Grand Prix Rejects

Well there's this american guy called Dan Pentacost who wants to build a F1 team and become the oldest F1 world champion!

Here is his website: http://force1usa.com/force1usa-f1-racing-budget/

Go through it and let me know what you think.

To be honest it looks likes the guy hasn't got a clue on what F1 is! Wants to start with 1 car (stage 1) then increase the budget for stage 2 which is either a second car or spare parts! Only by stage 4 comes the R&D bit!

He's publicising this idea on Linkedin in a few F1 groups and he's getting the shite beat out of him!

First off: for that Google Translate German, I - being a translator myself - really want to smack this guy.

Well, aside from that this could end up hilarious. I will throw a thousand of an eye on him and his efforts.

Monstrobolaxa wrote:To be honest it looks likes the guy hasn't got a clue on what F1 is!

I'm thinking so me too.

I daresay this James Allen doesn't know what he's talking about...since when does more of your budget get directed towards the people working than the car? And how does he figure to survive long enough to start the "R&D phase" without barely any spares or other car development? Overall, this would probably end up making Andrea Moda look like McLaren in terms of professionalism and being able to effectively run a team. Really, to me, it just looks like a Ponzi scheme disguised as a racing team.

Don Pentecost wrote:Personnel $29.6 Million USD
Car-Related $23.4 Million USD

How does one spend $29.6 million on personnel? The average F1 team nowadays only has around 150-200 people working for it. And the likelihood that this guy would hire a pay driver seems higher, so that would eliminate that salary. Unless this Pentecost guy's giving himself a multi-million dollar salary too? Any of you know how the salary structure of an F1 team works?

I don't know about the whole system, but maybe Faustus can tell us about how much a race engineer can earn...

Jnr Eng positions: £24000-26000/ year
Eng: £35000-50000/year
Snr Eng: £60000-120000/year
Mechanics/Technicians: £25000-36000/year

I did some figuring and if this team had 10 Jr. Engineers at a rate of $38,940/yr, 20 engineers at a rate of $70,092/yr, 4 senior engineers at a rate of $124,608/yr, 90 technicians/mechanics at a rate of $46,728/yr, 1 team principal at a rate of $250,000/yr, 1 technical director/ chief designer at a rate of $250,000/yr, and 30 other personnel(clerical staff etc.) at a rate of $40,000/yr the grand total of personnel costs minus drivers would be $8,195,192, which equals about 27.7 percent.

Granted my rough estimations for personnel numbers are probably off some, so feel free to adjust/revise as needed.

It still leaves the question of what the rest is for. Either that or this guy may have had some inflated salary figures as well.

I cannot fathom a reason as to why this guy thinks that he and his 'team' will be allowed to race in F1....

pasta_maldonado wrote:I cannot fathom a reason as to why this guy thinks that he and his 'team' will be allowed to race in F1....

One simple phrase: He's American...

pasta_maldonado wrote:I cannot fathom a reason as to why this guy thinks that he and his 'team' will be allowed to race in F1....

I think Zoran Stefanovic would be more likely to get an entry than that tosser. Clearly he has no idea what he's talking about and judging by the caliber of the "news" posted on the website he must think that we all have less brains than him(which he hasn't enough brains to pour into a teacup). Either that or he's more arrogant than 10 Fernando Alonso's.

I don't know why,but this seems about as legit as the "revived" A1GP website.

tzerof1 wrote:

pasta_maldonado wrote:I cannot fathom a reason as to why this guy thinks that he and his 'team' will be allowed to race in F1....

I think Zoran Stefanovic would be more likely to get an entry than that tosser. Clearly he has no idea what he's talking about and judging by the caliber of the "news" posted on the website he must think that we all have less brains than him(which he hasn't enough brains to pour into a teacup). Either that or he's more arrogant than 10 Fernando Alonso's.

Compared to this half-arsed effort, Schumacher's excuse for parking his car at the 2006 Monaco Gp seems credible

What a dumbass...the man's as thick as pigshite.

He wants other people to invest the money too...not even the most inbred of rednecks who shares one braincell with his 12 brothers and sisters (two of whom have borne his children) wouldn't put that money in.

Now, WE should enter a team. Faustus as team manager should be a given...who else wants a role?

BaconLettuceNinja wrote:What a dumbass...the man's as thick as pigshite.

He wants other people to invest the money too...not even the most inbred of rednecks who shares one braincell with his 12 brothers and sisters (two of whom have borne his children) wouldn't put that money in.

Now, WE should enter a team. Faustus as team manager should be a given...who else wants a role?

I'll chuck myself in as PR manager

Alasdair Lindsay for Chief Executive Officer

I'm not being a realist here but I did some quick maths and I found out that the budget is about 1.5 BILLION. Good christ I've heard of over-estimating but he puts it to a whole new level.

According to a news source Ferrari's 2011 budget was around 199 million Euros, which translates to around $250 million US Dollars. Guess who the investors are going to put their money on?

The funniest bit I've found is that he has about 30-odd followers on Twitter. About 27-28 of them are himself...

He said at one point 'I can win the world championship. Anyone that disagrees doesn't know me' (or words to that effect)...this guy's taken far too much DMT, he's mixed up the visions from hallucinogenics with reality.

Seems like a bussinessman trying to cash in with a gimmick of a free-spirit independent team. It may be an idea to make a buck with the whole "racing in F1 thing being an afterthought" but i thought the ruthless enforcer and savior of F1 demanded you give him all your money and worldly possesions and your soul and your firstborn before he gave you a shot specifically to discourage this type of chicanery. And also, the nineties came and went a while ago, you just dont do this thing anymore.

Getting some publicity for yourself off F1 comes of wrong. I'd like to introduce him to some Canadian students.

Is he trying to be the second Andrea Sassetti?

kostas22 wrote:Alasdair Lindsay for Chief Executive Officer

And then arrange sponsorship with Italian sponsors

I for my part apply as Executive Vice President Of Talent Relations.

My favourite part of that website was the news section, filled with spurious articles whose sole purpose was to combine a random female celebrity's name with the phrase "F1 Racing", complete with links to relevant Facebook pages on the same subject. I wonder who could possibly have created those?

Scuderia Alitalia look more professional than these numpties

kostas22 wrote:Andrea Moda look more professional than these numpties

Fixed

That site:


The news section, yeah, throwing in names of random female celebrities and adding "might race in F1" after them. And then promoting some "Alternative Energy Solution" that looks so much like scam that Charles Ponzi would look like a saint compared to that. Not to mention having dozens of Twitter accounts, looks really professional, eh?

And why the Norwegian translation? Last time I checked not a lot of Norwegians were interested in F1...

I love this quotation from level 6:

It is not a real business and it is not a real job.

That sure sells it to me!

And how does he hope to get a Superlicence? I can imagine him (whoever he is!) to be even more rejectful than Yuji Ide. And USF1 had more chance than this guy does.

That site gave me a laugh

I didn't know Paris Hilton had a Superlicense either

56-year-old driver, probably with no racing experience whatsoever. This can only go well

Pointrox wrote:56-year-old driver, probably with no racing experience whatsoever. This can only go well

F1 equivalent of Christophe Hurni or Plamen Kralev

pasta_maldonado wrote:

Pointrox wrote:56-year-old driver, probably with no racing experience whatsoever. This can only go well

F1 equivalent of Christophe Hurni or Plamen Kralev

Not immediately thinking of Chanoch Nissany shows you are new to the world of rejects.

Klon wrote:

pasta_maldonado wrote:

Pointrox wrote:56-year-old driver, probably with no racing experience whatsoever. This can only go well

F1 equivalent of Christophe Hurni or Plamen Kralev

Not immediately thinking of Chanoch Nissany shows you are new to the world of rejects.

Chanoch Nissany is far worse than Hurni or Kralev....

pasta_maldonado wrote:Chanoch Nissany is a hero. Just like Hurni or Kralev....

Fixed in the traditional sense of F1Rejects.

AdrianSutil wrote:

pasta_maldonado wrote:Chanoch Nissany is a hero. Just like Hurni or Kralev....

Fixed in the traditional sense of F1Rejects.

I agree

If I wanted to start my own Formula 1 team, the easiest way to do it would be to buy one of Lola's assets - the plans for their 2010 car, which they were actually developing and updating round-the-clock so that they would have a competitive car for 2014.

Then I'd do a deal with PURE. Yes, it means working with Craig Pollock, but ScarbsF1's article on the PURE engine makes it look pretty good.

Once I've got my engine and chassis, I would find a racing team to run it, preferably one with adequate facilities, or the ability to expand out to include adequate facilities. I'd probably look at Prema Powerteam, Rebellion Racing, Fortec Motorsports, Racing Engineering or Tech-1 Racing.

Then I'd have to find some sponsors. I'd probably go for companies like bwin.party or Visa; failing that, I'd approach the Weyland-Yutani corporation, because they have a long-standing history of making bizarre investments in the name of profit, and should be easily swayed. If at all possible, I would try and get manufacturer backing as well. Hyundai, maybe.

Finally, I'd need drivers. Experience always helps, so Jaime Alguersuari would be my first port of call. And since I like what I see in Kevin Korjus, he'd be my second driver. I'd probably take Tio Ellinas and Robert Visoiu as test and reserve drivers.

There. In ten minutes, I have created a better business plan than Pentacost.

I'd probably have a go at purchasing Toyota's 2010 cars, if they're available.

AdrianSutil wrote:I'd probably have a go at purchasing Toyota's 2010 cars, if they're available.

Considering the Toyota TF110 was built around the Double Diffuser modifying it to the current regulations would probably be too troublesome.

eurobrun wrote:

AdrianSutil wrote:I'd probably have a go at purchasing Toyota's 2010 cars, if they're available.

Considering the Toyota TF110 was built around the Double Diffuser modifying it to the current regulations would probably be too troublesome.

Well the back end would have to be changed a little to accommodate the Cosworth engine I'd plan to use so no problem there. I'd use the Cosworth engine as Bernie likes new teams using that.

I'd make sure I'd team up with an existing but financially struggling team from LMP Racing. Epsilon Esukadi maybe. Last I heard the team were in real financial trouble so I'd purchase the team and use them, along with some ex-Toyota employees to run the cars.

The more I read this, the more I think it might be a scam. Just read this:

I do have (what I consider) collateral, but even this will take speculation and an investor with vision.

The collateral is my invention for a Global Alternative Energy Solution. If it dominates the entire transportation and energy market as I project, there will be no need for Middle East oil.

My invention translates to a (projected) return on investment of over $100 Billion, possibly the first return on investment of one $Trillion

There have been several instances over the uears where people claim to have invented free energy devices - devices that use perpetual motion or zero-point energy and so on (all of which are considered impossible under the laws of physics) - and tried to get investors involved. If Pentacost has a "Global Alternative Energy Solution", why hasn't it been introduced? If his projections of total market dominance are so accurate, why does he need investors for a Formula 1 team?

Anybody who gives him enough money to run a team is possibly the biggest idiot in the history of......well,ever.

AdrianSutil wrote:

eurobrun wrote:

AdrianSutil wrote:I'd probably have a go at purchasing Toyota's 2010 cars, if they're available.

Considering the Toyota TF110 was built around the Double Diffuser modifying it to the current regulations would probably be too troublesome.

Well the back end would have to be changed a little to accommodate the Cosworth engine I'd plan to use so no problem there. I'd use the Cosworth engine as Bernie likes new teams using that.

You've missed the point entirely. The Double Deck Diffuser is an integral part of the car and removing it would require an entire redesign of the rear end which, given the cost and the potential adverse effect on handling, is far more trouble than it's worth.

Scheduled an interview with him. Looking forward to seeing what exactly does this crazy old guy want.