I'm an eternal optimist with Williams. I can see Paddy Lowe accomplishing some things there, given some time. This season would be a little too early for him to be at full effect, so I wasn't expecting a lot. As per usual, things are best for them (or anyone) when they're a works team. If Mercedes gets sick of things and goes back to only engines, or Renault, or even if Honda doesn't work out with Toro Rosso (and Red Bull by extension), well, who knows? Maybe if independent engines become feasible, that's another option.
I hope they stick with it, and it's almost impossible to imagine any other way since they've been there so long. Teams like Renault, MB, and even Ferrari are, as they say, one boardroom decision away from leaving F1. Williams is a little different. They've also fortunately been able to stay in the black, and do post their financial reports annually.
Generally speaking, with rules and tech and financing, I have no idea what the appropriate solution is, given there are so many unintended consequences. The biggest money teams, no matter how you spin the rules or the spending, will always have the advantage. They either spend until they realize their folly and leave, or get another idea into their heads and leave.
As for Liberty, payments to teams were cut, because they realized how much Formula 1 really was a one man operation, and how much work Bernie really did, which is astounding. They invested in infrastructure, hiring a lot of people to do what he did daily. As I've said before, Liberty are so lucky that Bernie isn't 30 years younger, or the talk and smoke blown about a competing series would be a legitimate threat.
I would love to be the fly on the wall in Chase Carey's office sometime. I wonder how many times he's realized they chased a madman out of a job, only to find out that being a madman is the first credential required for the job.
I hope they stick with it, and it's almost impossible to imagine any other way since they've been there so long. Teams like Renault, MB, and even Ferrari are, as they say, one boardroom decision away from leaving F1. Williams is a little different. They've also fortunately been able to stay in the black, and do post their financial reports annually.
Generally speaking, with rules and tech and financing, I have no idea what the appropriate solution is, given there are so many unintended consequences. The biggest money teams, no matter how you spin the rules or the spending, will always have the advantage. They either spend until they realize their folly and leave, or get another idea into their heads and leave.
As for Liberty, payments to teams were cut, because they realized how much Formula 1 really was a one man operation, and how much work Bernie really did, which is astounding. They invested in infrastructure, hiring a lot of people to do what he did daily. As I've said before, Liberty are so lucky that Bernie isn't 30 years younger, or the talk and smoke blown about a competing series would be a legitimate threat.
I would love to be the fly on the wall in Chase Carey's office sometime. I wonder how many times he's realized they chased a madman out of a job, only to find out that being a madman is the first credential required for the job.
