Campos may sell team before season starts

[Giuseppe F1]

A1GP Boss Tony Texiera in pole position to buy part of or all of team before Bahrain:

http://en.espnf1.com/campos/motorsport/story/6321.html

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80780

[Nikki Katz]

I thought there was a rule blocking that when it sounded like USF1 were going to sell out. This isn't a good sign. Maybe Bernie was closer to the mark in predicting they wouldn't turn up than we gave him credit for.

[Pulidor]

It wouldn't surprise me. The guy is a disaster. I'm even surprised to see how he managed to get this far.

[Stuartf12007]

I dont get this, he has no money to save A1GP yet he has money to invest in Campos....What a crook!

I bet he cheats on his wife too.

[VkmSpouge]

Maybe investing in an entire series might be more expensive than investing in a small team?

[Fred Basset]

Maybe investing in an entire series might be more expensive than investing in a small team?

My thoughts exactly

[Pulidor]

Remember this scenario wouldn't be the first time Adrián Campos is involved in selling a F1 team: "Bravo F1" anyone?
Whatever he does, he won't catch me by surprise. :|

On the other hand, I'm not familiar with this Tony Teixeira guy, but from what I read in your posts, apparently the team would go from Islamabad to Islamaworse :D

[El Libertador]

Is it just me or has Tony Teixeira been rumored to purchase 3,000,000 teams by now? If I remember my rumors correctly, he already owns Scuderia Toro Rosso, Renault F1, Honda F1, etc, etc. Surely he can't add Campos.

Before you know it, Carlos Slim will be rumored to buy the team...

I hope Campos get it together, no matter who invests/buys the team. I just don't believe anything that links Teixeira, Slim, or P. Diddy (who was rumored to start a US-based F1 team in 2007-ish) to a team. I don't doubt they need money, I just doubt that the money will come from Teixeira.

[52Paddy]

Not good news. I hope they get onto to grid in some form. I just want to see an increased grid size. We've got the opportunity to see a 26-car grid for the first time since 1995! But as the season draws closer, teams are beginning to look worryingly sketchy about their entrants (USF1 first, now Campos). But who knows - there is still plenty of time before the season starts for stuff to materialise.

I dont get this, he has no money to save A1GP yet he has money to invest in Campos....What a crook!

I bet he cheats on his wife too.

Hold on....there is a difference between pouring good money after bad, which is the situation with A1GP, and investing in Campos-Meta.

Good business men don't spend their own money trying to save something that can't be saved.

[RS]

I am beginning to wonder if we should take Campos less seriously than USF1. At least the yanks have there own chassis design and manufacturing facilities.

Will Campos actually do anything at their base or will it just be a logistics hub with Dallara doing all the technical stuff?

[52Paddy]

Will Campos actually do anything at their base or will it just be a logistics hub with Dallara doing all the technical stuff?

Would be nice to have a Dallara F1 team back :angel:

[VkmSpouge]

Will Campos actually do anything at their base or will it just be a logistics hub with Dallara doing all the technical stuff?

Wouldn't mind that, BMS Scuderia Italia got some decent results with their Dallaras.

[CNR]

so did the FIA FU** up by picking teams with cosworth engine contracts over teams with money

http://www.wheels24.co.za/Content/FormulaOne/14/6b65b820f4e64df19b3da30aca74c284/11-01-2010-08-38/Campos_considers_selling_F1_team

"It is not a secret that we do not have the budget. And time is scarce,"

[52Paddy]

So why did they go this far if they didn't have the budget to begin with? :confused:

Regardless of what happens, I just hope that we have 26 cars next year and not have to settle for 24 or 22 even!

[Mia 01]

Prodrive or Lola for me.

[DexDexter]

Wouldn't mind that, BMS Scuderia Italia got some decent results with their Dallaras.

Sometimes, but sometimes they got things terribly wrong. in 1992 they had Ferrari engines and produced a dog of a car. JJ Lehto and Martini wondered at the first race why the car was so unpredictable. Well, somebody tried the front wing and it bent easily, so they had in fact a movable aerodynamic wing :) . in 91 they had a pretty decent car.

[Garry Walker]

So why did they go this far if they didn't have the budget to begin with? :confused:

Regardless of what happens, I just hope that we have 26 cars next year and not have to settle for 24 or 22 even!

Id rather have 22 cars than have obvious idiot teams like Campos and usf1 on the grid.

[Sonic]

so did the FIA FU** up by picking teams with cosworth engine contracts over teams with money?


Defo! It was fishy back in the summer when proper entries were overlooked (namely prodrive and lola) when unknown quantities like Manor (ok they're all set now but the Virgin money wasn't on board at the time) or Campos were granted entry.

I really hope Max's legacy is not 2 or 3 failed start up teams in 2010.

[VkmSpouge]

Id rather have 22 cars than have obvious idiot teams like Campos and usf1 on the grid.

I'd rather Campos and US because they're obviously idiots :p :

[Mia 01]

Defo! It was fishy back in the summer when proper entries were overlooked (namely prodrive and lola) when unknown quantities like Manor (ok they're all set now but the Virgin money wasn't on board at the time) or Campos were granted entry.

I really hope Max's legacy is not 2 or 3 failed start up teams in 2010.

I belive Prodrive and Lola wasn´t fair threathed.

[garyshell]

Id rather have 22 cars than have obvious idiot teams like Campos and usf1 on the grid.


Another self appointed Nostradamus wanna be heard from. Please tell us oh wise one, how it is you know so much about these two teams who haven't yet been seen at speed in public?

Gary

[K-Pu]

Some teams have to be at the back of the grid.

What´s the point in sending them out because they are not competitive enough? What was Toro Rosso doing last season then? Why we didn´t send Force India back to nothing in their first year? And Super Aguri? Or even better, Minardi?

Yes! We should have a grid formed ONLY by competitive Ferraris, McLarens (forget about F60´s or MP/4-17D´s) and if some casual wiewer asks why there are so few cars we could consider adding Williams to the grid. Oh wait, they are not competitive! Set ´em on fire!

(A nice view on "idiot" teams, huh?)

[V12]

Id rather have 22 cars than have obvious idiot teams like Campos and usf1 on the grid.

I'd rather have 22 cars plus 4 hypothetical idiots, than 22 cars plus nothing.

For the record I think USF1 and Campos both deserve a shot (Cosworth biases aside), but either way the entry list needs to be opened 180 degrees wide so that anyone who can enter, can. Then let natural selection weed things down so we have a good grid, not that Bernie/FIA would ever go for that :/

[Mia 01]

I'd rather have 22 cars plus 4 hypothetical idiots, than 22 cars plus nothing.

For the record I think USF1 and Campos both deserve a shot (Cosworth biases aside), but either way the entry list needs to be opened 180 degrees wide so that anyone who can enter, can. Then let natural selection weed things down so we have a good grid, not that Bernie/FIA would ever go for that :/

Ofcourse we want 26 cars on the grid, Bernie and others are only speaking their mind. With some proof to it I belive.

[VkmSpouge]

I'd rather have 22 cars plus 4 hypothetical idiots, than 22 cars plus nothing.
For the record I think USF1 and Campos both deserve a shot

Absolutely. I really hope both Campos and US make it to the Bahrain grid and that we have a full 26 cars racing this year.

[52Paddy]

On top of reasons already mentioned, there would be something nostalgic about having a 26-car grid (with a handful of teams driving hopelessly). And I like the sound of that :)

And, anyway, don't count your chickens before they hatch. You never know until the test sessions at the very earliest.

[Dave B]

My only wish is that *if* any of the new teams and/or drivers do turn out the be hopeless, the blue flag rules are properly enforced so that they don't interfere with the front runners.

[Pulidor]

My only wish is that *if* any of the new teams and/or drivers do turn out the be hopeless, the blue flag rules are properly enforced so that they don't interfere with the front runners.

What reminds me of the 107% rule. Blue flags during races, yeah, but 107% rule during Qualifyings for me, please. AFAIK the rule is currently not being implemented (not that it was indeed necessary though)
Do you guys know if this rule will be back, now that there's a possibility that the new cars are reeaaally slow? Well, that's my guess until they prove the opposite...

[V12]

107% rule was dropped when one-lap qualifying was introduced in 2003, presumably because if someone spun on their one and only qualifying lap and was something like 10 or 15 seconds off the pace, it wouldn't be fair to exclude them because of that. Yes I know the FIA reserved the right to make exemptions even under the existing system from the year it was introduced if a car had problems in qualifying, but it would become so arbitrary with the one lap stuff it probably would have been more hassle than it was worth to keep it, especially with the gap from front to back getting ever smaller anyway.

It would probably be more feasible to re-introduce it under the current qualifying format, using the fastest Q1 time as the baseline, but I honestly won't cry if it isn't re-introduced, I actually agree with Paddy about the nostalgia of a 26 car grid with a few stragglers at the back :)

As for blue flags, I can see why they are needed, but I did used to enjoy the fact that some drivers (Senna being the most obvious) who made lapping traffic into a skill and could gain time over other drivers that way.

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns22023.html

Campos don't sound too promising.

[VkmSpouge]

Still sounds like they're looking for more money but are currently up to date on their payments http://www.crash.net/f1/news/155924/1/campos_attacks_trouble-makers_and_insists_we_will_be_in_bahrain.html

[Pulidor]

Last thing I'm aware of is that they are about to announce the end of the team as we know it:

- Teixeira would buy the team
- Dallara would cancel partnership
- Bruno Senna would end up racing for Toro Rosso instead, bringing his Telmex sponsorship, and displacing Jaime ALguersuari.

So it would be a double blow for spanish fans.
That's what's being reported right now by some spanish radios/newspapers/websites

[RS]

If Dallara cancelled the partnership, where would they get a car?

[Pulidor]

Well, if the buy out finally takes place (speculation number 1), AND Dallara cancels the link (speculation number 2), I guess they obviously wouldn't race.

But we'll have to wait for official info. I don't trust all the sources involved.

[philipbain]

I have been a tad suspicious of the whole Campos team ever since they won thier slot on the grid - I can understand Manor (now Virgin) getting a slot as they are promising real innovation with their wholesale use of CFD, and USF1 were in full swing long before the application process started (even if things aren't looking quite as sure now) but it is interesting that Campos were selected ahead of Lola and Prodrive, especially as Prodrive had been granted an entry previously and used as a political pawn by the FIA over the use of other team's chassis. And now it seems that Campos may have to sell out due to lack of financing before their first season has even begun. Who in the FIA owed Adrian Campos a massive favour I wonder?

[Pulidor]

Who in the FIA owed Adrian Campos a massive favour I wonder?

Facts:
- Adrián Campos sold his GP2 team to Alejandro Agag a couple of years ago, and they still keep a good relationship.
- Alejandro Agag is a well known close friend of Bernie.

My guess:
- Alejandro Agag asked Bernie to favour Campos over Prodrive, Lola, and the rest of contestants, including Epsilon Euskadi, which is another Spanish team with a waaaaaay better infrastructure, including wind tunnel, own engineers, and F1 expert team leader: Joan Viladelprat

[K-Pu]

My guess:
- Alejandro Agag asked Bernie to favour Campos over Prodrive, Lola, and the rest of contestants, including Epsilon Euskadi, which is another Spanish team with a waaaaaay better infrastructure, including wind tunnel, own engineers, and F1 expert team leader: Joan Viladelprat

Then we have a problem with Agag. Apart from being a greedy b*stard who demonstrated the best way to reach the top was to marry the president´s daughter and being involved in all kind of corruption cases, he shows once more how´s the people Bernie likes to deal with: like him.

And that´s one of modern F1´s problems.

[Valve Bounce]

I dont get this, he has no money to save A1GP yet he has money to invest in Campos....What a crook!

I bet he cheats on his wife too.

Sounds more like Compost. :p :

[jens]

So now we have at least two teams on a bit of a shaky grounds. It would be a shame if they folded, it would be great to see new teams from new countries - like those from Spain and US. Campos probably hoped that signing Senna is going to attract more sponsors, which in reality it really hasn't. Bruno with his pre-F1 achievements isn't really that big star, it seems.

[philipbain]

Campos probably hoped that signing Senna is going to attract more sponsors, which in reality it really hasn't. Bruno with his pre-F1 achievements isn't really that big star, it seems.

There have been some rumours linking Senna to Toro Rosso, it's true that they have a spare seat and the marketing people at Red Bull love love to have the Senna name associated with the team. Also I think Bruno did extremely well pre-F1 considering that he came into motorsport late relatively speaking and was competing in GP2 within 3 years of starting in single seaters and if not for some bad look would have / should have won the 2008 GP2 crown, you could feel that no one was willing Pantano to win it as the perception (whether its right or wrong is pretty irrelevant) was that Pantano had his chance at F1, blew it and perhaps shouldnt have been racing GP2 at such an advanced stage of his career.

[CNR]

http://www.racer.com/campos-f1-car-passes-final-crash-test/article/161683/


outfit closes on a financial deal that will secure its place on the grid

[52Paddy]

Good news. At least that's them more or less confirmed now :)

[K-Pu]

IIRC, Adrián Campos said some days ago these rumors about their lack of funding and inability to be on the grid at Bahrein were the real problem, since that kind of sh*t is what made them even more difficult to carry on with their plans. It is not good for a new team to have that kind of publicity.

I quite agree with him... If they have the expected difficulties of putting a F1 team together, the last thing you want is negative publicity which potential sponsors can interpretate as, let´s say, "undesirable".