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14 Apr 2014, 13:48 (Ref:3392399) | #151 | ||
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F1 wants to expand its awareness in North America and it is a huge market, so I'd expect Gene Haas to go for a well known US brand name as sponsor, that also has a global presence. As for drivers I think it would be a smart move to have a mix of homegrown talent as well as European, though South American wouldn't be a bad choice either and I think an Anglo-American mix for staff as well.
Last edited by bjohnsonsmith; 14 Apr 2014 at 14:01. |
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14 Apr 2014, 15:24 (Ref:3392427) | #152 | ||
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Haas F1 press conference live now: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/7...events/2912860
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14 Apr 2014, 15:37 (Ref:3392429) | #153 | ||
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i would also think that the sponsor is very important.
location is less important i think. if the America's Cup team is any indication Americans are willing to support a team comprised of non Americans wearing American colours provided winning is a possibility. i think that logic would apply to a teams head quarters, main design facilities, and make up of the staff. |
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14 Apr 2014, 16:24 (Ref:3392451) | #154 | ||
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America's Cup? Really chilli?
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14 Apr 2014, 16:35 (Ref:3392456) | #155 | ||
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14 Apr 2014, 16:55 (Ref:3392467) | #156 | ||
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It probably is because somehow, and I've never seen a minute of the America's Cup, I know exactly what you are talking about.
I'll make a concession to my argument... They can build/run the car in the UK if it has a flame paint job. Because the Brits love when we do that. |
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15 Apr 2014, 07:01 (Ref:3392650) | #157 | ||
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Whether he can muster the resources is the only question. Just need a company like Lockheed Martin to back it and they will most assuredly win. They have forgotten more than anyone else has ever known! |
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15 Apr 2014, 07:53 (Ref:3392661) | #158 | ||
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Judging from the press conference, the only thing Gene Haas knows about F1 is that he has a licence to enter a team in the series. Nothing much else.
Not a good start when he answered "I like F1 from a marketing point of view." to the question of does he like F1. And comments like "We can beat the Europeans at their own game." - "We have a business plan to make this a profitable enterprise over five years..." Good start Gene - good start. What we learned from the press conference:
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15 Apr 2014, 08:28 (Ref:3392691) | #159 | |
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I know that Haas has Gunter Steiner as team principal at the moment but with so many recent team principals out of work at the moment......
On the car fron I would question the use of Dallara to design and build a GP car. They build a lot of fine production racing cars but how many of them compete with other marques of racing car? I can't think of any currently. If I remember correctly a senior engineer who is now at Mercedes worked with HRT and was not very complimentry of their abilites. I would have thought of using some of the companies building LMP cars would be a better option. In many ways those cars are closer yo what is needed in F1. |
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15 Apr 2014, 08:37 (Ref:3392695) | #160 | |||
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However things have changed a lot since then regarding aero and while no one can build a F3 car as well as Dallara this is something different. It is MUCH harder to design and build a competitive F1 car now than it was twenty years ago.... simply because everything is so refined now that without the experience of where to focus and concentrate in design lots of small detail seemingly insignificant details get missed. That's why Caterham and Marussia have made such little apparent progress. Money does help but its not everything |
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15 Apr 2014, 08:45 (Ref:3392699) | #161 | ||
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Dallara's last F1 adventure was with HRT, only four years ago. Nothing more to say there.
And as for engine choice, Haas said it's between Ferrari or Mercedes, with factory support. But it won't be Mercedes. I'm 99.9% sure of that. There was also a rumour of factory support from Ford, with the return of a rebadged Cosworth V6 turbo. This could still be on the cards apparently if Hass doesn't get what he wants in the next few weeks from Ferrari or Mercedes. |
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15 Apr 2014, 10:40 (Ref:3392745) | #162 | ||
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What a Dalolara in 9 months? lol. Opps.
Stick a Ferrari in me poc-ket I'll fetch the suitcase from the transporter Cause if you want the best 'uns And you don't ask questions Then brother I'm your man Where it all comes from Is a mystery It's like the changing of the seasons And the tides of the sea But heres the one thats driving me berserk Why do only fools and horses work La la lala - la la la la la |
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15 Apr 2014, 10:55 (Ref:3392751) | #163 | ||
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Anyone who does a homage to this great sitcom is a winner in my book! |
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15 Apr 2014, 11:47 (Ref:3392770) | #164 | ||
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Been following this with interest. My job is connected to the licensed and catering industry and each day we get one of these industry up date e mails. There was something on the wires this morning about Subway being in serious discussion with Bernie about getting into F1. Could be with another team but thought it was interesting timing. Unfortunately as this is a service we pay for I cannot share the link with you, but there were quotes directly from Subway and I'm sure it'll find its way into the motorsport press before long. Apologies if it already has and I've missed it.
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15 Apr 2014, 11:59 (Ref:3392775) | #165 | ||
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So after all this build-up Haas isn't even entering next year?
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15 Apr 2014, 12:06 (Ref:3392777) | #166 | |||
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15 Apr 2014, 13:35 (Ref:3392823) | #167 | ||
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Regardless, my general thoughts about the conference... * Poor audio (low volume and poor quality of conference call line) didn't help * Primary initial funding/sponsorship is via Haas Automation. In short it sounds like an additional deep pocket sponsor will be required within the first five years, but not within the first year or two. * Expect within the near future (next few years?) that there will be some type of budget cap to be put in place. * He didn't push "I want to race in F1" so much as "I want to get the name Haas Automation out there". * They have to decide (per FIA agreement) roughly within the next four weeks if they will race in 2014 or 2015 * Regarding 2014 vs. 2015, Haas says 2014 is probably too soon and 2015 is too far away. They clearly haven't decided yet. I would assume that speed of partner selection (PSU and chassis) play a large factor. * They seem to be very realistic about not setting the world on fire in their first few seasons. They seemed to be focusing on just showing up, racing and finishing races. * Feels that his experience (running successful business, owning wind tunnel, successful NASCAR team, etc.) provides him a leg up on jumping into F1 vs. the challenges that USF1 had (starting from absolutely zero). * They are not particularly married to using the Haas Automation Belgium location as their European base. They mentioned German and Italy, but surprisingly did not mention UK. * They used the term "technical partner" in I think two different ways. First from a PSU provider and second as someone to build the initial car. * European location seems to be driven off who their technical partner will be. * Design and initial chassis construction in US (North Carolina) but European basis for European rounds. I got the impression that the fly away races would originate from the European basis. * I can't remember if Dallara was mentioned or not. Maybe it was and I missed it. I think they expect to sit side by side with whoever designs the initial car and learn. * PSU is expected to be Mercedes or Ferrari. Renault was said to be at their limit for providing teams and not an option. * Wants a mixture of experienced F1 driver and potential American driver. But I get the feeling that the priority is experienced driver. Haas wouldn't be drawn into speculation about various US drivers. He did say that he thought that it was likely hard for a given driver to easily switch from F1 to NASCAR or NASCAR to F1 and absolutely didn't think a given driver could try to do both at the same time. * Interesting comments about the different way fan access is handled in F1 vs. NASCAR. He felt that F1 needs to be more open. * He clearly seems to be in the mold that many (including me) have speculated regarding the wish to have a US centric team. That buying up a existing team, or building a totally new team in Europe is not what he wants to do. Overall, I think he generally said the right things. I wish I got more of a feeling that he has always been a closet F1 fan and that entry into F1 was the realization of a personal dream. Sadly, I didn't get that a him at all. In fact I didn't get a vibe of enthusiasm or excitement at all, but that might just be his style. He did come across very confident. Given his business and racing success, I don't find that surprising. If I would pick one single item that I don't quite agree with it would be the apparently openness to the European location. Given they seem to be open to not using the existing Haas Automation location in Belgium, I personally think it would be stupid to not set the European base in the classic motorsport valley outside of London. I don't see any great long term benefit of a Germany or Italy location. Richard |
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15 Apr 2014, 17:43 (Ref:3392901) | #168 | ||
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just speculating (reaching even) but there is the ex-Toyota F1 base in Cologne and if Toyota is one of the potential backers then this could be an interesting team.
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15 Apr 2014, 17:51 (Ref:3392906) | #169 | |||
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tbh, im a bit conflicted on how i feel about Subway. on one hand i think F1 is really lacking in sponsorship from companies selling affordable consumer/service products. on the other hand is Subway too low brow? yellow and green (which i think are subways colours) on a car are nice though. |
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15 Apr 2014, 18:31 (Ref:3392926) | #170 | ||
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It's always baffled me that Coca-Cola, Pepsi and McDonald's have never got into F1 in a serious way.
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15 Apr 2014, 18:47 (Ref:3392941) | #171 | ||
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According to this he's looking at Dallara to build the first chassis. Rather short sighted but predictable, considering he knows practically zip about F1 and what exposure he's had to OWR will undoubtedly IndyCar and Dallara have been building chassis for IndyCar since 1997 or to quote Haas, 'They've been involved in racing forever as far as I can remember.'
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15 Apr 2014, 19:53 (Ref:3392987) | #172 | ||
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I only know of one race team Coke has been the main sponsor of. They just do little stuff. It's a shame though because a simple Coca-cola livery would look awesome on so many race cars.
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15 Apr 2014, 20:51 (Ref:3393024) | #173 | ||
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15 Apr 2014, 21:32 (Ref:3393050) | #174 | ||
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15 Apr 2014, 22:41 (Ref:3393075) | #175 | ||
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Frankly if the project is realised at all, I expect them to limp around the grid for a year or two and promptly fold. Maybe he's got some gems tucked away in that business plan of his but I don't see any wow factor that distinguishes him from the rest and he'll have trouble picking up the kind of people that'll work up and match his team with the big boys. As a fan though I welcome the new addition, I'm just not convinced it'll turn heads.
I had assumed that he'd pick up Lotus, STR, Caterham or Force India. Teams that are discreetly on the market or/and ones struggling. There's no shortage of those unfortunately. It is a declaration of intent, to start from scratch, presumably he wants the American stamp all over this team rather than a rebranding exercise. May very well prove commercially foolhardy though. |
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