813 replies to this topic

[Buttoneer]

For discussion following this news and following the 'will they, won't they' discussion.

[rmac923]

No!!!!! That thread was epic!!!

Seriously, this doesn't help the future for a USGP in the future.

EDIT: LOL accidental Plan 9 reference!

Edited by rmac923, 02 March 2010 - 20:32.

[solochamp07]

Closed down? Now, who could have seen that coming?

[GoonerLewis]

[Donka]

Regarding the cheering.

I doubt people are cheering for the employees loosing their jobs. Rather the Farce that was Anderson Windsor F1 is finally over. The writing was on the wall and they blocked their team and it employees any chance of it existing in any manner in the near future. The charade had to end.

Now here's to hoping Stefan can make the grid and save their employees, and possibly hire some exUSF1 employees, otherwise it's a double loss.

[VAR1016]

Oh dear!

Ah well, onwards an upwards - or should that be downwards?

Lest we forget:

And the first chassis – top, bottom and nose – sits upon the Bay Cast flat plate in the R&D shop; it looks gorgeous. Soon we will be fitting all the electrical components, spring/damper units and suspension arms; the front and rear wing main planes are nearly finished and over in California Kenny Hill and Gordon Kimble are not too far away from completing the first batches of axles, hubs and bearing clusters. The car grows, in other words, with every passing day. It draws you like a magnet, away from your desk, just for a few moments, again to see its line. Then you quickly walk over to the boys in the composite department, where they're laying-up another mold, or to the machine shop, where the guys are programming another front upright. Then the phone rings and you're back in your office, talking on speakerphone, watching out the window as yet another group of visitors pulls up and walks towards Reception. Some are fans, flying in on spec from places like Florida or Wisconsin; most are suppliers or contacts, keen to help and only too happy to play a role. Peter Windsor 1st January 2010

[nawz]

What a waste.

[Craven Morehead]

I wouldn't be surprised if Peter & Ken each have a bundle of dollars stashed away in some off-shore accounts.

[Slowinfastout]

Regarding the cheering.

I doubt people are cheering for the employees loosing their jobs. Rather the Farce that was Anderson Windsor F1 is finally over. The writing was on the wall and they blocked their team and it employees any chance of it existing in any manner in the near future. The charade had to end.

Now here's to hoping Stefan can make the grid and save their employees, and possibly hire some exUSF1 employees, otherwise it's a double loss.

ditto..

personally, I hope Chad Hurley still is negotiating with Stefanovic and shutting down USF1 as we know it is just an unfortunate necessary step... there must have been an idea behind this merger talks and the opportunity to make it real is still there, hopefully.

[VAR1016]

[...]
Now here's to hoping Stefan can make the grid and save their employees, and possibly hire some exUSF1 employees, otherwise it's a double loss.

Well as far as this goes here's what Joe Saward has to say Link

[Redforce]

BTW where is link about 60 people? Where they find money to pay salaries? From which pocket?

[ensign14]

So, what actually went wrong? Not enough money? After all, Campospania seems to have survived by the skin of its teeth, and by transmogrifying into something different - and Campos was not even building its own car.

And that might yet go back to USF1 entering at a time when there were meant to be spending caps in place...

[halifaxf1fan]

Oh dear!

Ah well, onwards an upwards - or should that be downwards?

Lest we forget:

And the first chassis – top, bottom and nose – sits upon the Bay Cast flat plate in the R&D shop; it looks gorgeous. Soon we will be fitting all the electrical components, spring/damper units and suspension arms; the front and rear wing main planes are nearly finished and over in California Kenny Hill and Gordon Kimble are not too far away from completing the first batches of axles, hubs and bearing clusters. The car grows, in other words, with every passing day. It draws you like a magnet, away from your desk, just for a few moments, again to see its line. Then you quickly walk over to the boys in the composite department, where they're laying-up another mold, or to the machine shop, where the guys are programming another front upright. Then the phone rings and you're back in your office, talking on speakerphone, watching out the window as yet another group of visitors pulls up and walks towards Reception. Some are fans, flying in on spec from places like Florida or Wisconsin; most are suppliers or contacts, keen to help and only too happy to play a role. Peter Windsor 1st January 2010

He sure has a way with words, makes you all goose pimply reading that. Too bad it was just fiction

[sblick]

It would be interesting if any employees do have pictures as a another forum poster said. We could see jus thow far along they were. Hopefully CK will show up and post another flaming attack.

Sorry to all employees of USF1 who worked their hearts out for this team pay or no pay. I hope someone came up with the money for your last paycheck. it would be the ultimate insult if your boss doesn't show up to announce the closure of your business and then doesn't pay you

[MegaManson]

I wouldn't be surprised if Peter & Ken each have a bundle of dollars stashed away in some off-shore accounts.

They will need it, I don't see how either could even be employed as motor home janitors now after this let alone anything else in motorsport

[Mandzipop]

I'll carry on where I left off.

There is going to be a major fallout from this.

I'm not blaming the FIA but they should have been keeping a closer eye on all of the new teams. But that is with hindsight.

2 made it, 1 failed and the other 1 should hopefully be there.

I am just shocked the FIA didn't act earlier. I'm not as shocked about the fact that PW & KA didn't tell the staff themselves. After reading what CK said and the prediction of going AWOL, and all of his other predictions coming to fruition I was expecting it.

[Buttoneer]

I don't think this is a cause for celebration, personally. F1 would be richer (culturally) with a US based team and people will have lost their jobs over this.

In my opinion some people here should be quite ashamed of their attitude.

[VAR1016]

[...] I hope someone came up with the money for your last paycheck. it would be the ultimate insult if your boss doesn't show up to announce the closure of your business and then doesn't pay you

Yes horrible. I know

[MegaManson]

I don't think this is a cause for celebration, personally. F1 would be richer (culturally) with a US based team and people will have lost their jobs over this.

In my opinion some people here should be quite ashamed of their attitude.

I feel sorry for the ordinary workers, stated so in the closed thread

I don't feel sorry for Windsor and Anderson and all the **** that is going to come their way

[glorius&victorius]

Regarding the cheering.

I doubt people are cheering for the employees loosing their jobs. Rather the Farce that was Anderson Windsor F1 is finally over. The writing was on the wall and they blocked their team and it employees any chance of it existing in any manner in the near future. The charade had to end.

Now here's to hoping Stefan can make the grid and save their employees, and possibly hire some exUSF1 employees, otherwise it's a double loss.

When I wrote YES!!! it was indeed a YES, the charade is over.
Offcourse I feel for those who gave up their good jobs to join this dream of USF1

There are some people that moved from Europe to work in Charlotte. So those face repatriation. I hope for them and others that the leaving package is reasonable.

I know myself what it means to move from one country to another to work and settle in, pregnant wife included...
So YES I do feel for these people.

And YES, I also wonder if somehow incompetence at this level should have consequences for those involved...
Maybe its part of this business... maybe working in F1 indeed means that "you never know what will happen tomorrow"

2009 has been a tough year on F1...
folks at Renault, BMW, Sauber, Toyota....Honda, Brawn, all faced uncertain times... same for Force India, Campos....

So we are living uncertain times... F1 is a risky business, but this is no news.

But still, had USF1 signaled earlier that they were having troubles, maybe other investors could have jumped in. Like how it happened at Campos.


I for one still believe in the F1 American Dream. I think many Europeans would love to see America involved in F1


Anyway, I hope that the 60 staff at USF1 can "land" softly and find their ways

Edited by glorius&victorius, 02 March 2010 - 20:43.

[VAR1016]

[...] F1 would be richer (culturally) with a US based team[...].

Hear hear!

[Massa_f1]

Joke of an outfit was the only soloution in the end.

[Pharazon]

are we surprised?

[Ross Stonefeld]

Let the word go forward. If I ever see Peter Windsor I will snatch his nuts and use them for dice. So let it be written, so let it be done.

[Mario5]

"The one thing I'm still missing is Mario5 telling us it is just a rumour unless we have the official confirmation by Ken Anderson."

Although I believe the report to be true, the fact is that it is unconfirmed by anyone associated with USF1 or F1. Nothing official has been reported for months, but that hasn't stopped the thousands of posts and rumor-mongering, so why should this be any different.

Also, it's so nice to see the vultures gleefully picking over the carcass of the (allegedly) dead USF1 team. Bravo! Bravo! Apparently, bad manners are universal and not confined to us "ugly Americans." You should all feel so proud of yourselves.


Finally, for those saying that this incident really tarnishes Formula 1, I just have to post this:




Carry on "gentlemen."

[CoolFiltered]

are we surprised?

I guess most of us aren't, though i could think of 1 or 2 that will still be in denial.

Its a shame, but as time went on it was almost an inevitability, the fans here and in the US deserved better than Windsor and Co.

[pacwest]

Chad has more money than God. He could pay them and have them sign an optional agreement to work with the team he's forming or what have you. Something...

There has to be a nice person in all of this. I know business is business but this is people's lives.

I can't fathom the monetary commitment made by Hurley at this point. Did he write a cheque? A small one with a big one to come? Would he not take care of these people? Where did Pechito's $840,000 go?

These answers will no doubt bear fruit in the months or years to come but I wish everyone who lost a job today good luck. It's musical chairs and the chairs are SWIFTLY evaporating. I think the idea of moving to Cologne is not an option just yet.

[Mandzipop]

http://adamcooperf1....-f1-entry-list/

[ryan86]

I don't think this is a cause for celebration, personally. F1 would be richer (culturally) with a US based team and people will have lost their jobs over this.

In my opinion some people here should be quite ashamed of their attitude.

I wanted the team to succeed. Since Christmas, it's looked likely that they weren't going to make it, but kept on with promises that they kept on missing. I'm a saddened that people have lost their jobs, and it would have been nice for an American team to enter, but they had their chance and they weren't and did not take it.

Whilst US F1 kept on with their everything's alright, it will all work out charade, we had a team in Stefan GP, who appear to have everything, but the entry and in the end all USF1 was, was a failed operation, taking up a space it had shown that it was incapable of filling and therefore that they have had to be closed down and therefore open the space up to someone who appears to have capability, that we might have 26 cars, is something glad to see.

[Andy35]

"It is understood that neither Anderson nor Windsor were present at the factory while the announcement was made"

that's rather mean spirited.

Hope those guys get some jobs quickly, too many people in the world today out of work due to greed in the past.

Andy

[Pink Snail]

Sounds like they decided to announce the closure on the same day a certain Mr Villeneuve went for a seat fitting at Stefan GP, how strange. With the You Tube money maybe still in F1 and a few experienced people from the USF1 team looking for work Stefan GP is looking good all of a sudden, after all - hasn`t their equipment been shipped to the Middle East 3 weeks ago? Shame that we all saw this happening and the powers that be let it go on this long....

[One]

What precisely is the cause f closure? Have FIA issues any notes? What bout USF1... Tomorrow morning more news perhaps.



feeling is that No talk from USF1 sounded right after over a year operation.

I am massively sorry for team members who believed in the car running.

[craftverk]

So, what actually went wrong? Not enough money? After all, Campospania seems to have survived by the skin of its teeth, and by transmogrifying into something different - and Campos was not even building its own car.

And that might yet go back to USF1 entering at a time when there were meant to be spending caps in place...

USF1 decided to build their own chassis, basically, unlike Campos

[Paolo]

The one good thing is that Argentinian Government got screwed.
Very partial yet deserved payback for their screwing of people all around the world when they defaulted on debt.

[glorius&victorius]

"It is understood that neither Anderson nor Windsor were present at the factory while the announcement was made"

that's rather mean spirited.

Hope those guys get some jobs quickly, too many people in the world today out of work due to greed in the past.

Andy

that is really the lowest point of USF1... you dont treat people like that....

[Slowinfastout]

ditto..

personally, I hope Chad Hurley still is negotiating with Stefanovic and shutting down USF1 as we know it is just an unfortunate necessary step... there must have been an idea behind this merger talks and the opportunity to make it real is still there, hopefully.

woops..

Meanwhile a source close to Chad Hurley says that the Silicon Valley entrepreneur sounded yesterday like he had had enough of trying to get involved in F1, and that the chances of him investing elsewhere were slim.

http://adamcooperf1....-f1-entry-list/

[Hairpin]

I don't think this is a cause for celebration, personally. F1 would be richer (culturally) with a US based team and people will have lost their jobs over this.

In my opinion some people here should be quite ashamed of their attitude.

But F1 would not be richer if those two frauds had been allowed to continue to pretend they have a F1 team for another year. Nobody i celebrating the closing of a F1 team, the celebration (if any) is simply because this obvious fraud have been exposed.

[PabloTeK]

While I would love an American F1 team, I am so pleased to see the end of this sad excuse of a mess. Next time if we have a US team, can it be from someone like AGR, Penske etc? i.e. A team with actual top-level experience (it's IndyCar but...) that could reasonably deliver and wouldn't go for this "All-American" rubbish that they've being spouting whilst going for a British engine and an Argentine driver!

Even Andrea Moda and Life were more sucessful...

[King Six]

Ah, so we can finally close the USF1 thread. Am I the only one that actually breaths a sigh of relief when the stupid giant speculation threads are finally shut down for whatever reason.

Now if only I could change my vote in that poll to a "No"

I do want to see an American return to F1. American team, drivers, Grand Prix etc..

Not sure why they're not so involved in F1. America always wants to do things differently from the rest of the world when it comes to sports. Only looks inwards, American football, basketball, baseball etc.. and then they have the nerve to call these events "World/International" etc..

America needs to open up to sports in the same way they themselves force countries to open up their economies for trade.

[ensign14]

USF1 decided to build their own chassis, basically, unlike Campos

But so did Simtek and Fauxtus. They made it. Why didn't USF1? Looks like they had enough personnel to get SOMEthing ready...was it lack of time? Money can buy quite a bit of breathing space. Was it just that their staff could not do it? Subcontractors stiffing them?

[solochamp07]

I don't think this is a cause for celebration, personally. F1 would be richer (culturally) with a US based team and people will have lost their jobs over this.

In my opinion some people here should be quite ashamed of their attitude.

I'm not sensing a lot of celebration around here. More like relief that if we do have a US team someday, it won't be managed by those two clods.

Imagine for a moment if they had cobbled together enough substance to actually appear in bahrain. How would that have gone?

[Mandzipop]

that is really the lowest point of USF1... you dont treat people like that....

Obviously some people do.

I so wanted USF1 to get on the grid. I voted on the poll in November and I voted yes.

The nationality of the team played no part in my mind as to the reason the team failed. It was the lack of understanding how to build an F1 team from scratch and the serious mismanagement of the whole affair. If they wanted sponsors why not try to get sponsors who were trying to into the American market?

What was the PR team doing?

Also that building is up for sale, it looks like it has just been downvalued. Any comebacks there I wonder.

[Eff One 2002]

Well, no surprises there then. What an absolute farcical mess this attempt at an F1 team was.

[fastlegs]

Too bad.

I haven't followed all the goings on regarding USF1 like many of the posters here have.

I was simply hoping to see a (North) American based team participate successfully in F1.

[naiboz]

yeah fingers crossed the labourforce get picked up somewhere else, I'm sure they are not an untalented bunch


I'm probably gonna get shot down for this but....

I'm not too upset they failed, the guys at the top made a fair number of silly comments about european culture, working practices etc and how the US was so much more industrious than europe blah blah blah

karma

[f1rules]

this has been a joke from day one. Bringing the us name and F1 into disrepute i hope Anderson and windsor are never allowed at a F1 race again. What makes me even more angry, they ****ing didnt even have the courage to go tell people at the factory themselfes, ****ing bunch of lying idiots. I hope they are sued for every penny theyve got, and every penny they may earn in the future.

Edited by f1rules, 02 March 2010 - 21:07.

[Alx09]

Everyone expected this from the beginning. Such a waste of a grid slot. We could've had Lola, Prodrive or some others there instead.

Edited by Alx09, 02 March 2010 - 21:09.

[MegaManson]

this has been a joke from day one. Bringing the us name and F1 into disrepute i hope Anderson and windsor are never allowed at a F1 race again. What makes me even more angry, they ****ing didnt even have the courage to go tell people at the factory themselfes, ****ing bunch of lying idiots. I hope they are sued for every penny theyve got, and every penny they may earn in the future.

Agree, dumb and dumber are total cowards

I hope both end up behind bars and scared to pick up the soap in the shower

[TenienteX]

Even Andrea Moda and Life were more sucessful...

true indeed!

USF1 were talking about entering formula1 for quite some years with many taking their approach serious. and when they finally got the admission, they failed more than miserably.

epsilon euskadi or david richards project looked so much more promising from the beginning on...

[Talryyn]

I don't think this is a cause for celebration, personally. F1 would be richer (culturally) with a US based team and people will have lost their jobs over this.

In my opinion some people here should be quite ashamed of their attitude.

It would be richer with the old thread as well! *runs away from the ban hammer!

As a fan of F1 who happens to have been born in the US (no regrets there however), I am sad to see this turn of events. I love Europe by the way, most of my family is still there...hmm maybe I should have tried racing over there instead of Texas, oh well too late to dwell on that any longer! What was my point?

Ohhh yes, USF1 - bad effort, no wait, great effort from the employees I wish them the best, we always got to see that you heart was in it. Sad to see what happened, I am sure in the days to come we will see the whole story emerge. Dr. Warren, love to hear some tweets from you soon on this debacle as well.;)

Will the FIA even come out now and comment I wonder, or just ignore everything and open the spot for 2011. Might be the smartest move, avoid letting Stefan on the grid which could anger many (I would like to see them on the grid), or just some point in the future say something like - we are sorry that USF1 could not make the grid, for 2011 the entry process will be X,Y,Z. Others have said the entry bond was a good idea, might have prevented a few things. I like that idea, if you are serious show it in more than just pretty words.

Do we know yet if Hurley is going to stay away from F1 after he disposes of the bones? Hurley F1 would be interesting, and now we know PW and KA are out of the picture. Just me wishing I suppose, one day we will see a proper team try to base itself in the US, it is a unique challenge and I would like to see what could come out of that. Maybe I need to hurry up and make some serious money instead pretending to be an internet forum poster, and then I can start a team. (BTW: I think the gardening I have been doing today is causing some brain/air issues).

It is still reported that KA/PW were going to Argentina (to jail?), I assume apologize to the fans, I wonder if they will shy away from that. Lots of interesting stories still to unfold in the days ahead, and best thing of all, the racing starts in just a few short days! Go Ferrari!

I hope the lessons learned will be remembered by other new teams in the future, USF1 did make some historic mistakes that are important to look at.

Edit: I think the entry bond comments not being an issue was a ruse as well, based on what we see today.

Edited by Talryyn, 02 March 2010 - 21:11.