F1 Racing UK – August 2019

IGNITION

AUGUST 2019

It costs an inordinateamountofmoneysimply

tocompeteinF1,nevermindwin.It’salesson

Renaultislearningthehardwayasitstrugglesto

recapturepastgloriesinthishybrid,high-techera.

TryingtofocusonthemovingtargetofMercedes

isprovingmorechallengingthanexpected,with

Renaultadmittingeventheextraordinaryfinancial

commitmentit’smadesincere-acquiring‘Team

Enstone’(anditsdebts)attheendof2015isstill

nowherenearenoughtoreachtheultimategoal.

Renaultalwaysintendedtowinwhilespending

less,butsuchistheheftofMercedes’financial

commitment–boostedbyfavourablecontractual

termswithF1andhandsomecommercialrewards

forongoingsuccess–thefinancialgaptoRenault

isgrowingataratethateasilyoutstripsany

marginalgainsRenaultismakingonthetrack.

AsStuartCodlingexplainsonpage52,Renault’s

currentdifficultyearningatangiblereturnon

investmentcantraceitsrootsbacktotheprevious

downturnitsufferedafterwinningatitledouble

withFernandoAlonsoin2005-06.

F1isagonisingoverwaystocondensethe

competitiveorder,butneutralisingthegains

Mercedes,FerrariandRedBullhavemadethanks

toyearsofconstantandcommittedinvestmentis

almostimpossible.Asistryingtocatchthemwhile

spendingless(insteadofmore)thantheydo.

Evenabudgetgapwon’tcompletelysolvethat

conundrum,andeventuallytheRenaultboardwill

probablyneedtodoubledownoracceptthefallacy

ofsunkcostanddisappearcompletely.Thatis

somethingLibertyMediacanillafford,especially

whenyouconsiderwarningsfromMcLarenteam

bossAndreasSeidl(profiledonp71)thatthelevelof

investmentrequiredisprohibitivetonewentrants.

HisformeremployerPorschedecidedagainst

joininghybridF1,despitedevelopingasix-cylinder

engine,soSeidlshouldknow.ThatmakesRenault’s

continuingparticipationvitalifF1wantstoavoid

furtherdilutionofmanufacturerinvolvement.

ThesearecriticaltimesforF1,astopdriverssuch

asLewisHamiltonandSebastianVettelquestion

itsdirection,andtimeti cksontowardsmajorrule

changesthatstillaren’tagreed(thoughtheconcept

isatleasttakingfirmershape,seep19).

HereF1’slatestownerscomeupagainsttheage-

oldproblemoftryingtobeallthingstoallpeople.

Teams,engineers,sponsors,drivers,fans–they

allwantF1tobebrilliant,butwithadefinitionof

brillianceparticulartoeachofthem.

Thelatestploytopotentiallyreintroduce

refuellingisaclassiccaseinpoint.Itmaymakethe

carsmarginallymoreexcitingtodrive,butitwill

alsoverylikelymaketheracingmorepredictable.

Doesthebenefitoutweighthecost?Thisisthe

questioneveryone,includingRenault,mustgrapple

withbeforefacingsomeinevitablehardchoices.

Success still out of Renault's reach...

JAKEBOXALL-LEGGE

Ourtechnical editor

looks back on Nelson

Piquet's title-winning

BrabhamBT49 (p84-89)

and scrutinises modern

brake ducts (p48-49)

STEVEN TEE

In his work as principal

photographerfor both

F1Racingand McLaren,

Tee was perfectly placed

toshoot newteam boss

AndreasSeidl(page71)

NIGELROEBUCK

Legendary Mexican

racer Ricardo Rodríguez,

the younger brother of

Pedro, is the subjectfor

Roebuck's F1 Heroes

this month (page 90)

MARK GALLAGHER

Theformer commercial

director of the Jordan

F1team looks at the

enduring earning power

of one of the greats, Sir

JackieStewart (page 31)

Contributors

Ben

Anderson

Team principals Drivers Subscriptions

Editor

Ben Anderson

Editor in chief

Andrew van

de Burgt

President,

Motorsport

Network

James Allen

ThankstoJeremy Appleton, Harry Bull,Peter Burai,Helen Crooks, Russell Day,Justine Hoffmann, Darren Jones, Maria de Juana, Sophie Ogg, William

Ponissi, Charlotte Sefton, Shaun White

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6 F1RACING AUGUST 2019

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