|
The biggest threat to McLaren and Ferrari is the presence of the big engine concerns that have come back into F1. Honda, BMW and Renault will make every effort and they have proven in F1 that they can produce winning engines and find winning teams (although the BMW precedent does go back a long way into the turbo era).
Ford should be in this category also, but they show a tendency to hide behind the Jaguar and Cosworth badges. Mercedes came out from behind the Illmore name and put their reputation on the line. The question regarding Ford is, imo, how much will they put into their effort before they give up and steal quietly away.
With the entry of Honda, BMW, Renault, possibly Ford and Toyota, F1 might be entering a new era. The stakes for these companies are very high. Any teams they associate themselves with will be forced (and helped) to develop cars and organizations worthy of the engines, and of the engine companys' goals.
It's quite possible,imo, that at least one of the teams driven by these forces (and by it's own ambitions of course) will crack the McLaren/Ferrari dominance before the end of this narrow track, grooved tire formula.
|