US F1 Update

[Don]

The end of US F 1 Team ??

AutoWeek.com

" Twenty-three days.

As I write this, that is the countdown ticking until Formula One opens the 2010 season with its first practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix. For F1 fans, the clock can't move fast enough.

For U.S. F1, all signs say that this imaginary timer might as well be attached to a dirty bomb secreted away in the team's Charlotte, N.C., shop. In fact, less than 23 days remain before detonation, since teams need time to ship their cars and equipment to Bahrain.

Sadly, the explosion has almost certainly occurred already. "

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100217/FREE/100219906

[Wayne Maybury]

This certainly does not look good. Very sad.

Wayne

[Got the Bug]

Hurley pushing for Stefan-U.S. F1 merger
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100226/F1/100229925

[Got the Bug]

Looks like the US F1 team is trying to push out their entry to 2011.

http://www.speedtv.com/video/popup/69107930001

[Wayne Maybury]

This goes to prove just how difficult it is to compete in F1.

Wayne

[Don]

My subscription of the April edition of Road & Track arrived today with a 4 page article by Sam Posey " The American Dream " " US F1 is tackling Formula 1" " R & T takes you inside the new Team. "

Not knowing when the magazine went to press, but the US F1 Team was still a go.........

" No one is answering the phone at U.S. F1's Charlotte, N.C., headquarters, and sources said that the fledgling Formula One operation is now dead once and for all. An AutoWeek source with close ties to several team employees said that a senior employee informed the remaining workforce on Tuesday afternoon that they effectively no longer have jobs. "

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100302/F1/100309974

[dave from mesa]

Guess it's a no-go.
http://www.racer.com/team-us-f1-shut...MC-RACER_DAILY

To bad!

[Don]

From MotorSport.com

" The team still does not have a chassis ready, and its capabilities had already been cut with staff reductions in recent weeks.

Things went from bad to worse today as the remaining staff at the team's facility in Charlotte, NC were told that they were being put on indefinite unpaid leave while the team goes through a reorganization. The laid-off staff are still technically employees of the team and will instead be eligible for state unemployment benefits. "

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=359112

[VRM]

That's too bad - I've been looking forward to this for a while. I wonder if this means that Peter Windsor will be back on Speed...

Steve

[Tommy]

I was hopeful for the USF1 effort, but I never fully accepted the idea that it would work. My skepticism was based on the following logic.
1. The nations of Europe are geographically like states in the USA. Thus, races in Italy, Spain, Monaco, Belgium, the UK, etc. are akin to races in Georgia, Florida, Texas, Tennessee and California. It makes sense that European car manufacturers would want to showcase their brands for a European audience. Thus, brands like Mercedes, Renault and Ferrari have invested heavily in F1 teams.
2. With only one F1 race in the USA, there is little reason for American car manufacturers to spend a lot to support a F1 team.
3. Without major support from a US car manufacturer, it is difficult to see how USF1 could afford the resources and talented people needed to be successful.

[Wayne Maybury]

Tommy

The only F1 race in North America is in Montreal. The US lost their race 2 years ago and the Canadian Grand Prix was actually chopped off the schedule for 2009 as Bernie thought he could make more money elsewhere that weekend. It turned out to be a disaster so Montreal is back this year.

Ford (Jaguar) backed out of F1 a few years back and there is no way GM or Chrysler are going to spend a dime on an F1 team. They are cutting back on NASCAR spending which is their bread and butter racing base. Toyota and Honda have also both exited F1 in the past year.

All of the car manufacturers involved in F1 consider North America to be an important market and they were very upset with Bernie when he cut the US GP and then when he also cut the Canadian GP last year. One of the big problems with F1 in the US is that Americans prefer stock car racing over open wheel racing. Even IRL has a difficult time making ends meet. US F1 was a very ambitious endevour but the team was facing stiff odds before they got started.

Wayne

[Wayne Maybury]

I watched part of a report on TV this morning and it was difficult to say if US F1 is dead or just in the ICU until next year. One way or the other, it sure doesn't look good.

Wayne

[Don]

Below, might be wishful thinking, Bernie and the new FIA President will make the determination , with political influence. Reports mention there are other Teams desiring the open slots, forgot what the maximum number of Teams is now set at. With the world wide locations of the F1 races, instead of all being in Europe, having a Team primarily based in Charlotte NC , with a smaller presence in Europe , was a possibility, if the funding had been sufficient and committed

" Team co-founder Ken Anderson has responded to reports of the demise of U.S. F1 by claiming that the reports are exaggerated and said that he still thinks he has a chance of deferring entry into Formula One until 2011. "

http://www.autoweek.com/article/20100302/F1/100309973

[Don]

A plus from the start of the US F1 Team has been the construction of a 180 MPH wind tunnel in Concord NC

http://www.windshearinc.com/

Reported by AutoWeek Racing this AM, FIA will not hold open the US F1 slot for 2011. The only possibility remaining should the Team be resurrected is to start the application process all over again, with no guarantees that a slot will be awarded.

[Wayne Maybury]

Don, I have to wonder as to how much money has been spent by US F1 on their failed attempt to enter F1.

That is quite the wind tunnel.

Wayne

[Don]

The article, forgot the source, did not mention the cost. But, the wind tunnel was built in 9 months and on budget.

[Don]

AutoWeek.com:

" A report out of Charlotte, N.C., says that Ken Anderson, boss of the beleaguered U.S. F1 team that failed to make this year’s grid, sent an e-mail to the team’s employees to inform them that they have been laid-off permanently.

However, Anderson apparently still refuses to accept that the team has reached the end of the road, leaving the door open for its return.

Several weeks ago, Anderson put the staff on unpaid leave and it has been in a state of limbo. The Charlotte Business Journal reported that Anderson’s message cited “serious economic and funding challenges” as the reason for the layoffs. However, according to the publication, the message also said that U.S. F1 could rehire employees if conditions improve.

It seems doubtful, however, that any of them will wait around for such an opportunity, even if Anderson attempts to enter the 2011 world championship. The FIA has already made it clear that it is investigating the team’s failure to show up this season.

The report also noted that “at least nine employees filed wage complaints in March with the North Carolina Department of Labor because they had not been paid.” "

[Dan40]

$100 million Dollars would hardly field a F1 team. And it certainly would not be competitive at all if it had $100 million. F1 is the BIG, BIG, bucks league where more like $400. million is needed to be at or near the top.
This bunch can't even make payroll.

[Don]

Another chapter.....AutoWeek.com

The Formula One transporter trucks that the defunct U.S. F1 team bought from Brawn GP are now for sale on eBay.

The two trailers were seized by the United Kingdom's High Court. The idea was that the trailers could be sold to generate cash to pay off some of U.S. F1's creditors.

In pictures posted on the eBay auctions, the trailers still carry the Brawn GP logos and driver info for Jenson Button.

You can see the trailers and the auction info by going to http://tinyurl.com/ycpph43. The auctions close in three days. The leading bid on one trailer is about $26,000, while the other trailer had a top bid of about $27,600. The site makes it clear that the auction is for the trailers only, which are being stored in Oxfordshire, England.

[Don]

In addition to the above, chances of a return of US F1 in 2011 or later ?

The infamous U.S. F1 debacle of 2009-10, as history will surely remember it, took yet another in a long list of hits on Monday with the news that London's High Court authorized an unnamed U.K. creditor to seize two of the teams transporters, which are now on the eBay auction block. While some outlets reported this as if it might somehow actually matter anymore, the real revelation was that U.S. F1 even had two transporters in the first place.

How much sadder can this ridiculous affair become? Even the comment issued by David Carter, director of the Sheriffs Office responsible for enforcing the High Court writ, was farcical.

“As a keen motorsport fan, it is certainly one of the more interesting seizures we've made,” he said “The trailers were recently bought from Brawn GP by [U.S. F1] and really are something special. We've already had a lot of interest and are now selling them via eBay.”

So now we have a sheriff's official commenting with some glee about this seized property's uniqueness, which seems a bit inappropriate on the surface. However, Carter's point, whether or not he meant to make it, is well taken: In the end, U.S. F1's biggest contribution to the sport appears to be an addition to some wealthy moto

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