USF1 -- F1's All-American Challenger

[Giblet]

I find that most Americans and Canadians follow NASCAR, and can only differentiate between cars that look like sedans and cars that are open wheel.

People don't really understand how hard it is to get people into F1. The races are on between 4:30am and 8:30 am depending on your location. I am a fortunate soul that is up for 4:30am viewings.

The newspapers never cover F1, unless someone wins a championship. For about a week, after JV won the title, all of Canada was all happy, then when it was over, it was over. Sort of like when the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team took the world series two years in a row.

It doesn't help the confusion that Indy and F1 were both running at Indy.

It's the flip-side for football. Soccer here. That about says it all. We get very little TV coverage, very little news paper coverage, and very little TV news coverage here. Because of that, I never got into soccer, and my mind is filled with other sports.

I don't know the difference between the FA cup and the host of other leagues around the world. I could find it out, but not via media osmosis.

Basically, for USGP to do well, they need someone like Hurly to cram it down our collective North American throats. They also need some big successes, so Americans can wave their flags.

It's unfortunate, but if patriotism (or in the states, flag waving) is tied to it, it will get blindly followed a little more.

During WW2, people made _actual_ sacrifices, not using copper for example. Buying war bonds like they are going out of style. Working in the factory to make bombs when two weeks before you were a house wife.

Now you just a flag on your vehicle, it's (literally) the least you can do. Not everyone, but it is the how the consciousness works down there.

[roost89]

At least they have the PR-speak down already. Not that they'll actually make a press conference to show it off, at this rate. But hey, talking the talk is half the job, right?

This is one of the things that's really paradoxical about it. This season I've had two friends that don't follow F1 ask me about it. One heard about McLaren's legal troubles at the beginning of the year on NPR (National Public Radio) and asked me what had happened. Why NPR thought it was so important I have no idea. The other saw poor old Felipe's accident on SportsCenter and news about Schumacher's expected return. No one I know that doesn't follow F1 is aware of USGPE.

Have you guys had the same experience?

I have had similar experiences. People who don't follow F1 alot ask me why things are happening. Problem is I had to keep it simple as they would lose interest quickly if they knew some of the complexities. I was also asked who the new teams were. Mainly asked on what appears in the news coverage in general.


If the Youtube CEO is on the board, does that mean we could, potentially, get some youtube based F1 coverage? Like "Official" on-boards of USF1, at the least? I know it's unlikely 'cause of FOMs media rights but one can dream.

[bhall]

One heard about McLaren's legal troubles at the beginning of the year on NPR (National Public Radio) and asked me what had happened. Why NPR thought it was so important I have no idea. The other saw poor old Felipe's accident on SportsCenter and news about Schumacher's expected return. No one I know that doesn't follow F1 is aware of USGPE.

Have you guys had the same experience?

I would have loved to have heard NPR's take on the McLaren/Ferrari espionage controversy. To an American public that, as has been said, is barely cognizant of F1, they likely covered it with a smirk as an eccentricity in international minutiae.

"A racing team was fined 100 million dollars? Really?"

And I only wish that someone could ask me anything about F1, anything at all. Here in the States, you have to search for F1 news. It doesn't simply find you like the news of other sports. You pretty much have to be at least a curious fan of F1 to know anything that's going on.

Sadly, I'm the only one I know who follows the sport even that much.

I hope Windsor, Anderson and Hurley with USF1 are very successful in bringing about a better awareness here.

[jddh1]

One heard about McLaren's legal troubles at the beginning of the year on NPR (National Public Radio) and asked me what had happened. Why NPR thought it was so important I have no idea. The other saw poor old Felipe's accident on SportsCenter and news about Schumacher's expected return. No one I know that doesn't follow F1 is aware of USGPE.

Have you guys had the same experience?

I would have loved to have heard NPR's take on the McLaren/Ferrari espionage controversy. To an American public that, as has been said, is barely cognizant of F1, they likely covered it with a smirk as an eccentricity in international minutiae.

"A racing team was fined 100 million dollars? Really?"

And I only wish that someone could ask me anything about F1, anything at all. Here in the States, you have to search for F1 news. It doesn't simply find you like the news of other sports. You pretty much have to be at least a curious fan of F1 to know anything that's going on.

Sadly, I'm the only one I know who follows the sport even that much.

I hope Windsor, Anderson and Hurley with USF1 are very successful in bringing about a better awareness here.

I'm here too. Let's hold hands.

[Ciro Pabón]

Hi, roost, I'm YouTube CEO, glad to meet you. Of course not.

For a take of NPR on US fans, check this: U.S. fans: Look at the 'World' of Sports

The guy is american, so he has no pity with himself... I quote:

"We Americans, sensitive children of immigrants, are the most parochial sports fans on the globe."

What else would you expect from NPR?

[bhall]

Thanks for the link, Ciro.

I've always liked Frank Deford. He's a great sportswriter.

[jon-mullen]

I would have loved to have heard NPR's take on the McLaren/Ferrari espionage controversy. To an American public that, as has been said, is barely cognizant of F1, they likely covered it with a smirk as an eccentricity in international minutiae.

"A racing team was fined 100 million dollars? Really?"

Sorry I didn't clarify, it was the argument over 3rd in Oz. Which in hindsight DOES (and mostly DID) seem like an eccentricity in international minutiae (to borrow your phraseology). Stepney-gate must've made as much sense to Americans that aren't tuned in as the Boer Wars.

I didn't know anybody into F1 when I started watching. I got home from work really (REALLY) late one night and there it was just about to start in Europe. Haven't missed a GP since.

[Giblet]

Hi, roost, I'm YouTube CEO, glad to meet you. Of course not.

For a take of NPR on US fans, check this: U.S. fans: Look at the 'World' of Sports

The guy is american, so he has no pity with himself... I quote:

"We Americans, sensitive children of immigrants, are the most parochial sports fans on the globe."

What else would you expect from NPR?

Ciro, I think he meant on the USF1 board, not on this board

[xpensive]

For bhallg:

I believe that the USF1 conveyed the wrong impression from day one with that "presentation" on SpeedTV, which was completely without substance. Just a journo and an long time ago F1 engineer arguing why they wished to be in F1, while a flash of Mario Andretti giving his blessing on a studio-screen hardly made it any more credible.

Then came the screw-up with their name, the wind-tunnel owner denying Andersons involvment to be any more than as a consultant, Windsor xplaining that they actually had CAD-drawings and finally Chad Hurley's unclear involvement.

I for one hope that Roger Penske will be back with Euskadi, him and Joan Viladelprat, THAT would be credible.

[bhall]

You can call me Ben.

I don't know what impression USF1 is supposed to make before they hit the track next year in Australia. All the things you've mentioned simply seem like a team trying to get some publicity in a home country that could scarcely care less about Formula 1 racing.

The team may have made some faux pas, but, in my eyes, have hardly done anything to warrant the kind of skepticism I've seen. Some on this forum doubt their ability to work with carbon fiber.

Though I would say that Chad Hurley's involvement with the team is more than unclear. It's been said that he's a "major investor," and I don't know how much more specific they can be than that. You almost never get exact figures from any team when it comes to financial backing.

With a confirmed spot on the grid next year and with backing from a very wealthy individual who likely has a myriad connections in an upwardly mobile field, I think that USF1 has done at least enough to quell any fears that they are not serious.

[xpensive]

Don't get me wrong here Ben, but when I've been active off and on in the US over the years, actually lived in Pa for two years, I think there might be a cultural thing here.

Americans, to my xperience anyway, have sometimes a tendency of getting ahead of themselves in their zeal to market the goods in a fashion that Europeans are not really used to. Thereby at times confusing what has been accomplished with what with a great certainty will be in the near future.

Possibly, USF1 is operating in a way that some of us are not familiar with?

[roost89]

Hi, roost, I'm YouTube CEO, glad to meet you. Of course not.

For a take of NPR on US fans, check this: U.S. fans: Look at the 'World' of Sports

The guy is american, so he has no pity with himself... I quote:

"We Americans, sensitive children of immigrants, are the most parochial sports fans on the globe."

What else would you expect from NPR?

Ciro, I think he meant on the USF1 board, not on this board

Spot on. Sorry about that. It appeared ok when I read over it

[The FOZ]

Americans, to my xperience anyway, have sometimes a tendency of getting ahead of themselves in their zeal to market the goods in a fashion that Europeans are not really used to. Thereby at times confusing what has been accomplished with what with a great certainty will be in the near future.

Bingo. It's the complete optimism, can-do, slam dunk attitude - which is better than many others, but I sometimes find annoying - but then again, I'm more results-oriented. Show me the goods and I'll believe it then!

More thoughts:

The way I see it, there is a steep learning curve for any new team to overcome.

CAD drawings are the first step - but the sheer learning that will happen during manufacturing is mind boggling. I work as a designer, and as easy as it is to draw something up in CAD, manufacturing it is always the limitation - and I find, and I expect they will find - they have to tailor their design around their manufacturing capabilities to a big extent - necessitating back to the drawing boards for some parts.

[xpensive]

Indeed FOZ, why this might be one reason for scepticism from our side regarding USF1, it becomes a bit to much "can do".

When I had spent a year in Montreal before moving to Pa in 1995, I was amazed to learn the diiference in approach.

[Ray]

Corvette racing has dominated GT1 for years and blew away the competition at Le Mans consistently. Yet I never see any mainstream press highlighting it, much less mentioning it. it amazed me that not a single major news outlet had a picture of Dan Binks in tears after finally winning Le Mans as a crew chief. Talk about a perfect picture to get people interested. All they talk about are 'crappy' GM cars and domestics in general. It's no wonder F1 gets no coverage here. Personally I don't care. I like being the only person in my circle of friends that watches F1. Keeps me from explaining it to someone who only knows the rigged series that is NASCAR. I'm fine with having minimal coverage of F1. Keeps the idiots that think motor racing is just sitting down and driving like they do on a wide open freeway at 75mph, away from the sport and talking it down with smug remarks, elitist attitudes, and asshole generalizations.