There have been endless rumours in recent days about the future of the much-trumpeted Campos Meta 1, Spain’s first Formula 1 team. The concept was clear. The team would be small and Spanish-based; the chassis would be built in Italy by Dallara Automobili in Varano de´Melegari; the engine would be built in Britain by Cosworth in Northampton; the gearbox by Xtrac Limited in Thatcham. The car would be a modern Formula 1 kit-car. The main budget would go on paying the three suppliers and the team would be small and compact. One day, when things were better established, the team would move to a new factory and build its own cars.
Thus the key was to kind a budget and for that Adrian Campos (above) did a deal with Enrique Rodríguez de Castro (below), the boss of a sports marketing company in Madrid, which did a range of different things and made money doing it.
In order to get the whole process off the ground it seems that the team also brought in an investor in Jose Ramon Carabante (below), a businessman who had been a sponsor of the basketball team CB Murcia and indeed the entire Spanish basketball league. He has decent fortune and a celebrated art collection.
The team signed up Bruno Senna, and it seems that this was designed to attract Brazilian sponsorship and to give the team a “name”. Senna is a Formula 1 novice, but the name is known throughout the world.
On paper therefore the package was sound and solid. At the time the entries were announced in fact it seemed the most sensible of all the projects, Dallara put together a team of engineers independent of his normal chassis building business and the word is that the deal was for the firm to be paid $19m per year to build the cars. According to the rumours the first payment was not met in full and since then Dallara has been pushing for its money, which is perfectly reasonable. It seems that Campos and Rodriguez are unable to find it.
There may well be a contract between the two parties, but there will come a point at which Dallara will need to cut its losses and either sell the cars to another organisation – which would finish off any dreams that Campos Meta 1 have of being in Formula 1 in 2010 and leave them with little option but to get what they could by selling the entry to the only person who is going to be bidding for it: Stefan GP. That will be worth nothing if the cars are no longer available.
Campos is rumoured to have been close to doing a deal with former A1GP boss Tony Teixeira, but obviously no money has arrived because otherwise there would not be a problem. Given Teixeira’s record with A1GP there is no reason to suggest that the money will ever arrive.
I find it odd that we have got here.
Weren’t there supposed to be ‘investigations’ and guarantees over the 3 new slots?
We now have Stefan GP saying he has so much money but no entry he is shipping his cars to the first race anyway. And a team on the brink before it has a car.
And yet – there were other entrants as well who we know would have had the cash to go ahead with an entry. And now we may not see all the teams, and then not until the fourth race if they need to spare some cash. Or take a race off in the year.
Which also brings up another point – suppose all the teams decide to do a no show at a race? It becomes legal in the concorde agreement (if they all have 3 free passes). Sounds like a bargaining chip from Bernie to the tracks to me…
Anyway
Looking forward to a decent show no matter what happens!
The fact that they are even talking to Teixeira seems to show how desperate they are. His track record with A1GP speaks for itself.
Still the new teams werent brought in because someone decided that we really needed 26 car grids this season, but rather to ensure that the contracted minimum number of cars would be present at every race. So far its looking like that should happen without a problem – at least for the start of the season.
Which leaves us asking the $64000 question… did David Richards and Pro-drive ( Aston Martin ) slow-roast several archbishops and one or two popes sometime in 2008-2009 ?
Only that or pouring cyanide into the water system at FIA
headquarters could explain why this staggeringly professional outfit with guaranteed funding and top-class technical ability got the big heave-ho twice in two years.
I know Richards and some big names in F1 have a certain amount of conflict history, but I had the silly naive idea that
getting truly competitive new teams onto the F1 grid was what everybody wants.
All this seems a bit odd to me…a couple things are throwing flags today (tx SB44) – first: why is Prodrive, an established business with a heritage and serious business model, sitting on the sidelines during all this? Secondly: Anyone who has ever built a business will tell you that if you are under-capitalised you’re up against it….so why would Campos go through the wringer of building a team/car/brand without the cash?
I hope he can find the dosh and send Bruno racing….
Can anyone explain to me why Prodrive, a company with a proven track record in top level motorsport, headed by Dave Richards, who has actually run an F1 team in the past, was overlooked for a place on the grid, when hopeless non-starters like Campos and Team America were granted ones? It seems to defy logic.
JP
Perhaps there should be a Formula 1 “Don’t touch with a bargepole club”.
I propose the following to start the membership: -
Texeira, Russell King and Gillett.
Someone get David Richards on the phone!
Doesn’t Ferrari already have a beef with Teixeira over the A1GP engines?
Bludd,
Yes they do.
Any team that has Danny Audetto as a Managing Director should be in good order when it comes to winding up. He has been around long enough to know where to bury the skeletons. Lamborgini, Arrows, Super Aguri, a track record that not many could equal.
Sooo…
It will end in tears for every party!
Campos
Dallara
and Bruno Senna
A sound plan it might have been on paper, but real-life tells a another tale. Money… F1 will follow it! If you don’t have it like Campos your in serious trouble. How can the FIA rectify this? Budget cap or not… they should have done their homework better. I mean Stefan wants to get in, Pro-Drive and their slot was dismissed / denied.
About Tonio Texeira? I guess he’s like Peter Windbag of USF1.
F1 welcome to the piranha club!
So much for small independent teams… how wrong was Mad Max?
I nearly forgot his, very, short time with the abortive Lola F1 project. He obviously was not needed at this team as they had previous experience of winding up an F1 team.
I could understand the anti-Prodrive feeling being related to their stillborn McLaren B Team project, were a certain person still calling the shots.
I could understand it if another certain person was still on the scene, who might have not liked having someone else at the helm of ‘his’ team, however temporarily.
What I’m missing is anyone still relevant who has a grudge.
Do we need a reminder that the FiA mandated a Cosworth engine contract for the new teams. In the light of engine manufacturers dying like flies that wasn’t such a bad idea after all.
To have one or two of the new minions in dire straits wasn’t carrying quite the same risk as being at the mercy of a pair of manufacturer teams running FOTA as their personal fiefdom.
@ everyone re: Prodrive
Prodrive didn’t want to use the Cosworth engine, if your proposal did not include the name Cosworth for 3-5 years then you were not given the go ahead. This was done for one reason to the logic of Max – Cosworth had signed a deal with the FIA to supply engines at X rate per team (adjusted if more teams signed on) and this was done to guarantee the existence of F1 if the other teams pulled out to start a rival league.
Prodrive wanted to use Mercedes engines (I believe) and since they would have lost their engine supplier they would have not been able to compete. Unfortunately it is sound logic to the FIA (Max) but it has caused a great problem in his shadow. Teams unfit were found a spot while others that could do the job did not. If you want to blame someone you could blame 50% Max and 50% FOTA (or throw in a bit Bernie CVC for bleeding the sport) as they didn’t work together on solving the problems because both wanted to dictate the terms.
A1GP was always going to be a failure, and Ferrari will probably not agree to any ‘deals’ put forward to extend the life of Campos if Tony T is involved. However if Campos does wind up trying to sell to Stephanovic would the other teams have any say in it – letting the name change that close to the beginning of the season (or is that World Council territory only?)
The Prodrive issue is very simple folks: the (unwritten) condition of entry for the new teams was that they had to use Cosworth engines.
Well, officially it wasnt, but in the real world …
Grudgingly I have to admit it made sense, since the whole idea was to ensure F1 would be fine for the future despite the withdrawl of manufacturers. Having multiple teams dependent on the whim of 1 company isnt the best situation to be in.
Please can we stop bleating about Prodrive. Let’s not forget that they were granted an entry to F1 for the 2008 season (at the expense of other applicants that were perhaps even better prepared) and they failed to make the grid. What more reason does the FIA need to deny them the opportunity of causing the same embarrassment again?
On Campos, it is a shame that it has come to this but they did sign up to F1 at a time when it was indicated that they would be spending no more than £40m or so per season. It’s all very well saying, “This would never have happened with Prodrive,” but not only could it have happened – it did.
I hope when the FIA next chooses new teams they are a bit more open in explaining how they make their choice. The current situation where we have suspicions being made public by Bernie that one or more of the new teams won’t make it is farcical. As has been said before there are top level professional organisations who could have done a far better job. Prodrive is the obvious one but Lola with Martin Birrane in charge is in a totally different position from its last attempt at F1.
My preference has always been that any team that can build a legal car and get a driver with the appropriate licence to sit in it should be allowed to enter F1. I see no point in keeping some teams out while others are guaranteed a slot on the grid in perpetuity regardless of their results or contribution to a sport.
I don’t like closed shops and if Prodrive, Lola, Stefan GP or anyone else is capable of fielding an entry let them have a go at pre-qualifying and lets make everyone in F1 earn their place. Then we would have to listen to Bernie spouting forth on whether or not their will be 26 cars on the grid or not.
Can anyone explain to me why Prodrive, a company with a proven track record in top level motorsport, headed by Dave Richards, who has actually run an F1 team in the past, was overlooked for a place on the grid, when hopeless non-starters like Campos and Team America were granted ones? It seems to defy logic.
Because Formula One is not about competitive motorsport, it’s about money and power?
“Please can we stop bleating about Prodrive. Let’s not forget that they were granted an entry to F1 for the 2008 season (at the expense of other applicants that were perhaps even better prepared) and they failed to make the grid. What more reason does the FIA need to deny them the opportunity of causing the same embarrassment again?”
And why was that?
Because Max said customer cars would be allowed, which was the basis of the Prodrive application, but he hadn’t already got this rule through and the other teams said “no thanks”, so Max had to give up late in the day, leaving Prodrive screwed.
Hardly their fault.
The problem arose with Max and Bernie’s fear of a breakaway series. they wanted to prove a point, that they could bring teams/motorist in at the drop of a hat.
FOTA should have taken the step and create an alternative championship, with plenty of money from TV rights to keep all motorsport divisions of the manugacturers self sufficient and bringing the race tickets down in price.
Instead they settled for Max retiring and bernie cutting them a marginally bigger slice of pie.
I know which series i’d follow. The one with ferrari, mclaren, williams, renault, bmw, toyota, honda…
and maybe the highlights of F1 with campos, prodrive, lola, usf1 and virgin, unless it was at the same time as The Simpsons.
Prodrive made it quite clear that they were going to enter as a customer team. The FIA granted them a place on that basis then changed the rules and banned customer teams. How is that Prodrive’s fault?
Interesting point Red Andy, I had forgotten about Prodrive’s no-show in 2008. Perhaps most other folk who bang the Prodrive drum have forgotten that too.
Now I think about it though, didn’t Richards emphasise all along that his entry was based on being able to use a customer car. That option was subsequently denied him.
Funny how history repeats itself! Didn’t Campos, USF1 and Manor/Virgin enter, way back in the middle of last year, in the belief that there would be a budget cap of £30 million? Or had it become £40 million by then? And hasn’t it now become some still higher figure?
In other words, the ‘rules of the game’ changed significantly between submitting an entry and actually going racing – both for Prodrive back in 2007-08 and for Campos, USF1 and Manor/Virgin now.
You still have to wonder though, why did the FIA ever believe that Campos and USF1 would be able to raise even the lower figure of £30 million? Didn’t the FIA claim to have examined the financial plans for the new teams?
If current rumours are true Campos can’t even pay for the car. Where are the running costs expected to come from?
[...] The future of Campos Meta 1 There have been endless rumours in recent days about the future of the much-trumpeted Campos Meta 1, Spain’s [...] [...]
New F1 team entries were always like the “jury is out” for me.
Stefan GP looks to have a reliable ‘heads up’ from B.E. to show in Bahrain and with a vote to gain a slot into the 2010 season backed in by his TR 2010 tech package.
Serbia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Romania, are close past allies of B.E. in marriage in his past life.
Consider USF1 buying off the rack Power Steering racks without having at least 12 of them tailor made to design. Is there a concern there, have they lost a sponsor last week as well?
Bring on the season regardless
[...] The future of Campos Meta 1 There have been endless rumours in recent days about the future of the much-trumpeted Campos Meta 1, Spain’s [...] [...]
Ooops, should have added good post! Waiting on your next one!
“Please can we stop bleating about Prodrive. Let’s not forget that they were granted an entry to F1 for the 2008 season (at the expense of other applicants that were perhaps even better prepared) and they failed to make the grid.”
True, but their whole plan was based on the promise of legality of customer cars. FIA was at least as much to blame for that 12th fiasco as Prodrive …
There is some similarity between that selection process and the one last year. That time (3 years ago was it ?) prospective teams were promised customer cars, last year it was the budget cap. On neither occasion FIA was in position to guarantee the rules will be as promised. There is one big difference however – the budget cap was probably sufficient enough to allow Campos to build a car and make it to the grid even in non-budget cap F1 world. They simply failed to raise that budget …
Shows that Bernie’s “F1 entry fee” of a few 10s of millions that got scrapped a couple years back made sense and shouldn’t have been scrapped in the first place.
One last comment – The QLd (australia – where I am) is looking at suing A1GP for fraud over the no show last year, something to do with a missing 2 Mil along the line……….
With all this discussion over who will, who won’t who has and who hasn’t – isn’t it time for someone to consider proper feeder formula for F1.
Imagine promotion & relugation based on performace and common rules across say 2 or 3 divisions of F1, fixed costs in each, greater TV rights (OK not much for the lesser divisions) but a common pot or shall I be brutal BE’s pot – sorry Bernie.
No really, if there have teams that want to gain access to the pinical it should not but based on $/£ but on ability. Proper F1 feeder formula with promotion/relegation would have a lot of benefits. Make sure teams/drivers always push to the limit etc… for fear of relegation.
Surely it was dropped because no-one was prepared to pay it and grid numbers were dropping fast. To me the answer is to open up entry and let anyone with a suitable car and driver to enter and the best will stay and the weak will disappear. This method worked perfectly well for the best part of 50 years. This is how Jordan came into F1 for example. For the first hale of 1991 they had to go through pre-qualifying but at the half year re-shuffle they had mor than enough points to be guaranteed a qualifying slot.
Tony Teixeira, if I am right, is said to be in the diamond business. I would imagine this was an industry that was reasonably credit crunch-proof. I’m unsure why he was unable to pay for A1GP (and by the way, how invisible did the original benefactor, Sheikh Makhtoum, become in the final full season?), and i’m even less sure how he can pay for an F1 team. Surely the travails of Portsmouth Football coub should teach those involved in the higher levels of professional sport to make sure the money is there before rubber-stamping a project.
Prodrive, Epsilon and Lola? Simples, as the Russian meerkat would have it. A few people with an interest in an “independent” supply of engines got together and ensured that only teams naming Cosworth as suppliers would get entries. I’m increasingly sure Todt’s FIA would have ensured more linear thought went into the team selection process.
Stefan GP has been on the backburner since about 1998; I didn’t take Zoran Stefanovic seriously then and struggle to do so now, although I have been proven wrong by Vijay Mallya on that point; I felt he would not see out his first season as a team owner, and Force India is still around.
ParotKefalonia
Promoyion/relegation, it sounds a good idea but it’s been suggested before.
The main drawback is, how does a GP2 team scale up its operation in terms of premises, staff numbers, sponsorship, etc during the close season, six months at most? The successful team also has to design and build a car which might just be possible if you have Mike Gascoigne or Nick Wirth involved. Consider the problems Campos and USF1 are having though. The promoted team able to miss the first three races every season perhaps? I don’t think so.
The opposite problem also has to ba addressed too, downsizing an F1 team to compete in GP2.
A further thought concerns sponsorship, imagine a team being relegated after year one of a multi-year sponsorship agreement.
Sorry if this sounds too negative but solve these drawbacks and you have got a good idea.
Martin Collyer
I agree the main problem is one of economies – F1 is rich F2 (oops sorry GP2) is not.
The main probem though is not ‘how does a GP2 team scale up?’ or ‘ how does an F1 team downsize?’ If you think realistically this is just a way of protecting F1 and maintaining it’s “richness”.
Numerous people – OK Max most vocally – have been on about cost cutting in F1 and even budget capping. The concept of promotion / relegation would be a natural way to create this. After all Motor Sport Teams do not want to go the way that some UK football teams have gone. Likewise, Motor Sport does not want to go down that avenue.
With regards to sponsorship agreements that is simply a contractual agreement – if I sponsor you in F1 I can say I will pay you “x” but if you are relegated to F1-2 then you only get “y”. It might also help attract new sponsors that simply cannot afford F1 but with some decent exposure in F1-2 may see the benefits and raise the game for F1.
Logically promotion / relegation could even incorporate some of the fundementals of A1GP. I always liked the ‘Country’ aspect it was a new dimension (well not actually that new but it was packaged in a new way). Think if there were strong (and I mean strong) feeder F1-2 series across the world – say on the main continents – with promotion / relegation based on a year end series shoot out. And I don’t mean a race or two, but more of a series.
Think of the economics, more year round employment, a way to spread the word (interest) and open new markets, encouragement for younger drivers, greater access for smaller sponsors, year round TV. the use of a greater variety of tracks – I always had a very soft spot for Donnington, Zandvoort and just a few more. They could be used and the circle goes round again – more emplyment, more access to high level motor sport etc…
I agree with you that the promoted team able should not be able to miss the first three races – actually I would go furtyher, they must not miss any races.
My silly idea has some merits, I am more interested in seeing quality motorsport promoted and more opportunities for everybody at a high level. By everybody I don’t just mean teams, I mean the college student who wants to be a race engineer, the farmer who drives at weekends but ends up to be a superstar – think of Jim Clark, the Team Principles who have the skills but don’t have the access (because they don’t use Cosworth – oops)
The manufacturers who want to be in F1 (if there are any) but cant’ afford it ….., The countries that want to host F1 … the list goes on.
Just a few thoughts and I am sure there are many like me who love F1 but do find the it difficult to associate F1 with the lower formula, would love to see new entries and new countries … might even be worth a debate.
Joe if there are enough people interested where can we have a debate on your site – and would you be prepared to chair it?
ParotKefalonia
I am not sure I would know how to!