F1 SPONSORSHIP and Financial News 2011

[Oldtony]

This could be the biggest story of the year, on or off the track.
From the UK Telegraph
German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky who oversaw sale of Formula One stake arrested
Formula One’s commercial rights holder CVC Capital Partners has denied that it had paid a “kickback” of $50 million to a former German bank executive who was arrested on Wednesday.
By Tom Cary, F1 Correspondent 10:40PM GMT 05 Jan 2011
Tom's Twitter

Gerhard Gribkowsky was on Wednesday taken into custody on charges of corruption, tax fraud and breach of trust toward his former employer.

The former risk manager of BayernLB was in charge of managing the sale of the bank’s F1 stake to London-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in 2006. Bernie Ecclestone, who is the president and chief executive of Formula One Management, runs the sport on behalf of CVC Capital Partners.

Prosecutors say Gribkowsky led the bank to sell it “without evaluation of its current value” which, in turn, earned him “two consultancy contracts totalling $50 million”.

Barbara Stockinger, a spokeswoman for the prosecutors, said the probe was reviewing the sale of a stake in a company connected to Formula One motor sports that BayernLB had used as collateral.

Ther were some pretty strange deals around that time with a lot of people wondering why the share was not offered to a wider market, and in fact the teams and the manufacturers indicating that they might have been in the market for the rights,
Does this explain what happened?
Interesting times ahead. This could be an interesting story as it unfolds.

[bpratt]

Wow, that is an interesting story, but one that knowing how a certain 'viagra dwarf' operates, it is certainly plausible if you ask me.

The fact that the F1 teams might have been interested in buying in to it to get some say in how F1 is operated, yet were not aware of the sale till after the fact just stinks.

[Supersleeper]

Further to OTs post.

Gribkowsky, CVC and the future of F1

[Mothers Worry]

Changes in share price of Williams F1

From the f1times.com:

Changes in share price of Williams F1

The share pricing range of Williams' has been reduced just ahead of its Frankfurt floatation next week.

Williams had announced that the share price would sail between €24 to 29. But, due to cancellation of the season opening Bahrain grand prix the shard price range has been tightened and reduced to €25 to 27, as reported by British newspapers the Telegraph and the Independent.

The reason for reduced pricing of Williams flotation, as stated by the Telegraph, comes “as the sport scrambles to fix its racing schedule in the midst of the Middle East crisis .”

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Ecclestone will waive £25m Bahrain race fee

From the f1times.com:

Ecclestone will waive £25m Bahrain race fee

Wednesday 23rd February 2011

Bernie Ecclestone says he will waive the near £25 million ($40m), race fee charged to Bahrain for having Formula One visit the Sakhir circuit.

This comes as political unrest within the country resulted in the cancellation of the grand prix which was set to take place in just over two weeks time.

The F1 mogul sympathised with the organisers and Crown Prince at a difficult time, saying they don't need him 'stabbing them in the back.'

"Nobody gains from this," Ecclestone told the Times newspaper. "I want to be loyal to the King [of Bahrain], because he is doing everything he can to put things right with his people. He doesn't need people like me stabbing him in the back.

"Right from the start, we talked about the problems there, and he was straight with me. I am not there and I do not know properly what problems they are having. But the King was concerned about F1 and our safety, which is why he took the decision to call off the race."

He did add though that if it were rescheduled for later in the F1 calendar, the fee would have to be payed.

"If and when it is rescheduled they will pay their usual fee," he added. "There's never been an extra fee to stage the first race or the last race for that matter. We put the calendar together to suit the sport."

It's nice to see that, even in the midst of social and political turmoil and upheaval and financial loss, Ecclestone still has time to brown nose royalty.

[Jiji_the_cat]

i hope this works out for williams. since i have been following F1 i can only think of one other time a team has floated. that was way back in 89 with Leyton House. They had a good year in 88 being the only normaly aspirated car to lead a race, i think it was suzuka. By 90 they no longer existed, cant remember why?

Like i said, hope this works.

[WilliamsF1]

They had a good year in 88 being the only normaly aspirated car to lead a race, i think it was suzuka. By 90 they no longer existed, cant remember why?

Like i said, hope this works.

They got rebranded Leyton House Racing for 1990 (previously they where Leyton House March). Then the owner got arrested in 1991 and the guy that took over rebranded it as March for 1992, which then folded at the end of the season.

[Jiji_the_cat]

They had a good year in 88 being the only normaly aspirated car to lead a race, i think it was suzuka. By 90 they no longer existed, cant remember why?

Like i said, hope this works.

They got rebranded Leyton House Racing for 1990 (previously they where Leyton House March). Then the owner got arrested in 1991 and the guy that took over rebranded it as March for 1992, which then folded at the end of the season.

thanks for the clarification. my memory is sketchy at the best of times.  ♠

[Jiji_the_cat]

Merc have finaly bought out Ross Brawn

Mercedes GP Formula 1 team is now fully owned by the car manufacturer after its parent company bought remaining shares from former Brawn GP team management.
Daimler AG and Aabar acquired the final 24.9% from Ross Brawn and his management partners, whose F1 team was taken over by Mercedes in 2009.

Brawn, now the Mercedes GP team principal, says the move is positive.

more here http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9409607.stm

[Jiji_the_cat]

Red Bull and Nissan (Infinity) Make a Deal

Red Bull has linked up with Japanese car maker Infiniti and will receive free engines for the first time.
Red Bull previously had to pay the statutory 8m Euros (£6.8m) for their customer Renault engines.
The deal is being labelled a "marketing and technical agreement" with Infiniti, the premium brand of Japan's Nissan, which is part-owned by Renault.
The engines will still be called Renault
The move brings a Japanese road-car manufacturer back into F1 for the first time since Toyota quit at the end of the 2009 season - which followed Honda's withdrawal a year earlier

more here http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9409120.stm

[Supersleeper]

An interesting piece of news jiji ...


March 1, 2011

Infiniti & Red Bull Racing:
The Infiniti Luxury Automotive Brand Joins the Most Prestigious Racing Series in the World

Geneva, Switzerland - (28 Feb 2011, 00:00 a.m. GMT / 1 March 2011, 01:00 a.m. CET) - Infiniti, the global luxury automotive brand from Japan, announced today a marketing agreement with Formula One World Champions, Red Bull RacingRenault, covering the 2011 and 2012 F1 seasons. Leveraging the co-operative power of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, a unique triumvirate has been created with Red Bull Racing, focused on high-profile marketing and technical activities around Formula One.

As part of the agreement, Infiniti will have a high-profile branding presence on the racing car, drivers clothing and related team uniforms and equipment. In addition to the branding and marketing relationship, Infiniti will work with Renault to forge future technical collaboration with Red Bull Racing. The Red Bull Racing team will continue to utilise the Renault F1 engines in 2011 and 2012 that powered them to their maiden Formula One World Championships last season.

Commenting on this historic announcement for Infiniti, Andy Palmer, Senior Vice President, Infiniti said: "Over the mid-term, Infiniti will be simultaneously expanding its global presence and broadening its product range. Given these twin ambitions, it is clear that Formula One offers us an unrivalled global communications platform, complementing Infiniti's ethos of Inspired Performance. We are excited to have the opportunity to enter Formula One together with a world-class team like Red Bull Racing Renault."

Red Bull Racing's Team Principal Christian Horner, who was instrumental in pulling the agreement together, said: "Red Bull has always taken a different approach, so when the Infiniti executives outlined their innovative plan to us we were very open to working with them. Coming off the back of our 2010 Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships, we feel even more excited to be starting the 2011 season with a new and committed partner like Infiniti."

Bernard Rey, President of Renault Sport F1 further endorsed the new deal: "While Renault is rightfully very proud of our achievements within Formula One, we know the future is about collaboration. To have a talented and committed Alliance partner like Infiniti is very welcome as we set out on the current and future challenges in Formula One. So it is with great pleasure that I would like to welcome Andy Palmer and his entire team in our Formula One adventure, and I look forward to starting the 2011 season together as Alliance partners."

About Infiniti
Infiniti, the luxury automotive brand from Japan, reflects its brand promise "Inspired Performance" with a model line-up of sedans, coupés, SUVs and crossovers featuring exhilarating performance, emotive design and cutting edge technology. Infiniti continues to launch across the globe through a dedicated network of Infiniti Centres that share a commitment to exceptional hospitality throughout the entire period of ownership.
For more information, see www.infiniti.com

About Renault Sport F1
Renault Sport F1 is the motorsport department responsible for Renault's F1 activities. Renault Sport F1 has multiple roles, as engine conceptor, technology and business-to-business opportunities supplier for three F1 teams this season. The main thrust of its work takes place at Viry-Châtillon, traditionally the technical hub of Renault's F1 activities: engines have been conceived, developed, and tested here for more than 30 years.

[Jiji_the_cat]

And another announcement today. This time Mclaren

McLaren Formula 1 Racing Team Chooses V6 for Greater Efficiency Throughout the Production Cycle

WOKING SURREY, UK and VÉLIZY-VILLACOUBLAY, France, March 1st, 2011 - McLaren Racing, the operating arm of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team, and Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, are pleased to announce a new partnership to further enhance racing car development efficiency.

The agreement sees McLaren Racing committing to Dassault Systèmes’ open V6 PLM solutions for integrated design development, analysis and management. ENOVIA V6 forms McLaren Racing’s collaborative innovation backbone by providing a single IP reference for managing engineering, intellectual property and business processes.  CATIA V6 will be used for innovative design and concurrent engineering, enhancing McLaren’s development efficiency.

The deployment of Dassault Systèmes’ V6 solutions enables McLaren Racing’s team to benefit from one of the most sophisticated, open, flexible, secure and integrated PLM 2.0 software environments ever created. The scale, scope and speed of Formula 1 racing design means tens of thousands of new innovative designs and ideas each year.  Creating, developing and testing so many designs requires an efficient and trusted software environment to integrate and safely manage the considerable load of technical data and engineering simulation results. Dassault Systèmes’ V6 collaborative PLM solutions will play a vital role in helping streamline McLaren Racing’s processes, as well as promoting successful innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration from the initial concept to manufacturing and then to the racetrack itself.

“While it may look straightforward to guide a racing car from a 3D digital model to the racetrack, it’s a process that involves an extraordinarily complex and disparate series of interlocking design, purchasing and manufacturing constituents. At McLaren Racing, we are looking at every opportunity to cut our time to market – whether that’s through clever design, the introduction of improved processes or, in the case of V6 PLM, by introducing a sophisticated product lifecycle management system to improve efficiency throughout the production cycle,” said Jonathan Neale, McLaren Racing’s managing director. “Dassault Systèmes’ suite of software solutions has long been part of McLaren’s design DNA, and the introduction of CATIA V6 and ENOVIA V6 will only strengthen our hand, allowing us to work faster and more productively within one of the most competitive and relentless environments in the world.”

Dassault Systèmes CEO Bernard Charles commented, “By signing this important agreement with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes we are building a stronger partnership with a great Formula 1 team. This new collaboration demonstrates Formula 1’s world commitment to innovation. A formidable test bed for extreme reliable technologies that only Dassault Systèmes PLM 2 can provide. We wish Vodafone McLaren Mercedes the very best for the current race season and are proud of our involvement with such a prestigious and successful team”.

[Mothers Worry]

Ford drops case against Ferrari over F150 name

From thef1times.com:

Ford drops case against Ferrari over F150 name

Friday 04th March 2011

The Ford Motor company has come to an amicable agreement with Ferrari, ending the lawsuit the American company had brought against the Italian company for calling their F1 car the F150.

The two companies met to discuss the matter, resulting in Ford requesting the case be dropped. Ferrari took immediate action upon hearing of legal action by calling the car by its full name, the F150th Italia.

Anne Marie Gattari, a Ford Spokeswoman, told the Detroit Free Press: "We are pleased we were able resolve this issue amicably. This resolution ensures that Ford's famous and distinctive F-150 trademark will be protected."

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Ferrari pokes fun at Ford, changes name again

From thef1times.com:

Ferrari pokes fun at Ford, changes name again

Friday 04th March 2011 

Ferrari have changed the name of their 2011 car a third time after running into trouble with the Ford Motor company.

It was announced today that Ford had dropped its legal proceedings against the Italian manufacturer following an amicable agreement.

The chassis will now be known as the Ferrari 150º Italia, dropping the 'F' so as not to confuse it with the Ford F-150 truck. They have also dropped the 'th'.

The move was explained on the controversial 'Horse Whisperer' column on the Ferrari site. The article also pokes fun at Ford.

"It might seem like a Kafkaesque scenario, but the affair relating to the name of the car with which Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will tackle this year's Formula 1 World Championship saw its final and decisive episode played out these past few days with the concomitant withdrawal by Ford of the summons. Therefore common sense has prevailed.

"In order to avoid the slightest risk of anyone confusing a Formula 1 car with a pick-up truck, for their part, the men from Maranello have decided that the car will lose the F that precedes the number 150 and which stands for Ferrari, as it has done on numerous occasions when it's come to giving a car a code name, be it for the race track or the road.

"It appears that this could have caused so much confusion in the minds of the consumer across the Pond that, at the same time as losing the F, the name will be completely Italianised, replacing the English 'th' with the equivalent Italian symbol.

"Therefore the name will now read as the Ferrari 150° Italia, which should make it clear even to the thickest of people that the name of the car is a tribute to the anniversary of the unification of our country.

"Let's hope the matter is now definitely closed and that we can concentrate on more serious matters, namely ensuring that our car that already seems to be pretty good out of the box, becomes a real winner."

Here are a few pictures of Ferrari's new truck:





 

[Mothers Worry]

Singha beer and Red Bull renew sponsor deal

From thef1times.com:

Singha beer and Red Bull renew sponsor deal

Thursday 03rd March 2011

Red Bull Racing has renewed its partnership for 2011 with Singha Beer after a successful season together in 2010.

The new deal means Singha Beer will benefit from increased visibility within the team, most notably on the nose of the new RB7. As well as gaining greater visibility on track, Singha Beer will also continue to support the team's VIP guest hospitality programmes, as it has done since 2008.

The Thai brand is seeking to increase its presence as a globally recognised premium beer brand and expand the number of countries that it currently exports to.

Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner said of the extension: "Singha Beer has been a fantastic supporter of Red Bull Racing for a number of seasons and last year we were delighted that it stepped up its commitment by becoming an official Team Partner. We’re pleased that the company has reconfirmed and increased its support for the team for another year. There are strong Thai links between Red Bull and Singha, which help give us a shared sense of aspiration and ambition."

"Singha Corporation’s partnership with Red Bull Racing in 2010 was a great success, both on and off track," said Voravud Bhirombhakdi, Strategic Partnership and Event Department, 4th Generation Bhirombhakdi family of Singha Corporation Thailand. "We are very confident that the team, in partnership with Singha Beer, will once again give everyone a cause to celebrate!"

[Mothers Worry]

Ecclestone faces questions over F1 sale

From Eurosport:

Ecclestone faces questions over F1 sale

Thursday 17 Mar 2011

Bernie Ecclestone is set to be questioned by prosecutors investigated alleged corruption relating to the sale of Formula One.

According to reports in both the Daily Telegraph and through Sky News, Ecclestone is set to be asked to assist the Munich state prosecutor with its investigation into payments totalling around $50 million that were made to Gerhard Gribkowsky – who is accused of benefitting from the sale of F1 to CVC Capital Partners back in 2006 by failing to peform a ‘proper valuation’ of the shares that were sold.

Gribkowsky was arrested back in January and has since been held in a Munich prison while a decision is taken on whether to press formal charges against the 52-year-old.

While the German media has speculated that Ecclestone was involved in making payments to Gribkowsky, the commercial rights holder has always vehemently denied the claims and is reported to be happy to assist with the investigation if approached by prosecutors.

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Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone expected to be witness in corruption probe

From the Australian:

Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone expected to be witness in corruption probe

March 17, 2011

BERNIE Ecclestone, the billionaire head of Formula One, is expected to be a key witness in what is being billed as one of the biggest corruption scandals in Germany's history.

Prosecutors want to know whether Mr Ecclestone paid a $US50 million "kickback" into the offshore accounts of a German banker who oversaw the sale of the sport to CVC Capital Partners, a private equity company with a base in the West End of London.

Mr Ecclestone denies making illegal payments and is said to be willing to give his side of the story in Germany, although he is thought to want assurances that he will not be detained by the authorities in Munich if he co-operates.

An internal investigation ordered by Donald MacKenzie, co-founder of CVC, who negotiated the deal to take over Formula One in 2006, has given Mr Ecclestone's role a clean bill of health.

Executives at CVC, one of the world's biggest private equity companies with a portfolio worth $US44 billion, are thought to be anxious not to get dragged into a legal action with the complex financial dealings of Formula One put in the spotlight.

There has been speculation that CVC may have to consider whether Mr Ecclestone can continue at the head of a sport that attracts such global attention.

In the straitlaced world of the City, Mr Ecclestone is a maverick who attracts headlines and is often out of kilter with the corporate reluctance of CVC to raise its public profile. Although he was 80 last year, Mr Ecclestone's job as chief executive of Formula One is thought to be safe.

A source close to Mr Ecclestone said: "Bernie wants to come out fighting but he also wants to know what the prosecutors in Germany are likely to do. He believes CVC are right behind him and that co-operation is the right thing to do."

Mr Ecclestone has engaged a team of lawyers in Germany, who are monitoring the activity around Gerhard Gribkowsky, formerly chief risk officer at the state-owned Bayerische Landesbank. He was arrested in January and is being investigated on fraud, tax evasion and corruption charges. Mr Gribkowsky has been in jail since bail was refused on the grounds that he could flee the country, although no formal charges have been placed.

But the German authorities are pursuing the case and have already taken testimony from several witnesses.

Christoph Stroetz, one prosecutor, was quoted in the German press as telling Bavarian parliamentarians in a closed session that a number of witnesses had implicated Mr Gribkowsky and that Mr Ecclestone's name had come up several times. Four teams of prosecutors have been put on the case, including Hildegard Baumler-Hosl, who led the investigations into worldwide bribery by executives at Siemens.

The police are trying to establish whether Mr Gribkowsky, who at the time of the sale was chairman of SLEC, the Formula One commercial rights holder, engineered an under-value sale to CVC. According to City sources, Mr Ecclestone and Bambino, his family trust, received a dollars 61million "finder's fee" from Bayerische Landesbank for match-making the bank with CVC.

The investigation centres on whether Mr Gribkowsky received $US50 million of this, paid in two tranches to accounts in Mauritius and the British Virgin Islands. Some of this money, investigators claim, made it back to a tax-friendly foundation in Salzburg. Mr Gribkowsky left the Bavarian bank in 2008. He owns more than 22 properties in Berlin.

The questioning of Mr Ecclestone by German prosecutors is likely to touch upon his dealings with Mr Gribkowsky, the nature of his involvement in Bambino and his working relationship with other figures in Formula One such as Flavio Briatore.

According to German press reports, the prosecutors are believed to have seen a letter addressed to Mr Ecclestone from Mr Gribkowsky asking for a delayed payment. Whether this is connected with the alleged $US50 million is still unclear. The investigators are also believed to be looking at a middleman who is thought to have made a payment from companies based in the Caribbean to Mr Gribkowsky.

If charges are pressed against Mr Gribkowsky, a trial is likely to be held before the end of the year, which could increase the pressure on both CVC and Mr Ecclestone.

CVC said recently: "The company has no knowledge of, nor any involvement in, any payment to Mr Gribkowsky or anyone connected with him in relation to CVC's acquisition of Formula One."

[Oldtony]

Well there have been lots of rumours that News Ltd was making a bid for control of F1, all hotly denied by Bernie.
Now we have Joe Saward publishing an interesting release following a Sky leak.
News and Exor, the Agnelli family company which owns a big slice of FIAT, and of course Ferrari, and a pretty fair chunk of the rest of Italy are suggesting they are jointly looking at aquiring control of F1 to develop it in the interests of the fans and the participants.
They also say that they won't neccessarily be making an offer to CVC. Huh????????
Now if you read the earlier posts in this thread you would infer that Bernie and CVC are not exactly smelling like roses.
A few interesting points arise.
How well did Jean Todt get along with the Agnelli family in his Ferrari days? He certainly brought them a lot of success.
Could a Ferrari lead FOCA working in conjunction with the FIA and a lot of Media power destabilise the current management structure of FOM to enable major change?
And the lack of development of new media outlets and marketing of F1 by FOM has left it very exposed in depending on the old FTA TV model for rights income.
As a very small example look where most of the AFL bid money is coming from. It isn't FTA TV.
Interesting times

[Bumble1290]

I think we all need to accept that at somestage like it or not F1 will go to pay per view. Using your point OT about the AFL. Years ago football was on FTA in the UK, now it's soley on pay per view. It's only a mater of time before this happens. To be honest I'm not fussed if it does or it doesn't, as I've always had and still do have cable.

One of the things that worries me is F1's inability to embrace different platforms of multimedia, something I think the AFL have done brilliantly, in effect what they have done is bring a new bidder in to the process which will only push the price up for the AFL, the more money they get the bigger the slice of the pie the teams get, now that can only be good for the game.

Anyway I digress. at somestage it's going to happen, you can either whinge about it or you can accept it.

One other thing that Murdoch will be a acutely aware of is when he tried to by Manchester United a few years back, the English version of the ACCC blocked the move, if he can navigate his way around that, who knows what might happen

[Mothers Worry]

I think we all need to accept that at somestage like it or not F1 will go to pay per view.

That will be about the time I stop watching F1. Although I might be able to get it over the internet I think the lack of public access to the sport in Australia will not only damage the sport itself here but damage the profile of any Australian drivers who are flogging away in Europe trying to get into F1 in the hope of filling Webber's boots when he eventually retires.

[Oldtony]

Interesting comment MW, and that seems to be the attitude of many who have got used to watching F1 for free.
Hate to say it mate, but increasingly the watchers of FTA are a rapidly diminishing sector of the market, and the sale of advertising on it is becoming much less of a cash cow.
Quite frankly, to most of the media companies, the free TV viewer is becoming more of a problem and cost than can justify big outlays for content. It is very much the market place for selling beer, fast food, gambling and soap powder. It is not a suitable medium for the much more effective targeted niche marketing that can be achieved with new platform delivery on interactive media.
In the end, getting you to watch on-line may be a more effective way of marketing to you than FTA. You would be surprised at what your on line presence signals to the marketer about what you are liable to buy. This is even more the case with 4G phones, I pads, and games console or T box style units. Pay TV, even where you are not paying a programe premium also gives that advantage.
And of course that is where Gen Next is already and future generations will be even furture locked in.

[Mothers Worry]

I'm not disagreeing with you at all OT. I do also understand the intrinsic value of data about on-line personal presence to the advertising sector.

Ideally, as a fan of the sport, I want to see Aussies in there amongst it.

[Mothers Worry]

Renault 'in talks' to power a fourth team

From thef1times.com:

Renault 'in talks' to power a fourth team

Wednesday 11th May 2011

Renault Sport are looking to supply a fourth team with engines next season, thought to be the Williams F1 outfit.

Currently Formula One has four engine suppliers, Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari and Cosworth. At present, all four manufacturers supply three teams - a limit set by the FIA.

Renault Sport's managing director, Jean-Francois Caubet, confirmed they were discussing the matter with the governing body in an attempt to lift the maximum limit, enabling them to supply a futher team, alongside Renault, Red Bull and most recently Team Lotus.

"As we are speaking speculatively to a number of teams to expand our partner base, we are discussing our situation with the FIA so we are fully ready if the situation arises," said Caubet.

Williams F1, currently supplied by Cosworth, are thought to be in advanced talks with Renault, to switch for the 2012 season before the new engine regulations are introduced in 2013.

The move could see some stiff opposition from the FIA and Cosworth however, with the small British manufacturer needing to supply a minimum of three teams for their venture to be deemed viable.

At the end of the 2010 season Cosworth lost Team Lotus, now supplying Williams, Virgin and Hispania. Ferrari currently supply their own outfit, Sauber and Toro Rosso, whilst Mercedes powers their personal interest as well as McLaren and Force India.