Thursday Thoughts: Team Launches

Well, Thursday is upon us again which means it is time again for some Thursday Thoughts. This weeks question is:

Should F1 teams launch 2010 cars in a single launch event?

I am of opinion that this would be a very good idea. A whole weekend where all 13 teams get together to unveil their cars at a combined event would be fantastic. Firstly, yes, it would definitely save money. For all the cost cutting that’s going on, this would be a very simple way to save a little more without impacting on the racing at all. Additionally, with all the teams in attendance there would be more room for sponsor events along with increased with publicity which can only be good for the sport, right? James Allen suggests that an event like this could see less publicity for the smaller teams and that the event would be dominated by Ferrari and McLaren but I beg to differ. Firstly, although Ferrari and McLaren remain the ‘big two’ of F1, I think that with the inclusion of Mercedes GP (and to his credit this hadn’t happened when JA posted that) and with Red Bull emerging as a force in F1 people will definitely be interested in more than two teams. Also, many people (myself included) will be interested to see what the brand new teams can come up with and how competitive (or how uncompetitive?) they will be. All the smaller teams in F1 should be able to feed off of this publicity.

As for whether it will happen, well, that depends on whether Ferrari and McLaren and possibly Mercedes want to share their publicity with the smaller teams. In having the combined launch, it would serve as a show of strength for FOTA with the new teams to start the new season, but as I said, could steal some of the thunder of the larger teams. I doubt it though, I think that the bigger teams will still be able to get all the publicity they need.

This time last year, both Toyota and BMW had announced the launch date of their 2009 cars, but so far this year we’ve heard nothing. Does that mean the group launch might be on or is it that the teams are a bit more behind this year?

I don’t think we can conclude that it is definitely happening just from this. I mean, Toyota and BMW are no longer here, perhaps they were just the most organised of the teams? Or the two that needed to announce it early for a bit of publicity that they wouldn’t usually get, particularly in the case of Toyota?

But yes, personally I would love to see an event like this happen, but as for whether it will, we’ll just have to wait and see I guess.

Thursday Thoughts – New Presidents

Despite the fact that almost 100% of my readership comes from Sidepodcast (well, at least 100% of my comments do) I’m going to explain the concept anyway. Every Thursday a topic is published for bloggers to share their thoughts on. This week the topic is who should be the next president of FOTA in the wake of Luca di Montezemolo’s announcement that he doesn’t want to do it anymore. Additionally, with the withdrawal of Toyota from F1, John Howett, the current vice-President ain’t going to be getting the top job. In my mind there are two people who stand out as potential replacements. Ross Brawn and Frank Williams.

Firstly, to Ross Brawn. Brawn is currently the Head of the Technical Regulations FOTA working group and for good reason. Brawn is one of the best engineers in F1, and also one of the most respected team principals. Ross Brawn would act in a manner that was beneficial to the sport would have the backing from the FIA. With technical regulation being a major issue in F1, he also has invaluable expertise in this field.

Sir Frank Williams needs no introduction. He is the longest serving team principal in F1 and any action he takes would undoubtedly be in the best interests of the individual teams and of F1 as a whole. Despite the fact that Williams F1 were kicked out of FOTA for four months during the 2009 season, Frank Williams still remains a solid choice as President of FOTA. Additionally, with Williams F1 siding with the FIA and CVC, having Frank Williams as FOTA President may see the FIA take more of FOTA’s wishes and requests on board.

I would have no qualms seeing either Ross Brawn or Sir Frank Williams becoming the next FOTA Chairman.