 to 1994, as a commercial ambassador and driver manager.

Founded by legendary designer and innovator Colin Chapman, the original Lotus team moved into F1 in 1958 after success in sportscars and Formula 2. It would go on to earn seven constructors' titles and take Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti to drivers' championships.

Its last race wins came with Ayrton Senna in 1987, after which its fortunes went into sharp decline - the famous team eventually closing its doors at the end of an uncompetitive and cash-strapped 1994 season.

Lotus is the third famous name to be associated with a prospective new F1 entrant for 2010, with other start-up projects having already announced plans to use the March and Brabham titles.

[Waris]

Rial, Osella, ATS, umm... who else? Lots of good ones have already been said. Forti, Pacific, Monteverdi?
Monteverdi would be hilarious.