Brabham return to F1?, 2014 engines will sound fine: Whiting

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Brabham return to F1: The famous Brabham name could once again make a return to F1. Triple World Champion and Australian Jack Brabham now 86, founded his eponymous team in 1960 and it later raced under Bernie Ecclestone’s stewardship. In 2009, a German automotive supply company, Formtech, claimed it now controls the Brabham team name and filed an official entry for the 2010 Formula 1 season.

But the Brabham family hit back, launching legal action to “protect the family name”. Jack Brabham’s son David, a sports car racing specialist who contested 30 Grands Prix in the 1990’s, said: “Right now this is a very sensitive issue. But, yes, there is the possibility to bring the team back [to F1],” he told Brazil’s Totalrace.

The Brabham team won two constructors’ and 4 drivers’ titles in the 1960’s and 1980’s, last racing with Damon Hill at the wheel in 1992. David Brabham continued: “For now, we have a predicament behind the scenes, involving the rights of the name. It’s 98 percent resolved, and when it is 100 percent we’ll see what we can do.”

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How Alonso could win the title and Red Bull should change fundamental car setup: Gary Anderson

Money isn’t everything

Ferrari are a big spending team, yet we don’t know quite how much they spend because as an Italian company their figures are not registered at Company’s House, England, where the numbers are relatively transparent. Red Bull F1 group spent 245m euro’s in 2011 and based on history it is not likely Ferrari spent less.

In fact Horner has regularly asserted that Red Bull are the 2nd or 3rd largest spending team in F1. The problem with a culture that throws money at problems, is this is not always the most efficient way to solve them.

Businesses with a tight budgetary restraint are regularly capable of getting more ‘bang for the buck’ as they have to focus on where to spend the money more than one with huge resources.

The Ferrari problem

It must be therefore highly embarrassing for Ferrari that they have been messing around with 2 wind tunnels and clearly have internal disputes over who is to blame for the fact the car has hardly developed from an aero perspective since May (Alonso – India).

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