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australian f1 team

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  puts99 
#1 ·
We have some really talented young drivers here in Australia who have the chance to do well in Europe on the way to F1. All we hear though is how they run out of money and never get a chance to have a go. Marcos Ambrose is the perfect example of talent going no where (yeah ok V8 supercars is our elite m/sport and that without him Ford would be nowehere). He was doing well against the likes of Raikonnen and Alonso. What I am getting at is why don't some of the big corporations and governments combine and work with Minardi to give these Aussies a go. Look at Mark Webber, when he was given a go. Now racing for Williams. Anyways thats my 2c for the year :)
 
#2 ·
Marcos in the F1, no thank you!

As for the Aussie F1 team, I know there's BAR but is it more a country thing or a manufacturer thing? I don't follow F1 that much but I see it as manufacturer Vs. Manufacturer, including BAR which represents Honda in a way. Why does there need to be an Australian F1 team? - Wouldn't you rather a development programe/centre in Aus to specifically get young Australian talent into F1 seats?
 
#5 ·
Would be nice wouldn't it. Unfortunately a variety of factors work against big business putting money behind future F1 stars from Aus.
1, Most big Aussie companies seldom sponsor outside the regular marquee sports such as AFL, Rugby Union, League, Soccer, Cricket etc. These are the sports that dominate print and electronic media coverages, so by sponsoring teams or players they feel they get better value for money everytime player X from team Y gets his mug in the paper.
2,To these companies, Motorsport is an unattractive alternative because we still suffer from the "neanderthal thug image" that still wrongly dogs this sport, reguardless of the image building that has gone on in the last decade . The uninformed could tell you 'Peter Brock and Dick Johnson win a lot of races and Bathurst is the same place where the crowds on top of the mountain riot every year'! Of course we know different but you can't convince some people. Mind you these same companies are still prepared to throw money at football clubs who find themselves in the media for all the wrong reasons through their neanderthal behaviour!
3, Open wheelers in this country has suffered from lack of interest for decades.Formula Holden obviously restricts itself to one manufacturer, Holden. Ford, Mitsubishi, Toyota etc aren't going to throw money at a driver who can't put sponsorship to promote the company or their products if on the side of the car due to this arrangement. Fans don't watch because the number of cars and drivers is poor, and most would rather watch tin tops with V8's. Open wheelers that look like F1's with manufacturers and V8's? Love to see it , won't happen.
4 The Aussie dollar at best is still worth 70 cents U.S. To invest the kind of money needed to keep Minardi afloat with good engines and drivers would make Kerry Packer cringe.
5 Until F1 gets a firmer hold in the Asian region,no company is prepared to put their names on the side of a car for products they may not export anywhere else in the world.
6 F1 is shown at god awful times of the night. Sometimes our 'live' feed is 6hrs behind!To potential sponsors, only shift workers, imsomniacs and the unemployed are up at midnight.So in their mind who the hell is going to see their name on the rear wing of a Minardi at that hour of the morning? Maybe QLF from the Saturday could be shown Sunday morning at 10am to better promote F1.
7 Micheal Schumacher. Arguably one of the best drivers in the world who's win record is enviable. Its also bad for F1 because the same name is winning year in, year out. Nobody wants to see the same team and driver win so easily so often. No one wants to be associated with 2nd, 3rd 4th etc
8 Its an election year. No Goverment is going to help because of the afforementioned neanderthal image is unpopular with Mr and Mrs Camry, tree huggers and special interest groups. Everybody in politics is in self preservation mode.
Hopefully Mark Webber can turn some of this around with success. All we need is at least a couple of well placed drivers and a open wheeler category in this country worth watching and hopefully the media will take some interest. Till then we're not going to get the support these drivers need.
 
#6 ·
In the end the sport just doesn't suit Australian markets. All the problems above have no cure bar the feeder open wheeler catagories. An F3 catagory that is actually of the scale you see in Europe is not realistic either though. It'd we be a watered down Aussie verison. Why? Because we have a large country with few people and are in a different time zone to Europe. If you put your company on the side of an F3 car in Europe it gets televised at reasonable hours to huge amounts of people, the spot on the car is worth more money and it's worth putting more into development to get the car up the front. Sponsor an Australian F3 car and you cover.... our market. Maybe New Zealand. The only companies interested are in the motor industry. The other large companies have tended to jump on board AFTER the big crowds come (eg V8 supercars), then they pour money in to be the top team, then another company pours in big money to beat them. The aussie open wheelers just don't have any WOW factor. The cars, especially Formula Fords, aren't much to look at unless you have some knowledge of what it all means. Joe Blow isn't going to flick across them, be amazed and keep watching. There's a level of presentation, 1000mph sitting still, the "your lucky to be looking at me and you wish you could touch me" impression missing.
 
#7 ·
Ambrose_1 said:
Then Kiwi drivers could go over and take advantage of it :hehe:
Screw that, we're getting our very own F1 round in 2007 remeber!!! :wnc: :wnc: :wnc: :zzz:

Oh and did you see Greg Murphy on a Game of Two Halves again tonight - another great episode, great to see spud lose, again. - Even if he did get screwed by Tony Veitch on the buzzer.
Veitch: "Great to have you on the show again Greg"
Greg Murphy: "Get Stuffed"

Angry little monkey! :wnc:

Oh and also "Mark Skaife's best friend" (Ingall) :rofl:
 
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