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[7UpJordan]

I know they started with nothing which is fair enough, but noises about USF1 started as early as 2008 - and look how little they still have to show for it!

I remember when they first appeared and came out with a lot of hot air with comments like "we are looking to quickly establish ourselves at the front with exclusive American technology and two great American drivers".

[texasmr2]

Here's an idea;

Let's keep it Ferrari related and bring back a historic name since that seems to be in vogue these days while still acknowledging the American aspect of the team.

There is ONE unique candidate that fulfills these requirements:
NART has a real nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Be even cooler if we could have Ferrari support and assistance and Ferrari engine supply. Americans would have the name brand appeal of Ferrari, plus a lot of the huge American mega-corporations would be VERY RECEPTIVE to branding themselves with Ferrari (the name alone has magnetic sponsor appeal). The idea is more feasible than you think and there are many people that would love to see a dream like this realized...

This is obviously AFTER PW and KA are long gone and the staff modified where necessary to get qualified people in all of the necessary positions. Ferrari could even lend a helping hand where necessary. The possibilities bring a big SMILE to my face .

For instance I could see Mario referring back to his NART days in a commercial, for example...

[deMuRe]

To be honest I believe that argument is null and void as USF1 has had a much longer lead time so had plenty of time to develop their facilities, it does seem like a massive lack of organisation, it seems they didn't think through their plans thoroughly. My personal opinion is that all teams participating in the 2010 F1 season should be on the grid for the first race or forfeit their place. Especially given the news that USF1 have asked the FIA to make a special rule for them to miss the first four races.

They had exactly the same amount of time as everyone else, the new teams were all announced at the same time so how can you argue that USF1 had more time? Would you throw millions of dollars into building facilities if you were not 100% sure you would be accepted?

Yeah, you've got a journalist at the helm, something is wrong.

He worked as the general manager for Ferrari and the team manager for Williams, hes no Ross Brawn but the guy knows F1.

Honestly I don't know why I even bother anymore.

Ok fair enough.

[texasmr2]

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[Gaz]

I know they started with nothing which is fair enough, but noises about USF1 started as early as 2008 - and look how little they still have to show for it!

I remember when they first appeared and came out with a lot of hot air with comments like "we are looking to quickly establish ourselves at the front with exclusive American technology and two great American drivers".

Yeh USF1 rumours were around in late 2008 (november) they made the formal annoucment on Speed in Feb 2009 and got Entry in June 2009

Lotus for example tried to get into F1 with the Lightspeed F3 team in May but got turned down, they then re-entered with the Lotus name but only got in in September (when BMW pulled out) so they have had 4 months less than USF1 (since i doubt you'd build a car unconfirmed) and yet they have a car running on a circuit.

You would of thought a new team would get the pick of the pay drivers and sponsors but the just talked aload of marketing speak and spewed out hype.

[hipcheck5]

The xenophobia on here truly disappoints me.

[Jensonb]

The xenophobia on here truly disappoints me.

Oh that's right, it's got nothing to do with people being genuinely upset at being robbed of the promised 26-Car Grid because some people did a bad job running their operation. Nope, it's because they're American. Damn those Americans and their massive contributions to global society

[Jamie]

What annoys me is we could have had Prodrive instead of USF1 who would not have had this sort of trouble and would probably be testing now at Jerez as we speak.

100% Agree

[Cubejam]

EXCLUSIVE: USF1 are packing up shop?

This information comes from a source from the US F1 Team Facebook page. The fans are very dedicated there, even offering to work for USF1 free of charge doing anything possible. It seems silly doesn't it, but it does provide some vital information sometimes.

A fan from the page posted a comment earlier today stating that he had been to Charlotte over the weekend & had peered through the heavily tinted glass on the front of the shop. Here were his observations.

Firstly he noticed that there were no cars at all parked in the parking lot. I'm unsure whether this could have been because US firms shut up shop completely on Sundays but for USF1, with 18 or so days till Bahrain, which we already know they're going to miss to have no one working at all. It baffles me! Why, if your team/company is dying do you not work to the very end? Just announce the death!

Secondly he noticed that the team had unplugged all equipment. They had also unplugged all of the computers and stacked them on the tables. I assume this is them ready to sell them off? Again, they could have unplugged everything because they weren't working on a Sunday, but he could have gone on a Saturday of course....

Even more grim was he couldn't see a car, even a half built chassis in the production area. This signals alarm bells again. I know they were far behind, they expect to miss the first four races, but not to have even half a car in production?

Once thing he did notice were two overalls hanging up at the back of the shop. One red & one Blue. It doesn't indicate what colour the car could be but it suggests either they haven't decided yet or the car will be horrendous.

Note this information isn't 100% reliable. But the fan wouldn't lie about what he saw as he is one of the few USF1 fans out there.

Here is his comment:

Alex Manfred: Bad news guys, I live in NC and was in Charlotte this past weekend. I went by the USF1 factory and no one was there. I could see in through the tinted glass. There were computer monitors and printers but all of the actual computers were missing. All the pictures had been taken off the walls in the different rooms and were stacked on the tables. Everything was unplugged from the walls. It looked really bad like they were leaving and quick. No one was in the garage area and there was not even a car in the parking lot. Got my picture taken by the sign though. I caught a glimpse of the racing suits hanging in the back of the room. One was red and the other was blue. But it was too difficult to see to get a good idea of what the livery would look like. I'll be back in Charlotte in a few weeks. I'll let you all know what I see when I go back.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/official-formula-1-hq/exclusive-usf1-are-packing-up-shop/350610650228

[billindenver]

With a fan base that tossed beer bottles onto the track during the last US Grand Prix....I'm not shocked to see this abortion project go tits up. All I hope for, is that the death of the project is quick and gets as little press as possible. At some point, someone with a brain and some backing will produce an American F1 effort...but I can't see this one being it. Underfunded is simply not a proper start to an F1 team. The sport is too expensive for that, and it should remain so. When the economy turns around (after we invade china, declare Iraq to be the 53rd state (after Saudi and Afgan of course), turn Iran into a glass surfaced parking lot and change the world to a soybean standard instead of gold) then one of the american car companies can get serious about a racing effort. A good, strong american car company....like Kia for instance (Korea - 54th state).

[darwin dali]

With a fan base that tossed beer bottles onto the track during the last US Grand Prix....I'm not shocked to see this abortion project go tits up. All I hope for, is that the death of the project is quick and gets as little press as possible. At some point, someone with a brain and some backing will produce an American F1 effort...but I can't see this one being it. Underfunded is simply not a proper start to an F1 team. The sport is too expensive for that, and it should remain so. When the economy turns around (after we invade china, declare Iraq to be the 53rd state (after Saudi and Afgan of course), turn Iran into a glass surfaced parking lot and change the world to a soybean standard instead of gold) then one of the american car companies can get serious about a racing effort. A good, strong american car company....like Kia for instance (Korea - 54th state).

[deMuRe]

With a fan base that tossed beer bottles onto the track during the last US Grand Prix....I'm not shocked to see this abortion project go tits up. All I hope for, is that the death of the project is quick and gets as little press as possible. At some point, someone with a brain and some backing will produce an American F1 effort...but I can't see this one being it. Underfunded is simply not a proper start to an F1 team. The sport is too expensive for that, and it should remain so. When the economy turns around (after we invade china, declare Iraq to be the 53rd state (after Saudi and Afgan of course), turn Iran into a glass surfaced parking lot and change the world to a soybean standard instead of gold) then one of the american car companies can get serious about a racing effort. A good, strong american car company....like Kia for instance (Korea - 54th state).

[texasmr2]

Bill has an air of clarity about him .

[Cubejam]

US F1 insider: Hurley can save team

By Dieter Rencken and Jonathan Noble Tuesday, February 23rd 2010, 21:23 GMT

Team US F1 backer Chad Hurley is the man who has the best chance of saving the outfit from its current troubles, claims a senior staff member at the American operation.

With the team's car development plans weeks behind schedule, while it bids to try and skip the opening four races, there are mounting fears that the outfit could lose its place on the grid entirely if matters are not turned around.

A senior member of the US F1 operation, who wishes to remain anonymous, thinks that it is Hurley - and not team co-founders Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor - who must now move to turn things around.

Speculation in recent weeks has suggested that Hurley himself is making moves independently of Windsor and Anderson to secure the team's future - either through a link-up with Campos, Dallara or Stefan Grand Prix.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT on condition of anonymity, the US F1 staff member said: "We feel Hurley and Parris Mullins [adviser to Hurley] have our best interest [at heart] and also feel Hurley has no intention of abandoning us even though the media has said he's gone with Campos.

"With all this talk about where US F1 is at, it's been missed that there are 60+ people who have had to suffer through this for the last two months. All of us left jobs and many of us travelled cross-country for this opportunity.

"But having said that, throughout the turmoil, the team has really come together and we're all committed to the project; precious few have left in spite of the uncertainty of whether we'll be paid this Friday. I've never seen such dedication. The US can field a F1 team, in fact easily so after what I've seen."

The staff member says Hurley became aware of the troubles the team is in earlier this year when he toured the Charlotte facility on January 15.

He also claims that personnel were enticed to the team on promises that funding was in place for three years - but says a series of delays in the design process were a catalyst for its failure to get out on track.

"Going back to early December, it was pretty evident that something was up, in as much as we kept expecting a big push in production starting some time in mid-December, but it never materialised," continued the staff member.

"Figure [that] we're all pretty experienced in various aspects of car design and build, and we all know what it takes from a time-line standpoint. So when it became apparent the drawing office wasn't releasing drawings at the rate we expected, it started to become clear we could be in trouble.

"All engineering decisions were having to be funneled through [Ken] Anderson before anything could be signed off. And that's where the hold up was.

"Tooling for the tub was completed in early December, but then it sat for nearly a month before the laminate schedules for the outer skin were approved.

"Now Anderson himself wasn't designing the laminate schedule, but he was in the wings... as early as last October the production manager was collared about the lack of resources, but the managers were put off by saying: 'Well, Ken has a plan'.

"The irony of all this is that there has been precious little in the way of formal planning and documentation. No production schedules, simply very little in the way of planning."

He added: "Our January 15 pay cheque was late. It was paid by the 20th or so, but it certainly caused commotion and people started asking questions.

"That's when all the company's issues came to a head, and the conclusion was... yes, we had been lied to about the long-term budget, and indeed the company had a cash flow issue. But as mentioned, that really was a secondary issue.

"Think of it this way, ignoring the fact that we were lied to about the budget, if you don't have a car or can't show serious progress in that direction, potential sponsors aren't going to have a tendency to give you money.

"At the moment there are still 60 people working in Charlotte, but 10 have already left."

The delays in the design process are also claimed to have played their part in the sponsorship troubles - and limited Windsor's ability to help.

"Having failed to put out a car, sponsorship money didn't materialise," continued the staff member. "That wasn't for Windsor's lack of trying.

"I do know that Windsor was told of our progress on a number of occasions off the record in informal settings, but it took a very contentious shop meeting in late January/early February for him to twig [that] indeed we had an issue.

"In a meeting between the employees, Windsor and Anderson, Windsor put the question up to the employees: 'Who here doesn't think we'll make Bahrain?' I think Windsor might have meant it somewhat rhetorically, but he was answered nonetheless, and 100 per cent of the staff raised their hands. He was visibly shocked."

When contacted about the claims from the senior staff member, team principal Anderson declined to respond to the specifics - but did suggest the comments painted a biased picture of the situation at the team.

"The story that the employee tells is certainly twisted and one-sided," said Anderson. "There are also contradictions. Everybody that signed up here knew exactly what they were getting into, i.e. to have two cars on the track in Bahrain.

"Given the late start due to the FIA/FOTA situation of 2009, I asked everybody to keep the car simple, strong and reliable. The comment that the chassis moulds sat for a month while waiting for a lay-up schedule is exactly the sort of thing that hurt us. Way too complex and time consuming. I did question why it was so complex if it was not necessary.

"I don't want to retaliate point by point as they are entitled to their opinion."

Windsor himself said he would continue to work hard to help keep US F1 alive.

"I have given this project - and will continue to give - all the love and passion I have ever had for our sport," he said. "Some obstacles I won't be able to overcome but I'm not giving up."

Sounds like Anderson is a complete liar. Giving people false hope. They have 60 employees.... 10 left in the past week. I reckon those employees include Ken & Peter.

Useless team. They're a good for nothing waste of space in F1 & should be shot out of the Concorde agreement as soon as possible. Waste of space.

[What's Burning?]

Interesting read, sad that money can't be found for an American F1 team, no NASCAR no money.