what Success and failure of F1 means to car companies

It is obvious to see that success in F1 can be a great promotional boost for a car manufacturer. Take the example of Mercedes in the recent years. The road car sales have shot up through the roof setting new records year after year. The sales success from the showroom is nothing short of staggering. Mercedes really capitalised on their racing success and it made many new buyers turn to Mercedes.

On the flip side, Honda suffered tremendously in F1 with numerous engine failures which did affect their road car sales to some degree. Despite the failure in F1 Honda did not suffer a major setback in sales but their image took a beating. Being a trusted brand the road cars were still selling but it lost its image as front runner for engine technology.

Toyota also suffered a similar fate when it failed miserable in F1 10 years ago despite investing almost $1 billion and had nothing to show for it.

F1 is an expensive and cruel sport that can reward or punish the car company image-wise. Ferrari made huge steps forwards in terms of brand image and marketing from their success in F1 15 years ago at the hands of Michael Schumacher. Now Mercedes is doing the same thing with Lewis Hamilton.

Being able to compete in the top 3 will yield good marketing mileage for car companies but once numerous engine failures and DNFs start appearing it definitely doesn't bode well for the image.

It is a big gamble for any car manufacturer and with ever changing regulations it is all about who gets it right and makes the most of it. with every rule change one company or one team will be able to capitalise on it. There seems to be like a trend with an era of success for one particular team just like how Ferrari was the top for 5 years then came Mclaren then Redbull and now Mercedes. the fortunes for the teams change and the change can be very drastic.

In the mid 1990s Williams won 2 constructor's championships but after the second championship the car team was nowhere near the top 3 and were struggling with mid field teams. It just goes to show that one year's success does not mean that it will translate to similar results the next year. this is the cruel part about F1.
Mercedes is now enjoying their reign of success but no one knows how long this will carry on for and who will be the next to enjoy a reign of success.