Ferrari threaten to quit F1

[taz_rocks_miami]

The F1 teams should go on strike, no races, not TV money at all for Berney. I'm sure he'd get the point then.

[Coventrysucks]

I had a ponder on the subject.
At first I kind of agreed with Ferrari. Bernie does have more than his share of the pie.

Then I realised:
No one is forcing Ferrari to spend money.

They have a certain ammount of money that they can spend on the F1 team.
If that budget isn't big enough for them to keep Michael Schumacher, and have a championship winning car, then so be it.

I don't see Minardi threatening to walk out because they can't afford to build a championship contending car.

To me it seems that Ferrari have realised that they might not be able to afford to build a car that will continue to dominate, and in a desperate measure to address the situation they have thrown their toys out of the pram.

[Matra et Alpine]

Ron and Frank have said the same in the past.

THAT was why GPWC was formed and the threat to have a break-away series.

bernies made promises and STILL no extra money for the teams.

[henk4]

since Ferrari absorbed Maserati they have been confronted with the harsh realities of having to make money on car production. The Ferrari brand alone was enough to finance the F1 programme (of course with the help of Shell and the likes) but Maserati has been a financial pain in the ass. (The QP is a commercial success, the coupe not).

This may explain Luca's quest for more money.

[DasModell]

for those with autosport.com ..
http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.asp?id=39698&s=5

where they say something like this

Todt (Autosport.com)
Clearly I feel that we should share more of the revenues. For obvious reasons, as long as you have major manufacturers involved in F1 it will cost money, and then it is very difficult for the small teams to get engines and to find money.

On our side, it is clear that selling (just) 4500 cars and using F1 as a marketing tool and paying for everything, of course supported by our sponsors, makes things difficult.

[r1ckst4]

oh wow... this is such a good news... heh F1 without the ferrari team? it would be even more exciting! i'm gettin tired to stay up until 1:30 in the morning and see two red cars on my tv screen all the time...

[henk4]

oh wow... this is such a good news... heh F1 without the ferrari team? it would be even more exciting! i'm gettin tired to stay up until 1:30 in the morning and see two red cars on my tv screen all the time...

tape the race in black and white and watch it next morning

[DasModell]

that could work

[Ferrari Tifosi]

I agree with Matra, the teams should break away from F1 start their own series. That would show Bernie. As much as don't like seeing Ferrari winning so much, I also don't want them to leave the sport either. They haven't missed a single Grand Prix season since, what, 1949?

[DasModell]

1950 . altough they did miss a few GP's .. two or three . .. i don't remember

[Ferrari Tifosi]

1950 . altough they did miss a few GP's .. two or three . .. i don't remember

I knew it was somewhere in that general time period. 1950, wasn't that the first year of the "F1" brand name being used as well?

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Ferrari are a Mainstay, while other teams have come and gone, they have remained.

And rightly so, they are a force to be reckoned with annd they are amazing at what they do.

But when they start throwing their toys out of the cot complaining they don't get enough i get suspicious.

Granted, they may not be able to survive on Sponsorship alone, but is that really that bad. F1 these days is as far removed from normal cars as you can get. To have a bit of a squeeze placed on the teams, to kerb the spiralling debts and costs, may be the best thing that ever happened to the sport.

It's plain boring nowadays, the only reason anyone else is winning now is because a Certain German is able to cruise, rather than race. And he still comes in 2nd.

Ferrari is the most recognised brand in the world, and the brand with the most hits on Google, of any brand. That says something. Many countries might pull F1 from TV if they quit, so Bernie will of course want them in, and he will surrender. But soon F1 will be no more, the F stands for Ferrari anyways.

If they leave, the heritage they have gathered will be lost. They may try to start their own racing series, but to be honest it'll fail, parent company FIAT is struggling to survive. No wonder Ferrari is asking for more money.

Maybe it's time to kerb this big glitzy show that is F1.

[PerfAdv]

F1 is the pinnacle in racing and Ferrari a jewel of a challenge. F1 cars represent the highest automotive tech. Get rid of Ferrari, then what? Get rid of who next.....smells like payoffs must be pretty small for the also rans, runner ups. Corporate greed not Ecclestone's greed. Hey they could just get rid of all those expensive engines and just use NASCAR V8s, they're made in the UK.

[Matra et Alpine]

Corporate greed not Ecclestone's greed.

Ecclestones personal fortune is now a staggering 3 BILLION POUNDS ( $5B !! )

All his money has come from F1, so tell me where the greed starts and ends ??

If he returned only 10% of the tv money over the last 10 years then F1 teams would NOT NEED TO FIND SPONSORS !!!

For example, when they decided that they were going to regulate the fuel rigs then everyoen had to buy their fulling rigs from only oe supplier. Guess who's comany designed and supplies the rigs ? Yep, Bernies. So he makes the rule and sell the solutions. MEGALOMANAIC !!!

[PerfAdv]

For example, when they decided that they were going to regulate the fuel rigs then everyoen had to buy their fulling rigs from only oe supplier. Guess who's comany designed and supplies the rigs ? Yep, Bernies. So he makes the rule and sell the solutions. MEGALOMANAIC !!!

Hmmm....I need to read up more on Mr Bernie. So far, I'd just enjoyed the racing...didn't realize it had become a one man show.