BBC have published start of F1 2020 calendar: F1 2020 opening calendar 3-5 July - Austrian Grand Prix (Red Bull Ring) 10-12 July - Steiermark Grand Prix (Red Bull Ring) 17-19 July - Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring) 31 July-2 August - British Grand Prix (Silverstone) 7-9 August - 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (Silverstone) 14-16 August - Spanish Grand Prix 28-30 August - Belgian Grand Prix 4-6 September - Italian Grand Prix
Good . Something to look forwards to . What are your thoughts on reverse grids ? Personally I think given it’s been such a mad year , go for it , nothing ventured nothing gained. Don’t think they will get the agreement for it anyway .
Looks like the 2nd Silverstone race wont be live on C4 !!!! Reverse grid for sprint quali race sounds like an interesting idea apart from the fact that overtaking isn't easy. Or maybe it is, as fastest cars will be at the back. I think it would be great to see it tried but I can understand how risky it could be for top teams. There is quite often carnage at the start and with fastest cars trying to make up as many places at start I can see lots of retirements. Sounds like Merc won't agree and as the season has officially started they need unanimous vote. I wonder if they are trying to protect both their record and the chance for Lewis to get another title. Merc could be thinking that they could win every championship under the current rules? What have they got to gain? I am surprised Ferrari are up for it. Can't wait to see comparative laps set in quali trim. Have Honda caught up with the 2020 Merc and Ferrari? Does DAS give much improvement? Has Williams managed to get off the back of the grid?
That's a good sign for Williams. If Toto is putting his money in he must consider it a good risk. So how he has financial interests in Merc, Racing Point (Aston M), and now Williams! Interesting....
Williams is a phenomenal opportunity for anyone with the cash to invest. The cost cap might give you the opportunity to get a real run for your money. Claire will need to be sensible though and swallow enough pride to step aside as Team Principal if that’s what the investor wanted provided but she absolutely should insist the name remains.
McLaren are trying to get more critical funding before 17th July!! Info: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/53142880 Sounds a little worrying especially for Riccy!!!
I HOPE it's the Mclaren group as a whole . That's not good obviously , but It may be that the group is dragging the team down . Hope that makes sense ?
I read it's mainly the group as they pay suppliers 60 days after the end of the month they receive goods!!!!! Not sure this is really just Covid causing the issue eg. In the first 3 months (so before lockdown) they sold 307 cars vs 953 in 2019 1st quarter! It also raised £650 million in 2017 with a bond issue that is the basis of the current court case. Then early this year the shareholders injected £300 million to 'tide' the company over while it scaled back production - the money then being diverted to Covid!!!! Not looking good, hope they sort things out.....
I have read that although the supercars are / were popular , there have been Horrific reliability stories . Hope they make it and I think they will . Seems a Power struggle to me ( The current situation ) ?
If I had a 200K to 250K to spare I would look at the Tesla Roadster. Fast, environmentally friendly source of power and may increase in value, or hold it, especially if it is the special addition which costs the extra 50K.
McLaren is poised to secure a loan from a Bahraini bank to solve its cash-flow problems, BBC Sport has learned. It will help McLaren solve a liquidity shortfall that meant it needed new funds to be injected by mid-July. The loan, which is set to be approved by the McLaren board, will come from the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB). NBB is part-owned by Mumtalakat, the Gulf state's sovereign investment fund, which is the majority shareholder in the McLaren Group. A McLaren spokesperson declined to comment on the development. The move, first revealed by Sky News, does not preclude McLaren continuing with the legal action it has launched against a group of creditors this month. McLaren has won an expedited hearing for a case aimed at stopping the trustees of a bond the company launched in 2017 blocking its refinancing plans. McLaren may continue with the court case to establish what it believes is its right to raise further finance secured against its factory and historic car collection. McLaren has found itself short of cash as a result of the coronavirus crisis, which has not only lowered revenues from its Formula 1 operation but has had a major impact on the luxury car market, meaning sales of its supercars have dried up. McLaren said in documents lodged for its court case against the bondholders: "The pandemic has had a massive and detrimental effect on the group's trading performance. "The start of the F1 season has been delayed. Car dealerships have temporarily closed; supplies have been interrupted; manufacturing has been suspended or impeded; customer orders have declined; sponsorship revenues have fallen and additional costs have arisen from health and safety measures." This has meant that £291m injected into the business by McLaren's shareholders in March this year has already been spent. McLaren is also pursuing the possibility of selling a minority stake in the F1 team as it seeks to put the outfit in the best position to be competitive following the introduction for the first time of a budget cap next season. McLaren last month announced plans to cut 1,200 jobs, the majority in its road-car division, known as Automotive. About 70 employees will also be made redundant from the F1 team. Above from the BBC .
That's one hell of a spending spree when your are partially shut down, even accounting for 50day bills.
yep . It must be the group . Is that what Lafiti sr invested in , or did he think he was investing in the team ?
I will certainly look at the Tesla when I next buy a car. It is probably the only car I would consider buying from new.
WE just bought a New Skoda Karoq , very pleased , no way could we even consider a Tesla . Not sure I would get on with just the one screen , and all the apps worry me TBH from a security POV . It's all pie in the sky for us anyway
Just popped in to see what the latest is - can't wait for the delayed season start next weekend. How is everyone feeling? For the first time in ages I won't be blindly willing on a Hamilton championship win. I'm a huge fan of his, and would love him to match Schumacher on seven titles, but also wouldn't mind seeing some competition for Mercedes up top this year. Most of all I'm just looking forward to watching some racing. I've been playing a lot of GRID Autosport to scratch the itch...