Should I stay or should I go?

[slicktoast]

So, (sadly?) which teams won't be around for 2011?

[Chatters]

USF1.

[ECW Dan Selby]

lmfao that's funny

HRT i'd be quite surprised, but I hope they do stay about.

Selby

[Bonanza]

sauber. at least not in their current incarnation. maybe HRT as well.

[Rgms320]

Originally Posted by Bonanza

sauber. at least not in their current incarnation...

You might be right, and that makes me sad.

After all the good stuff that Peter Sauber has done for his team and F1, he deserves much better than to have his cars running the track with everything but "This Space for Rent" signs on the sidepods.

What is with these sponsors? Peter Sauber and his team are all class, and perennial F1 favorites. The sponsors could do a lot worse with their ad budgets.

I hope that he can finish the season, and that something good will happen for him in the offseason, if not long before.

[Belatti]

+1

[duke_toaster]

I wouldn't be surprised if we lost Hispania or Sauber, or if Renault was under a new name next year (either Gravity Renault or possibly Lada?). Red Bull keep on talking about selling Toro Rosso but that never happens.

[courageous]

Bold prediction - HRT, Virgin & Lotus will all be on the grid for the start of 2011 (maybe not under the same name, but the same team will be there).

Sauber remind me of Prost's last season - did testing underweight to attract sponsors, sponsors didn't buy it & the team got found out once racing started.

[strider]

I'm pretty certain Lotus will be there and I have a hunch (or maybe it's just a wish) that HRT will make it through as well. For some reason I have doubts about Virgin. Too much seems to going wrong, but maybe the 'new' car will make everything good.

[Birddog07]

I don't think Virgin will pull out, atleast on their own account. I really hope not, but I could see HRT and Sauber going. Lotus seems to be in it for atleast a few years to see if they start getting results again. Renault could possibly be sold, but so far this season they are doing pretty weel, so they stay on track and I don't think so. Wish USF1 was given another chance, maybe if they can show the FIA they have the proper funding to go at it? That won't happen though, and they have seemed to spoil it for any other US prospects.

[Pingguest]

I wouldn't mind of all new teams were gone by the start of next year's season. So far they didn't really add something to the sport.

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Pingguest

I wouldn't mind of all new teams were gone by the start of next year's season. So far they didn't really add something to the sport.

Give them a chance!

I think that the tussle at the back of the grid is quite interesting and it won't be too long before some of the more established teams are going to have to start looking over their shoulders.

[Bononi]

Yeah give them time, and mostly important, time to test their cars !

[bjohnsonsmith]

That's by The Clash, off their penultimate album 'Combat Rock'.

[bella]

i think renault will stick with the existing branding with the f1 team. it works too well in the context of the world series by renault for example for them to have a f1 car, they seem to have been the only manufacturer to have really embraced the benefits of f1 for their road cars and marketing in recent time.

what's preventing say, sauber and hrt merging? i can't see virgin or lotus considering something like that because they both have strong images, but wouldn't it make sense in these times for a couple of teams with different strengths to combine forces?

[Yannick]

Here's hoping that Sauber, my favourite team, can get some decent results rather sooner than later to help them secure sponsorship for next season. Most likely, they are racing on BMW money at this point in time.

HRT might stay for next season, and I hope they do, but most likely, they won't have Dallara cars then. Might they get Lolas or an upgrade of this year's Toyota for next year? It's too early to tell.

Virgin is just the holder of the name rights to Manor Grand Prix. Financially, the team look OK from the outside, so even if Virgin decide to sell the name rights to a different entity, they could keep going. Yet, if they want to stay together with Wirth Research remains to be seen after the fuel tank debacle they went through.

Force 1ndia finally need to send in their papers to the British tax authorities, don't they?

[climb]

HRT unlikely to keep in, unless they find an unlikely sponsor; Virgin to keep if mr Branson goes on spending money on the team

[ECW Dan Selby]

It's certainly been a baptism of fire for Virgin, hasn't it? I couldn't help but feel Wirth will be disappointed thus far. He seemed one of the most confident and upbeat in pre-season, yet everything seems to have gone wrong for them so far.

Sauber's hopes really seem to be relying on James Key. He has a good track record, but is it good enough to turn this team around? The car when it's light seemed to fundamentally have the speed (according to pre-season testing), it's just up to James and the rest of the team to try and unlock it (please forgive the 'key' pun..).

Selby

[strider]

Originally Posted by Yannick

Force 1ndia finally need to send in their papers to the British tax authorities, don't they?

They've done that.

[Ralf's Girl]

I don't see HRT being on the grid next year, or at least not in its current guise. They presumably haven't got the capability/facilities to build their own car, but also haven't got the money to buy something better than what they've got from Dallara, which they've said they're disappointed with. Perhaps another change of ownership for them?

I'm asking questions about Virgin as well - I don't think it's going as well for them as they thought it would. Their car isn't always the quickest of the new teams, and it's also the least reliable. The fuel tank fiasco is the icing on the cake. If they don't start taking some steps forward in the next few races, I could imagine that Beardie Branson will be thinking twice about whether he wants to keep investing.

[Bononi]

I agree with you about the 2 teams, but I still believe that whole FIA's plan was ill conceived and there's little hope for other teams if the situation stay as it is now.