How Can $175 Million Not Excite F1 Teams?

F1 teams and drivers starting the 2019 United States Grand Prix, but will they race in the 2021 Formula 1 season where they will have a maximum of $175 million to spend?
F1 teams are yet to sign up to race in 2021, the new era of the sport. How can $175 million per season not excite F1 teams? Btw, teams could still spend $300 million (or more) even after 2021. Hamilton-Rossi’s machine swap, are we going to see Hamilton-Vettel to swap their cars in 2021 too?

Formula 1 announced the 2021 regulations but NO team has signed the Concorde Agreement yet. Will your favourite team be racing in F1 2021? Okay, the truth may not be as dramatic as we’re making it to be, but for Formula 1‘s sake, we’re hoping that all the current teams race in the new era of the sport. Although Formula 1 could’ve handled the PR around this issue better.

In 2021, will we also see drivers change teams? Historically, rule changes have always shaken up the order in Formula 1, will 2021 do so too? We’d love to see Lewis Hamilton do a Juan Manuel Fangio – basically, win titles with Mercedes and Ferrari. Maybe he could seek some encouragement from Valentino Rossi on winning with multiple manufacturers! It is unfortunate that Hamilton’s not considering a switch to Formula E though, we’d love to see him be the first-ever Formula 1 and Formula E World Champion. It is going to happen sooner or later and who better than Hamilton to stamp his talent and greatness across both series.

We discuss how a Formula 1 team could still spend $300 million dollars per season under the new ‘financial regulations’. Is Formula 1’s NZC or Net Zero Carbon plan to eventually buy Formula E and acquire all its carbon credits (if they have any, that is)? Would AWS be pleased with Formula 1’s tyre life graphic given the controversies around it? Finally, we had Porsche’s Formula E racer, Neel Jani, on our podcast a few days ago. Only that our audio recording failed miserably! Yes, that’s the story of our special 301st episode. Tune in!

(Season 2019, Episode 43)

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • Formula 1 jumped the gun on the 2021 announcements? The Concorde Agreement is yet to be signed – will any team leave the sport a the end of 2020? Is this turning out to be a PR disaster for the sport?
  • Net Zero Carbon initiative – is Formula 1 doing enough? Is 2030 a bit too late?
  • How a Formula 1 team could still spend $300 million from 2021 too. We do some math
  • Lewis Hamilton could seek some encouragement from Valentino Rossi to switch to Ferrari come 2021
  • Is Sebastian Vettel the next big trigger in the Formula 1 driver market?
  • How can $175 million per year not excite a lot of people in Formula 1? Will spending to the budget cap become a prestige issue for teams come 2021?
  • Given the mess around the tyre life graphic, would AWS be pleased with their Formula 1 sponsorship activation?

Kunal Shah is an FIA-accredited Formula 1 journalist who has been reporting on Formula 1 for nearly two decades. He worked with the Force India Formula 1 Team for 6 seasons in Marketing, Sponsorship and Commercial roles. As a former single-seater racer, he was responsible for Force India's grassroots talent program, One from a Billion Hunt. Presently, he co-writes a regular Formula 1 column for Firstpost, speaks on Inside Line F1 Podcast & Pits to Podium and produces broadcast/OTT content for NENT Group (Viasport & Viaplay).

Leave a reply:

Site Footer

Sliding Sidebar

Shares
Open chat
Let's Talk Formula 1
Hello,
Happy to share my passion for Formula 1 with you. If you have specific queries about the sport, feel free to ping me.

In the meanwhile, I welcome you to subscribe to the Inside Line F1 Podcast for insightful conversations around Formula 1. We release an episode every week.

Regards,
Kunal