posted May 7, 2008

A sad loss to the sport - these guys had the real passion for racing not just a corporate mandate to win races to sell cars.

Aguri san, I wish you well in all of your future endeavours.

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posted May 7, 2008

Can't say I was ever a fan of Super Aguri (Honda F1 could have done without the distraction, and certainly anything that puts Takuma Sato back on the grid is only going to risk causing more accidents) but it is always sad to see one of the teams fold. They fought an impressive fight and I just hope someone can be found by Honda to take over the team and its assets (As I assume Honda get it all due to defaulting on the debts?)

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posted May 7, 2008

Cheers for running the thread *pizzdofwidie

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posted May 8, 2008

dunno if its a bad thing for the sport... though hopefully another team will fill in the void super aguri left.

everyone loves an underdog but in formula one i dont think i have ever seen a team who belongs at the back get a podium finish... the closest i remember was mark webber for minardi when he finished 5th i believe... oh how i wish minardi were still in (tech torro rosso doesnt count lol)

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posted May 8, 2008

There are too few cars on the starting grid as it is! There should be at least 24 starters if not more.36 cars on the grid would be more like it.Maybe teams should run 3 cars each? The idea of only 20 cars 10 teams is silly. If they have any less it will just be two horse race for drivers who can win. Less costs more teams we need for more overtaking, and things to happen.To few cars is not sport its a farce.

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posted May 9, 2008

I agree with mansellthegreat that we need more teams in F1 and closer racing.Costs need to be reduced and lets start with things like wind tunnels.I would ban their use in car design.Next tyres lets have 3 types-a slick,an intermediate wet and a full wet.No tyre changes allowed except for punctures and rain.Lets ban tyre warmers,carbon brakes,pit to car radio's,semi-automatic gearboxes,adjustable diffs and any fuel restrictions. lets have final qualifying with cars on minimal fuel and then let the teams decide the amount for the race with no re-fuelling.Give points for qualifying and reverse the grid.Points for fastest lap and most laps in the lead should make an exciting race!

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posted May 9, 2008

What we need in F1 is the encouraging of customer cars, not the banning of them (which is what ultimately lead to SA's collapse as no-one was willing to invest in a team that wouldnt have made it next year anyway).

This could be done as so:

Change the constructors championship as is to be a team championship (it is in all but name anyway), for which all teams are elegible (including customer teams).

Introduce a third championship for real constructors, this would be just for the teams who design and build cars themselves.

Obviously the constructors championship would be the more presitious and command the bigger prize fund over the team championship, but this would (along with income from selling the cars) offset the cost of development that these teams would face. That would leave customer teams able to compete purely by buying and running cars instead of developing their own.

Manufacturer teams would be allowed to support as many customer teams as they like, however they must all be prepared to support at least two customer cars. In effect this would mean that no team could hoard their cars to themselves completely as long as there was a demand.

If customer teams were restricted to buying complete packages (rather than the mix-and-match approach of Torro Rosso) of chassis and engine then there is even potential for the top two drives from each manufacturer rather than team scoring for the constructors championship (i.e. in a finishing order of Coulthard, Vettel, Webber, Bourdais it would be Coulthard and Vettel's points that counted).

I would also look into allowing single car teams. This could allow for better sponsorship deals (e.g. a sponsor paying £300k for one car rather than £500k for two) and reduced running costs as well as the added variety that it could bring. Additionally single race sponsorship deals should be allowed for customer teams, this would again lead to better sponsorship income as it would allow for companies to target relevant races to themselves at a premium (e.g. Quantas in Australia).



For some people this may be a step too far, borrowing quite heavily from the american Nascar model in terms of sponsorship and team setup, but I believe it is something necessary is F1 wants to continue beyond the next 20 years as a sport. It cannot continue to get more and more elitist without alienating fans, more and more of whom are turning to alternative forms of racing. It is also necesary to stop teams (and manufacturers) walking away from the sport. How long do you think the likes of Renault and Toyota will continue to fund tams if the costs keep spiralling and they get closer to the back of the field due to field shrinkage?

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posted May 9, 2008

I know it's a little random, but I can see this moving DC up into the top 10 during the next quali.

For some reason, he has been *just* losing out on the 2nd run in which DC, who seems to be a slow burner, will show improvement.

Perhaps not, but I think DC will be in the top 10 his weekend.

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posted May 10, 2008

Alas it is a shame for the individuals involved but all will soon be gone and forgotten as Super Aguri haven't even made a blip on the F1 radar. Lest us not forget that F1 is a sport where the best cars win races, not just the drivers. Look at Where Reubans is now he doesnt have his big red driving machine. Sadly to win F1 you need a pick up truck full of 50s and room at home with a load more stacked in!

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posted May 17, 2008

Its sad to see them go. Formular 1 is a very expensive business, and I wonder if other car manufacturers, such as audi or mitsubishi will consider to fill the spot!!!

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