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Old 30th July 2018, 19:07   #16
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Re: F1: The future of Force India?

Vijay Mallya has lost control, whatever that means, of the team. His "right-hand man", Bob Fernley, is now in charge. Apparently this was triggered after Sergio Perez's interview where he spoke about unpaid dues.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/65197318.cms
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Old 31st July 2018, 14:06   #17
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Force India in administration: 3 teams oppose takeover

Earlier this month, the Force India Formula One team was put into administration by driver Sergio Perez in a bid to prevent freezing of the team assets due to financial troubles. According to media reports, Formula One boss Chase Carey discussed with other teams to allow Force India to keep its share of the Formula 1 revenue, even if the team's name was changed.

McLaren, Williams and Renault have reportedly objected to this. Earnings from TV revenue and prize money constitute a big chunk of earnings for teams like Force India. However, with a new owner, the name of the team would be changed and could result in it forfeiting these earnings. It is estimated that the TV revenue alone would be around US$ 150 million for the season. It has also been reported that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has said that potential buyers of the team need to have deep pockets.

Force India was formed in 2007 when Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol bought the Spykar team for Euro 90 million. In October 2011, Sahara purchased 42.5% stake in the team by putting in US$ 100 million.

The team's performance in the World Constructors' Championship has seen improvement since the 2008 season. While it was placed 10th in its first season, it has moved up to 4th place in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2018, the team is placed 6th overall with half the season remaining. Over the years, the Silverstone-based team has put in strong performances despite running on a lower budget than most other teams.

F1: The future of Force India?-dw0cpqxuaenu_w.jpeg

Source: Planet F1

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Last edited by blackwasp : 31st July 2018 at 14:09.
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Old 31st July 2018, 15:45   #18
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Re: F1: The future of Force India?

I had a bit of a deep dive into the debate surrounding this on the F1 reddit and I'll try and summarise the various points that might explain the objection:

Williams - it seems Claire Williams main point of ire is that in the past couple of years Williams have had to make a number of difficult decisions and cuts in order to live within their means whereas F.Ind, through creative accounting what have you, ended up spending more than they had and thus outperformed (ie, they borrowed a lot more). Now obviously they're reaping the seeds they sowed.

Stroll - there are some who have claimed this is Claire's way of making sure Papa Stroll doesn't end up with his millions buying a new team for his beloved little boy.

Karma - there are those putting forward the view that back when Marussia desperately needed a last minute approval from the teams to compete in the 2015 season with their 2014 car, it was Bob Fernley who vetoed it. Thus Marussia went kaput. Now Fernley was the only team boss to vote AFAIK and ultimately the rest of the paddock didn't object to his sole vote. At the same time Marussia were quite clearly attempting a bodge where they would quickly rustle up a 2015 spec front end and crash test it and put it on a 2014 spec car just in order to make the grid and claim the 2014 prize money they were owed. Cheeky. Naturally F.Ind acted to block this so that the money was eventually distributed amongst the others that remain. However there is a certain irony to this in that F.Ind have for the past couple of years made it an art form of starting with a previous years spec car and only showing up at Spain with their current spec for that year so you can see why there is a sizeable section who are happy to see the team get what they perceive to be their just desserts.

Prize money angle - there's the obvious angle that Mclaren, Williams and Renault (but mainly the former pair) would seek to gain a greater share of the prize money than they would've got with F.Ind still on the grid. What their supporters can claim to is that by going into administration, F.Ind as we know it is dead and that whatever entity comes up from new ownership is legally a new team and thus not beholden to prize money that was due F.Ind (here is where the nebulous world of legalese comes in so I'm afraid I'm out of my depth here).

Staffing angle - now the loss of F.Ind would be a big blow to the hundreds of talented engineers & mechanics at Silverstone and beyond. On a human level this is messing around with their lives. However if you think about it from the point of view of the 3 vetoing teams, all of which are hoping to grow their technical departments, this sudden windfall of 400 or so jobless engineers presents a great opportunity to integrate proven talent into their own teams in one fell swoop. Granted this will likely not cover All the people who would be rendered jobless but a reasonable portion can hope to jump straight back into work without the pesky "gardening leave" that comes with moving from one team to another normally.


Conclusion:
For anyone who has followed this sport long enough, this is exactly the sort of political wrangling that is common place. And with the summer holiday and factories shuttered, there has to be something to keep those team principals engaged! There is no honour or friendship, only business interests and ultimately many of these team bosses are answerable to their shareholders or owners.
On a sporting level this is bad. The grid is already small and with no signs of new teams. Losing a well established one will be a big blow to the midfield.
The greater philosophical dilemna facing the sport is the increasing dominance of the 2 main manufacturers in terms of the governing. Big factory teams are sadly imo tied into prevalent market conditions and I fear for a situation where it might end up as the joke that was the LMP1 category at Le Mans this year if major manufacturers pull out. Thus it's in F1's interest to ensure that privateer teams are solvent and are robust enough to carry on.

I've tried to cover all the major points I recall, I might've easily missed some.
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Old 31st July 2018, 15:48   #19
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Re: F1: The future of Force India?

Well this was bound to happen with his illicit doings.

Good thing Nirav Modi doesnt own an F1 team as well!

Im sure Daddy Stroll will make his inquiries given Williams struggles, which I dont see improving in the near future.
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Old 31st July 2018, 18:05   #20
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Re: Force India in administration: 3 teams oppose takeover

Quote:
Originally Posted by blackwasp View Post
Earlier this month, the Force India Formula One team was put into administration by driver Sergio Perez in a bid to prevent freezing of the team assets due to financial troubles.
More details are pouring out, this time from Rich Energy drink owner, William Storey who has deposited 30 million with the court and has become an interested party in the proceedings.

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