Gene Haas thinks that American team could work in Formula One. For the amazing low price (in Formula One terms) of $5,000USD he was able to file a letter of intent to start a team.
Of course that’s merely the first step. If the co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing in NASCAR meets the first step, and he admits he doesn’t know the judging criteria, the next fee will be $125,000. Of course all of that is dwarfed by budgets running $200 million and up annually. And what about the start up costs? Haas told the media, gathered in Charlotte, NC for the Annual NASCAR Media Tour, that basing some part of the team would help cut costs which is a stated goal of the F-One circuit. But is it really feasible? This writer thinks not. Formula One teams today are less about aspirations and more about very well funded teams using traditional Formula One methods. Unfortunately we’ve been down this path before with the still-born US F1 team with principal Ken Anderson. Looking back at the history of US team involvement there was the Penske effort of the early 1970s. Tragically after it lost its’ heart after the death of Mark Donohue the team lost its’ backer, Fred Stecher, who brought First National City bank money. After Mr. Stecher’s budges were cup the Penske team withdrew. Then there was the short-lived Parnelli Jones team with Mario Andretti which had tobacco sponsorship. After about two years that team folded for lack of sponsorship.
In the 1980s Beatrice the food giant brought a substantial budget for Carl Haas and former Penske man Teddy Mayer. The budget encompassed both Formula One and Indy Cars with top drivers like Mario Andretti in CART and Alan Jones in Formula One. The F-One team was properly funded with experienced F-One personnel. That team too folded quite quickly after the Beatrice CEO, James Dutt, was ousted from his position by a palace coup and the company bought out its’ contracts.
What is the common thread in US start-ups? They had big corporate money behind them. Haas, no relation to Indy Car’s Carl Haas, is said to have a personal wealth of over $700 million. For now he says he’d fund the team. And while he’s aware of the $200 to $300 million annual budgets that doesn’t account for the costs of building facilities and designing cars from scratch. Even Formula One’s El Supremo Bernie Ecclestone is skeptical. "They (Haas) have been talking about it for three years," F1 business journalist Caroline Reid quoted Ecclestone as saying. "Somebody can have $10 billion in the bank, but it doesn't mean they are going to spend it." Despite owning Hass CNC, a leading machine tool manufacturer in the US, it does not have an international footprint yet. Haas says he understands that Formula One wants new teams which offer longevity. And that’s why the dream won’t work. Unless and until an international corporate partner is found all we’ll have is some nice speculation.
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