Johansson: Independent teams are the clowns in the show

With 12 grand prix podiums to his name and having driven for the likes of Shadow, Tyrrell, Toleman, Ferrari, McLaren and Ligier coupled to his vast experience in a large variety of series, he is amply qualified to present his view of the sport and he has done so eloquently, with great effort and well-thought-out detail.

Regarding the prime problem facing our sport, Johansson explained in the manifesto, "Adding the hybrid component to the powertrain has done more damage than all the other rule changes combined in my opinion."

"It seems that in order to meet the politically correct agenda that is now creeping in to every facet of life, it’s somehow been decided that this is the future of automotive engineering and needs to be part of Formula One as well."

"Pushed by the manufacturers (under the premise of wanting the formula to have relevance to the manufacturer’s production lineup) who put pressure on the FIA, Formula One had to follow, along with the WEC."

"Interestingly, both series are now completely controlled and dominated by the Original Equipment Manufacturer's and would not survive in their current formats without the money being poured in by the manufacturers competing."

"The privateer or independent teams are now just the clowns that make up the show in both series and have no realistic chance of ever winning a race. So, this means we are stuck with three teams in F1 and currently only one team in the WEC that have any chance of winning."

"This seems an incredibly high trade-off just to be doing the politically correct thing. By introducing this rule and subsequently allowing the manufacturers to effectively take control of both series, it will take some major undoing to get things back on the right track again."

"What we have now is an engine formula that is turning manufacturers away rather than inviting them to join, which is a very dangerous path. As we all know from past experiences, it’s only a matter of a board decision for any manufacturer, except Ferrari, to stop any racing program if it doesn’t suit their purpose for whatever reason."

"None of them have any real emotional attachment to racing, which has been shown by Toyota, Honda and BMW who all pulled out of F1 within a few years of each other."

He also adds, "In order to arrive at a situation that has the right balance between ECONOMICS, COMPETITION, ENTERTAINMENT and RELEVANCE - it’s important to first identify the individual areas that matter the most and focus on getting these right and at the same time eliminate the areas that matters the least."

Johansson has unequivocally singled out the manufacturers as the cancer of our sport and then goes on to outline an intriguing and plausible vision for the sport while the powers that be tango with the three elephants in the room.

His document pinpoints the issues and proffers sensible solutions with the over-riding theme being the banishing of stupidly expensive technology solely conceived to shave a few hundredths here and there with no relevance to the real world.

Making a mockery of these unnecessary expenses, Johansson cited this example among many: "To put things in perspective, a top F1 team’s brake budget is nearly equivalent to a winning IndyCar full season budget. No one can see or relate to the insanely complicated brake ducting systems each team now must develop, all for nothing in the end."

Enough said and worth a read here>>>