USF1 -- F1's All-American Challenger

[xpensive]

Come to think of it, didn't Stewart begin from scratch with Ford money in 1999? Funny enough, the Americans were paying Stewart to set up the team, then had to pay him again to hand it over for Ford to call it Jaguar!

Finally, after billions spent with no results, they sold it to Mateschitz for a plate of beans.

[WhiteBlue]

The tartaned trousered senior was always a front for the plum. Stewart had never made it in the first place without massive automotive sponsorship. Jordan was different. He made his first steps by advertising drinks and B&H ciggies. The trusted old pusher ways.

[xpensive]

The way I remember, a unique part of EJ as was to find sponsorship, starting with 7up and Fuji film on his Irish-green car.
Following up with Sasol for the blue and beautiful, but otherwise terrible, Yamaha V12-engined car.
Next year he added Barclays to the Hart-engined 193, what a guy.

[tok-tokkie]

If one would argue based on machine appearance used in that machine shop I would understand that. The American sheet metal design always looks a bit like a product from an African blacksmith's shop of the sixties. European teams would probably have different machines in most cases given a choice.

If you are referring to the cnc machines they are Haas. Pretty highly regarded machines made in California. I have one; but then I am also in Africa!

Doing a bit of Googling I find that Mclaren use Mazak (Japanese) & Red Bull use DMG (German) cnc machines. Both rated higher than Haas I would say with prices to match.

[WhiteBlue]

If one would argue based on machine appearance used in that machine shop I would understand that. The American sheet metal design always looks a bit like a product from an African blacksmith's shop of the sixties. European teams would probably have different machines in most cases given a choice.

If you are referring to the cnc machines they are Haas. Pretty highly regarded machines made in California. I have one; but then I am also in Africa!

Doing a bit of Googling I find that Mclaren use Mazak (Japanese) & Red Bull use DMG (German) cnc machines. Both rated higher than Haas I would say with prices to match.

Yep, Haas nowadays is one of the last remnants of the proud US machine tool industry of the past. Gone are the days of Milacron Inc. and other former giants. Gene Haas served 18 months in prison for tax fraud and now nobody can say who really owns this shining piece of American engineering. It could be a Chinese shop with American front for all we know. I'm actually surprised Haas showed up at EMO this year. There must be some substance to the firm to remain in competition to other global brands in that business.

But for all intends and purposes Haas are secondary to what their rivals use. To keep things in perspective there are not so many primary parts that are CNC machined anyways. Engines and gear boxes they would purchase externally and most of the other stuff is composite with some secondary metal inserts.

[donskar]

FWIW, from SPEED.com:

[Jonathan Summerton told]

Autoweek publication that he is in daily contact with Charlotte-based USF1.

"I think my chances are very good," he said, revealing that the team wants to confirm its driver lineup within the next few weeks.

Summerton said that, if he is not selected to race a USF1 car in 2010, he expects to at least be the test driver.

Guees I shouldn't be surprised (just disappointed) that some posters to this thread seem to be almost hoping the team fails (because it is US-based?). How would that be good for F1? Remember: "Global Sport/Global Village"?

[xpensive]

Again, I don't think that anyone here wishes USF1 to fail and certainly not because they happen to be American.

But if you ask me, I will happily admit that I do have a problem with Windsor and his spinning and stretching of facts.

[Pup]

Guees I shouldn't be surprised (just disappointed) that some posters to this thread seem to be almost hoping the team fails (because it is US-based?). How would that be good for F1? Remember: "Global Sport/Global Village"?

Quite the contrary, I think the best thing they might have going for them is an American, get-the-job-done culture. My biggest fear for them is that they won't get fan support here at home, and therefore will have a hard time getting sponsors that will stick with them through the inevitably tough times ahead.

Let's face it, that's what started this whole mess - Bernie pooped out one of his weekly faux pas, and USF1 had to scramble to tell the world that they were for real. In the process, they released some photos that, IMO, don't really do the trick; and the fact that they had to do so tells me that they either have very nervous sponsors, or still haven't roped any in.

I sincerely hope they do well, because I think they could be one of the more interesting and exciting teams on the grid if they make it work. But - and this perhaps is a bit of a tangent - I will always be critical about any team that sets themselves up as some sort of national effort, not only because it's a bit presumptuous, but because history has shown that to be a pretty awful strategy for success. I'm glad they're slowly stepping away from that.

Anyway, I don't see any bashing here - just honest discussion and curiosity about what will happen next season.

[tarzoon]

Let's face it, that's what started this whole mess - Bernie pooped out one of his weekly faux pas, and USF1 had to scramble to tell the world that they were for real. In the process, they released some photos that, IMO, don't really do the trick; and the fact that they had to do so tells me that they either have very nervous sponsors, or still haven't roped any in.

I sincerely hope they do well, because I think they could be one of the more interesting and exciting teams on the grid if they make it work. But - and this perhaps is a bit of a tangent - I will always be critical about any team that sets themselves up as some sort of national effort, not only because it's a bit presumptuous, but because history has shown that to be a pretty awful strategy for success. I'm glad they're slowly stepping away from that.

Anyway, I don't see any bashing here - just honest discussion and curiosity about what will happen next season.

Campos and Manor are having less coverage, as far as I've seen.

I think all that hype was created as a marketing boost for USGP. F1 in US has less audience than NFL, Baseball, NBA, Nascar, Hockey and I don't know what else. Besides, there's no US GP. I wonder how difficult it's been to find sponsors out there willing to throw away a few million quid with no guarantee of return. Maybe they could get AT&T, HP or Philip Morris because the team is American, but big companies want to be associated with winning names.

F1 is a lot about business, and a rookie team could be too much of a wild card to attract these big names.

[jddh1]

I'm growing more and more concerned about the prospect of USF1 showing up in March to race.
Apparently, they don't have any other backing except Chad Hurly, although he seems fully committed. In addition to that, the staff employed is only on a month to month basis. That could be because they either are not sure they'll be around long enough (more and more likely) or they are hoping to get better people in the near future (quite optimistic in my view at this point.)

[jddh1]

Here are a few interesting read from USA Today:

Windsor wants Kyle Busch to test the car next year.

They talk about long term goals.

Q&A with Chad Hurley

[jon-mullen]

You're not the only one. Alex Wurz apparently gave up hope of being a USGPE driver this week amidst the nasty rumors (thanks, Bernie).

Here's an interview with Chad Hurley and I know all he has to do is sign some checks but he really doesn't seem to have any idea what's going on.

Responding to "Q: What are your business goals with US F1? Are you in it to make money or raise your profile?"

".......And really when you build a large organization that thrives off of inefficiency, everyone wants to protect their jobs and doesn't necessarily want to make things any easier because that means reducing the department or a need. It's not necessarily in the best interests of the individuals that already hold those positions. We can address all of that from Day 1 and not necessarily have those roadblocks in the way when we move forward in the future." (USA Today)

Your employees are on a month-to-month basis, I think they'll be worried about protecting their jobs.

And yet at the same time they're talking about getting Kyle Busch who doesn't have a superlicense. I mean, it's a cool idea but they need to stop talking and start signing.

And as for bashing USGPE just because they're American, I don't think anyone on this board is actually doing that. And anyway, is "American" the first thing you think when Windsor opens his mouth? Baseball, hotdogs, Chevrolet? Or is it more like, cricket, a spot of tea, Mad Max?

[dp35]

October 22, 2009 - the day USF1 "jumped the shark", for me at least. Until today, I wanted to believe in this team's concept, that they'd get American drivers in F1, so much so that I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Now that I know that their idea of an American F1 prospect is Kyle Busch, my excitement is gone.

Add to that the lost opportunity with Wurz, who IMO would've been a huge asset to this team, and it gets worse.

Rather than talk about his man-crush on Kyle Busch, I'd much rather hear Peter Windsor discuss how USF1 will assist the development of the more realistic American open wheel prospects (John Edwards, Jonathan Summerton, Alexander Rossi, etc).

If there's anyone left that wonders why our best drivers end up in NASCAR and don't bother chasing the open wheel/F1 dream, this is the perfect example of how they're overlooked and not given a chance. How motivated could Edwards, Summerton, & Rossi feel today when they read that Kyle Busch is the favored USF1 driver? Sad.

I've never had a job where my employment was guaranteed for the next day, let alone month, so I find it hard to worry over that part.

[jddh1]

October 22, 2009 - the day USF1 "jumped the shark", for me at least. Until today, I wanted to believe in this team's concept, that they'd get American drivers in F1, so much so that I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Now that I know that their idea of an American F1 prospect is Kyle Busch, my excitement is gone.

Add to that the lost opportunity with Wurz, who IMO would've been a huge asset to this team, and it gets worse.

Rather than talk about his man-crush on Kyle Busch, I'd much rather hear Peter Windsor discuss how USF1 will assist the development of the more realistic American open wheel prospects (John Edwards, Jonathan Summerton, Alexander Rossi, etc).

If there's anyone left that wonders why our best drivers end up in NASCAR and don't bother chasing the open wheel/F1 dream, this is the perfect example of how they're overlooked and not given a chance. How motivated could Edwards, Summerton, & Rossi feel today when they read that Kyle Busch is the favored USF1 driver? Sad.

I've never had a job where my employment was guaranteed for the next day, let alone month, so I find it hard to worry over that part.

I will disagree slightly with you on this.

Kyle busch is only 24, and all he's talking for now is testing next year so that they can see if he can make the move and also Kyle busch can get a feel for this. It's a big decision.

Moreover, if you read the articles, I think they want these young drivers, but none of them right now, apparently, has a superlicence and is good enough. I'm sure they'll be included in the tests.

So I don't think he's shutting the door on them right now. Just saying they're not ready.

[jon-mullen]

Kyle Busch will want to win the NASCAR championship before he does anything else, end of story. He's got way too many critics to silence to risk being seen as an ex-pat that ran away from the series when his team wasn't as competitive. I wouldn't really blame him.

If USGPE wants to use the NASCAR publicity to get a fanbase they should get a driver that's in NASCAR but isn't doing a stellar job, like Scott Speed (I know, I know...) or AJ Allmendinger (would be my choice).