F1 links: FOTA and Mateschitz

FOTA to unveil Formula One vision

“These plans are the result of a series of meetings held over the past few weeks and months, all of them with a common goal: to make Formula One commercially sustainable, environmentally friendly and compellingly attractive for spectators, TV viewers and Internet consumers alike for years to come.”

A powerful voice speaks

“Mateschitz says that the involvement of the financial men is solely geared towards making as much money as possible and adds to the instability of the sport. The CVC European Equity Partners IV Fund was established in 2005 and is believed to have a 10-year lifespan. It has been a remarkable success thus far, mainly because of the F1 investment which has produced huge profits. The sport has been left burdened with debt, secured on the future profits of the business. CVC’s goal is to spend the next five years paying as much of the loans as possible before refinancing, which result in another pay day and then selling the business to a new investor. This could net the fund as much as $7.5bn on an investment of $1bn. The major problem is that while the fund will close in 2015, there needs to be a new deal with the teams agreed for 2013 and beyond. The teams are demanding a bigger share of the cash and now, it seems, equity as well.”

Extended PPG Agreement

“The AT&T Williams team today confirmed that it had reached an extended agreement with its long term technical partner, PPG.”

Virgin latest to be linked to Honda

“The Honda Racing team are understood to be pressing ahead with preparations for the 2009 season, amid growing confidence that a potential management buy-out will succeed.”

Senna under no illusions about Honda

“If before the Australian GP I managed to run for at least three, four days, doing about 1,200 kms, then that’d be a dream.”

Baby McLaren guns for Porsche!

“This striking machine is an all-new entry-level ‘baby’ model from Formula One racing team McLaren – and it will take the company into uncharted territory, rivalling established brands with a price tag of around ?é?ú80,000. The sports car is a key part of McLaren boss Ron Dennis’ plans to expand McLaren Automotive – the division responsible for the Mercedes SLR McLaren and original F1 road car – into a volume producer.”

F1 and the Daytona 500

“The two forms of motor racing are so different that it is unfair to compare them to each other. It is like comparing F1 with rallying – different aims, different solutions and different appeals to the viewer.”

Slick Stop

New F1 blog I’ve found recently.

F1 Badger

The new F1 blogs just keep on coming…

Entertainment in F1 survey

A few guys at my old alma mater are running a survey on F1 for an assignment. If you’ve got a spare minute to fill it in it would be a big help for them.