Pato O’Ward warns F1 ‘will swallow up IndyCar’ if the series does not ‘step up’

[SteveH]

https://www.planetf1.com/news/pato-oward-warns-f1-swallow-up-indycar/

[stroker]

Nuh, uh. BiGirlFan told me no way that could happen...

[TravelGal]

Nuh, uh. BiGirlFan told me no way that could happen...

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

[pfc_m_drake]

We'll, I mean - they're planning on using the DW12 until what...2026. That's a 14 year run with the same chassis (and don't give me the usual Trackforum BS that it's 'new' because they have the UAK and Aeroscreen now).

Remember when IRL fans were dumping on CART because CART was using primarily 3-4 year old Lolas in the early 2000s and how "unsafe" that was because of carbon-fibre fatigue (like the average IRL fan even knew what that was).

I have to confess that I'm really disappointed with how stagnant the series has been since Penske took over. I had a lot of hope...when he bought the thing I figured he appreciated the fact that he was on borrowed time. (For those unaware or who may have forgotten, Roger has CKD and had a kidney transplant back in 2017. The average length that a kidney transplant lasts is 10 years - and that's in much younger patients - so figure at best he's got 4 years left).

So I figured Roger would realize he was on borrowed time, and really use all his connections and pour some serious cash into IndyCat in an attempt to revitalize it. But alas, I was wrong.

Say what you want about TG - at least he walked the walk and put serious money into backing it. Stupidly so...but you can't question his commitment.

On the other hand, the only thing today's IndyCar is committed to is status quo.

[TravelGal]

pfc, from an outsider's perspective, Penske is putting lots of money into it. Into the tracks. Think of refurbishments galore at the Brickyard and that ridiculous elevator thing that hoists the winner up from the hoi polloi. And into marketing agreements. Races are now on a "real" channel not something like Speedvisiion. And most probably into his own pocket. It's the CARS he's not putting the backing into. Oh, them? You mean what actually makes the racing? :shakehead:

[SteveH]

Roger repainted the bathrooms at the Speedway! Credit where credit is due.

[pfc_m_drake]

pfc, from an outsider's perspective, Penske is putting lots of money into it. Into the tracks. Think of refurbishments galore at the Brickyard and that ridiculous elevator thing that hoists the winner up from the hoi polloi. And into marketing agreements. Races are now on a "real" channel not something like Speedvisiion. And most probably into his own pocket. It's the CARS he's not putting the backing into. Oh, them? You mean what actually makes the racing? :shakehead:As usual, you hit the nail on the head. The cars, the stars, that's your product. That's where you spend your money.

Things like painting bathrooms etc. those kinds of things are just the cost of doing business. That's not putting money into anything.

I'll quit blabbing since we're in agreement...I'm just disappointed at how it's all played out.

[SteveH]

It’s as though Penske is just a caretaker.

[pfc_m_drake]

It’s as though Penske is just a caretaker.

Unfortunately, that seems to be exactly the case

[opinionated ow]

As far as I can tell, nobody is using a chassis more than 5 years old. Dallara pump them out pretty regularly. I don't think the chassis makes a skerrick of difference. Short track racing barely changes their rules. V8 Supercars haven't changed their cars in years. I think this argument is pretty redundant to be honest

[stroker]

The overall question is the same one we've been debating since The Split. Is there a big enough fan base to drive sponsors to spend the amount of money that will allow the Series and the Teams to present themselves as "Elite". The answer to that is clearly "no". The Series can't expect the Teams to drop hardware in a radical change of formula nor can it expect them to take on additional costs of testing/development of individual chassis. The Series needs to do one of two things:

1. Develop a spec tub and allow the teams to put on their own suspension running gear (within limitations)

2. Establish multiple chassis mfgs as in the old days (e.g. Lola/Reynard/Swift) within cost and availability restrictions.

It's all moot, now, because last I heard they're jumping on the m***********g hybrid bandwagon and duplicating F1, which is pure insanity to me.

[pfc_m_drake]

As far as I can tell, nobody is using a chassis more than 5 years old. Dallara pump them out pretty regularly. I don't think the chassis makes a skerrick of difference. Short track racing barely changes their rules. V8 Supercars haven't changed their cars in years. I think this argument is pretty redundant to be honestThe issue isn't how old any of the particular tubs are.

If you believe that one of the things that made IndyCar of the 1990s/early 2000s great was that it was a test of man and machine - then you've essentially eliminated that with a spec chassis and essentially homologated engines. The 'machine' half of man&machine is gone.

The different machinery is what many of us love about F1...it's what I REALLY love about MotoGP. It's completely missing from IndyCar...and I think that's part of what Pato was getting at with his comments.