There are a few changes worth noting in F1 in recent days. The most interesting is the news that Jorg Zander is not going to design cars for HRT. This would appear to be an indication that the German engineer is not really interested in getting mixed up with a team that does not seem to know where it is going. The team owners want to establish new headquarters in Spain, even though they have been warned against the idea. Zander’s decision should set alarm bells ringing in Madrid.
Over in Switzerland the Sauber team has taken on Willem Toet (again). The Dutchman has been involved in Formula 1, on and off, since 1985 when he first joined the Toleman F1 team and stayed after this became Benetton. He moved to Reynard in 1991 along with a number of other engineers but when the company’s F1 project flopped, they went back to Benetton. He was then poached by Ferrari at the end of 1994 and stayed there for five years as head of aerodynamics before joining British American Racing. He remained there until the end of 2005 when he moved to Sauber and spent four years in Switzerland before joining RML as managing director. That job lasted a year and he is now back in Switzerland looking after the administrative aspects of the programme, leaving Seamus Mallarkey to do the aerodynamic development work.
We also hear that longtime tyre logistics man Peter Grzelinski has parted company with Pirelli. A Clubmans racer in the UK back in the early 1970s, Grzelinski went into the competition tyre business importing M&H tyres from the United States, where the company was a big name in drag racing (and had developed the first slick tyres in the early 1950s). The M&H tyres were supplied to teams in the European F2 championship and in Formula Atlantics and this led to a meeting with Bridgestone’s Hiroshi Yasukawa and a deal to run Bridgestone’s tyre service in Europe from 1983 onwards. When Bridgestone quit F1 at the end of last year Grzelinski moved to Pirelli to perform a similar role.
I’ve got a lot of time for Willem Toet, simply because he once took time out of his busy schedule for me.
Way back in the 90’s he took the time to reply to my letter asking for work experience. Hero.
Your thoughts on Willem Toet Joe?
James,
He has a good record
HRT really can be happy Kolles picked it up and keeps it running.
Campos did not make it. Carabante more or less got it just to save his investment from going up in air. But these new owners have not made much sense at all so far.
If they want to stay in Spain, buy EpsilonEuskadi’s facility, they are up for peanuts and ar high tech and some of the people might still be available to join. Or go the conventional route and move to the UK, there’s still some motorsport shops up for grabs I figure and it will be easiest to get a team together. Or stay with Kolles in Germany, he manages so far.
But to talk about something completely new in a motorsport no mans land of Valencia, that would ask for a really big amount of money thrown away by the city.
BasCB,
And Vitoria-Gasteiz is is not a motorsport no mans land?
HRT’s situation is looking more parlous by the week — surely without Colin Kolles and his people they have about a USF1 level of ability to operate.
Joe, do we know anything about how/if Kolles is actually receiving any money for running the team for the past two years? Presumably there’s a massive credit line somewhere which passes through Kolles and is ultimately secured by an interest in the entry itself — which might mean that Thesan coming in earlier this year was more a rearranging-deckchairs exercise, and ultimately Kolles will be able to seize control if Thesan slips up.
Or maybe Kolles was paid out when Thesan took over? Anyway, it’s not looking good to have not one but two hired-gun designers walk away from the team.
Ash,
I don’t think that there are any problems over money these days.
I realise this is a parochial comment in the sense of it affecting British TV viewers more than others.
In another change being reported elsewhere, the rumour is that Martin Brundle *and* David Croft have been lured/cherry-picked for the Sky coverage leaving the BBC with er…. Jonathan Legard?
So the majority who cannot afford the Sky subscription or those who are unwilling to give their shillings to Murdoch suffer this. Half the races unwatchable – the other watchable half are now rendered unwatchable. Never mind, I am really enjoying everything on BBC 4… I might have made up that last comment.
Dunno about willem toet. His spell at Bar Honda was nothing noteworthy.
Sandeep,
You cannot base everything on race results. It is not that easy.
Bas,
from all that i can see from my armchair, Epsilon looks to me an old fashioned outfit, built on hard graft, and therefore not likely to sell for the proverbial packet of beans. I can wait a few years until they come in, properly prepared. If that is their trajectory, they look like a patient lot too. Two things in my experience are highly dangerous in business, unless you are totally set up to do this: take investment, or buy other companies. Almost everyone walks away feeling cheated. That can really mess with tight small outfits. The sink of time is just awful, and all sorts of emotions get mixed up. This is my usual moan, either open up the grid so people can come and go, or stop putting barely there outfits on the same platform. I can totally wait 5 years to have a solid new entrant. Meanwhile Epsilon is a very local company, and probably is suffering the age overhang: enormous social tax overheads to keep mature staff, and ca. 40% unemployment for the under 25s. Here’s one quick take: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/17/us-europe-junkjobs-idUSTRE79G4RJ20111017
If my argument stacks up in any way, it’s not shoot for glory, but try to nail down a legacy. Legacies are not in one’s own life, so no rush, tread carefully.
If anything, Epsilon should buy HRT. But i bet you they looked, and found something they didn’t like.
J (oJ)
Epsilon has less than no money.
David Hodge,
that has to be the only way Sky can sell their coverage.
I just worked out that (communal block) i can use the sat LNB feeds to send signal to either Sky HD, or Freesat. (two cables for each) But i can’t do both, that would be hogging the lot of cable drops, not that anyone else uses any on my landing, but it’s plain rude. Freesat is rather good at delivering european stations, and radio, which is the whole thing here. I imagine Ole Rupe considers this well spent money on divide and rule. I admire his sneakiness, in a very askance raised eyebrow way.
Far from shillings, mate. Unless it is the King’s Schilling.
– j
Ha, you got me there Joe, it is a no mans land as well!
But at least the facilities are there to use and leftover personell might be still available, altough the best have long gone, I expect. So if HRT’s owners insist on staying in Spain (not a good Idea), it might be an option for them.
John (oJ) as Joe writes, Epsilon went bankrupt earlier this year, so there is no money to be found there, just the factory (if thats not yet taken apart) and creditors looking to be repayed. That was the reason I mentioned them
Joe & Bas,
looks like i am being slow to keep up. Oops. Big oops. I guess it’s all down now to who holds their paper. Then a rush on to retain useful people. Oh, awful. Thought they had a plan. Or could it be local development finance, supposedly EU guaranteed, sold on, and someone foreclosing . .I have no idea.
best from me – j
John (other John),
I’m showing my age – you need quite a few shillings to pay either BBC licence fee or Sky subs these days. Although the way the Euro is going, it may be valued against shillings soon instead of pounds.
I suppose the point I am trying to make is that Rupey Mudrock has cherry-picked the talent accordingly – clearly he must read these blogs as we were all saying “oh well, it’s off to RTL for me with the sound turned down and R5Live commentary”. So he closes that avenue down as well by offering Crofty a pile of money that he cannot climb over.
So what do we do? Grudingly pay a Sky sub? Personally, no, as I really cannot justify it for only F1. There really is nothing else I can see that would make me want to pay, plus I would tear up so many principles it would be bad. A great divide and conquer strategy by Rupe but will he get as many subscribers as he pays Brundle and Croft in salary – plus assorted pitlane/interviewers/build-up/presenters/etc.
I blame the custard pie man in the committee room – Louise Bagshawe/Mensch was nailing the bastards until he got up, Wendi got punchy and it all fizzled out.
On that note, I guess I enjoy the last three races. We will always have GP+ next year I hope… actually a side thought and I hope this does not come to pass. With F1 losing a large slice of casual viewers, will publications like GP+ thus lose casual subscribers who since they are no longer watching F1 will not see any point in buying peripheral products?
@OtherJohn, You seem to have quite a grasp on the psychology and philosophy of motor sports. Perhaps a book would be a good idea?
Firstly, grudgingly pay a Sky sub….
Then I realise my last paragraph refers to viewers in the UK. Will Joe’s GP+ subs from the UK go down as a result of the TV deal?
you do have to give it to Murdoch, taking over F1 by stealth as he did, all he cared about was the TV revenue not actually running the sport. I’m happy that F1 is covered by “anti-siphoning” laws here in Aus, so they should be staying on free to air.
Elfredore,
You are obviously confused. Murdoch has not taken over Formula One.
markdartj,
but you would have to wait 20 years for it, because that’s how long i’d have to spend getting to actually know motorsports personally. Even that’s assuming i won’t be thrown out for being a total a-hole :-)
you also have to bear in mind there are few uncovered angles, which you should know because you’re here, where they do get covered, so i don’t fancy my career prospects . .
It would be more accurate to say i have some kind of grasp of extreme personalities. Even that is a recent thing, basically growing up. Until recently i guess i figured being an absolute nutter was just normal . .
David,
i was being metaphorical, of course. Once you start paying Ole Rupe, you’re in for a voyage you may not appreciate, depending how open eyed you were beforehand. I don’t have the loathing of NEWS* that many harbor. That company is more the product of a man’s gripes and grumps than conspiracy, admixed with very savvy dealing. I know of no other paper or telly outfits who risked anything, let alone the whole farm, as Rupe did.
But i figured if i was rich enough to pay for a feed i’d watch at best a dozen times a year, i could afford to get trackside somehow. That pleases me with an up yours to NEWS, and i hope has some benefit to the sport. My only problem is i am used to working Sundays, so i can be a slacker Monday and annoy customers. (actually the real reason is my gym in the City is gloriously empty on Monday)
My view is Rupe more that pays for himself by getting unthinking journos to out themselves for idiocy by frothing at their mouths. You should check out that Watson guy who led the questioning in the committee sessions. He has a very anti public information history. Pot kettle, really.
*NEWS is the ticker, but also a very cool computer SONY once launched, which annoyingly failed. A very early attempt to use Display Postscript so that page copy might hit the screen, when the internet was only just about in existence. I just found out that the new Acrobat Pro version X prints web pages with animated flash adverts. No thanks. My real game is watching how sentiment moves against invasive useless technologies, and shifts back to what i would call print tech. But i will take requests for looking up any obscurata in F1, i feel safe in libraries, just so long as it’s a term project, you get it here, not on Amazon . .
David,
i forgot one of your worries. I think this awful Sky deal will actually improve GP+ circs. Decent timely news will certainly be at premium. Joe could be a right one, and black out this site too, but i gather he’s not the bastard Rupe can be! If anything less than that happens, I shall volunteer as tea boy.
John (other John),
Thanks for your thoughtful replies my friend. The bottom line is we’re all in wait and see land.
If Joe does start providing half of GP+ for the normal sub and the other half for a premium rate, then I will feel myself at liberty
to call him rude names on his blog! In the meantime, pass the milk and sugar please…
David Hodge
This link talks about the new Sky / BBC line ups:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/8844664/Martin-Brundle-expected-to-join-Sky-TVs-new-Formula-One-commentary-team.html
David,
getting subscriptions right is an art. Not one i am versed in. But it is way too low, presently. Inflation is for real close to 20% p.a.. My father published quite a few (very obscure) novels. Well, also radio plays, and if not for a bankrupt outfit, would have been a movie or two.* Did buying one get you the back catalog?
I shall have to suggest to Joe some ideas about this**, separately, but what to me is useful for archive with subs like The Economist, is being able to get a searchable archive. Moreso than having every copy on my “desk”. I really have never done this kind of analysis before, but with GP+ you are paying the guys direct, not being subsidized by advertisers. I remember the first time i tried to market a tiny, but useful, publication, in the US. “Yeah, come back when you have 500,000 subs, John”. There was once a decent classical music mag that did that, by the way, for shock value.
Just had to cut a lot. Too personal.
*vast argument seeing as supposed to be my estate, and originals pinched.
** not always worth the cost / benefit, i think. But i am amateur with the online game.
David,
green tea is the bollocks. Unless you are in Up The Khyber mode :-)
p.p.s. I am a blatant abuser of outlier numbers. Publicly, anyhow. Consider them along the lines of “please don’t step of this cliff, Friend” and you have my boundaries.