What makes a team successful?

[Super Tourer]

This year we have two teams under new ownership, both with plenty of funding behind them and ambitions to move up the grid.

With this in mind, what do you think is their best method or plan to move up the grid and the most realistic timescale?

Designer - to hire a top line deisgner is going to take millions per year and heavy investment into the facilities they need to make their input worthwhile. Are you better hiring an up and coming member of a rival's design team?

Budget - we have seen both BAR and Toyota throw money at F1 before to little effect, so this is proof that money alone cannot make it in F1. You need a good budget but it has to be well directed.

Drivers - it's pointless hiring engineers and designers to throw time and money at wind tunnels looking for another half a second - if the driver you hire is half a second a lap slower than he should be, it cancels out all them money you've just spent. It is wise to channel some resources into hiring the best drivers you can, on long term contracts so that you can develop together.

Invest in the team - the stark difference in Jordan and Sauber is that Peter Sauber has invested heavily in his team, much more pro rata than even the top teams - whereas EJ never really built the factory or the wind tunnel that was required to grow the team. The fruits of which policy works best are clear from this example.

If it came down to clear choices of say invest in the design team over paying a driver, what is the best option. This is almost a circular argument - if the car is well engineered but the driver weak it is wasted effort, on the other hand if the driver is good and the car weak you are back where you started.

So, running and owning a team is all about making the right choices - what would you do if you bought Minardi tomorrow and had access to resonable funds? (say an annual budget of $150M and capital investment of $25M - on top of buying the team)

[Mr V]

Money, staff, drivers, lots of hard work, commitment and dedication - simple

[garcon]

Well it certainly ain't just money. I can't recall the precise figures, but the budgets for, say, BAR and Jaguar in 2004 weren't that far apart. And look at the difference in results. The thing is, I've seen the Jaguar (now Red Bull) facility in Milton Keynes, and there really isn't anything I can put my finger on to explain why they didn't perform better. Then again, if I could put my finger on it, I'd be a team manager...

In some ways it's like a football team. You can throw all the money you can borrow at it, and maybe for a while you'll live the dream, but that money doesn't guarantee success and sooner or later it's likely to collapse around your ears. Alternatively, you can take a more evolutionary approach. Take time to put the foundation stones in place. Much less risky, but your fans and sponsors are going to have to be very patient for results.

One point I did pick up from the Jaguar tour. Apart from the engine, which arrives in a box from Cosworth, Jaguar did just about everything themselves. No relying on 3rd party suppliers or outsourced companies. Which meant much quicker turn around from new design to new component. Contrast that with Jordan, where relatively little is designed or built in house.

Precisely where you start kind of depends where you're starting from. I think the team has to set its budget first. And this should be tied over a multi-year plan, so that as intermediate goals are achieved more money is released to take the team the next step forward.

Given that financial plan, get the best manager and designers you can afford. That might mean limiting your driver budget, but you won't attract the best drivers anyway unless they're impressed by your backroom staff. A good manager will run a tight ship, find efficiencies, maximise testing and development opportunities, and motivate the whole team. The design team are vital in delivering an attractive and effective product - one that, initially at least, can flatter average drivers and make a favourable impression on those peering in from other garages.

Then, possibly a couple of years down the line, you can use some good results, a respected design and support team and the promise of more investment to come to tempt the more illustrious pilots. Go for the old and young combination, the old hack who's seen it all but still has the pace and will add a huge amount to the development process, and the young charger who's showing talent but for whichever reason hasn't been snapped up by the big boys.

Finally, if that multi-year plan isn't just a tattered dream, you can think about some capital investment to really establish your team as an independent player in the big league. You've had your own design team from day one, but now they get to play with their own wind tunnel, and maybe the drivers get their own test track.

Sounds easy...

[jj2728]

just look to ferrari for your answer..

[BootsOntheSide]

It's nowhere near that simple JJ. Ferrari wouldn't've ahd a hope of attracting Michael and his team of staff without not only their strong heritage, but the fact that their first car would be, at worst, 5th best - and the staff coming in would have a lot of potential to do their best.

I think Garcon has it about right - you can't usually get the best people in straight away, and all too often they will simply take up too much money for what they're able to give, and ultimately become frustrated and perhaps unhelpful (look at JV as an example - Panis arguably gave the team much more even though no one could class him as a better driver). The most important thing is to gel a team and get some team spirit going.

[DKGandBH]

You need to have money find 1 unique extraordinary drawcard to get the people...

Ferrari have it with their herritage/prestige, as do Mclaren and Williams to a smaller degree.

Minardi and Jordan have an appeal as they have the lightest budgets and this allows up-and-commers to get int F1. From there they do something to show of their talents and get picked up bu a bigger team (Drivers as well as other team members)

Jaguar didn't have anything *special* in F1. Neither does Renault and Toyota. These teams are waiting to happen and need to happen fast or they will follow Ford (Jaguar).

BAR have missed the boat I fear, they had a drawcard (albeit a useless one) of a Former WDC but nothing came of it (in fact what happens to BAR after the tobacco laws are enforced totally ?).

Sauber have an appeal as the highest running *private* team (and the use of Ferrari components).

The teams have to exploit this *appeal* (as well as a wad of cash) to get better people and with them, better results.

that is my take on things.

DKGandBH

[gttouring]

simply stated- Everyone
everyone in the team has to be important or made to feel that way and rally behind one common goal
to Win. from the shop mops and sweepers to the Driver and team principle everyone is feeling as they contribute to the ultimate goal, and of course everyone is respected.
if the toilet janitor tell the Suspension engineer that he thinks he needs new toilets and the suspensionengineer tells The principle and they get new Loos, then every one goes happy and feels clean and that is one less thing to throw anyones concentration off.
and if the tyre Technician recommends incense for the lorry trailers and it is made so, well everyone does a share to help and everyone contributes to a happy and common atmosphere.
only one team has this philosophy and one team has 5 constructor championships consectutive.
Ferrari

[Asa]

First I think you must create the hardware. If you don't even have the room for the guys to work on, then they'll probably don't want to stay.

Build up the factory, show the technical guys that you have state-of-the-art technology, then they will want to play with it and try to get the most out of it. Technical ppl always are attracted to the latest tech.

If I bought Minardi, then I would shore up all the hardware and build a nice, big and easy-to-operate wind tunnel, 7-post test rigs, computational-fluid-dynamics capable computers.

Expand the factory to make parts using full CADCAM, set up a test team to do more testing with all the latest parts.

[RWC]

One thing that i can't get out of my mind is that countless new owners have taken over teams saying that they are commited to do whatever it takes to move up the grid.
Inevitably this proves to be a a blatant stupid lie.All they are doing is talking big so that they attract sponsers -other peoples money- to do the job for them.
Doesn't this sound like every minardi or small team owner ever?

[Armco Bender]

What about building your car in a stable,hiring a driver who crashes a lot,turn up with Rolls Royces,a helicopter,biggest yacht in Monaco harbour,champagne and lots of tarts ???.............well it worked for Hesketh racing in the '70s,might be worth trying again.

[Mattracer]

Ferrari- name/mystique=heritage, success buys more mystique/heritage=more sponsorship=bigger budget to spend=more staff, greater resources attracts better drivers=equals more success and around we go again.

McLaren too only they maybe had less mystique to start with but thanks to some great years with top drivers and clever engineers, achieved a hell of a lot.