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Formula One Woes

Even big spenders like Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes are looking at ways of cutting down on the spiraling costs.

Lewis Hamilton, the world F1 champion, had something interesting to say when asked by a TV network about his phenomenal salary. “I am paid to do the job and nobody knows the figures involved for the work I carry out. There are views that we are paid too highly for a year’s work. There will always be money around and people want to spend to prove themselves in an expensive sport like motor racing, especially F1,” Hamilton said earlier this week.

‘Small time’, bottom of the league Force India are optimistic though this may be short-lived. The Bengaluru based owner, struggling with his Kingfisher Airline and many other business deals, says the agreement with McLaren Mercedes team for a better engine plant has made things look brighter for the team. He may even go for a McLaren stable driver lineup after promising at the end of the season that he would stick to his 2007-2008 drivers. Many more F1 teams may disband and the number of unemployed top rate drivers in the market will be big as the demand and supply factor takes the downward curve.

Japanese team, Super Aguri closed down midway through the season last. It sparked new calls for the glamour sport to slash its mind-boggling budgets while the remaining Japanese team, Toyota, hurried out a statement pledging their future to the championship.

This is not the first time Honda has quit F1. It withdrew in 1968 to focus on developing compact passenger vehicles. Honda returned to the F1 stage as an engine supplier from 1983 until 1992, when race regulation changes and a ban on the use of turbo systems prompted Honda to withdraw again from the competition. In 2000, Honda made yet another comeback by partnering with BAR, supplying engines and jointly developing the vehicle body.

The company took full control of the team from the 2006 season. The Honda Racing Team made their Formula One debut in the 1964 German Grand Prix and only in their second year of competition, Honda reached the coveted top step of the podium with Ginther’s win in the RA272 at the 1965 Mexican GP.