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For one the computer soft ware that will totally negate the need for wind tunnel testing will be arriving in 2001 that will make it cheaper. Having said that teams like Ferrari and McLaren have the production lines running 24 hours a day 7 days a week! How are the small teams supposed to compete with this?
Other than that I guess the ban on tobacco advertising in 2006 will open up much more revenue for the entire grid as many sponsors have steered away from F1 because they did not want o be associated with F1 because of the tobacco advertising.
I have said it before... it is too difficult to start a new team into F1. Look at BAR and Jaguar. Essentially they were Stewart and Tyrrell but they both took huge steps backward after the takeovers.
It’s not just money it’s the entire synergy of the team. Imagine what it is like setting up a team from scratch. I think it says a lot that Toyota are setting up the team years in advance of the entry into the sport. When was the last time that a genuinely NEW team came into the sport? if you count Lola 1997 if you don’t count them I think it was Forti, who started off in 1995. They only lasted two years and don’t forget that Forti had been a dominant force in virtually every junior Formulae.
Many teams have come and gone but Minardi's impeding departure is highlighted by the lack of new teams entering the sport.
There has been a thread about a manufacturer buying Minardi out.... well I would not mind seeing Alfa back in Formula One.
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