Penske ready to return to F1?

[ghinzani]

I cant see Geoff Ferris moving there (if he still works for Penske), he must be near retirement age now. After all he is a grandfather, his grandson races karts.

[Snrub]

From what I've read on the topic, Penske would consider being in F1 if they could make money out of it. If money is their primary goal perhaps the lack of a chance in winning a WDC or WCC doesn't matter to them.

[fazzaz]

The Penske facility in North Carolina is a former Panasonic factory, with roughly 400,000 square feet of floor space.

Roger Penske will only return to Formula One if it is a profitable activity, through manufacturer funding, sponsorship, or other sources. That doesn't mean he wouldn't try to be competitive.

I believe someone mentioned that he owns the world's largest Toyota dealership, which is true. He is also (through the dealerships he owns) the world's largest Ferrari dealer. I was told by the usual "reliable source" that he is the world's largest Porsche dealer as well.

[JohnSSC]

Well "The Captain" has managed to make money racing just about everything else but F1, so if someone can then he can. I am quite sure that Ferrari, McLaren, Williams and other teams are not out there as money-losing operations.

The knock against Penske has always been that, and it has always been unfair as Penske has always, always performed well over time. Yes, there have been rare instances where the Team has not but look at the race wins, Championships and particularly the Indy 500 wins (I am not as familiar with his NASCAR record).

It gets a bit wearisome to see Penske dissed simply because he is trying to keep his operation in it for the long-haul by making it as fiscally responsible as possible in the rather fiscally irresponsible world of motor racing.

Imho it would be like having another McLaren on the grid as their cars are always well-prepared and impecably turned-out. If F1 gets Penske it will gain by having a group that will have instant credability instead of these ridiculous, cobbled-together Midland/Super Aguri operations where there seems to be no form or substance - only swirling speculation.

Penske, I assure you will very much care about the WDC/WCC as they care about Championships. Championships are key measures of success. Success brings sponsors. Sponsors = income. It is a very simple equation for them. If Penske were in it just for the money then he would not choose motor racing as an enterprise.

[mp356a]

While I'd like to see an American team in F1, Penske would not be my first choice. My memories of Team Penske are of a team that spends too much time on rules loopholes looking for that "unfair advantage". NASCAR is a perfect match for Penske in my opinion.
I'd rather see an outfit like Rusport with Jeremy Dale come to F1 but they are racers first and I do not mean, "race for technology".
In my opinion, Americans are far more interested in racing for the sake of racing than they are in F1.
You’d be hard pressed to find a US racing fan who would understand or accept that “their” team has no chance to win. You might get a few interested souls to watch but with results that are so slow to come, they would switch off after a few races.
If you watch a CART race, there are a dozen legitimate contenders for a race win. It is a driver’s series.
We will never see that in F1.
I like both series but they are just too dissimilar for a US team to crossover.
Of course I could be wrong.
Mike

[EERO]

Penske will always mean Mark Donahue to me. It was ironic that they acheived their one and only F1 victory at the track which cost mark his life the year before. In the Early '70's, Penske was dominant. CanAm, TransAm, indy. Heck, they even had a third in Canada in their first F1 race ever in a borrowed McLaren M19, (painted a lovely Sunoco Blue). When both Parnelli and Penske entered F1 in 74, it seemed that Parnelli with the Maurice Phillippe designed VPJ had the better package and that Penske had badly missed the mark. But perseverence in the face of what was an enourmous tragedy for the team led them to that eventual win in '76.


I'd be thrilled to have them back and will cheer louder than anyone if they return to F1.
The rules proposed for 2008 seem to suggest that room is open for the return of smaller teams to enjoy some success. But when the Manufacturers follow Renault away, it will be the real racers who keep F1 alive.

[slicktoast]

Yeah EERO, I guess we'll have to wait till 2009 give or take, to see if there's pi in the sky...

[avsfan733]

i can't see them running anything more with the new porsche program especially given that at least in my mind its assumed it'll become lmp1 down the line

[Redlake27]

Originally Posted by mp356a

My memories of Team Penske are of a team that spends too much time on rules loopholes looking for that "unfair advantage".

Every winning team, whether in production saloons or F1 HAS to do this. It is their job.