(Infiniti Red Bull Racing)
Formula One needs to wake up to the fact that it needs small
teams like Manor and the Caterham F1 Team because if we lose the Manor F1 Team
it could drive the cost of competing in the sport through the roof.
As it stands with just over a month to go until the first
race of the 2015 Formula One season we have nine teams entered into the
championship as the Manor F1 Team have submitted their entry fee with the
sports’ governing body the FIA, however as we all know the team who had hoped
to race with last year’s car have in fact been blocked from doing so.
Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport as such is the
base line for all of the lower categories of motor racing such as GP2 and GP3
to name but a few and if we lose three teams in the space of five seasons this
is NOT a good message to be sending out to potential new investors or new teams
hoping to enter the sport.
American Gene Haas will be watching with great interest to
see what the outcome of the Manor situation is as he will enter Formula One
with his Haas F1 Team next season.
If we take a look back at the history of Formula One the
likes of Manor and Caterham (privateer) teams are at the heart of the sport. What
do Manor, Caterham, current world champions Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team,
McLaren-Honda, Williams Martini Racing, Sauber, Sahara Force India and Infiniti
Red Bull Racing have in common?
(Sahara Force India Formula One Team)
They all started life in Formula One as privateer teams who
were privately funded and operated. Take Mercedes for example, they began life
in Formula One in 1999 as British American Racing and although over the years
the name above the door has changed a few times and they now employ over 600
staff in Brackley, the DNA of the team remains the same as many of their staff
were there when the team started.
The Sahara Force India Formula One Team began life in a
garage at the Silverstone circuit in 1991, when former racing driver turned
banker Eddie Jordan set up the Jordan Grand Prix Team. Eddie Jordan has always
been a great supporter of the small teams having come through the sport that
way himself.
It should NOT be left up to administrators and fans of a
Formula One Team to bail them out when they are in trouble through a crowd
funding scheme with the Caterham F1 Team. This situation should NEVER have been
allowed to happen in the first place.
The McLaren-Honda Formula One team began life in 1963 when
it was founded by New Zealander, Bruce McLaren. Today the company is part owned
by Chairman Ron Dennis and is no longer just involved in Formula One. The
company’s road car division, McLaren Automotive was founded by Mr Dennis in
1989 and has been responsible for some extremely impressive high performance
road cars.
Infiniti Red Bull Racing who dominated Formula One from 2010
-2013 began life as Stewart Grand Prix in 1996 when former world champion Sir
Jackie and his son Paul set up the team, making their Formula One debut in
1997.
At the end of the 1999 season, Stewart sold the team to Ford
who rebranded it Jaguar Racing and brought in Eddie Irvine from Ferrari as lead
driver. Ford soon realised that running their own team with limited success was
too expensive so at the end of 2004 the team was sold for £1 to Red Bull.
So Formula One is not just about the big teams because
without the small teams like Manor, Caterham, Sauber and Force India there
would be no midfield and therefore no real competition in Formula One and once
again it should not be up to the fans to try and get a team racing with a
petition to allow Manor to run last year’s this year.
Fans give so much to the
sport and it is not fair that we are put in a position where we have to sign a petition
to allow a team to go racing as this situation should never ever have been
allowed to happen.
However if you are like me and do not want to see another
team fail to race this season despite having the investment in place to go
racing please show your support to the Manor F1 Team by signing this petition.
© Ben Johnston 2015
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