Formula 1: Forgiving ambitions, and mergers & acquisitions

Sometimes it’s inevitable to avoid mergers and acquisitions in any field. As with the example of McLaren and Project Four, it can lead to a massive turn in fortunes for an combined entity, but it can also lead up to the downturn in prospects. Anyway, there is nothing wrong in a team assessing its scenario.

“These talks with Marussia happened over the Christmas period and as with everything, we looked at whether it made any sense and it didn’t make sense.” – Caterham Boss Cyril Abiteboul

Although Caterham initially refused that those merger talks with Marussia took place, they eventually agreed later, and as Cyril Abiteboul stated, the talks with Marussia was always tipped to fail due to diversified interests between these two teams.

With this Sauber situation, things have certainly changed for Marussia. They are no longer the only team to boast of an Russian nationality, Bernie is still adamant about the 11th team in Formula 1, as his belief rests with the 10 best forces. The shareholders of Marussia should be worried about their finances, as the team is not making any profit, and isn’t showing any recovery signs just yet.

The team lost their best trump card in the form of Pay Symonds, who was showing a fighting spirit on his comeback into Formula 1. The team’s positive signs are rather in form of partnership with McLaren and Ferrari. The Team is expected to continue its technical partnership with McLaren, with Ferrari supplying the engines. Will that be enough on the long run?

Again, we are not in the traditional era of Formula 1, as in the 80s and the 90s. For a team to continue, they need funds, and with the current economic climate, they are something that is probably a bit rare to deal with. Despite the presence of Max Chilton at Marussia, the team is in clear need of sponsorships rather then partnerships, although both are key factors to success.

The Team has stated that they aren’t worried about the deal of Sauber, and that they are still focusing on racing a Russian born driver. The team can do an undercut by racing Vitaly Petrov in the next season, but that could be at the expense of Chilton or Bianchi, both of whom are looking good for their second season in Formula 1.

When Formula 1 enters a new territory, it’s obvious that certain key players in that market will be interested to assign themselves to this new phenomenon. But when they have two different teams to deal with, it could be a tough choice for them. Just as in the case of Indian sponsors who were relatively confused, whether to support their driver or their team, we could end up seeing no one venturing into Formula 1 at all.

It’s important for Marussia and Russia to sort out their priorities in the near future, as Formula 1 is gearing up for invading Russia. This could be the best moment for Marussia to bank on the increasing momentum that is felt in their nation. We are not suggesting a merger between Sauber and Marussia, but we are wondering if such a deal could take place for the benefit of Formula 1.