Ferrari flags F1 withdrawal
October 29, 2008 by Karl Peskett
Ferrari’s Board of Directors met yesterday to discuss financial, and motorsport committments. Third quarter results revealed a 22% increase year-on-year, amounting to a revenue of 450 million euros (AU$900 million).
Trading profit was 79 million euros (AU$157 million). But that’s not the big news. Yes, the bombshell was dropped, in the form of a possible withdrawal from Formula 1 racing. How so?
Based on the current economic climate with the proposed introduction of standardised powerplants, Ferrari has said that it would have to consider its future in the sport. It says that the entire reason for the sport’s existence is pushing the envelope with “competition and technological development”.
Ferrari’s concerns over standardised engines is so strong that, “the Board of Directors expressed the opinion that should these key elements be diminished, it would have to re-evaluate, with its partners, the viability of continuing its presence in the sport.”
What do you think Formula 1 would be like without Ferrari? Or is this just sour grapes?
Print it: 
I applaud Ferrari’s decision and I think most of us car enthusiasts will as well. This is a sport for big manufacturers who will kill for the prestige of an F1 championship. If you want standardised engines, go watch Indy or F3000. There is plenty of scope for other cost savings which does not threaten the integrity of this sport, as owner of the damned thing I had expected better from Bernie.
Ha Ha – Bernies Big F8ck up, lets standardise engines and make the sport an F1 Parade. Hope Ferrari do pull out it will make the sport more competative for the lesser names. I reckon Ron Dennis would be happy to share a bit with others just to make it a bit more even. Having said that this years been more intersting but that only due to Hamiltons balls ups.
Ferrari threaten to withdraw from F1 every couple of years or so.
Let ‘em go, F1 just isn’t exciting anymore.
Hot headed Italians that’s all they are. Typical dummy spitting tactics and face it F1 is all about tactics. on the Racetrack, in the boardroom, wherever. Ferrari need F1 just as much as the FIA need Ferrari. It’s a marriage.
ferrari,mercedes,bmw,renault,toyota,honda should start their own series and redbull,tororosso,force india,mclaren,williams,sauber should stay in f1 with a standard engine.bernie and mosley have reached heights of stupidity with these new rules.i almost stopped watching f1 when shumi retired now this will be final nail in the coffin.
A Ferrari is not a Ferrari if it has a standard engine, likewise for BMW, Honda, Renault etc. Manufacturers racing one another with standardized engines is simply dumb.
This is just a bit of bluff to get Bernie and Max to go away from standardised engines. Just like the idea of standardised engines was a bit of bluff from Bernie and Max to get the teams to sit down to talk about reducing costs.
Bernie rules F1 with an iron fist and plays games with the people involved in order to get his own way.
Love to be a fly on the wall at the FIA: “Those ungrateful italians, we give them championships and help them out on and off the track and they want to quit.”
Gents,
Hopefully, sanity will prevail. F1 needs Ferrari.
In order for the sport to reduce costs, the FIA should look at introducing rules such as reducing electronics such as clutchless transmissions. Ideally, they should be looking at changes which will highlight the prowess and talents of the driver like we saw in the 1980s with Senna, Prost and Mansell. I could digress and discuss overtaking and abolition of pit-stops for refuelling.
Anyway, just a couple thoughts.
Cheers,
Stephen
Its hardly sour grapes, Ferrari is winning the constructors championship in F1. I’d say it is partly a power play to pressure Ecclestone to drop the standard engine proposal, and partly a business decision on whether they get the appropriate return from F1 for the investment they put in. I mean Lambo are generating record sales and profits at the moment, and yet are not directly involved in any motorsport other than touring cars. So its not like Ferrari’s cachet will tank if they pull out of F1, just like being in F1 hasn’t given Honda any cachet.
The standard engine rule is ridiculous, and it will prevent manufacturers from marketing the whole ‘F1 inspired’ tech in their production cars. Yes, costs need to be contained, but the standard engine rule is stupid. If the smaller teams want to band up to develop an engine together then let them, but you will lose manufacturer support if you force manufacturers who use F1 as a technological and marketing test bed for their production cars.
Yes there is more to a car than just an engine, but given how restricted all the aero regs are, there is less and less tech that can be transferred across.
anti-spam word is Toyota…cause the money they’re spending in F1 is certainly paying dividends. Oh wait, I forgot the Kluger is inspired by F1…
but I digress. I hate the current direction that Max is taking F1 racing. It is the pinnacle of motor racing and to see it being dumbed down is terrible. The whole engine-dev freeze is ridiculous, as is the “oh, there are some teams who are complaining their engines aren’t powerful enough, we’ll just let those few do some work on their engines but not the others”.
If I wanted to watch a one-engine series, I’d watch Indycar racing, but I don’t. Half the joy of watching F1 is watching the teams battle it out for superiority in all departments – aero, engine, gearbox etc.
And if they want to make the sport more “relevant”, they should do a system where each car is given a set amount of fuel for each race, and let them go nuts with the engine design. Then you’ll see technological advancement like crazy while the teams try to wring the most out of every litre of petrol. That would be interesting…
Ferrari IS F1!
If they leave [which they won't] F1 will die
Cheers
F-0
The concept of a one engine series is ridiculous in F1, i dont have too much of a problem with a standardised gearbox or even a standardised aero package, but the engine is at the heart of F1, and it should be what separates a fast car from a slow one.
Well if standardised engines come in watch most of the manufacturers leave and maybe show up in Sportscars, look at the technology coming from Audi and Peugot (spelling?) with Diesel and Hybrid Diesels, plus much more exciting than F1.
I used to love F1 when I was still in uni, coz I can stay up late and skip monday classes just for F1. However, I used to find that the driver got too much help from the electronics.
It’s a good thing that this year they removed the stability control and the like. They should abolish that stupid standardise engine idea and just keep it the way it is now. Maybe introduce new regulations on fuel consumptions and the like to make everything green. Or even introduce diesel options for those engines (although they won’t be revving 22,000 rpm).
And by the way, I thought most of the minor competitors are using Honda engines anyway (I might be wrong). Only Ferrari, Renault, Williams, McLaren and Toyota are using their own engines.
Most F1 crowds in the past have been nearly 50% red.
Now that all the old favourite tracks (and fans) are being abandoned, and F1 is racing in weird places, to standardize on one engine from, no doubt, a British manufacturer will be the final nail.
Few of the current crop of drivers have any charisma (Dannii might disagree) for fans to get passionate about, some even have daddy along each week. Imagine that, folks, your old man comes with you to work every day, wouldn’t you just love that.
It’s become a boring show for me.
‘JC Says:
October 29th, 2008 at 9:34 am
anti-spam word is Toyota…cause the money they’re spending in F1 is certainly paying dividends. Oh wait, I forgot the Kluger is inspired by F1…’
Kluger has more in common with F1 than a Red Bull soft drink, dont you think?
They actually had the year they planned to have. Probably take it out in 2011.
Pos Team Points
1 Ferrari 156
2 McLaren 145
3 BMW-Sauber 135
4 Renault 72
5 Toyota 52
6 Toro Rosso 34
7 Red Bull 29
8 Williams 26
9 Honda 14
10 Force India 0
11 Super Aguri
you were saying?
Motorsport in general is dying. We used to race on Sundays and sell on Mondays… who wants to buy a showroom V8 these days. The greenies have won. We should use a standard engine in F1… GO THE HYBRIDS!!!
Ivan: Super Aguri was using Honda engines and a Honda chassis, Force India use a Honda engine, Torro Rosso use a Ferrari engine, Red Bull use a Renault engine and Williams use Toyota engines.
Well, F1 is not Ferrari, that’s just band wagon talk. Given this is the pretty much the entire focus of Scuderia, I would be surprised to see Ferrari leave. It’s a bluff.
The standard engine is a bluff. Bernie isn’t stupid enough to turn F1 into Indy, Ferrari is just playing back at him.
They do need to cut costs drastically, Ferrari and Toyota in particular spend $400 M a year on F1 and half of that is on the engine alone. That’s why stock engines were discussed, it would halve the cost of competition.
The problem with cost cutting is that it limits innovation. Cost cutting is good for small teams and competition, but bad for technological innovation. It’s basically an argument of the business of F1 versus the technology of F1. They have to find a compromise.
Force India use Ferrari engines not Honda
No its not sour grapes at all, they are exactly right, F1 is about different teams and abilities and what each team brings to the races and that is why the race was started long ago in the 1st place, to see which of the teams has the goods, if they bring in a set/standard engine an gearbox system for each and every car then what is the point of competition? I am a massive fan of F1 i love it, if ferrari goes then that will be the end of great F1 racing and an era too, ferrari have been then since the very start, i will never watch it again if ferrari goes….there want be any point….
People need to get their facts right, if you don’t have a clue about F1 racing don’t comment, simple as that. I believe all the teams should form a break away series without the FIA if standard engines are implemented. Then again, bernie is getting old and wouldn’t be too long before he moves on, the F1 teams won’t have to put up with his shit for much longer, as for mosley, no one can take the guy seriously so…. i don’t think F1 fans have anything to worry about.
Formula one should stays as same as current. It already has standized engine rule and regulation. We already have Indycar & A1GP for those people who want standized body and engine. I believe this is just bullcrap.
this would make F1 as ordinary as V8 supercars
I still remember all the yobo v8 fans screaming out for anything that they coudnt beat to be banned thats when motor racing took a giant leap backwards in australia
but its just not right to allow it to happen if F1!
IMO good on Ferrari and I hope they stick to their guns. F1 is already well down the road of standardisation of various compnents. If F1 continues on its current path they will all end up driving in a one make series, thus leaving driver talent to win the race. So where is the fun in that? Then the next thing will be further cost cutting measures and they will all be driving Holden Barina’s or Kia Rio’s. F1 was once all about competition and development of new technologies. It is already sanitised and boring and if this continues it won’t only be Ferrari deserting the sport.
Article – Ferrari’s concerns over standardised engines is so strong that, “the Board of Directors expressed the opinion that should these key elements be diminished, it would have to re-evaluate, with its partners, the viability of continuing its presence in the sport
Looks like Ferrari are suffering from what I lkie to call Toyota Syndrome…
That is that because V8 Supercars refused to change the rules to suit them Toyota made out as though they weren’t interested in entering the sport
And Ferrari are now saying that if F[arsical]1 changes the rules so that their dominance or their lead over the competition is deminished they will leave the sport.
In both cases Ferrari and Toyota have such an over inflated opinion of their importance etc and they believe they are bigger than the sport and without them the sport is nothing special..
All I can say is get over yourself…. if you’re really that good you will accept the changes overcome the difficulties and continue to win as that is the sign of a true champion
Wheelnut,
V8SC never refused to change any rules to make it easier for other entries.
The one thing that toyota didnt like about V8SC is that it was stated by the board that any new manufacturer would have to committ for a minimum number of years with a minimum number of vehicles in order to stop someone coming in and pumping buckets of money into the one car, wiping the floor, and then leaving with their chest stuck out.
Toyota want enter unless they think they can get instant success.
why do you think they chose Gibbs racing to wear their colours in Nascar??
Toyota has never submitted an official proposal to V8SC.
they have had meetings to discuss what they may have to committ to, and thats about it.
but if for some reason 888 racing was interested in taking on another manufacturer, you bet ya toyota will jump right in as to tap right in to their already winning expertise.
toyota wont come in until a ready made winning team is on offer
its crap bringing standard engines.
people does not come to see one make model race.
people come to see how each car supplier blend their technology into power with drivers ability. this is all joint agenda of Max and FIA.
but ferrari withdrawal might be just fear of loosing to Renault and McLaren. both have decent cars abd good pace. possible