USF1 -- F1's All-American Challenger

[WhiteBlue]

Can't wait for "Kimi goes to the job center".

[cooper-climax]

"The Formula One commercial rights-holder revealed that he expects two of the four new teams with sanctioned grid slots for next season — Campos F1 and USF1 — not to make it. “I think the people we expected to perform will and those that we thought wouldn’t, won’t,” he said. Ecclestone expects 24 cars to start the opening race in Bahrain in March."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 964463.ece

However I also found this photo, purporting to be the first Chassis...



Form here http://racingwire.info/

[Richard]

Are teams allowed to start the racing season a GP or two late?

No. Going back to the history books....

Before Bernie got hold of F1, teams wouldn't turn up to every race (ie RAM Racing competed at 7 out of 16 races). Not all drivers turned up to every race either (see factoid below). It made it very hard to promote a race if you couldn't say who was going to turn up. Have a read of this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FISA-FOCA_war

The first Concorde agreement introduced the commitment that all teams must turn up to all races. AFIK this is still seen a fundamental to the Concorde so a breach would be very serious. They'd have to go cap in hand to ask to be allowed to skip a race. I can imagine Bernie playing hard ball if that happened. On the other hand, F1 is desperate for new teams, so compromise might be arranged.

This scenario has happened in the past with back marker teams asking Bernie and other teams for help. For example, taking an IOU for the centrally provided freight/fuel/tyre costs. The important thing (AFIK) is that they always turned up to the track. In the past, a team not turning up was the death knell and they would very quickly collapse, usually when funders/creditors pulled the plug - sorry I can't think of any explicit examples!

If you can limp your way to each race with no cash, have to beg for tyres and fuel, but do have 2 cars, 2 drivers and enough of a team to change the tyres, then you stay in the club. Anything less and you're out of the club.

If you think about it, a team that doesn't have a car to race would also not have a car to test. I think a team that hasn't turned a tyre on a test track would really struggle to maintain funding to get to the first race. Then the testing ban would really kill their season. They could ask FIA & FOTA to let them have a couple of days testing to catch up ... except a team in that scenario probably couldn't afford the cost of opening a track for an exclusive test (note most test days have several teams running to share the track costs).

----
Factoid:

Taking 1977 as a random pre-Concorde year. Two drivers (Brian Henton and Jean-Pierre Merzaio) raced for 3 different teams that season. Another 5 raced for 2 different teams. Notably, Gilles Villeneuve raced for both McLaren and Ferrari.

[scarbs]

However I also found this photo, purporting to be the first Chassis...



From here http://racingwire.info/

It must be there's boxes of toasters in the background...

[xpensive]

That does not look like Ken Anderson, not by a long shot, does it?

[cooper-climax]

No, I think that's Nick Craw though, so the photo's unlikely to be totally spurious.
I just don't know enough about the process of making the tub to say if that's a mold or a finished piece. I do know you'd have a hard time sitting in it though.

[djos]

That does not look like Ken Anderson, not by a long shot, does it?

nup, not him at all:

Ken + Peter recently:

[djos]

No, I think that's Nick Craw though, so the photo's unlikely to be totally spurious.
I just don't know enough about the process of making the tub to say if that's a mold or a finished piece. I do know you'd have a hard time sitting in it though.

Nice catch, it is Nick Craw:

[xpensive]

Cool caption from racingwire.com; "USF1's first chassis fresh from the autoclave." With engine mock-up and all it seems?

[cooper-climax]

Cool caption from racingwire.com; "USF1's first chassis fresh from the autoclave." With engine mock-up and all it seems?

Even to a skeptic like me, that might be a criticism too far, they've just go it onto a surface plate and offered the engine up.

If I wanted to find a scandal I'd be saying that the tub came out on Friday, and in the time between then and Monday. The FIA Deputy President has flown in, Had his photo taken on a phone with a dirty lens, and the picture leaked/published.

[Richard]

However I also found this photo, purporting to be the first Chassis...



From here http://racingwire.info/

An F1 car does look beautiful and sleek when stripped back like that. Shame they insist on sticking on those wing,wheel and floor bits.

Incidentally, I'm guess the OWG were hoping for cars to look like this when they tried to ban stick out aero devices. I'd like to see a tightening of the rules in 2011, get the cars looking sleeker again.

[xpensive]

But xcuse my ignorance, is that really a tub direct from the autoclave, with such a glossy finish to it? Scarbs?

[WhiteBlue]

looks all right to me. and nobody would have stopped them to put a layer of clear coat on.

[xpensive]

Only they must not forget to make an opening for the driver to get inside.

[jddh1]

Only they must not forget to make an opening for the driver to get inside.

Why bother when you don't have a driver yet?