Ah, thanks John; JT's Ferrari involvement was pre-composites - I couldn't recall which car it was. Having to struggle with that dog didn't do wonders for Merzario's reputation. Thompson Prototypes (not Composites as I suggested) did some interesting work; I'm pretty sure they built the Neil Stroud honeycomb chassis Group C cars that Richard Lloyd (GTi) ran masquerading as Porsches.
Ah OK, that was a very long time ago! With all the talk about the Guildford Technical Office, I thought it was something more recent.
However, I think generally people would be amazed how much of F1 cars are not actually built in house - it usually is better to find a specialist in each area and let them do the job. What's particularly interesting is how good companies (like Xtrac) do developments for most big racing teams, yet manage to keep the IP separate and their reputations secure.
Older 7ers will recall a specialist in the S.E. London area making C/F parts (albeit "with certain surface imperfections") for F1 teams. Or so he claimed and I have no reason to doubt him for he never stretched the truth
I know what you mean about outsourcing parts manufacture. I to recall many years ago when studying Health and Safety at an evening class one of our fellow students had to go back to work late in the Monday evening when a casting they had completed for Ferrari had cooled down sufficiently for a man in a van to collect it. I believe it was on Schumacher's car on the Sunday. Similarly I came across a company who made carbon fishing poles but had also made carbon parts for Williams. It was around the time of Sennas fatal accident and did wonder whether if was a part of theirs on the steering that failed.
Paul Richards
LADS Joint AR
I thought 2020 was the year that was going to give me all I wanted. It turned out to be the year to make me appreciate what I've got.
Went to an F1 race in 2019 and 2022 but won't be going this year. The prices for tickets seem to have gone mad and even I struggle to justify it, so no wonder my wife isn't interested.
I'll stick to watching Caterham racing live streams on YouTube.
There is a host of stuff to watch live in the UK , all of it very reasonably priced. HSCC and CSCC at Cadwell, Croft, Brands, Oulton etc ; speed hillclimbing at Prescott, Shelsley Walsh , Harewood , drag racing and Autograss and all as cheap as chips .
The GP ticket prices vary a lot. As I posted the other day Bahrain Grandstand tickets from £150 or so. That for a race in just a few weeks. I've just been offered a deal for Abu Dhabi at about £1500 including flights and 5 nights in a 5* hotel. Not that I'd go to any of the Middle Eastern races.
Hungary still had Grandstand tickets with agents last week from about £300 or so.
The very popular places though are getting silly. Silverstone this year was £7/800 for a decent seat. Vegas we've seen is totally ludicrous.
Ah, thanks John; JT's Ferrari involvement was pre-composites - I couldn't recall which car it was. Having to struggle with that dog didn't do wonders for Merzario's reputation. Thompson Prototypes (not Composites as I suggested) did some interesting work; I'm pretty sure they built the Neil Stroud honeycomb chassis Group C cars that Richard Lloyd (GTi) ran masquerading as Porsches.
Tony Pashley
Ah OK, that was a very long time ago! With all the talk about the Guildford Technical Office, I thought it was something more recent.
However, I think generally people would be amazed how much of F1 cars are not actually built in house - it usually is better to find a specialist in each area and let them do the job. What's particularly interesting is how good companies (like Xtrac) do developments for most big racing teams, yet manage to keep the IP separate and their reputations secure.
Older 7ers will recall a specialist in the S.E. London area making C/F parts (albeit "with certain surface imperfections") for F1 teams. Or so he claimed and I have no reason to doubt him for he never stretched the truth
#24 I wondered when that would get brought up
Brewery piss-up organiser
I know what you mean about outsourcing parts manufacture. I to recall many years ago when studying Health and Safety at an evening class one of our fellow students had to go back to work late in the Monday evening when a casting they had completed for Ferrari had cooled down sufficiently for a man in a van to collect it. I believe it was on Schumacher's car on the Sunday. Similarly I came across a company who made carbon fishing poles but had also made carbon parts for Williams. It was around the time of Sennas fatal accident and did wonder whether if was a part of theirs on the steering that failed.
I thought 2020 was the year that was going to give me all I wanted. It turned out to be the year to make me appreciate what I've got.
Went to an F1 race in 2019 and 2022 but won't be going this year. The prices for tickets seem to have gone mad and even I struggle to justify it, so no wonder my wife isn't interested.
I'll stick to watching Caterham racing live streams on YouTube.
Pete
Fancy a club Nürburgring trip in 2023?
There is a host of stuff to watch live in the UK , all of it very reasonably priced. HSCC and CSCC at Cadwell, Croft, Brands, Oulton etc ; speed hillclimbing at Prescott, Shelsley Walsh , Harewood , drag racing and Autograss and all as cheap as chips .
The GP ticket prices vary a lot. As I posted the other day Bahrain Grandstand tickets from £150 or so. That for a race in just a few weeks. I've just been offered a deal for Abu Dhabi at about £1500 including flights and 5 nights in a 5* hotel. Not that I'd go to any of the Middle Eastern races.
Hungary still had Grandstand tickets with agents last week from about £300 or so.
The very popular places though are getting silly. Silverstone this year was £7/800 for a decent seat. Vegas we've seen is totally ludicrous.
Just go to one of the Goodwood events! You can get full on hospitality for less than pretty much any Grand Prix... Better racing and more of it too.
A three-day ticket for the British GP - general admission, no grandstand seat - is edging towards twice the price of my MSV season ticket...!
Tony Pashley