In the comments to my previous post, the subject of Tata's new sponsorship deal with Ferrari cropped up. Although it might seem just another boring commercial announcement regarding F1's ability to draw in new advertising, this one is rather more significant, I think.
Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car
Tata is a huge Indian truck and car manufacturer that has bought automotive companies around the world, most notably in its acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in 2008. It has adopted a policy of buying manufacturers that are failing and then using the technology so acquired to design new products that come to dominate markets. In this way they have rapidly become leaders in the manufacture of trucks and buses and now are involved in an aggressive expansion into the sedan and sports car markets - hence the Jaguar/Land Rover deal.
It is this last that makes the Tata/Ferrari link most interesting. With their plans to attack the European and American markets with specifically-targeted car designs, it makes sense that their promotional strategy should include motor sport. The company has already been involved in F1 through its sponsorship of Narain Karthikeyan (which explains why Force India have never been interested in the Indian driver - there is no love lost between Vijay Mallya and Tata) and so has some understanding of the benefits of F1 sponsorship.
Why Ferrari? Well, that might be explained by the fact that Tata has an existing relationship with FIAT and are currently working on the production of a pick-up truck with the Italian company. With F1 already a major promotional tool in Europe and a growing one in India, thanks to the coming Indian GP and Force India's involvement, it seems logical that Tata would use their link with FIAT to gain a foothold in the sport through FIAT's subsidiary, Ferrari.
But I do not believe that will be the end of Tata's involvement in the sport. For a new company aiming to break into new markets, the extensive exposure through F1 in those markets must look very tempting; I think we can expect Tata to become involved to the extent of having their own team sooner or later. And it is good news for teams that face the possibility of being sold in the near future. Tata's record of buying companies with existing technology to expand their capabilities means that it would be natural for them to buy a team rather than start from scratch as Toyota did. Dietrich Mateschitz must have really sat up and taken notice when he heard of Tata's deal with Ferrari - it means that he might well be able to sell Toro Rosso before the crunch comes in 2010.
That is all speculation, I admit. But it does reinforce what I have been saying for a long time: that new teams entering F1 will not be the usual suggestions like VW/Audi or Porsche, they are far more likely to come from the developing industrial nations such as India and Korea. Such companies are aggressive and growing quickly and will see F1 as a way of getting their brand names known and trusted in a very short space of time.
We bemoan (quite rightly) the fact that the traditional circuits of Europe and North America are gradually being phased out of the sport in favor of new tracks in developing nations; but let us not forget that the auto industry has already shifted its center of gravity to the new markets and it makes sense that interest in motor racing in those countries should increase as a result. Tata may be the next Asian entrant to F1, heralding many more, I suspect.