Wednesday, September 16, 2009

1 Crash?

1 Malaysia = great concept but dubious implementation

1Malaysia F1 team = bird-brained concept flying on low

pros:

only 1 : mike gascoyne (technical director, previously with jordan, toyota & renault)

cons:

1) no current F1 malaysian driver;

2) car to be designed & manufactured by engineers & designers recruited from local universities (where plagiarism is the norm);

3) engines to be designed & produced by Cosworlds, which has not supplied F1 engines since 2006;

4) chassis to be made by Lotus which folded from debts & have not been in F1 since 1994;

5) expense partly funded by govt (there goes our income tax & EPF returns!);

over the years, we've had BMF, MAS, Bakun, Perwaja & most recently, the PKFZ. hopefully this dream to be put 1 Malaysia on the world map does not end like this....
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14 comments:

Bengbeng said...

if it is a mistake, it will b a very costly mistake

doc said...

Beng,

in 1993, the lowest budget team Minardi was estimated to have spent USD39.6m, & i don't think they were prominently on the world map.

last year, even Honda had to leave F1 because it was just too expensive.

yes, Beng, it WILL be costly.

http://www.fastmachines.com/f1/the-price-of-formula-1/

Jo said...

Oh gosh!! Is that why Proton share price skyrocketed? You reckon they have a role to play in this F1 thingy?? Body parts by Proton?? Holy cow!!

doc said...

Jo,

possible. even though proton's price went up over the last few weeks, before this F1 announcement, word may have leaked out about this.

more likely reason is the possible tie-up with a foreign partner, maybe VW (again)?

Jo said...

It was "rumours" of the possible tie-up with VW that got many many many people trapped and burnt! From a high of RM6+ to a low of RM1+! Wanna bet on it again? :)

wenn said...

my..my..

Superman said...

I think will be another white elephant again! That's Malaysia! Even Honda pull out from F1 as it is just too costly and the return is so low.

doc said...

Jo,

very few stock have strong fundamentals & proton ISN'T one of them. yes, it's possible the rise in its price is based on rumour of a tie-up with VW, but therein lies the chance of making a quick buck.

but one thing you can be sure - the govt will NOT let it collapse.

doc said...

Wenn,

enjoy the race & drama while it lasts!

doc said...

Superman,

a very expensive billion ringgit(according to today's news)white elephant.

lesser teams like Super Agguri, Minardi & BAR have left; even BMW will pull out at the end of this season.

Unknown said...

They say,never try never know.....
Even if Honda and Toyota wanted out, i really dont know why we wanted in...

we are speaking about huge money and the ROI cannot even be forecasted.

they say national's pride, i agree only we can have podium finishes in the FI season, if we keep staying at the bottom, then what national's pride are we talking about, right?Then the world will only assoicate FI's loser with our nation.

As a whole, i dont believe Malaysia has the car racing culture yet, may be Mat Rempit FI, then we wil be good.

And they say, they want everything Malaysia in the 1Malaysia FI, i really wonder where can we find local born and bred, FI driver, Alex Yoong may be or Saiful may be..

This investment is no joke,,, i just wish at the end, they dont dig into our coffer.........

foongpc said...

I don't know how it will turn out, but I hope Malaysia boleh!

doc said...

Eugene,

as long as the govt gets involved, they will dig into the rakyat's pockets - where else are they going to get the money?

if Air Asia, Naza & Proton foot the total bill, then i wouldn't care less, except that the whole world will associate m'sia as F1 tailenders.

if this venture succeeds, Air Asia & the rest get the credit. if it fails, which it will, rest assured the govt will end up with the debts!

like i said, a bird-brained idea flying on low.

doc said...

Hi Foong,

no one i spoke to was optimistic that it will succeed.