USF1 only have to turn up and they will do better than a number of Euro teams of the past !

For example EuroBrun's 14 races in 1990

1 x 13 th place
1 x Ret
2 x DNQ
1 x DSQ
23 x DNPQ

what about Nick Wirth's Simtek team.

As high as a 9th place !

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simtek

I think 26 cars on the starting grid are too many anyway

Why?

A lot of world sports do just fine by avoiding the US.

US-based F1 team rumors come up every decade or so, mostly empty hype trying to attract sponsors. I think that right now any CEO would have a hard time justifying the cost of F1 sponsorship.

IMHO there can never be too many cars.

Bad examples..30 and 40 years ago, back then Indy was the technical forefront. I would not consider Andretti at all, he was just a driver who lucked into a revolutionary car in F1. In terms of teams and novel technology, you have to go back to Gurney, Ford and Chapparal -that's almost two generations back. Since then, racing in the US has gone internal, with de-emphasis on technology and increasing emphasis on entertainment.

Just when there isn't many worthy drivers.

I think there are about 30 drivers in the world - with proper training and preparation - who are worthy F1 drivers. With which I mean: who could lap within 0.3 to 0.6 seconds of eachother in the same car. That doesn't mean that there are 20 drivers out 'there' who can beat Hamilton or Alonso, but within that above mentioned time range? A LOT of drivers.

So even 30 cars would not be too much fore me, providing the slowest cars are not six seconds a lap slower than the fastest.

well, windsor was rather modest about the first year, wasn't he?

The complication resides in how to get to those guys a seat rather than to some pay drivers.
It's already difficult with the current 20 positions.

I based my opinion on the difficulties encountered by drivers during qualifying especially the first qualifying. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get a clear lap in without encountering slower cars on the track. I think this is going to be worse next year with 30 cars unless there is some kind of change in the qualifying format.

Well, without looking uo anything, points scorers in their first year, post Wolf, without counting fake new teams, like Honda and Renault, include:

Stewart (1998)
Jordan (1991)
Toyota (2001 (?)
Onyx (1989 - including a podium!)
Sauber (1993)
Leyton House March (1987)

I assume there are others, but I can't recall, and it is late ;) A problem for any newcomer now is that the field is incredibly close, far more so than in the 80's early 90s, and there's no in season testing, plus reliability is very high, so it would be much harder for a team to pull those kind of results now.

Edit: sorry - first win:) Wolf andBrawn keep that, along with Alfa Romeo, of course ;)

I don't think that's the same problem as, say, twenty years ago. 'Respectable' firms like ING or Philips did not sponsor sport, (not the right image at that time) so it were always a bit shady companies that sponsored drivers that weren't good enough to enter F1 by themselves. Nowadays, F1 is a big company sport and big company sponsors, and they take care only to sponsor the top of the profession. Ofcourse Jos Verstappen came back to Minardi thanks to Trust, but hey, you could hardly say at the time that Verstappen was not able to lap 0.4 or 0.6 within the laptimes of Justin Wilson could he?

Point is: even paydrivers these times are pretty capable. Not as capable as Alonso or Hamilton, but capable enough.

Being from the states I hope they make it to the grid and with one US driver. However, during the coverage of the races Windsor's fellow Speed TV commentators haven't asked him about how things are going with USF1 for several races and that alone makes me wonder if things have gone south and they won't be on the grid next year or if they ever planned to make it in. Their is just so little information available about their team compared to the other new teams coming next year it's easy to see why so many people are skeptical of them being there. I voted yes but right now it's about 51% yes and 49% no in my mind, with 10% of that yes being me hoping they make it in.

Sorry, but I'm certain a lot of people would love to disagree with you with that statement. Mario was instrumental in developing the Lotus 78 and 79, and Colin Chapman has even stated it so.

Furthermore Andretti didn't just luck into the car driving the very year it came out. He joined Lotus in 1976, a full year before the actual car was designed and ran, he ran the rather generic Lotus 77 and he was that year was in contention for the win in one race (Anderstorp), finished on the podium twice and won the season finale at Japan. So to say that Mario just came in and just drove the car is absolute bollocks.

When the new teams appled/were accepted was there any payment made to the FIA that they will lose if they don't make the grid?

I think a US team will be good for F1 because it will increase interest in one of the largest markets in the world. At the moment, F1 gets VERY little attention, TV time, or ink in the US. A professional effort -- even if initially a backmarker -- will get some attention, more TV viewers, and potentially more sponsors.

Will it really be of any interest to those who are not already F1 fans?

as much as I would like to say NO, U B WRONG.......err well guess so

Gurney and Mario, yes sir. Where are the americans with such talent????

and then there was his rookie race at Waktins where he took pole from Jackie Stewart and did very well.....Mario always treated f1 sort of like a hobby. If he had come in 1968, full time and committed all the way, he might have had three to four WDC titles before he was finished and Stewart one or two less.....


One reason was that as Colin said, Mario was the best at developing a car, and was the only area where he clearly out shined a certain driver named Clark..... Given this was the time before data acquisition and engineers, this talent would have given him an advantage over other drivers of the time. When he finally hung it up, F1 cars had become the point and shoot go karts, that andretti said required less talent than to drive and win at Indy in 1965 through 71

(and if you look at all the differnt cars he drove and won in, from Indy 500, daytona 500 (before radios and spotters), Sebring and daytona, and almost Le Mans, dirt track racing, and finally f1, well name one who can match that in all the different types of racing and you can not).

The USA hasthe tech talet and all of the things needed to put a team on the track. Just look at Williams they have it all and they are having trouble and this is a team with at least 5 Drivers Titles and 8 or 9 Manufactures Titles. They will get guys from other teams to work but the team will not jell. I think Team USA is a great idea but with US racing focues on NASCAR they will not have the big attention they want focused on them. What ever they do don't get Danica Patrick. Not even if she brings all the money in the world.

don't you see...that's what it always was...

that's where all the hate comes from

All the other new teams seem way more serious than USF1 does. Campos have already got Dallara hard at work on the car, Lotus has strong backing even though they are looking at Fauzy and Yoong. Manor has been quiet but Virgin has done a deal to buy the naming rights so they should be fairly well supported. USF1? A big fat nothing. Chad Hurley? give me a break.

Uh, USF1 have been working on the porject for years, and were going to apply to join in 2010 even if the FIA didn't open up the grid spots. I seriously doubt an entrepeneur like Chad Hurley would join them if they weren't serious. They may not have facilities as yet, but with projects like this, it wouldn't be too uncommon for everything to fall into place at the last minute. Anderson and Windsor would know that if they don't make it in 2010, the potential for Americans to get into Formula One may be destroyed for years to come.

Besides, I happen to know that they are actively employing all the people they need to run the team.

Please share?

Ecclestone as well as Mosley doubt USF1

If it were serious, then they should be talking with rubens right now.....esp since danica seems to have lost interest.....and no other really big type names and talent (who would help attrack sponsors) seems available...plus he seems to have some insight on helping develope a car...

I'm currently talking with them over career opportunities. It's only early days and there's a few things that need to be worked out owing to problems in geography, but they are actively employing people.


She was never interested. She shot the prospect down at the first opportunity.

indeed, bring back pre-qualify

I think US F1 will make it to the F1 grid, and if they wait a year to develop a better car that would be fine. However I think the reason that some question the situation come from the underlying question of capital support. After Mosley's budget cap fell through, it seems that a 2010 team will need $80-100 million at least, and I would add at least $20-30 million in start-up costs and primary development of the car chassis. The rules for 2010 requiring no refueling and further aerodynamic changes mean that the new car will not be able to rely on present technology.

For the punters out there, who delight in criticizing Peter Windsor I found rather shallow and capricious. Anyone who wishes to wade into the morass of F1 politics needs hip high boots and a full helmet to deal with the mudslinging and manure. Look at BMW, who has abandoned their F1 team, when their performance tanked this year, instead of competing for wins as was expected. If you think the political sniping is bad now, wait until Mosley steps and people are trying to curry favor with the new administration.

Open wheel racing has had a long tradition in America, and its recent troubles have mostly been derived from the CART-IRL split started primarily by Tony George, who has lost his seat of power at Indy, because of his stingy sisters. An american F1 team will be beneficial to the F1 effort, which squandered its last beachhead with F1 race at Indy, by one contrived finish, another race ruined by mass team withdrawals from incapatible tires, and high race fees. Perhaps F1 may return to the US someday, but don't expect us to pay real attention, if there is not a competitive US driver and/or team. (Just please not from Texas!)

In the meantime, go ahead and continue the spurious comments, it will make the success all the sweeter!

(From a european)

Get serious. They had ground effects before anyone else. Andrettti did nothing in F1 before, and after that period.

Memories of those years will reveal that Andretti's wins were more about Ronnie Peterson's loyalty to sit in #2 than anything else. Regardless, there have been good American F1 drivers since Andretti (Danny Sullivan, Eddie Cheever), however, this means nothing about a US-based F1 team, which hasn't been even close since the Johnson administration.

F1 is mostly about "our brits are faster than your brits" anyway.

Your memory must be distorted by your distaste for Andretti - a multiple champion in multiple disciplines and the man who brought sector and turn type setup (stagger) to F1. He doesn't have to stand behind anyone for talent, bravery, or results in a legendary career. Mentioning Cheever and Sullivan, excellent journeymen, in comparison to Andretti only reveals either ignorance or bias. Not sure which....

There are US based companies supplying parts to F1 so I don't see why a well funded team wouldn't work.

The days of someone like Williams coming in and scoring 7 drivers, 9 constructor titles and until recently having a better win per start ratio than Ferrari are surely over.

Isn't a team also about cultural knowledge? How they do things? R&D that matches design preference. Designs that match strategic management of a race. That's really why new teams are on their back foot so long - despite engineers and managers brought in with a lot of experience. A teams way of racing and competing in F1 is only developed on track.

Look at Force India, they have roots in the sport, but only recently - and with McLaren's help and guidance - has a specific strategy started to get results for them.

Even if USF1 shows up on the grid next year - and I think they will - they have a long hard path.

Unfortunately they all get sucked into that whirling POS we (I) call NASCAR. That's where the sponsors and hence the money go. Anybody remember when Jeff Gordon tested Montoya's Williams at Indy? While I don't remember specific times it seems to me he did pretty good against Montoya.

and that goes for any other new team regardless of where they come from..

That wasn't a serious test, that was more of an exhibition. IIRC, they did only several runs, with no more than a handful of laps apiece, and neither driver in their own car drove to the limit. I'm not saying that Gordon isn't F1 material, but using that test to draw any conclusions is a little silly. You do have to appreciate the irony of what followed: many people thought this could be a prelude to Jeff Gordon switching to F1, when in fact it turned out to be a prelude to a much more unfathomable Montoya switch to NASCAR.

Not good news for USF1 fans:

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp...47443&FS=F1

Windsor has been taken off press conference duties again after his recent return so that would suggest that USF1 may be back in the frame unless I am reading too much into Allen returning to press conference in Japan

That report is wrong.

If Willims is opposed to a 14th team on the basis that not all of the 13 will make it to Bahrain, they have no reason not to block QADBAK, because the team will get in either way.

If they have been working on the project for years why haven't they got facilities yet and a proper technical structure ? this working on the project for years probably just means Windsor woke up one morning hungover and dreamed of starting an F1 team and did nothing about it

Windsor is the reason why i want them to fail, if he died tomorrow my over riding memory of the guy apart from his crap F1Racing articles is him swaggering about on the red carpet at Festival of Speed as if he was a Saudi Prince or the US President, it was pathetic his prancing and preening for the gallery when infact he is just a salaried journo

Indeed, it makes no sense. It's only making life harder for Qadbak.

No, I dont think they'll make it.

Why? To many rumours that they wont without any proof that they will. I would second that I would prefer the Sauber outfit to USF1 anyhow.

It makes me think Williams have some ulterior motive to block QADBAK out in case all thirteen teams make it. After all, they've been in the business of opposing everyone this year: they blocked Toro Rosso from giving Jaime Alguersuari a test, they did the same to Schumacher. Then they annouced they were going to block Ferrari's three-car proposal. Then when FOTA decided not to use KERS for 2010, they annouced hey were going to anyway. Maybe they're concerned that the teams will stick around and that will mean they'll get less of the television rights when that gets carved up and divided amongst the teams in 2011.

I think it is more to do with the fact that Sauber have BMW connections and Williams had a very less than amicable split with BMW, I think this is just Frank being spiteful to Mario Theissen