• aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
        15·
        2 months ago

        The problem is all the F1 engineers are located in Europe. Unless this hypothetical Chinese team plans to try build an F1 car from first principles, they’re going to need a European base, likely in the UK, where most F1 teams are based. Then you also need an engine, current and future F1 engines are hybrid, both using ICE (internal combustion engine) and battery technology. The ICE part of the powertrain is one of the most advanced and thermally efficient petrol engines ever made. Over 50% thermal efficiency. So unless this hypothetical team plans to build one of the most advanced engines ever made from first principles, building an engine would require collaboration with a manufacturer with tonnes of experience with internal combustion engines and turbocharging. And that’s just the two most important pieces of the puzzle.

        As you can see, getting an F1 team up and running is a very complicated business. And that’s before clearing the bureaucracy of the FIA and FOM. That’s where Andretti is struggling at the moment, as they are unconvinced by Andretti’s plans. No one wants another backmarker team.

        • BynarsAreOk [none/use name]@hexbear.netEnglish
          6·
          2 months ago

          In hindsight manufacturer teams quit F1 because it was too expensive back in late 2000s, BMW/Honda/Toyota all left just because of costs. Hypotheticaly speaking the first thing a Chinese corp could have done was to just buy those teams and those factories back then. Maybe secure deals to acquire those engines and develop them as your own.

          The Chinese could own like 1/3 of the grid today. Sure as you said everything would have to be in Europe etc but the first principle of modern Chinese economics is just investment for long term and eventually they could have relocated back to China. There was even a period where F1 was trying to expand in Asia(Korea GP, India GP) and having major Chinese manufacturer teams in the top 5 would have changed a lot in the early 2010’s. All daydreaming now of course.

          Way too much potential in F1 comes down to money and return on investment, those manufacturers treated F1 as a marketing budget just as much as a “R&D” division, the road relevancy rethoric was always false. Mercedes proved so many times for them it was just about winning and marketing.

      • goferking0@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        10·
        2 months ago

        Good luck. They just rejected andretti who has the backing of GM. Only way in seems to be buying an existing team

      • Shinji_Ikari [he/him]@hexbear.netEnglish
        14·
        2 months ago

        They’re in there. 1 in 1000 ultra rich car guys will actually be really into the cars themselves rather than the status symbol.

        Some that come to mind are the guys that will endlessly restore, race, crash, repeat vintage racecars. They’ll get in turn-of-the-century deathtraps, slam into a wall, and basically go “ah i guess we’re restorin’ again” in a crossover episode of the ship of thesius and Sisyphus.

        The only rich guys I sorta respect are the kind that will put themselves into harms way for their interests.