59 replies to this topic

[molive]

IMO, there are a few manufacturers that belong in F1, maybe more than some of the current crop.

One that, IMO, should have a place is Porche. It just seems right, they are some of the coolest cars, specially the 911s.


With Toyota joining the party in 2002, F1 looks more and more like a manufacturer series, so...who do you think should be in?

My picks:

Porche
Lamborghini

maybe Audi too.

[holiday]

no manufacturers anymore, please
f1 should be a business of privatiers

[molive]

actually, this was supposed to be a poll, but I screwed-up...


Lada? maybe they would not be too bad, considering Prost, Arrows and Minardi´s pace...

[FlatFoot]

General Motors ...using the Buick branding

[Bjorn]

Volkswagen. Don't they own Bugatti?

Well, whoever owns Bugatti should enter F1 and use the Bugatti name

[forgey]

Porsche, Bugatti and possibly VW/Audi. All three are either high performance automakers or have a good history of racing.

Phil

[8nebula]

Mitsubishi...

[philhitchings]

Team oreca or viper or dodge or what ever they want to call them selves

[molive]

what about Maserati?

[goalposthead]

Volkswagen. They would bring great style and marketing to their team. They could add in Apple Computer, Starbucks, and Burton in order to target all the hip gen xers. Wouldn't it be great to see one of those freaky multi-hue metallic Beetle paint jobs on an F1 car?

And, as always...Lotus.

[thornwell]

I would really like to see Kia line up on the grid. If they could make it to the grid their new slogan could be:

KIA: ONLY 7% SLOWER THAN A FERRARI, BUT 97% CHEAPER.

[tim]

Volkswagen/Audi. The only major European car manufacturer not in F1,
GM. The only major American manufacturer not in F1.

[Brian O Flaherty]

Well Molive, VW own Audi and Lamborghini and if the rumours are to be believed (and I like believing, it makes off-season more interesting ;)) then Audi will be in next.

VW have enterred the WRC with Seat, they are entering LeMans with Lamborghini and the logic is seemingly that it makes sense for their other marque, Audi, to go into direct competition in F1 with Merc, BMW & Jag, as they are also class-competitors in the car market.

Porsche dont need F1 but I'd still love to see them back

[FW11B]

Citreon - they seem to have the ability to think laterally.

[The Kanisteri]

SISU
or...
Valmet

[aportinga]

BUICK????

How bout Al Unser Jr. in a Pontiac F1 car basec off the Aztec...now that would be really cool!

[Pascal]

With Audi, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini, the Volkswagen Group has many high-profile brands to choose from if they decide to enter Formula 1 (in 2003 or 2004 if the latest rumours are to be believed).

Porsche on the other hand remains a relatively small company, and I think they know they wouldn't be able to fund efficiently a full assault on the series... They're better off trying something else, like getting another victory at Le Mans.

Oh, and FW11B, Citroën is part of the Peugeot Group, and I doubt these folks would enthusiastically return! :

[Prostfan]

Volkswagen (Rumours say that Bernd Pischetsrieder, new manager of VW, plans to enter F1 soon).

And Lotus

[Hurricane]

Kia or Hyundai.....I am sure schumacher fance would say he will win in one of these also...

[The Kanisteri]

Lotus sounds good...

[Thanassis]

VW and Lotus.

[david_martin]

Originally posted by molive
Lamborghini

maybe Audi too.

Same company

Ferrucio Lambourghini never had much interest in racing and Lamborghini have little motorsport heritage. But Audi is another matter all together. Anyone whisper Auto Union in hushed tones?

[italia]

To see Bugatti again in F1 would be wonderful! The VAG-cncern would be strong in so many disciplines of motorsport: Skoda in WRC (not SEAT anymore), Audi in sportscar and touringcar, and Bugatti in F1. But VW wants to profile itself (see their own new W12 supercar), so probably Volkswagen will enter F1 as ..... Volkswagen. It's bussiness, you know.

Other favourites:
another japanese company: Nissan? unlikely with Renault behind it.
Mazda: no (Ford)
Mitsubishi, forget it (Mercedes)
Hyundai? Yes: in 2007, the last year of real F1 (maybe)

And where is GM?
the problem is, with which name: Chevrolet, Opel (????). All their brands are local. Hardly any chevys are sold in Europe (biggest F1 market), Opel almost only in Europe, Isuzu in Japan. Not good to aim for world recognition. And the link to FIAT could spoil it too.

Maserati?
Great, only is owned by Ferrari.


So there is not that much to choose from.

Maybe a one of the small car companies in GB : TVR, Noble? Please bring back Lotus!!

[No27]

Some team that represents General Motors: I think Saab is the only brand they market worldwide, has a bit of sportyness around it, and is taken seriously all over the world.
Buick is no option because we Europeans just don't buy Buicks. The same counts for any North-American brand, including Caddilac. Besides, I don't relate those brands to motorsports. I can't
come any further than pimps.
Opel is strong in Europe but not an option because North-and South Americans can't buy Opels.
So, selling Lotus was a bad idea after all.

Other brands: Nike and Sony.

[The Kanisteri]

All time favourite:

UAZ

[Isamu]

Originally posted by thornwell
I would really like to see Kia line up on the grid. If they could make it to the grid their new slogan could be:

KIA: ONLY 7% SLOWER THAN A FERRARI, BUT 97% CHEAPER.

[italia]

No. 27 you're right about SAAB. And they have a huge history in rallying. Hopefully they will come back there, now the WRC will (ok, wants to) grow as big as F1.
They are allready building up a lot of experience in winning with Per Eklund in Rallycross!

[Richard Jenkins]

Brabham, Tyrrell, Forti, Lotus, Larrousse, Simtek, Pacific, Connew ;), BRM, Gordini, Onyx, Kojima, Auto Union, Cisitalia, Eagle, Merzario, Rial & Zakspeed would be nice.....

[fifi]

skoda

[Smooth]

Honda.

[DAT]

audi and alfa romeo

[BuzzingHornet]

Minardi could badge their engine as a Lada.

[Jackdaw]

Matra still makes niche vehicles, don't they?

[Pascal]

Originally posted by Jackdaw
Matra still makes niche vehicles, don't they?

Yes, they do, but their latest project is a low-cost vehicle aimed at youngsters.
Formula 1 doesn't fit well with the "low-cost" part of this concept!

[ehagar]

IMHO:

Porsche in F-1? No... to small a company. They have been dead for the last few years racing wise... Their F-1 engine program with Arrows STUNK! Go back to Le Mans with a prototype Porsche!

Audi? Hmmmm.... AFour rings over the engine cowling would be super cool...

VW? Does VW have a significant racing heritage?

Bentley? I didn't understand why VW brought the marque back to Le Mans.... who the hell buys a Bentley!

Mazda? Well ford owns them... but a rotary back at Le Mans would be cool.

Lamborghini... owned by VW-Audi? Stick to the supercars...

General Motors? They should be in F-1.... but the new CEO has to make the cars more interesting for the public. Pontiac is the excitement brand? HA!

How about Suzuki? Suzuki is in the top 12 auto manufacturers...

What was the point of the Yamaha-Judd F-1 engine on the Arrows? Does Yamaha make cars? Besides golf carts....

I would think F-1 does not make a lot of sense to some car manufacturers... What the heck did Peuguot get out of its tenure other than ridicule? It's world rally effort is among the best though....

[MattFoster]

Alfa Romeo of course!!

[TAB666]

SAAB !

[coyoteBR]

Molive:

How about Gurgel?

[ffiloseta]

Originally posted by molive
actually, this was supposed to be a poll, but I screwed-up...

Send a PM to Bira or somebody else and ask him/her kindly to set up the poll. Think your options well. As a matter of fact, you even have the benefit of hindsight to do this (after reading the replies posted so far).

My choices:

Those I'd like to see
- General Motors as Chevrolet or Cadillac. Not Saab nor Opel.
- VW as Audi.
- Porsche.
- Honda.

Those for whom it would make sense
- PSA Groupe as Citroën. (NOT Peugeot !)
- Proton (Malaysia is quite interested in F1).
- Hyundai. (It would be good to them, but I can't really see it)

[hook]

I agree with holiday

[rgagne]

Belarus and John Deere...

[molive]

Hummer! at least they´d be reliable...

[marques_the_great]

how about giving Fiat a go. They have made some majestic engines in the past like the Fiat uno sport and, what about the Fiat Panda, it was built for racing.

[lustigson]

Hasn't anybody thought of DAF?

[Williams]

Makita: the first battery-operated F1 car !

[Falcadore]

Personally I always thought Formula One was an opportunity lost for Goggomobil.

And the Lloyd Alexander TS would have benefitted so much from a formula one racing program.

That being said half the ozzie blokes I know would like to know why you can't rock up to the grid in a HT GTS350 Holden Monaro.......

[Pascal]

Bristol

[Vunz]

Spyker. A famous Dutch marque that returned in the market last year.

[BRG]

I note that no-one has sugggested the revitalised and newly independent MG-Rover group. MG have already returned to Le Mans, doing far better than anyone expected, they have won a race in the British Touring Car Championship in only their third event and they are poised to re-enter the World Ralllying Championship in the S1600 category in 2002. So how about a MG entry in F1 in a few years time?

[Maranello Man]

Originally posted by tim
Volkswagen/Audi. The only major European car manufacturer not in F1,
GM. The only major American manufacturer not in F1.

VW should enter the Audi name. They have proven themselves at Le Mans and in the Petit Le Mans series. it would be great to see them fight it out with the Mercedes moniker.

Forget GM they can't even get their Cadillac sportscar program right. The only thing they really have in Road racing that's halfway successful is the Corvette. I don't see them spending the $$.