Formula 1: Forgiving ambitions, and mergers & acquisitions

Coming back to 2013, it can be argued that Giancarlo Minardi would have failed in this modern era, as seen in his later days, funds played a significant role in the teams organization, and Giancarlo’s role within the team was relegated to that of a namesake principal. He never did a Peter Sauber by rescuing his team from the clutches, when it was on the verge of a collapse. Instead, he watched the team go through various guises, while retaining his role, until he was eventually shown the door by the team’s new promoter in 2001. Maybe we were just expecting more from Giancarlo but it was the end of a wonderful chapter in Formula 1.

Mergers And Acquisitions in Formula 1:

With the recent announcement of the infusion of Russian funds in Sauber, and with Marussia already showing their Russian Patriotism, could we see another merger of Formula 1 teams in the near future?

Mergers and Acquisitions aren’t new to Formula 1, we have been constantly living with it. In the recent past, there was a potential talk of merger between Caterham and Marussia, and back in 2010, we were hearing about the potential merger between Hispania and Epsilon Euskadi which raised few eyebrows, unfortunately though the talks weren’t fruitful. The deal between Hispania and Epsilon Euskadi were followed closely by some, due to the massive potential that the combined outfit could have shown in Formula 1, Epsilon Euskadi had the facilities and lacked the funds, while Hispania had the funds, and lacked the facilities.

Certain people speculated that Epsilon Euskadi had the facilities which were equal to the Top 5 teams in Formula 1. People weren’t worried about losing Hispania, although many of the Spanish fans were excited about the arrival of Epsilon Euskadi, mainly due to their experience in motorsports as compared to Hispania. Earlier that season, there were talks of a potential merger between USF1 and Stefan GP, which, according to Zoran Stefanovic, failed due to the inflexibility of certain players within USF1.

Perhaps the most successful, and most talked merger is that of McLaren with Project Four in 1981. Teddy Mayer, then principal of McLaren, was coerced by his long term sponsor Philip Morris in merging McLaren with Project Four run by Ron Dennis. Project Four had the design ideas for a successful Formula 1 programme, due to the presence of John Barnard, but lacked massive funds that were required for the development programme. Philip Morris was the backer of Project Four and felt that a combined entity would result in the formation of a dominant force.

A reluctant Mayer then agreed for the merger, and along with Ron Dennis shared the top post at the new combined entity. In 1982, Mayer left the team, but his equity was purchased by the new owners. McLaren had their best era in Formula 1 from the 1984 season, as they could afford the best components, and best personalities, and they won seven drivers championships, and six constructor championships until the 1994 season. This era is often remembered in Formula 1 due to an amazing rivalry between Williams and McLaren, also between the McLaren pair of Senna and Prost.