spacepig wrote: USF1 has had to start from scratch, without a current technical director bringing a complete body of current knowledge
I think that is their Achilles heel. It was needless show boating to insist on a US personnel if that meant they excluded the possibility of hiring someone with F1 experience.
Same too for drivers. If they don't hire a driver with F1 experience then they'll be needlessly shooting themselves in the foot.
The F1 grid is impressive for its blend of international talent. Teams get the best person available, it's very mercenary. Before USF1, the most nationalist team on the grid was Ferrari. However, they got where there are today by rebuilding from the ground up with Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne, Jean Todt, and Michael Schumacher. Despite that, they were still a team that was 100% Italian.
So when it comes to USF1, it seems like arrogance to think they can build a team based on nationality as opposed to getting the right person for the job. It then
seems from their PR that no one on the team has done this before, that they don't have a clue.
I do genuinely wish them luck. My heart hopes that their uniquely nationalist US branding brings in enough sponsorship cash to overcome the deficiency of not having experienced F1 people in the team. My brain thinks they took a wrong turn along the way.