Minardi sign an Israeli

[Wrex]

Before you can win, you have to survive.

I'm not sure many here grasp how 'hand to mouth' the lower teams are. While the budgets are in the millions, a few disasters here and there can easily wipe a team like this out.

Added to this, all the teams above them have a very poor attitude. "Give them enough to survive so we dont have to run a 3rd car, but little enough so they can never compete."

As for Stoddart, his role is to fund the team (and alot from his own pocket I might add), not design, build or race the car. Race/Championship goals are set and achived by the rest of the team, not him.

I do have a small chuckle at the critism at PS, suggesting he ruined Minardi. 2 facts for you, 1. They have never been a winning team, and 2. had he not purchesed them, they would most likely already be gone, with many people unemployed.

PS (and a couple of others) are in the sport because they are passionate and love it, does anyone really think, Toyota, Ford, even Mercedes and co are?

Back on topic, again I rebut the critics. Any redblooded race fan would do they same thing if we had 10 million bucks burning a whole in our pocket. Good on him.

[Skam85]

Paul Stoddard's motivation is to win in F1, unlike the maunfacturers, whose motivation is mainly to sell road cars and get the businesses more cash.

And any money injected into Minardi by a driver is a bonus. Yes Nissany may be a bit on the older side, but he's paying out of his own pocket and he's not driving on race weekends, so whose to judge who can and can't drive?

[KE30MAN]

Originally Posted by GP Racer

Here is an example of what I mean, in this months F1 mag.

The writer asks Stoddart what the long-term future for Minardi is. He goes into a long diartribe on all the ills of F1. The writer then adds,"what you say is valid and logical, but surely its significant that you've answered a question about Minardis future with a 3 minute critique of F1's current political status quo, rather than a detailed explanation of Minardi's future planning strategies"

These are the things that do nothing for a teams morale. I'm sure they feel the same way, "nothing we can do until the rules are changed". Paul cannot simply hang around and whinge and wine until F1 changes the rules to penalise the rich, to give to the poor.

Yeah Minardi do nothing for the sport. Alonso, Webber...F1 would be so much better without them.

Sure they are minnows but as WREX says "To win you have to survive".

[Russ-Turner]

The monnows are very important to F1. Without them F1 would probably collapse as B.M.W, Mercedes, Honda etc would leave if they kept finishing last. I for one admire Minardi and think they do an amazing job with their budget!!

[Kicking-back]

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of unfair criticism PS and Minardi get on internet forums.

Ron Dennis has said there is no one in F1 doing a more efficient job on the budget available than Minardi.

[Tweed]

That's not the bone of contention, it's just that Stoddart seems to revel in being one of the minnows. I've no doubts about his passion for the sport or for the fact that he saved Minardi from going under. If Dave Richards was at the helm of the Minardi team I think we'd be seeing a different attitude there.

[JohnSSC]

Imho, PS revels in the attention he gets from being a minnow, or underdog if you will.

There is no desire on his part it seems to improve his lot or the Team's and things like this (despite the driver seeming to be a decent guy) don't help.

What is F1 coming to if everyone is ok with "test drivers" actually being a Revenue Stream?

[BootsOntheSide]

To cease to be a minnow, you ahve to attract quality people and good funding. You can't do that by going into the office of a big comapny and saying "join us to experience the same glory as us", you have to sell yourselves on doing the best within your budget and keeping a racing spirit alive. And that's what Minardi have done very successfully, in an era when Jaguar and Peugeot have pulled out, and Jordan, Prost and Arrows all been lost to the sport (in effect).

[Super Tourer]

Minardi stand to gain most from the 'new F1' that will eventually surface out of the smoke filled room.

They will probably be able to run the team on the FOM benefits alone and be less reliant on 'stop gap' rent a drives. Stuff like the mooted single tyre regs and restriced testing will also stop the opposition running away from them on pace, at such an alarming rate.

Then they should be able to return to their former role of giving new talent a run - as they did with Fizzi, Webber, Alonso, Wilson, etc.

[JohnSSC]

I respectfully disagree that Minardi stand to gain anything from the "new F1."

The powers that be can change the rules all they want. The bottom line is that the Teams with budgets of hundreds of millions of $$$ will utilize that budget to develop their car to the maximum they can. They will utilize their privately-owned wind tunnel(s), small army of engineers and whatever else they can afford to tilt things in their favor.

The only way to parity among the teams is to have an equal footing in regards to budget (barring turning this into a "spec" series which no one here wants). I can think of no way to mandate a budget, so really, it doesn't matter. The teams with the $$ will do well and those without $$ will be 3 - 4 seconds down the time charts.

[DSM]

To get back to the point, nothing that has been said in the least justifies putting a complete no hoper like Nissany in a Formula 1 car. If Minardi are really that desperate for cash, maybe they shouldn't be in the elite formula of the sport?

[Super Tourer]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

I respectfully disagree that Minardi stand to gain anything from the "new F1."

I'm not suggesting that Minardi will suddenly be able to compete more equally, merely that financially they will gain heavily.

IIRC BE is offering the teams a guaranteed minimum of $40M per year - to a tight knit small team (130 people) like Minardi that is a huge cash injection. The fact that tyres will potentially be more equitable and things like more competitive engine supply deals will be available will all help a team like Minardi much more than in recent years.

I'm not suggesting that Minardi will be able to leap up the grid as a result and undoubtedly the same players will still continue to dominate the races, but Minardi will have the biggest % increase in available funding (relative to current budget), which gives them more security and the potential to chip away at the gap to their nearest rivals.

[JohnSSC]

Agreed, ST, but that infusion plus current funding still will equal far less than what Jordan was rumored to have spent last year without their "infusion."

Like DSM is noting this individual represents nothing except $$ for the meter.

I wish I knew what the answers are here but all that is happening is a sort of "stop gap pacification" of bottom-tier teams that really does not change the status quo.

[GP Racer]

I'm amazed that so many here, think it is the job of teams like Ferrari, Williams, McLaren, etc., to prop up teams like Minardi.

They have no such obligation IMO. They are there to race and compete within the rules of the given series, in this case F1. If a team cannot do that, then they need to move on to a series where they can. It is not Ferraris fault that they are willing to spend whatever it takes to win, and Minardi isn't or can't.

I don't want to see the end of the privateers in F1, just like I don't like seeing the small teams in the IRL folding up, but its not the job of superteams to subsidise the minnows. I'd rather blame the FIA for letting it get to this point...

[Snrub]

IMO the manufacturers are part of Minardi's problem, so I don't have a problem with them subsidizing Minardi. Costs have escallated massively and this super-competitive environment has left the small teams in the dust. Being 2 secs off your nearest competitor means that no one is going to sponsor you. If you can fight with someone, at least people will watch you. THAT is how drivers have impressed and used Minardi as a stepping stone, not simply by running in the back. What is Minardi's anual budget, I thought it was in the $30-40M range? $40M might mean they're still in the back, but it can mean that they're not a joke.

[GP Racer]

Originally Posted by Snrub

IMO the manufacturers are part of Minardi's problem, so I don't have a problem with them subsidizing Minardi. Costs have escallated massively and this super-competitive environment has left the small teams in the dust. Being 2 secs off your nearest competitor means that no one is going to sponsor you. If you can fight with someone, at least people will watch you. THAT is how drivers have impressed and used Minardi as a stepping stone, not simply by running in the back. What is Minardi's anual budget, I thought it was in the $30-40M range? $40M might mean they're still in the back, but it can mean that they're not a joke.

So penalise success?

The fact that costs have escalated is not Ferrari's fault. They are well within the set rules mandated, and its their right to spend as much they want in order to win. Just because Minardi cannot keep up, doesn't mean you should penalize them.

If that starts happenning, then you run the chance of teams like Ferrari leaving F1, which would be far worse for the sport than Minardi leaving...

[Skam85]

It doesn't help that Minardi have to pay Ferrari money, for the "contribution" to Formula One

[JohnSSC]

It doesn't help that F1 has turned into a Series where a budget of $40 MILLION is not enough.

I mean, think about that: $40 million per annum is not enough to compete!

[Wrex]

Originally Posted by Skam85

It doesn't help that Minardi have to pay Ferrari money, for the "contribution" to Formula One

Skam, please dont believe every web 'headline' and take it as fact.

This is so far from accurate its not funny.

[Skam85]

Paul Stoddard said it in an interview. Doesn't that mean anything??....oh. now I see. Paul Stoddard. Interview. Say no more.

How do you come to your conclusion that it's NOT true?

[Wrex]

PS may have said it, but that does'nt make it accurate.

I think you will find thats Paul's creative interpritation (sp) of other agreements. But if you think Ferrari are banking a cheque from Minardi GP, thats ok with me.

[Skam85]

I don't think they are 'banking a cheque' directly from Minardi, but possibly Minardi are paying some sort of fee/tax and the money in some way or another goes to Ferrari. Much like the average joe who pays taxes. Where does that go? Building of roundabouts, traffic lights, sporting events etc... See where I am coming from?

[Wrex]

OK, I'll clear it up for you.

Pauls comments refer to a deal where Ferrari are given a greater proportion of the revenue from TV etc, due to length of time they have been in the championship (all teams are paid a seperate amount based on this).

I'm not sure that was in the story you read, but most reputable sites did point that out in the following days (and the irony considering Minardi get a nice slice themselves as one of the 'older' teams).

At no time, directly or indirectly, does Minardi pay Ferrari. Thus my comment, this was just Pauls interpretation.

[N I Tram]

Considering that the TV spectacle is arguably much less than it was 10 years ago, the way costs have escalated in recent years is frightening and depressing. Like it or not, it is the fault of the manufacturers that they have chosen to spend such huge sums on being competitive, to the point where Jordan spend what they spent in 1999 for much lower results. Something needs to be done to control this.

Remember that in leading US sports systems are in place to restrict a team's power - in NASCAR the rules are constantly controlled to keep the manufacturers fairly equal, whereas American Football and (IIRC) Basketball use a 'draft' system whereby the least-successful teams one year get the first choice of rookie players the next year. Neither of these are really practical in F1, but they could provide a benchmark.

I kicked a football last night (and it spun away from where I aimed it), does that degrade the game of soccer? Nissany can do what he likes with his money, as long as he doesn't try to race for them.

[Armco Bender]

If Minardi sign an Israeli driver for one car they should put a Palestinian driver in the other,then we'd see some competition.