Happy Friday!

Ferrari have just released the all-new SF90 XX and shares of the company are at an all time high - but who really cares?

While the new machine looks kinda cool, Ferrari themselves have said the SF90 XX was an afterthought and that development was ‘really a lot of effort’ - so how’d we get here?

The auto industry is in a precarious place. Manufacturers thought their governments would do enough to stop Tesla but good products are good products and the industry will inevitably be winding down over the next 20 years as EVs and autonomy flourish.

And while the volume manufacturers will merge-to-survive for a bit, boutique brands are going to the parts bin and pumping out limited blah blah and specialty blah blah - but that’s not who they are (or at least, who they used to be 😏)

We grew to love these brands for advancements in engineering. So when you slap on a couple vents and a fixed rear wing - for a ~$1.5m price tag - it’s just a let down.

That said, the SF90 XX has already sold out but that’s no surprise. And while murky market conditions will inevitably shuffle up allocations, we’ve spoken to some Ferrari collectors that should be next on the list and every one of them said they’re waiting for the special version of the 296 GTB (which we all know is the better platform)

Anyways, the SF90 XX is probably great on track but if Ferrari really needs to pad financials in these final decades, they should just rebrand to Ferrari.ai - because that’s how you inflate company values today 🤣

(Ok we just tried that domain and it’s parked by someone but Porsche is already ahead of the game having secured Porsche.ai .. Sometimes we question Phil’s rants but he’s clearly on to something 😂)

Formula 1

More trouble in paradise..

Max Verstappen has yet again taken pole position but his teammate Sergio Perez was out in Q2 after a violation of track limits. You can click here to catch the action but as the rumour-mill continues to swirl about his future with Red Bull, Checo is gonna need a big push this weekend..

Next race: 

Sprint Race - Saturday, July 1st @ 8:30am EST

Grand Prix - Sunday, July 2nd @ 9am EST

Paddock Auctions

We’ve got a brief pause in auctions as we onboard our next few partners. Thanks for the continued support and we’re excited to make our announcements in the following week or two (at which point we’ll be doing another run of cars)

Speed Fanatics - Vancouver, Canada

RCLUB - Toronto, Canada

Team Stradale - Illinois, USA

P1 Auto Auction - Florida, USA

Race Cars for Sale

Our friends at Ruote da Sogno have just listed this GRD Formula 3 car from 1975. The car has been completely restored and comes with the entire vehicle history.

Click to view GRD Formula 3

Looking for a motion sim racing rig? Our friends at Team Stradale have you covered with this SimGear setup that features only the top tier components from Fanatec.

Click here to view SimGear Simulator

News Racers Can Use

Be a racing entrepreneur

Racing is as much a business as it is a sport - and as a sport it’s extremely expensive. That might not be news to you who are reading this newsletter, but the fact is that for a lot of young drivers, they fail to grasp the fact that to be successful, you need to be a racing entrepreneur.

Why? Quite simply the world of motorsport sponsorship has evolved beyond a sticker on the side of a race car. Sponsors are looking for drivers with a compelling story to tell and different ways to engage with potential customers all the while providing an acceptable return on their investment. It’s up to the driver to provide this ROI with both innovative and exciting opportunities to grow their sponsor’s business.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ for working with sponsors. Their needs will differ and so will the solutions you provide them - but make no mistake if you don’t approach your search for sponsorship with an entrepreneurial flare, you will not achieve the success you will need off the track that’ll enable you to succeed on it. Be a racing entrepreneur.

News Racers Can Use is written by Mark Boudreau from Motorsport Prospects

Quick Bites

📊 How do you measure your racing success?

🤹‍♂️ The more cars you drive, the better racer you will be

🤑 What is an F1 team worth these days?