Hans Stuck says 'USF1' team reports good news February 6, 2009 12:25 AM Hans-Joachim Stuck, a famous German motor racing figure, has welcomed news that an all-American formula one team is targeting a grand prix debut in 2010. It emerged on Wednesday that 'USF1', to be principally based in the US and showcase American technology and drivers, is set to be officially launched later this month. Stuck, who contested grands prix in the 70s and now heads up Volkswagen's racing activities, said more American involvement in formula one would be a good thing. "A world championship without the United States is not a real world championship," he told sport1.de, also referring to the absence from the calendar of a single North American round. "So we can only wish them all the best that this works out. "As long as there is no race and no American team, the interest (from the US) will always be low," the 58-year-old said. Last year, we reported speculation that the prospective American team was in talks with Honda, after Ken Anderson attended the Montreal race and met with team chiefs Ross Brawn and Nick Fry. With Honda's Brackley based team now for sale, Stuck said it would make sense for Anderson and his reported business partner Peter Windsor to now enter talks to take over the outfit. "(Buying) Honda would be better than Toro Rosso, because of the superior infrastructure," he said. The plot thickens! Maybe there might be sometrhing to this after all.
I would not mind at all seeing Marco in F1. At least give him a chance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrhO4NmbK2k http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Andretti#Honda_Racing_F1_Tests Many of his IRL crashes/problems are not his own doing (Mid-Ohio 2007, Texas 2008 etc.)
Indeed. Completely forgot about him! But he's (checks wiki) 37 years old. Thats to old to start F1 unfortunately... Isnt the whole point of being in F1 to be competitive/succesful? If it was just to say that there are 2 US drivers on the F1 grid but peform like karthikeyan/Yoongs' of this world thats hardly something to be proud of, or want in your team... Probably. Doubt if Speed could really win a race which wasnt 'staged' though. With staged I mean that say Ferrari would give his team mate deliberatly a crap setup, or said team mate would have a crash... Saying that, Massa was hardly top class when he was at sauber and with enough coaching from Herr Michael he's up there allright. I'm sure there are some world class drivers from the states out there at the moment but not any that I'm aware of (I watch a lot of open wheel racing, almost all European/asian which I can get on TV with the exception of USA based).
Wow, I can't believe I just read that. Do you realize how bad Massa was in 2006? Even he managed to win a couple races. It never ceases to annoy and amaze me how people jump on the "Scott No Speed" bandwagon. These people have no idea what it's like to push in a race car, and they take the easy shot at the American driver in the crap car, who isn't afraid to speak his mind, and isn't a PR robot( not you specifically, but many people). The fact is, Scott was rushed to F1, and had to battle with an illness that seriously threatened his career in the junior rankings. This guy's condition was such that he had to wear diapers, was weak, lost a lot of weight, and when he first tested a GP2 car, he could literally only drive a couple laps at a time. This is why I say he was rushed to F1, but by the time 2007 came around, he was out performing his teammate. When the STR improved, we saw that Liuzzi wasn't far behind Vettel, Liuzzi was able score a 6th at China when Vettel was 4th. If Scott was improving to the point where he was better than Liuzzi, that leads me to believe he'd certainly hold his own against the likes of Vettel, and certainly do better than Bourdais did this year. If Scott was in a 2006-2008 Ferrari, it would be foolish to believe that he wouldn't win races during this period(no offense).
No offence taken. I didn't know about Speed's illness. Perhaps Speed isnt the best example in this case. Would you object to Sakon Yamamoto?
Agree. Very few people knew about that illness, which i think he was dealing with for a couple of years wasn't he?
In the words of Sgt. Hulka, "Lighten up, Francis." We are just jaded from the experience of getting invited to the dance, only to have our limo turn into a pumpkin (how is that for mixing metaphors). If this thing gets any traction, I bet you will see a real outpouring of support here--me included. But I have been here before, and it hurts too bad when you ask for Andretti and you get Scott Speed (the American version of Jensen Button).
Hmmm... you'd think, right? Then explain to me why there are Karthekeyians and Yoongs? Why did Minardi, knowing they would NEVER win, continue to race F1? Why, historically, have there been teams that know they have NO shot, still enter? Do I need to name names? Life F1, Andrea Moda, Coloni, Simtek - that's not counting the MID card teams - Toyota, Honda, Jordan, etc. F1 is an elitist 3 team race - always has been in the 30 years I've watched, and most competitors know it. I can't explain why anyone would want to waste their money doing it, but they DO IT. Getting to the grid is an achievement. A Pyrrhic achievement, maybe, but it's still an achievement. USF1 making the grid would be quite an accomplishment. Don't bank on them winning races...but will that stop them? NOPE! I'm not a huge Scott Speed fan, but you can't deny his talent. We can debate the merits of oval-track racing (NASCAR), but he's won a Truck race and I believe 4 ARCA races. Not too shabby. Put him in a Ferrari, he wins. Eddie Irvine, Felipe Massa, Rubens Barrichello were average until they came to Ferrari. Irvine and Massa practically won driver's titles. Surely the car and team had much to do with that. That's not discounting the talent level, it's just equalized a bit by the car. Scott Speed in a Ferrari is going to win F1 races... My doctor says I swallowed a lot of aggression....along with a lot of PIZZAS!
You know honestly speaking, I think he'd be off the pace initally, but given enough time, he'd improve and eventually luck into a win (see Heikki Kovalainen). So if Yammamoto didn't have to worry about getting sacked, he'd eventually improve and luck into a win. If Kimi or Felipe were running in the top 3 or 4, yammamoto would probably still be in the top 8 in a Ferrari (albeit towards the back, lol). Now if we're talking Yuji Ide, he might as well be driving a Force India, cause there's no way in hell he'd be near the front!
Yeah he did, he had to endure several surgeries and was in constant pain. It was because of his illness that he didn't get a seat with the reigning GP2/F3000 champions, ART. He had to miss a lot of testing, trying to get his fitness in order, and got a seat at Isport, which turned out to be good. When I found out about all this, I knew he wasn't quite ready for F1. Redbull didn't care though, as they wanted to cash in on their marketing driver. When it's all said and done, Scott might have kept his seat if he kissed more ass and didn't speak his mind so much, but then he wouldn't be the guy who was told he might have to quit racing and wear diapers the rest of his life, in his early 20's, only to keep smiling and indeed make it to F1. He was no Hamilton, or even Rosberg, but he was certainly underrated and would certainly win in a top car.
USF1? I'd support it just because its the Nationalist thing to do! I think it would be very kool to have a US based team sucessful or not so. Maybe they could bring back US interest. Alot people supported Spyker and alot are currently supporting their reincarnation Force India team. Hey the F1 rules are changing to make the cars all competitive, a new team would have a chance with the proper backing, financial and technical support. The massive travel costs will be their biggest hurdle. By 2010 the US should be out of the current financial funk and big companies will be looking to spend all of those bailout dollars. Lets stop bashing this dream and stand behind them and give them a hand up!!! As far as driver's the US has a lot of promising young/older talent that could be competitive..Male and Female. Wouldn't that raise an eyebrow or two??? American Female F1 driver? We need a North American hook in F1! You go USF1! Dave
....uh,...'put a US driver in a competitive car, he's going to win'...?? Sure, if F1 decides to only turn left... I don't think Lewis/Kimi/Felipe are losing much sleep over your comments...
Face facts...the majority of US motorsport is unsophisticated, low tech and somewhat basic in it's creativity and fan base. As much as I would like to see a US F1 team, the mindset and technical know how necessary for F1 is simply lacking in this country. For it to be successful, it would need to be based somewhere in the UK, with the majority of designers and technical people also British. Slap a 'USA' label on it if you want, but make sure the guts of it are sourced from the 'old country'. Otherwise, sure to be a disappointment.
Well, you need a walk around the pits laddie! Plenty of folks from the USA as well as the rest of the world. Granted we Brits are thick on the ground in the Carolinas.
Honda are OUT of the engine business, stay abreast of things. The Honda remnants will certainly not still be around in 2010, and Windsor has never put HIS money into anything.
Marco! are you serious? I guess you didn't see him during his early days. What freakin idiot, the guy should not be in car. Might as well give me a chance, instead of Marco. I beat him multiple times in a kart. As for Speed, the guy just has crappy attitude, too cocky. But otherwise he's got alot of talent. He's another guy I use race against and he was always the guy to beat. He was considered the Schumacher of karting in the states.
I just have a feeling this is all just the hype. Nothing's gonna happen. It would be even a miracle for the ex-Honda team to be on the grid this season, what more a brand new team.
His only car experience is testing a formula mazda at Thunder Hill raceway.... Being great in karts doesn't mean that it will translate completely over to cars. Case in point, Tonio Liuzzi, who is brilliant in karts and took the world title, but he's average at best in F1. Also, Tonio is someone with years of car experience, not Carlton, who has no experience. I hope this was a joke...
You know more than you're saying don't you? Now they tell us the base will be in Charlotte, wouldn't be close to your shop by chance????
