Spyker for Sale?

[Buzz Lightyear]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61529

Even Yamamotos millions cannot prevent a sale looking likely.

[Viktory]

Can't say I'm surprised by this. Always had my doubts when they first announced they would buy out Midland

[RaikkonenRules]

Sigh not again. :

[Lemmy-Boy]

Ownership of this F1 entity is fast becoming a revolving carousel. I miss the glory days of Jordan F1, especially when they were regularly mixing it up with the bigger teams.

Now the team is relegated to shady businessmen or car manufacturers, who end up selling the team every 2 to 3 years.

[Valve Bounce]

This all boils down to the lack of TV money for the bottom teams. These guys are just as necessary for F1 as the top teams - somebody has to come last to prevent the big manufacturers like Honda from coming last and then pulling out of F1.

All the teams perform on the tracks in F1, and they should be paid accordingly. In fact, the bottom three teams need financial help to keep going to make the bottom half of the grid competitive. I see no reason why teams, apart from the winner of the WCC should not be paid equitably. We all want to see Spyker, Torro Rosso, and Super Aguri improve to the extent where, occasionally, they can beat the manufacturers - that's what will keep F1 more interesting.

But they need finance to do that. To expect them to pay up big time so they can take part in Bernie's circus is grossly unfair.

There!! I've had my rant!! Now I'm going to have my Lavazza Espresso.

[Rollo]

Hear hear If we look at the past list of World Champions and where they started:

Alonso -Minardi
Schumacher - Jordan
Hakkinen - Lotus
Villeneuve is perhaps an exception because he was already Champ Car Champion when he started at Williams
Hill tooled around in a Brabham
Prost was at McLaren but at that stage they were in developmental upheaval
and Senna was at Toleman

I think that that little list of World Drivers Champions should take you all the way back to about 1992 and all of then got their start at teams that were either in decline, in a major rebuild or never realy had a chance.
In fact only Hamilton and Villeneuve have debuted in a "top car" really in the past 20 years.

The point is that the so-called minnows not only provide extra seats and cars, but at a race weekend they also provide colour when compared to the closed doors and cold attitudes of the "big" teams.

At least year's Australian GP, Super Best Friends had a sushi van out the back, at Midland F1, Winklehock was signing things and speaking to people and at Toro Rosso with the arrival of Neel Jani? (sic) they had a chocolatier out the back (hmm, nice).

Maybe it's time that Bernie realised that in order have an F1 circus you need a wee bit more than just the horse tamers and the silver swallowers.

[veeten]

well, well, well... at the begining of the season they were all over RBR/ Torro Rosso & Super Aguri for not building their own chassis and were looking to make a legal case over it. Now, it looks like the 'for sale' sign is out after yet another 'major owner' has had enough of being the cabbose of the F1 train.

This concern has changed more hands over the last decade and a half than anyone else, and still they've yet to gain any modest headway in the points or finish outside of last in many races (Hungary notwithstanding).

[truefan72]

This all boils down to the lack of TV money for the bottom teams. These guys are just as necessary for F1 as the top teams - somebody has to come last to prevent the big manufacturers like Honda from coming last and then pulling out of F1.

All the teams perform on the tracks in F1, and they should be paid accordingly. In fact, the bottom three teams need financial help to keep going to make the bottom half of the grid competitive. I see no reason why teams, apart from the winner of the WCC should not be paid equitably. We all want to see Spyker, Torro Rosso, and Super Aguri improve to the extent where, occasionally, they can beat the manufacturers - that's what will keep F1 more interesting.

But they need finance to do that. To expect them to pay up big time so they can take part in Bernie's circus is grossly unfair.

There!! I've had my rant!! Now I'm going to have my Lavazza Espresso.

well said

[Placid]

I like to see a US company or team to buy Spyker and have US drivers.

[fan-veteran]

The more sensible variant i think, is to have a 3-cars top-teams, a total of 5, 6 or 7 (18, 21 cars total) and a low-class teams with 2 cars - a total of 2 or 3, or even 1.

Tell me, who cares which place the Torro-Rosso or Spyker or Super Aguri will occupy at the chequered flag? when it is known that they hardly can take even 1 point, or anyhow - they will always be at the rear. It's better to have a very competitive grid of at least 10 cars (3 or 4 teams), and the weaklings to participate just for exotics.