FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[rob91]

'Manor F1 team ‎lines up administrator'

Manor is close to collapsing into administration, on the eve of the new Formula 1 campaign, with recent investment discussions failing to result in a deal, according to Sky News.

Sky News reports that the team, funded by OVO Energy founder Stephen Fitzpatrick over the past two seasons, has called on FRP Advisory to act as the administrator, if required.

Fitzpatrick stated in November that Manor had agreed terms with a new investor, but neither he – nor fellow team representatives – have made any further comments on the matter.

[myownalias]

This news is far from unexpected with Sauber stealing 10th place away from Manor; it's sad to see the four teams that entered the sport in 2010 have all ceased operation, barring any last minute deals to save the team from the pit of oblivion. I guess the talk of three car teams will rear it's head again should Manor not make it to the grid.

[darwin dali]

Haas is doing pretty okay.

[myownalias]

Haas have the support of Ferrari and also an established single-seater team owner with good cash flow, the other four teams did not have that luxury.

[darwin dali]

Hence they were not cut out for F1 and bit the dust - sadly.

[myownalias]

They were also sold a false promise by the FIA; the budget cap never materialized, which is ultimately why those four teams went under.

[sagi58]

Even if the budget cap had materialized, there is no guarantee that it would have stayed in place.
In the short time that I've been following F1, rules have been changed and then changed back a
number of times, e.g., the token system... e.g., Qualifying format... probably more examples...

[myownalias]

Even if the budget cap had materialized, there is no guarantee that it would have stayed in place.
In the short time that I've been following F1, rules have been changed and then changed back a
number of times, e.g., the token system... e.g., Qualifying format... probably more examples...

They would have stood a better chance of survival with the budget cap in place, but trying to scrape together another 40-50% more $$$ just to be fast enough to even qualify has killed these teams.I'm sure if they expected to be competing against 100m+ budgets, they would have stayed away and maybe entered a lower formula.

I'm sure Manor only survived this long because of those couple of 10th place constructors finishes.

[sagi58]

You have a point... actually, a couple of good points;
however, we've come full circle, if you can't play with
the big boys, don't enter the game.

I know that sounds callous; but, in the end, F1 is not
a charity nor is it a communistic enterprise. It all boils
down to the almighty dollar!!

[myownalias]

And now we have come "full circle"; there is little to no interest from teams wanting to join F1... I don't believe any teams were asking for charity; they just wanted what they signed up for.

[sagi58]

Maybe F1 has reached a saturation level, as far as new teams goes?
Maybe it's time to look at improving the quality rather than increasing the quantity?

[myownalias]

I don't know about saturation, back in the day, there were a dozen more teams, in fact, more teams than grid spots. But it was much cheaper to compete in F1 back in those days. Better racing would be nice, having more teams competing for the top spot would be wonderful, but while we have the big teams calling the shots, we'll always have one or two teams competing for superiority.