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wonderful, just friggin wonderful...

Bernie Ecclestone confirms F1 could consist of eight three-car teams next year

"I'd rather see Ferrari with three cars, or any of the other top teams with three cars than having teams that are struggling," says Bernie

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that some teams could run three cars next year if the grid is restricted to just eight outfits.

Speculation has flourished in recent weeks that F1’s sporting structure could be subject to a seismic overhaul for next season with at least four current teams - Marussia, Caterham, Lotus and Sauber - known to have grievous financial concerns.

“This is the last year of F1 as we know it. In 2015 eight teams will contest the championship, with several teams entering three cars," Adam Parr, the former chairman of Williams, announced on Twitter after the Italian GP.

While that scenario remains purely theoretical at this stage, Ecclestone has acknowledged that the possibility of such a drastic revision of the sport's composition has already been considered.

"We have a regulation that says if we lose three teams the other teams will run three cars," Ecclestone confirmed to Sky Sports News HQ ahead of this weekend's Singapore GP.

Ecclestone himself has made no secret of his preference for a grid consisting of “top teams with three cars [rather] than having teams that are struggling".

Speaking to The Guardian, Ecclestone confirmed: “I think we should do it anyway. I would rather see Ferrari with three cars, or any of the other top teams with three cars than having teams that are struggling.”

Despite finishing fourth in last year's Constructors' Championship, Lotus’ financial woes have become uncomfortably pronounced in recent times, with star driver Kimi Raikkonen abandoning the team after announcing they hadn’t paid his salary, while paddock insiders have claimed throughout the current campaign that Sauber’s plight has also become critical. However, Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn says they will be on the grid in 2015.

“We are having the worst season in the history of our team in Formula 1, yet at the same time we are organising,” she said. “We are more than 21 years in F1 and we do get the question often and every time we say ‘We will be around’ and I am going to answer the same way and say next year we will be around as well.”

Caterham's financial woes, meanwhile, were underlined by their sudden sale three months ago when a mysterious consortium of Middle East-based backers took over ownership from Tony Fernandes. However, the prospect of Marussia lining up on the 2015 grid has been significantly bolstered by the team's points-scoring exploits in May's Monaco GP which has propelled the Banbury outfit to the heady heights of ninth in the Constructors' Championship.

"They'll get some prize money but they need a lot more than that to run an F1 team – at this level maybe £60 million or such like," cautioned Sky F1's Martin Brundle.

Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams believes the potential introduction of three-car teams is contrary to the sports' DNA.

“I don’t like the idea of three-car teams. I would much prefer there are 12 strong two-car teams.”

Force India Team Principal Vijay Mallya was even more vocal in his criticism of the idea and has called for a bigger share of F1’s revenues for the smaller teams.

“I am a firm believer that every effort should be made to ensure that all teams, big and small, survive and race – that is part of the DNA of Formula 1,” he said.

“But the regulations and the agreements do provide that if the grid is less than 20 cars then participating cars will run a third car. I hope it will never come to that, as I said I think the DNA of F1 should be preserved.

“I will repeat once again that I will try and persuade the decision makers and the commercial rights holders that they should look very seriously at a more fair and equitable revenue share model so that we do not have to answer such questions all the time.”

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/report/12433/9477476/bernie-ecclestone-confirms-f1-is-considering-a-plan-for-three-car-teams-in-2015

In the rush to try to make F1 cheaper and more modern they have come up with this stupid “power unit” concept. As it turned out to be the most expensive engine package in history of F1 or any other racing series. Idiocy.

During the heydays of Ferrari and Schumacher the term “super team” was coined. The advent of the new “power unit” has resulted in what I am now going to call “mega team”. A team such as Mercedes that has the resources to built the “power unit” as well as their chassis. It has increased the cost of racing so astronomically that only mega teams will be able to afford it. Hence, the three car teams are coming in an effort to save the series.

Mercedes had such a huge jump on all the other teams since they designed the engines, they knew its physical size and capabilities long before the other teams even knew what it looked like. They had probably a year jump on all the other teams for chassis design, which is around the engine. No other team has the resources, engineering, financial, developmental, personnel as a factory such as Merc. There is just nobody out there that can compete with Merc, period. You say well Honda can. Phffftt, Honda will be just as bad or worse than the other losers.(I do not mean losers derogatorily)

Merc will win all future F1 titles until they decide to leave F1. (how is that for ballsy prediction, or idiocy?) The current main competitors now, Ferrari and Red Bull) are 1.5-2 seconds a lap slower than Merc when they should be 1.5-2 tenths of a second.

F1, the wonderful series that we all love to watch is over, finished. Merc has done the same thing to F1 that Porsche did to the CanAm series back in the early 70’s. At its heyday the finest bar none road racing series in the world. Faster than F1 cars at the time, world famous drivers from everywhere, packed with spectators, ground pounding 500 cuin engines and Porsche killed it with ....... factory money.

A friend of mine that started working for a race team for the CanAm series in 1969, ending his career with 3 Indy 500 rings, 5 Cart championships and several other championships including sports cars has told me that this is precisely what happens when automotive manufacturers get involved with a racing series and become participants. My friend also said to watch, when shit-head Bernie kicks the bucket there will be a veritable world war for control of F1. A war for the take over and control of this monster of a money machine that will be so big it will end up being the nail in the coffin. F1 will be finished off after Merc has given it the paralyzing blow.

As to Vettel leaving Red Bull? He is grasping for straws that will not be there. Merc robbed Red Bull of some key people and although Red Bull has lots of money the old cranky Austrian will find it impossible to compete with Merc. Ferrari? Look at their successes this year with a two time and a one time former world champion?

Nope folks, the last bastion of non-spec racing is slowly drowning in a vast sea of money and the good ole days are just that.