Me too, if it was a PR excercise then it could be used as a schoolbook example of how to fail miserably at PR excercises. It would probably be classed as anything but a marketing excercise in a publicists book. And why put up a factory and show the build of an actual car if it's just to be a PR excercise?

My question to this is also if they will still say it's a PR excercise if the USF1 cars show up in Bahrain...???

Pay attention, kids: this is what we call a total denial of reality. It might not look like the most professional website in the world - but the website, combined with the videos on the team's YouTube channel offer proof that they are well on their way to making the grid.


Do you even know what public relations is? The whole point of PR is that you're promoting or selling something. And it is clear from the very beginning what it is that you are promoting or selling. So let me ask you this: what the hell is USF1 promoting or selling?


It'e because people believe him to be an inferior journalist. Hatred of Formula 1 journalists - Windsor, Allen, Legard - is right up there wil the hatred of Mosley, or Ecclestone, of new circuits and of pretty much anything else you could care to name.

Where are the sponsors though?

He's condescending, smug, self-important, pompous, verbose, vicious, self-righteous, crap and dishonest.

Donno what to say except that I am looking forward to it competing against,... where?

Great effort, it looks like they will be there.

My favourite is the way he switches branded microphones mid interview so he can get material for all of the stations he sells to. One time when he did it Schumi just walked off mid sentence.

A friend of my brother just signed a contract to work as an engineer for USF1. He is now packing & moving to Charlotte immediately to go and work there. I assure you USF1 is real and they will be there next year.

Why are you not asking the same of Campos or Lotus? We don't know who their sponsors are.

Lotus have Proton and the Malaysian government. Campos seem to be up the same creek as USF1, I'm just not so interested in them.

Fact is, the website would show the sponsors, if there were any. Since there aren't, it looks bad for them. Doesn't mean that pleases me, at all.

That criticism is true for Campos, but it's quite clear Lotus has lots of Air Asia cash behind it, plus money from the Malaysian state.

Because some people just *want* USF1 to fail.

After seeing their latest video on USF1team youtube channel, I have no more doubts USF1 will be on track in Bahrain !



I hope they manage to sign a high profile name to generate some publicity in the US...

Oops. We just showed a mockup of the car on our youtube channel...




Found at 1 min 07 sec in this video

Well, the website of USf1 is just online now.

http://www.usgpe.com/index.html

Bad press where? oh that's right from everyone who wants US F1 to fail - who cares what the 'press' says. They obviously have very limited access - seeing as they are mostly all 3k miles away and mostly want them to fail.

http://www.usgpe.com/schedule.html

Perhaps someone should inform them Brazil and Abu Dhabi has switched dates.

Very uninspiring website

Not a mention of a single sponsor, Virgin rolled out loads

A load of PR fluff and spin from Peter Windsor

A brief history of America in F1 that is not a patch on DDavid or Forix or 8W

No F1 database from that journo guy

A design that looks like it was created by a college student

USF1.com is just MyNameIsPeterWindsorArentIWonderful.com as most of it seems to be a Windsor bumfest

I don't want them to fail, but I've yet to be convinced they will make it.

Lotus have convinced me, Virgin have convinced me.

Campos has convinced me a little, because they actually have a driver.

USF1 is leaving everything pretty damned late.

And for a team affiliated with a web zillionaire, USF1's website is, frankly, embarrassing.

Some people do want an F1 team in the US but can see that there are NO SPONSORS.

A superficial website doesn't make any difference at all, except to highlight that awkward truth. 11 weeks to the first race, who's going to start sponsoring now?

If you everyone actually read what Windsor has said, you'll know that drivers and sponsors won't be announced until January. So they likely have sponsorship, but are waiting for everything to come together for an announcement.

I think USF1 could have done a lot more to prove the rumours wrong. Everything about the video looks like it was staged, Windsors denial did nothing to prove that things are on track. It is quite possible that things are on track but they sure make a damned bad job of communicating that.

Why are Windsor and his pals waiting?

This was supposed to be the birth of a team we'd see through a multi-media extravaganza.

Seems to me that every tiny bit of good news that Windsor has had (getting a factory, hiring a staff member, getting an engine) is shouted from the rooftops.

So keeping mum on sponsors, drivers etc just doesn't fit his modus operandi.

I think they're in deep shit.

Why are everyone misunderestimating USF1? They have the Youtube-guy. No reason why they can't do what Brawn GP did this year. They even have a proven champion in Villeneuve.

Then where is the money? Doesn't appear that they have two pennies to rub together in F1 terms.



No reason apart from the fact they haven't got years of Honda investment in top notch facilities, Ross Brawn spending 18 months working on their new car, two very good drivers and a full budget for the coming season provided by the Japanese car giant trying to get rid of the team...



No they don't.

1) Hurley is putting $20m into USF1 and offering consultancy - $20m is nothing in the grand scheme of things

2) Ross Brawn worked on the 2009 car from early part of the 2008 season and had a big internal infrastructure

3) Much as I like JV him joining USF1 will never happen, Windsor is using him for PR, the same Windsor that called JV a marshal murderer in F1Racing, JV is also nearly 40 so much as I like the guy there are serious doubts as to whether he still has it

Did he?

What edition?

I subscribed to that magazine for years and never read that.

why do you hate america durrr

In his column near the back of F1Racing some years ago, I can't remember the edition sadly, he called JV a murderer for what happened to the marshal and the move JV made that caused the accident

I gave away my copies of F1Racing when I moved

I don't hate America.

I've spent plenty of time there and think Americans are mostly very decent people, and the country has a great motorsports history.

For that reason if someone is going to form an F1 team in their name, they deserve much more than the current half-arsed effort we're seeing from Windsor, who isn't actually American.

Just find that totally unconvincing. Why wait? Why now launch a video from July? Why delay the website and then launch it now? With no sponsor presence in either?

That's a total scandal.

Villeneuve had a racing accident with Ralf Schumacher.

Can't possibly suggest it was a pre-meditated act.

Its nothing to do with hating America, I like America and many American people but do not trust Windsor, this going pear shaped will damage the reputation of America in motorsport for a generation

http://www.usgpe.com/partners.html

All of those are suppliers.

Perhaps USF1 gets a minor discount for naming them on their site and on their car (whenever it turns a wheel), but companies like McLaren Automotive are hardly helping prop up the team.

It's a cliche, but Peter Windsor, show us the money.

http://www.campeonesnet.com.ar/?m=15&sec=48&id=18704

Mmm... crash tests next week...

Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see this team on the grid.

But it isn't stacking up so far.

And they're running out of time.

Just looking at the USF1 video...

Question, Isn't the rollhoop an integral part of the chassis tub?

I dont think Youtube is really some 'genius' work of technology or anything. It was just a good idea that caught on. It was hardly the only 'video sharing' site out there, ya know? But we do know the guy has money, thats the main thing.

Its criticism like this that makes me think some of you are just really *searching* to find things to fault. You say you dont want them to fail, but it truly is how many of you come across, and continue to come across, despite your denials.

So on the flipside of that, for the optimists, what are the glimmers of hope you see that will ensure this team is on the grid in 11 weeks?

No, it's typically a separate piece that's bonded on. It's a much thicker layup than the rest of the chassis, so it would be a hassle to lay it up at the same time.

Well there's two categories of evidence here:

- Things we know about USF1.

- Things we dont know about USF1.

You seem to be using the 2nd category as 'evidence' that they're not going to make it.

And I can easily just use the 1st category for 'evidence' for why I do think they'll make it(even if I dont expect them to be all that competitive first year out).

What's the purpose of the team waiting so long to announce some fairly fundamental pieces of the jigsaw then?

perhaps someone should update Williams that Rosberg is now Mercedes property and Naka is history..
http://www.williamsf1.com/team/profiles/
they also need to update their sponsors.

http://www.williamsf1.com/team/partners

How should I know?

All those contracts expire on January 1 don't they?

Case closed then.

No, I'm just not going to pretend to know whats going on behind the scenes and/or their reasoning for not announcing major sponsors and their drivers yet. It wouldn't be the first time a team announces these sorts of things later on. Just cuz I dont know doesn't mean there isn't a reason.

I guess we'll know in a month or so.

I've always thought new teams try and get things squared away and announced early, so new sponsors join the snowball.

Not a major deal, but spending $500 to outfit the workers with some USF1 polo shirts would have gone a long way as far as creating the allusion of an actual professional race team....

Bullshit.

Based on everything we can see right now, they should be on the grid when the season starts.

USF1 is for real now. The speculation about them making the grid seems a little silly now... as much as I do hate that whinger.