[Jersey_Devil]

F1Fanatic.co.uk and Autosport.com have both reported that US F1 has closed its doors. Reports say that employees were told to go home - though they are officially still employed by the team - the doors have been locked and phones are being answered with a recorded message saying the number no longer works. This follows reports that marketing and communications staff were previously sent home.

Thus endeth the story...?

The question now becomes whether 1) the FIA grants Stefan GP US F1's place on the grid and 2) if so, will Stefan GP be ready, all posturing aside. With no testing, either way this means there will be a new candidate for rolling chicane as the slowest competitor on the grid. Not important - the sport needs more participants and it will make the big boys' challenge that much greater, something like what endurance racers go through having to lap cars 20 - 50 miles per hour slower than they are.

And who knows? With an ex-Toyota design, the car may be faster from the git-go than many expect...

This post has been edited by Jersey_Devil: 03 March 2010 - 04:04 PM

[guitardave_1]

Jersey_Devil, on 02 March 2010 - 08:55 PM, said:

F1Fanatic.co.uk and Autosport.com have both reported that US F1 has closed its doors. Reports say that employees were told to go home - though they are officially still employed by the team - the doors have been locked and phones are being answered with a recorded message saying the number no longer works. This follows reports that marketing and communications staff were previously sent home.

Thus endeth the story...?

The question now becomes whether 1) the FIA grants Stefan GP US F1's place on the grid and 2) if so, will Stefan GP be ready, all posturing aside. With no testing, either way this means there will be a new candidate for rolling chicane as the slowest competitor on the grid. Not important - the sport needs more participants and it will make the big boys' challenge that much greater, something like what endurance racers go through having to lap cars 20 - 50 miles per hour slower than they are.

And who knows? With an ex-Toyota design, the car may be faster from the git-go than many expect...

F1 outfit hastily thrown together with a barely tested car based on the design of a defunct Japanese manufacturer team proves competitive. Nah, it could never happen

Certainly sounds less and less likely that we will ever see a USF1 car on the grid. Is that a new record? Even the likes of Forti and Pacific got as far as failing to qualify Actually took a look at their website for the first time, just to see if it still worked. Seems to me lacking in the way of updates. Also looks as though it was designed and made by someone with about as much ability as me

[JerryLH3]

Sad state of affairs for USF1, but with all the news I read this week, I suppose it was inevitable.

[initiald]

Sad indeed. Was looking forward to US F1. It's downright confusing now with teams pulling out, teams wanting to go in and teams changing names.

[Pegasus Seiya]

Glad they closed it, that was gonna be embarrassing.

[Mclaren_F1]

I'm very happy they closed it, USA doesn't go well with (F1, Soccer (Real football), and metric system)

[ibj40]

Formula One is not a series that will ever be supported in the US, due to the complicated rules and Euro-bias. IRL can barely find support (and I feel one of the reasons is the lack of US drivers, and the propensity of funded foreign drivers bringing the money to underwrite marginal sponsorships), and if they average more than 20 entries per venue (Indy 500 excluded) I will be surprised. I find it hard to believe that an open formula for IRL in 2012 will ever succeed, as the sponsorship dollars won't be there to fund the transition. Plus, where do all the Dallara's go?

With Nascar, ARCA and other down-program series provide a reselling market for obsolete equipment, and while the Nascar teams, obviously, don't receive 1:1 on their investment, the ARCA teams know that they can cherry-pick the better equipment, and certain Nascar teams are very willing to see their hand-me-down equipment competing in that series, for the exposure, and also for the ability to assess development drivers.

Similarly, down-series road racing programs also exist, often on a national or regional level, to where some of the ALMS/LeMans equipment filters down to sub-market series (obviously this doesn't happen to that same extent with Grand Am, but with their specification freezes, cars and chassis last longer than last season).

I'm not surprised with the failure of USF1, regardless of their co-location with Nascar in North Carolina. Lots of technical and engineering talent in that area, and a pity that it could not be brought to bear on an international racing program.

This post has been edited by ibj40: 03 March 2010 - 09:28 PM

[T1000]

Why go through all that trouble of getting a team together, even developing a car and then realising that you can't afford to race Were they hoping to sell the team/spot to someone else?

[Autobahn]

JerryLH3, on 02 March 2010 - 03:49 PM, said:

Sad state of affairs for USF1, but with all the news I read this week, I suppose it was inevitable.

My thoughts exactly. Disappointing, for sure, but not at all surprising.

I just hope that Peter Windsor can get his old gig back on the grid doing pre-race coverage with Speed TV- he was great there!

[Jersey_Devil]

Well, the BS is over; the FIA has not granted Stefan GP an entry to the 2010 F1 season and has said that soon it will begin to accept bids for 2011. Will Stefan GP hang on for a year?

Will US F1 get going again or is it dead? Team principal Ken Anderson says that they can use the time off to get the sponsors and that Peter Windsor and prime sponsor Chad Hurley are still on board, but right now that sounds highly unlikely. Something to think about is that the manager for US F1's first signed driver Jose Maria Lopez, while blasting the team for what he claims was misleading them as to how ready they were to go, did say that "Argentina is just a small part of the problem", lending credence to Anderson's statement that the big issue was a signed sponsor failing to come though. YouTube founder Chad Hurley is a backer of the team but was never supposed to be a major financial sponsor, though he did throw some money their way.

Sauber breathed a sigh of relief because they were never officially an entrant for 2010 since BMW withdrew their spot, but the FIA today issued the final 2010 entry list and they were on it:

1 Jenson BUTTON (GBR) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES (GB)
2 Lewis HAMILTON (GBR) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES (GB)

3 Michael SCHUMACHER (D) MERCEDES GP PETRONAS FORMULA ONE TEAM
4 Nico ROSBERG (D) MERCEDES GP PETRONAS FORMULA ONE TEAM

5 Sebastian VETTEL (DEU) RED BULL RACING (AUT)
6 Mark WEBBER (AUS) RED BULL RACING (AUT)

7 Felipe MASSA (BRA) SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO (I)
8 Fernando ALONSO (ESP) SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO (I)

9 Rubens BARRICHELLO (BRA) AT&T WILLIAMS (GB)
10 Nico HÜLKENBERG (D) AT&T WILLIAMS (GB)

11 Robert KUBICA (POL) RENAULT F1 TEAM (FRA)
12 Vitaly PETROV (RUS) RENAULT F1 TEAM (FRA)

14 Adrian SUTIL (D) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM (IND)
15 Vitantonio LIUZZI (I) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM (IND)

16 Sébastien BUEMI (CH) SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO (I)
17 Jaime ALGUERSUARI (ESP) SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO (I)

18 Jarno TRULLI (I) LOTUS RACING (MAL)
19 Heikki KOVALAINEN (FIN) LOTUS RACING (MAL)

20 TBA HRT F1 TEAM (ESP)
21 Bruno SENNA (BRA) HRT F1 TEAM (ESP)

22 Pedro DE LA ROSA (ESP) BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM (CH)
23 Kamui KOBAYASHI (J) BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM (CH)

24 Timo GLOCK (DEU) VIRGIN RACING (GB)
25 Luca DI GRASSI (BRA) VIRGIN RACING (GB)

Two more interesting things: the former Campos Meta team, Hispania Racing Team, has still announced only one driver, Bruno Senna.

And the FIA is superstitious - no #13 is been issued. That speaks volumes about the most technologically advanced racing series on the planet...

This post has been edited by Jersey_Devil: 03 March 2010 - 04:16 PM

[JerryLH3]

I'm guessing USF1 is dead, as I don't see the FIA taking them seriously anymore. I think with the reintroduction of Lotus and a better connection to the car company than I previously thought gives me a new underdog to cheer for. At least they have some experienced drivers who should be able to help sort things out over the next year.

[Monster]

I am very disappointed with the entire USF1 episode. Peter Windsor is a smart guy, he has been around for many years and he worked for Williams and Ferrari. He has the connections and the experience, so he should have known better. It is sad to see someone like him failed so spectacularly.

[mopreme]

in my opinion, it's quite bizarre for USA to host F1 event although there's BAR Racing. F1 is big here in Asia and I like NASCAR too but not so much of friend to talk about or share the same interest.

[Markus]

Bit of a shambles really.

The FIA had one team with a place on the grid but can't make it, and another who claim to be able to race but have no slot on grid.

Really hope Stefan prove to be fit to race and the FIA change their mind before the season starts.

[Autobahn]

Monster, on 04 March 2010 - 01:34 AM, said:

I am very disappointed with the entire USF1 episode. Peter Windsor is a smart guy, he has been around for many years and he worked for Williams and Ferrari. He has the connections and the experience, so he should have known better. It is sad to see someone like him failed so spectacularly.

I agree- seeing Peter Windsor go down with this mess is much more disappointing than the failure of USF1 per se. Windsor is a smart man, and as you said, he has the connections and experience that would have been very valuable for a start-up team. Those same qualities, along with the relationships he has cultivated with drivers and their teams over the years, are really going to be missed among American F1 fans who are used to seeing him in pit lane and on the grid for Speed TV. I know I already made that point, but I really hope he can resume his work there.

This post has been edited by Autobahn: 04 March 2010 - 10:32 AM

[jinx]

Jersey_Devil, on 03 March 2010 - 04:14 PM, said:

Two more interesting things: the former Campos Meta team, Hispania Racing Team, has still announced only one driver, Bruno Senna.

And the FIA is superstitious - no #13 is been issued. That speaks volumes about the most technologically advanced racing series on the planet...

HRT have announced Indian Karun Chandhok as their other driver - he should be bringing in some sponsorship (he didn't exactly sparkle in GP2).

Re the #13, as far as I'm aware, in the 60 years of the World Championship, it has only been used twice.

As for US F1, the more I read about it, the more farcial it becomes - I'm not sure what planet Anderson & Windsor were living on, but, it must have had an alternative reality.