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)