Selection box - A 15,000 piece jigsaw puzzle - Some weekend reading as we ease into 2017
Published by Christine
It's a brand new year, resolutions are being made (and broken already), and we're all starting to look ahead to the 2017 F1 season. Who will do well, who will step up to the plate, and let's be honest, will Manor even make it? Heading into the first full weekend of the year, I've lined up a handful of links for you to read, listen and watch, to make the most of your motorsport minutes, and stay up to date with what's happening.
Let's begin with two excellent podcasts to give you something to listen to while perusing the rest of the links.
Join Grace and me in a very special episode in which we share our thoughts on what each team’s 2017 New Year’s resolutions should be. In a rare moment, Grace joins me at my house for a special episode. We even have a special awards section for the F1 yearbook.
On this episode of 'Drinks with Karters', Davin and James talk about why they started working on KartPulse in the first place. See the full shownotes and join in the conversation here. Also, a meme turns into a ten minute conversation over beer. Tune in and let us know what you think.
Looking forward to the coming season, it's about the time that predictions start coming in, and we've got some very specific ones here already. Also, an incredibly useful guide to the regulation changes this year, and some thoughts on the funding problems of late.
After a mostly disappointing 2016 campaign, bar Felipe Nasr's brilliant 9th place in Sao Paulo, The only way I can see Sauber going is down. With a mediocre lineup of Marcus Ericcson and most likely Felipe Nasr, matched with a small budget, 2016 Ferrari engines and one of the worst chassis on the grid, I can see no way for Sauber to score many (if any) points.
The start of every Formula 1 season is nerve-wracking. For the technical department, it’s especially tough: they have to complete a 15,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, and ensure that it’s both reliable and competitive, all while juggling impossibly tough objectives and incredibly tight deadlines.
Two pieces of news on the same day point in the same direction: Silverstone suggesting it might need to invoke the 2019 break clause in its long-term British Grand Prix contract and the Manor team going into administration for the second time in three years. It’s confirmation, once again, that F1’s business model is fouled up. Traditional venues are being left no fat on the bone in hosting a Grand Prix such are the fees, and the team payments are massively out of whack with the little teams essentially sponsoring the big ones.
Next up, it's easy to get excited about the drivers, the teams, and everything we can see in the paddock, but there's so much more to Formula One than that.
Our two guest articles offer you a look behind the scenes. What does production involve for our Sauber F1 Team? Which challenges do the constructors face? With whom do they maintain close working relationships? And how can you become a Technical Partner of the race team?
Corporate spending on sponsorship activity will hit 60 billion dollars in 2016. But despite this vast expenditure, measuring the ROI of sponsorship remains a tricky business, especially with social media changing the game when it comes to measuring the reach of a brand or logo. Event organizers too, run into difficulties when trying to accurately value their sponsor deals.
Some behind the scenes information up next, with the retirement of journalist Kevin Eason.
Nobody ever portrayed Bernie better. Kevin Eason, retiring grand prix correspondent of The Times tells us more in 275 exemplary words than tens of thousands written in books about Bernie. In his valedictory column after 18 years Kevin speaks with the wry indulgence of one jack-the-lad for another.
Our last couple of links are about the engineering and futuristic side of motorsport, beginning with someone hoping to break into the sport.
Changing tires and organizing tools at the racetrack from age 7, Caitlin Bunt didn’t have many women alongside her. But that didn’t deter her dreams of becoming a race engineer.
This weekend in Las Vegas at the CES show, home to the Consumer Technology Association, brands and businesses from all over the world will be exhibiting their designs and creations which will be available for the consumer in the near future. These innovative pieces of technology includes Faraday Future, a title sponsor to the Formula E Dragon Racing team, and their first car – an electric, self-driving, self-parking beauty that can accelerate from 0-60mph in 2.39 seconds.
