Ferrari open to LMP1
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- 5th December 2013, 11:17 at 11:17 am #134023DCParticipant
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111742
Ferrari has just announced that they are open to coming back to the prototype category of the endurance racing, despite having no such plans in the near future.
Add to that possibility of Renault and Nissan joining in, I can safely say that WEC is on a good path to restoring its former glory.5th December 2013, 12:52 at 12:52 pm #246835AnonymousInactiveNow that is some exciting news!
5th December 2013, 13:43 at 1:43 pm #246836NickParticipantIt’d be nice to have more factory LMP1 teams, but I wouldn’t like a situation like the late 90s, with manufacturers coming and going. Although most of them went to F1, some just disappeared or gave up after 2/3 years.
As for Ferrari, I’d be more excited about the design of their LMP1 than any F1 car they’ve done since 2008.
5th December 2013, 15:03 at 3:03 pm #246837Aish HeydrichParticipantDoes anybody here really think they, more importantly Renault, stand a chance against Audi and Toyota? I think not.
So even though this may add a bit of glamour it’s hardly going to make any difference.5th December 2013, 18:18 at 6:18 pm #246838JackySteegParticipantThis would be fantastic if Ferrari did build a prototype. But I’m a little worried about the quote; “”At the moment we are concentrated on F1, so it would not be possible to do something else”.
What does that mean? Surely Ferrari are always going to be concentrating on F1…
5th December 2013, 22:19 at 10:19 pm #246839StevenParticipantMore diversity in LMP1 would be awesome; potential additions of Ferrari, Renault, Nissan, in addition to Audi, Toyota, and Porsche…
Would be really cool to see either Mercedes or BMW also throw their name in… surely, they can’t let the Stuttgart or Ingolstadt off that easy, right? Would love to see BMW especially after the failure of their F1 operation (I felt like they had a good thing going in 2008, could’ve bounced back after 2009…)
6th December 2013, 0:08 at 12:08 am #246840CalumParticipantRenault came into F1 in the 2000s and won two drivers and two constructors titles and ended the mighty Ferrari years which were just as dominant as Audi. With the right people, enough money and good engine technology any manufacturer could cut it in WEC. I would definitely back Renault to perform if they went in, although I doubt they would enter right now.
Mercedes and Ferrari are preoccupied with F1. It is probably too much to ask a company to put £200m into an annual F1 budget and a £100m(?) WEC budget… If Honda are giving money to Mclaren in their new partnership it maybe rules Honda out of WEC LMP1 any time soon too.
BMW however! What are they doing these days!? Would love to see them back at Le Mans to take on their national rivals, Audi and Porsche!
Hopefully Nissan will enter an LMP1 team after they do Garage-56. I would see them as most likely to take on Toyota/Audi/Porsche given they already have a foot in the door with G56.
6th December 2013, 0:36 at 12:36 am #246841mnmracerParticipantI don’t know why, but I just imagined a Garage 56 entry with a nuclear powered Ferrari.
6th December 2013, 2:01 at 2:01 am #246842matt90ParticipantAish, you mention Renault finding it difficult, but the article only mentions them in terms of supplying an engine.
6th December 2013, 4:45 at 4:45 am #246843ToddParticipantThe F1 V6’s are too expensive not to exploit in different areas of motorsport.
20th December 2013, 16:36 at 4:36 pm #246844JackySteegParticipanthttp://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111925
Luca di Montezemolo says that there will be a Ferrari LMP1 “sooner or later”. It seems the new budget cap will give Ferrari the capacity to expand to an endurance racing program, although it will not enter Le Mans until 2016 at the earliest.
I must say, this is exciting stuff!
21st December 2013, 19:21 at 7:21 pm #246845Iestyn DaviesParticipantIt’ll definitely be cool to see more manufacturer names at Le Mans. Surely WEC budgets can’t be as high as £100m? That’s more than the non-top teams of the F1 grid (all bar 5, possibly 4 next year)! I would have thought half of that or less at least – WEC doesn’t get that much exposure, and most of it is focussed on Le Mans. Hence manufacturers saving money by taking less cars to the other rounds in the calendar.
Linking up the engines, to effectively incentivise their usage across F1 and WEC, was a smart move. Now, for the F1 engine manufacturers to enter, they just have to chuck a prototype body on a chassis and built it around the engine. We could see Ferrari, Renault, Mercedes and Honda all enter for not too much extra money! The first three definitely have the drivers for it.. And Honda could put together some of their former drivers too.. Button/Sato/Davidson would be good! Although if not Button, perhaps another former tester until he retires..
21st December 2013, 22:05 at 10:05 pm #246846mnmracerParticipantJos Verstappen was part of the 1999 Honda F1 project and he did well recently in Le Mans.
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