It has been weeks coming but finally US F1 have stopped operations and admitted they are not going to make it onto the grid in 2010. Although there is no direct quote from the team, there have been several tweets from the inside, and Autosport has the story:
AUTOSPORT understands that shortly before lunchtime, production manager Dave Skog informed those staff who had remained at the team during its recent troubles that they were being laid off.
Updated: Futher to the original story, Autosport have posted more information, this time from team boss, Ken Anderson.
Ken has pointed out that the team still have hopes for a 2011 entry to the grid and confirmed that operations have been put on hold at the factory.
"We are waiting for a reply from the FIA and are working with them. In the mean time, there is nothing for the employees to do, so we have told them to stop working on the current car until we have a decision."
Jose Maria Lopez, pictured while competing in the 2006 GP2 Series, will race in Formula 1 for the first time with USF1.
The President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner officially announced the signing of Argentine driver Jose Maria Lopez to the USF1 team, in Buenos Aires on Monday. The USF1 Team's web site confirmed the news shortly afterwards from their base in Charlotte, N.C.
With previous outings in Formula 3000 and GP2 as well as having a small amount F1 testing experience under his belt, the 26 year old becomes the first driver announced for the team. Money to fund the deal is said to come in part from Argentine government backing and other local sponsorship.
Speaking of the deal, Team Executive Vice President, Peter Windsor said:
"We've been following his career since he dominated the Renault V6 Championship in 2003 and we're thrilled to have him on board as we return America to Formula One. Lopez is a consummate professional and born leader."
Lopez is well aware of the challenges he faces and but eventually hopes to see the team "competing for wins and championships".
"I have been working towards this day for much of my life and I can't thank Peter and Ken enough for this opportunity."
The final name to weigh in on the news was Team Principal, President and CEO Ken Anderson, who added that the team need "the right guys in the seats" in order to experience a successful debut campaign.
Coming up on this week's show, we discuss Flavio Briatore, US F1, testing, rankings, tyres, pit stops and shortcuts.
Intro
Welcome to 2010! Is that two thousand and ten, or twenty ten?
Good Week / Bad Week
Good times for Jenson Button and Ross Brawn as they are honoured by the Queen, and for Toyota as they are eyed up by Zoran Stefanovich. Bad times for safety as Abu Dhabi aren't changing very much at all, and for headline grabbing news items that don't really tell us much at all.
News and Views
There's a lot of news to cover this week, as we get started with Flavio Briatore's overturned ban, and Renault's team principal replacement - Eric Boullier, Mr C's new best friend!
Meanwhile, Mercedes have a new sponsor, and a new driver who is already up to tricks by testing out a GP2 car. The new teams are trying to prove Bernie's doubts wrong, and Peter Windsor is stirring up a hornet's nest with his thoughts on the summer shutdown, whilst US F1 are simultaneously getting extra tests.
Mr C manages to get through the segment about the Castrol Driver Rankings without swearing - a first, and we discuss Ted's thoughts on the strategies for 2010, and Bernie's ideas for taking a shortcut.
Feedback
Four excellent messages - one putting us straight about CFD, one happy to hear the history from Steven, one worried about the sheer number of comments appearing on the site, and the final one concerned about a seatless Heidfeld.
Housekeeping
We tried out some F1 Minute video, and the experiment is mostly halted but slightly ongoing at the same time. Our first 2010 show wasn't live but the server will be back bigger and better - or so says Mr C.
It's been a long time coming, but the first team to design and build its own F1 car in the USA since the 60's, is finally beginning to show some of the potential we were promised over sixth months ago.
The USF1 team, backed in part by YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, have for the past fortnight been publishing short video clips detailing behind the scenes footage of an F1 project coming to life. This morning two further clips were published, and a third is expected soon.
Notably, all of the videos thus far have been filmed and released in high definition format, and considering how long fans have been requesting HD footage, USF1 should be congratulated for being the first team to make the leap. While it could be argued Toyota made a similar jump last year, their feature only amounted to a one-off production, and they've since quit the sport anyway.
If you haven't already watched the new videos, they're embedded below. Hitting Play followed by the HD button, will allow you to see them in all their 720p (if not somewhat interlaced) widescreen goodness.
Dan Gurney on USF1
The first clip appropriately features an interview with Dan Gurney. His Eagle chassis was the last F1 car to be designed and built in the States and here you'll catch him reminiscing as well as looking forward to what USF1 can offer.
Bob Varsha Walk and Talk - Part 1
The second video is slightly more concerning. It's part one of a two parter and Speed TV's Bob Varsha takes hold of the microphone before setting off to interview some members of staff. The team have rightly come in for some stick recently - from most quarters - for failing to prove they really are getting on with the business of building racing cars, and this video won't help matters. The factory appears almost completely deserted before Bob manages to find the world's most introverted American and a Brit to converse with. Formula 1 factories just don't look like this.
Bob Varsha Walk and Talk - Part 2
In the second part of Bob's walk around the factory we get to see a more active office. Of interest, discussion turns to the merits of CFD versus wind tunnel development, and the engineers at USF1 seem confident that computational fluid dynamics is more than good enough to develop a brand new F1 chassis.
Regardless of content, we should say well done to USF1 for at least pushing F1 broadcasting boundaries in the right direction, however small a step it might be. With any luck, other teams might be taking notes.
It's Franck's birthday! Woooohoo. Happy Birthday to everybody's favourite Frenchman. I hope he is having lots of lovely cake and celebrating as is appropriate for one's 32nd birthday. Meanwhile, I need to return my attention to more Formula 1 shaped things, so here's what's catching our eye at the moment:
As Pat pointed out yesterday, we seem to be on a bit of a redesign tip at the moment, so it's only fair to point out the brand new Viva F1 site, that is actually the new destination for Pitlane Fanatic fans. It's a fresh year and a fresh start for the blog and forum, and they kick off with a great post about G forces, and a book review as well.
Good news for Kubica fans as it looks like he will remain at Renault after concerns emerged at the end of last year regarding the investment by Genii Capital. His manager said there weren't any real doubts but they just had questions that needed answering, and it absolutely wasn't about money. Whatever it was about, it looks to be sorted now.
I also wrote a post yesterday about the complaints from Peter Windsor over the summer shutdown. He has some interesting points but it doesn't look like he has much support, so I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the topic.
That'll do it for now. Don't forget to put yourself on the listener map if you haven't already, and I will see you in the comments.
Peter Windsor recently spoke of how US F1 were keeping silent as they didn't want to get involved in the vast array of politics surrounding the sport. Bernie's concern over the lack of headlines coming from the team was unfounded, as Windsor claimed:
"We’re all in the entertainment business we call F1 and there seemed little or no point in adding to the situation from the perspective of a new team."
Fast forward just a couple of weeks, and Windsor is diving right on in to the way the sport is set up. The summer shutdown appears to be an issue of contention with the boss of US F1, as it isn't particularly convenient for them and is ultimately unnecessary. Windsor says:
"...remember the August F1 shutdown that was introduced for the first time in 2009? Well, it's happening again in 2010. Understand that most of Europe closes for August and you kind of understand the decision. Unless you're American, that is.
As in Australia, August for Americans is just another working month in which some people maybe take a week or two away. There's no nationwide shutdown, as such – not of the type that regularly afflicts massive F1 teams like Ferrari."
I understand his point, but he also complains about how little the European factories get done over the Christmas break as well. Everyone is allowed a holiday at some point, aren't they?
The real question lies with whether it's fair for the shutdown to coincide with the European shutdown, when not all the teams are in Europe. If it is to be a compulsory shutdown, do they all have to take it at the same time? Last year, the teams were keen to retain the summer break so their employees could have some time off and recharge their batteries after months of travelling to races.
The addition of the factory shutdown came about as an answer to the restriction on wind tunnel usage plus the obligatory cost cutting measures. In the recesses of my not-very-good memory, I recall some teams not being fond of the idea at all. Whilst the race staff could take a break, that didn't necessarily mean the design and factory staff needed to as well.
Nevertheless, Windsor's problem is not that the break exists, but that it is so focused on one continent. Formula 1 is supposedly meant to be global, but definitely rotates around the European industry and audiences. There are a lot of teams based in the UK and nearby, though, so would it be fair to them to move it again?
Windsor will most likely be up against it, though. When the possibility emerged that the 2009 summer break might go missing, there was outrage throughout the paddock. Ron Dennis was particularly vocal about the extra costs involved in rotating staff due to exhaustion and even Bernie got involved in rallying for the break to remain. Now that there's no testing, it only makes sense for the shutdown to occur in the break.
It looks as though Peter is aware of the challenge he faces:
"I was impressed to hear the McLaren guys say that it was a waste of time and that most of their staff had found it all very frustrating, but sadly these were lone voices: the majority of the teams, led by Red Bull, it seemed to me, are firmly committed to the summer shutdown. And so shut down we will."
I don't know the answer to any of these questions, so I am throwing it open to you. Should the factory shutdown remain compulsory? Is it right that it fits in so well with the UK industry, and perhaps alienates other countries? What are your thoughts?
The final point I want to leave on this is from Steven Roy when the topic was brought up earlier:
I just find it odd that Windsor is complaining about something that doesn't happen for 8 months. Surely he has more immediate concerns and more important stuff to put out to the press.
The F1 paddock returns to its European roots, which means Joe Saward talks to us from the comfort of his (near) Barcelona hotel.
With questions from the comments, we discuss whether F2 can emulate or improve on the success of GP2, what is to be expected in Spain, plus the budget caps and their impact on the sport. We also investigate which potential new teams may have a chance in 2010.
Tune in for this, plus much more, on An Aside With Joe.
Yet another story emerged yesterday about a potential new team for Formula 1 and we all sighed just a little bit. Bassano raised a good point in the comments, suggesting that perhaps if he said he'd like to start an F1 team, that would also hit the headlines.
Naturally, Aguri Suzuki's past in F1, and the fact that he dramatically swore off the sport when he left in 2008, have made this a topic worth discussing, but the initial quote that sparked 1,000 articles was: "If it's physically possible I would certainly like to."
It might surprise you to know that I don't actually want to get into a discussion about the merits of creating fictional news from simple statements, but what this story did make me ponder was when we should actually start caring about a team. When do we start believing it really could happen?
The Light Bulb Moment
Just recently, a plethora of names have emerged suggesting they'd like to (re-)enter F1. Lola, Prodrive, USGPE, these are all companies who are supposedly considering snapping up a spot on the grid. GP2 teams might make the jump if the budget caps are right, and Super Aguri are going to make a glorious return and prove us all wrong. Or are they?
When a team owner/former F1 personality/rich person suggests that F1 might be fun, that doesn't seem to be the right time to sign up to the mailing list and purchase a baseball cap from the merchandise store. However, if Bassano says he's going to enter F1, then I whole-heartedly believe him.
I Can Draw Too
USGPE started out with just a name and a logo. The name changed, of course, but the logo seems to have stuck. They also are planning buildings, recruiting staff and designing cars. The talk of funding has been a little bit quiet, but perhaps that is because it doesn't need discussing. Donington wouldn't shut up about their capital plans and that hasn't worked out so well, just yet.
Perhaps it is different with Peter Windsor's team though. They are being created specifically for a Formula 1 entry, and thus you can tell the intent is genuine. What about Prodrive, where Dave Richards has plenty of other interests to keep him occupied? Will he just rock up one day and say the time is right? Or will we see the gradual progression of logo and car and sponsors?
Sign Me Up
For me, a team becomes real when it has an F1 entry secured and is testing out drivers. None of this: "we'd love to get Danica in the car." I want to see helmets on, laps completed, contracts signed. The FIA are increasing the number of teams to 13 next year, so they clearly believe interest is going to be raised. As yet, I haven't got as much faith as Mr Mosley. This month, the teams have to sign up if they want to get involved, and I can't believe that any of the names we have heard so far are ready to jump on board the F1 bus and get going. F1 is a sport of looking far into the future (although recent regulation changes would have you believe otherwise) and this just feels like too short notice.
Perhaps even being on the grid isn't enough though. Super Aguri's future was never really secure, even when they were trailing each Grand Prix. Maybe we should look to teams to start winning before we begin to put any faith in them sticking around. The unexpected will always happen, but once a team gets a taste of the champagne, it must make them more keen to stick around.
How do you feel about new team rumours? Any of them particularly grab your attention? Do you think Prodrive (or Aston Martin as they may be called) would be ready to sign on the dotted line? Are USGPE's car designs going as well as their logos? When should we really start to put our necks on the line and switch allegiance to a new team?
It's a momentous day today, as this will be the first post on Sidepodcast written wholely on the G1. A bit of an experiment in our mobile capabilities. However, there's plenty going on elsewhere:
Team Brawn are go, with an announcement, press release, website, shakedown and interview all in one day. It's really a big relief, mostly for the team, but also because the speculation is over. Hurrah!
Peter Windsor has spoken about the rapid name change from USF1 to USGPE. He sort of said it had always been part of the plan, as a mark of respect to the teams of yore. Really? It was always the plan to confuse everyone?
If you use the realtime doohickey, you may notice a new button. Give it a try and see what happens. If you get stuck, or find any bugs, let us know!
That'll do for now, I am getting RSI from the small keyboard. More practice is required. While I do that, I'll see you in the comments.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
We first heard about USF1 at the beginning of February, and although it started out as speculation, it soon became clear there was something of substance behind the rumours. With Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor at the helm, the team seemed destined for great things, and their official announcement today caused quite a stir.
Although there were no major details to reveal, Anderson and Windsor appeared on Speed TV to exclusively confirm that USF1 was going ahead and plans were on course for the team to be on the grid in 2010. They even went so far as to say that both Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley were on side, and looking forward to welcoming the new team to the sport.
There has been plenty of guesswork involved about who the drivers might be, and although the team want to stay as true to their American roots as possible, they have admitted they want to bring experienced drivers on board. Starting a team from scratch isn't easy, and they will need drivers that can bring confidence and suggestions to the garage.
Anderson admits that their car is taking shape and they will most likely have it ready by autumn. They are certain it will be ready to get into winter testing as soon as possible before the 2010 season gets underway.
Although the aim is always to win in Formula 1, USF1 say their goals for the first couple of season's will be modest. Reliability and a couple of points here and there will be more than enough, until they can get to grips with the regulations and start winning.
It always seemed an odd time to start an F1 team - in the midst of a recession - but Windsor said that he approached Bernie about the idea in 2006. Ecclestone said it was a good plan, and told Peter to go and get on with it. The idea has taken over two years to come to fruition but now their plans are starting to come together. The pair suggest they have the funding to get the team going, and no doubt they will be able to find sponsors willing to back them. Other than that, their main aim is to try and promote the American dream - winning - as soon as possible.
