We were pretty much aware that Button had a good chance at being World Champion this year almost from the first few races. Likewise, in our Sidepodcast Fantasy Racers league, Kathi has had the title sewn up since the beginning.
It's been a really fun competition though, plenty of mid-field battles, and who hasn't enjoyed watching Mr C fall through the ranks each weekend? There is just one more opportunity for him to make amends and that is at the last race in Abu Dhabi.
I ditched my crazy strategy of last time, purchasing the cheapest drivers so I could have a lot of them. Now I have gone to the other extreme and am selecting the elite drivers. Well, the expensive ones anyway.
Driver
Price
Jenson Button
11.3
Kimi Raikkonen
10.0
Lewis Hamilton
13.7
Mark Webber
10.9
The prices are correct at the time of writing. I ended up with 2.6 million in the bank, bringing my team value to 48.5, which may be the lowest since I started. I can't be sure, though.
It is probably too late to get too involved in the competition, but if you haven't signed up yet, it might be worth checking out Fantasy Racers to see how it works and how you can get involved next year. If you have a team, don't forget the deadline is 5pm UK Time to make your driver selections. Good luck, and let us know who you pick and how you get on.
It's about time for the Fantasy Racers call to arms but unfortunately due to the timings in Brazil, I have not yet seen a single bit of action. That's okay though, today I am going back to one of my crazy strategies.
It's not completely unrealistic, though, not like the fun and games I had last year. I did put some thought into it, and decided that as this race is a lot of laps and very likely to be wet, I'd rather fill my team up with possibilities than cling on to those really expensive drivers. I basically bought the seven cheapest drivers, and then threw Alonso in for luck. This is the most drivers I've ever had, so it's bound to work out, right?
Driver
Price
Tonio Liuzzi
5.8
Fernando Alonso
8.1
Giancarlo Fisichella
5.8
Jaime Alguersuari
6.1
Kazuki Nakajima
5.5
Robert Kubica
5.3
Romain Grosjean
6.0
Sebastien Buemi
5.8
The prices are correct at the time of writing. I ended up with 0.6 million in the bank which brings my team value to 49 million exactly - we're on a downward trend again.
Don't forget you can still join in the fun if you haven't already. Chances are winning the league is out of the question, but there are plenty of battles to be fought and won throughout the field. All you need to know to get started is here, and you've got until 5pm BST (4pm GMT, 12pm EST) to select your drivers. Good luck everyone, and let us know who you're going with.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
Let’s imagine that you have come into a bit of money. Actually, let’s imagine that you have inherited a vast fortune. You’re a huge Formula 1 fan, I know, and you want your favourite team to continue racing. They get a huge proportion of their income from sponsorship, so perhaps you want to invest? Let’s have a look at the different types of sponsorship available and the price brackets they fall under.
Up to $3 million This is the cheapest option available and is less of a sponsorship and more of an association. Companies will take this route if they don’t care about having their name on the car but would rather be able to use the fact they are associated with the team as a marketing and promotional tool. This would usually occur within the industry, so tool suppliers, or uniform distributors. For example, the name of the company would appear in a small area on the car but the headed notepaper would include an image of the car out on track.
$3 million to $15 million The middle price bracket is for interested parties who do want their name on the car and want to be able to associate themselves with the image of not just the car, but the sport in general. For example, technology companies would want to be linked with Formula 1, as it is perceived as very advanced and cutting edge. Another benefit would come from the hospitality benefits of being involved with a team, front row seats, glamorous team dinners, and access to the pit lane before races. This can go down well in corporate entertaining.
$15 million to $50 million For this much money, you would expect to be a title sponsor. This means that your company name is actually included in the team, for example ING Renault F1. Your name would be in all the prominent positions on the car, littered around the garage, motor home and transporters, and would be listed in the grid and finishing positions on the TV.
Obviously the prices vary, depending on where you are on the car, and which team you are associated with. One of the front runners can afford to charge more for the advertising space on their car, whilst back markers have to reduce their fees.
It’s also worth remembering that associating with any team is only worthwhile if the team is performing respectably. You don’t have to be winning the championship, but if you manufacture cogs for a gearbox, and your car is breaking down from gearbox failures all the time, this won’t reflect well on your company.
So, consider where to spend your fortune wisely. Having looked at the options, it may not be the best idea to pick your favourite team, it may require a bit more research than we originally thought.
