Ecclestone: USF1 are a doubt

Are you trying to say that you didnt post on here a while back saying that Benoit admitted that he was wrong and that USF1 should be taken seriously?

I'll go find the post then.

Also to be fair no one on here heard the whole Bernie interview and the way he was being questioned.

I love how I am starting to irritate you now...come on...really?

I dont mean to irritate the great FerrariChat F1 God tifosi12, so my apologies

Oh and what looks odd about the car on the site? looks perfectly normal too me. Its a bit too artsy of an angle but looks fine by me, but then again you know best.

 

Your rhetoric does your argument no good.
Chill a bit and you'll be given more credence.
David

 

"And in the end,
the love you get,
is equal to the love you give."

 

OMG... I just opened USF1's site for the 1st time... the car shown is nothing more than a graphic. Good god!

 

'Windsor is an idiot. Period. Have ever read his articles? Have you ever watched his interviews? He is Captain Shallow.'

Honestly - I don't understand the hatred either. I have no problem with the guy; he gives a very good analysis of drivers what their doing on the track, turn-ins etc. He would not be where he is if he were totally incompetent. Unlike us who are on the other side of the keyboard, not working in F1.

'Windsor could end this speculation at once by inviting a Speed TV camera team into his "factory" and show us the progress. The fact that he doesn't, speaks volumes.'

Volumes? get real; maybe Speed doesn't want to film anything yet; maybe they already have and it's upcoming. Maybe Ken Anderson doesn't want cameras in there....there are endless reasons.

I think we all need to lighten up around here....

 

Do you ever watch his grid interviews before the race? They make Jay Lenno's interviews look like Supreme Court narratives.

He started out as a (not very successful) team manager and has now sunken to local reporter. Not quite the career path of a Sir Williams or Enzo Ferrari.
BTW: I don't hate the guy, I just don't take him seriously. He was not a good team manager, he is a lousy reporter and how good he will be running USF1 we'll see shortly.

While there could be many reasons not to show their "factory", there are two very good ones to show it:

- his involvement with Speed TV makes it easy and quasi natural to report about it
- any showing would entice further sponsors and money

And once again: I'd love to see USF1 succeed. It'd be neat to have "our" own home team.

 

I have too much stress in my life to argue about this anymore; I'm optimistic about USF1....

 

I hope you are right and I'll eat crow in March. Seriously.

 

I made a post several pages back about Bernie's comments being taken slightly out of context, so I went and downloaded the qualifying session from which the comments were made.

So everyone can see it and formulate their own interpretations, I have uploaded that brief portion of the interview. Enjoy it while it lasts on Youtube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXpdJ127IaI

 

Sorry, I meant that there are contracts with existing teams... like Ferrari just signed Alonso, etc. I am not suggesting that USF1 is smoke and mirrors while the other teams are legit. I actually think ProDrive and Lola would have been the most legit of the new teams, and I think the selection process was largely bogus and probably involved tons of back room deals.

But I would tend to think that a company that is in the racing business will have more resources to get a better start than someone starting from scratch, even if the former doesn't even build their own cars. There are the logistics of racing, all the little details that take time to learn and such. I'm sure Windsor knows a lot of that because he's close to F1, but it's still different when you are in the game vs. observing the game.

The thing that strikes me also is that, as I recall, wasn't at least one or two of the teams talking about using Dallara/Lola chassis'? USF1 seemed to be talking about the grandest of plans, but also having the furthest to go, and the most ambitious plans.

Like I said, I hope they make it because I would so love to see an F1 car with "US F1" on the nose kicking ass and winning races, but I don't see Windsor as the guy to do it.

Also, I believe F1 to be an incestuous and politics-laden business where fairness and honesty are not part of the vocabulary. I think all of Windsors rhetoric is mostly talking up his business and even if he knows there's no way he will be on the grid in '10, he isn't saying that... so I get a little aggravated when he is hyping up his team and talking about it all the time when I don't see it happening. We shall see. Like I said, I would love to be wrong... but it's no coincidence that Windsor seems to be distancing himself from the operation.

We shall see, and I hope I am wrong... but it's, what, 16-18 weeks or so until the cars will be getting loaded up into the transporters on their way to the first race? And usually cars debut in January or so.. that's only 10 or so weeks away. Few weeks here to do this task, few weeks there for that, and the first race of '10 will be upon us.

I manufacture automotive and electronics stuff for a living, as well as medical and consumer devices. If we focus 100% on designing a new product, it takes months... sure the main design doesn't take that long, but it's all the little details that take forever. To scale that up to making a whole F1 car... I can totally see why teams like Toyota have staffs of 1000 people and budgets of hundreds of millions of $$$. It really does that that sort of effort to built a whole custom car. And those teams have prior years cars to fall back on, so instead of making whole new parts, they make incremental changes. USF1 is starting totally from scratch. I think if they were going to make it, they would have to have a staff of hundreds of people and the facilities would be as busy as a beehive with people doing everything. But instead it seems more like they are focusing more on hype than actual production.

We shall see... I would love to be wrong.

 

Add me to the "Heart says yes, brain says no" list. Because of the immense silence surrounding USF1, it's doubtful they're somewhere in between right now. Either they're dead in the water and don't want to let on, or they're sitting pretty and keeping a low profile. If they were straddling the line, they'd be showing off their progress to attract further interest.

 

Indeed.

 

I dunno, is JC Whitney still in business?

Would Windsor even know where Charlotte is?

And with that picture they have already been fined $100,000 Euro and have been put back 5 spots on the grid for using an illegal right-front tire warmer...

If you give me 200 mill I will resurrect any defunct team you want.

Doubtful.

If ANYTHING positive was being done, it would be ALL OVER the media because they need the advance P/R to help secure sponsors. But then again, look at Team Brawn: all over the media, and no new sponsors of relevance.

And yet not a word about drivers for USF1?

 

They "claim" to have several years budget secured.

I don't buy it unless Hurley gave them his bank account numbers.


The lack of drivers announced is troubling, but on course with the rest of F1 and all the other new teams.

It will be interesting to see what shakes out.

 

I think Peter Windsor has been around long enough to know how to get the job done, in no way is he an "idiot".
Am I enthralled with Speeds F1 coverage...no, I remember Murray Walker being as well informed and much more fun, though more cliched..lol.
I crack up when they all start shouting when an overtaking maneuver is happening, especially Hobbs.
Other times it makes me feel like I'd got up early (Mountain time) to watch Barrett-Jackson or something.
To stay on topic, I doubt this team will make the grid in 2010 as well, but wish the concept for a US GP team well. A proper US GP race would be great as well, even a Canadian one.
Every Arabic country has an F1 race, so it's whoever puts up the most money, designs a circuit in the middle of a bloody desert and we're on, that seems to be the new way.
Meanwhile the return to Suzuka was heralded as a return to a 'proper' track, which it is.
I try to stay interested in current F1, but it is hard for me to pay that much attention to the even worse circus it has become..Please let's have a decade without Bernie, please!
GV27TIFOSI

 

Add me to the "heart says yes; head says no" contingent. There seems to be a dearth of activity on all fronts: design, drivers, sponsors, etc. If this operation were a go for 2010, we would be innundated with information leaks, etc.
I hope I'm wrong.

 

I find it odd that Windsor, even at times within the same interviews, has contradicted himself regarding his team's exposure policy.

He said he'd have a TV studio in the factory, and we'd see progress of the car being designed and built as it happens (or maybe with a couple of month delay?).

But he also emphasized the team's SkunkWorks philosophy...taking a "small number of the best people" and designing the car while keeping a low profile and keeping quiet.

 

After reading this thread last night I went to bed and had the most bizarre dream. In the dream I was travelling to the race shop north of Charlotte that built my Superformance to get some new brake parts. Nothing very weird about that.

On my way to Mooresville, though, I stopped my rental car to get a bite to eat. Walking toward the restaurant I saw David Hobbs, with a bag of food and a drink, come out the door and walk around the building and out into an open field. He walked about 20 yards and disappeared down some kind of recessed stairway. I was curious and followed. The landscape looked like a large football field, except all the yardlines were glowing. At about midfield was the stair that led down to a large door, rather like an ICBM silo door. It was wide open, so I walked down. At the bottom was a smaller door that I had to squeeze through. Walking inside I found myself in a giant, gleaming, hangar-like factory, with hundreds of technicians at CAD stations and CNC machines. Looking up I realized that the glowing stripes I had seen in the landscape were actually skylites, and the grass was a grass-planted “green” roof. The place looked much like the Ferrari engine factory, complete with pools and interior trees. Off to my left I saw Hobbs, seated at a small table under a ficus tree, eating a sandwich. Beyond him was a race chassis with a technician underneath, frantically wrenching at something. He was being watched by a stocky guy who had his back to me. When he began to speak I recognized Steve Matchett’s voice saying, “Come on son!! Come on!!” Just then two very large, very strong security types lifted me up by the armpits and politely said, “Sorry sir, this is a restricted area”. Everything fell quiet and all the people turned to look at me. Hobbs put his sandwich down, looked at me and said, “Cricky”. That’s when I woke up. I gotta cut down on the Fchat.

 

A big part of selling in a dry market (for some salesmen) is acting like you're really successful and people should be flocking to you to try to get in on the deal. But it's a very amateur method and anyone with a shred of experience can see right through it.

Windsor says they have several years budget secured, but I know for a fact that is a lie. He's trying to create the impression that they are doing really well, and trying to create a sense of urgency for those who may have a passing interest, that they better get in on the deal while it's still available.

It's more than a bit dishonest.

I doubt even Toyota has "several years budget secured".

And that begs the question, if it was a real effort and really gonna happen, why is Windsor spouting such obvious BS? If we can see it on a car forum, surely anyone sharp enough to have accumulated the wealth required to be a potential investor could see it too.

 

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79326

More of what we've heard in the past: they want two American drivers, but will more likely wind up with only one, and possibly 0 for the first year.

 

Chances are they will have Zero drivers, of any nationality.

 

From a Joe S Blog make what you will of it ,there are some pictures but I can't be bothered posting them.

There have been lots of rumours in recent weeks that the USF1 team was not going to make it. This has prompted the team to give a few more details of what is going on at its base at Charlotte, North Carolina. Team boss Ken Anderson explains what has been happening.

Ken, what is going on at US F1 Team?

“It has been quite a ride since we started the team last year, and has become far more intense since the signing of the Concorde Agreement. Our world headquarters is now complete and fully functional, and the 2010 racecar is in the construction phase.”

So the car is finally being built? Isn’t it a little late to get something like that started?

“Funny that you ask that question – we get that one a lot. Thanks to our in-house design and engineering staff and the aid of our technical partners, for the last 10 to 12 months, the car has gone through thousands of iterations in a virtual environment. With this virtual design, we can test and be sure that it’s right from structural, design and engineering standpoints, so we don’t have to make a part, test it, break it and start again. Instead, we’ve taken out a lot of the guesswork and can get close to a race-ready piece right off of the machines, which is happening now. Our timing is according to plan, with an early November “roller” and a finished car in time for January 2010 testing.”

So who’s building the car? Americans? Europeans? Are you building the car in Charlotte?

“I’ll answer the last part of the question first. Yes, we’re building the car in our shop here in Charlotte. America is known as a “melting pot” and our team is a reflection of just that. Americans, Europeans, New Zealanders, Welshmen and more are responsible for the racecar, including many who have high-level experience in the current Formula One environment. Many of our new hires we connected with back in June and July, and they will be joining the team formally at the end of the month. We are very grateful to the current Formula One teams for releasing some of our “newest” team members early – that has been a huge help as we continue to prepare for the 2010 Formula One season.”

Let’s talk about what we’re seeing in some of these pictures…what are we looking at here?

“In two words, we’re “fully equipped.” Our machine shop features three- and five-axis CNC machines; we have a composite shop with autoclaves and a 24-foot CNC cutting table; a complete fab shop; assembly and sub-assembly; electronics; research and development; design and engineering; CFD and aerodynamics; marketing and communications; and a full in-house HD production facility, just to name a few departments. Building a team and a world class manufacturing facility are a work-in-progress but we’re ahead of schedule and are excited about going racing next year.”

Can you talk a little about the cost efficiency of manufacturing a Formula One car in the U.S. How can the operation be cheaper than what we’ve seen out there?

“The major cost savings will be that the engineering and production of the cars will be done in the United States. Our technical partners located within a 30-mile radius of our shop contribute to this savings, as there are some departments we don’t have to have in-house, such as a wind tunnel, shaker rig, K&C machine, additional CFD support and a center of gravity machine. What most people see – the transporters, motorcoaches and the “lifestyle” side of Formula One – are a much smaller part of the overall budget and will be located at our European facility, which we’ll tell you about soon!”

 

thx!!!!
Here is the link with pictures;
http://joesaward.wordpress.com/

looks pretty damn cool to me! They may not make the grid, but from the looks this is a great step!
Kevin

 

Assuming these pictures were actually taken at their factory it looks like USF1 is for real.

Table for 3 please: We will all have the same meal: Crow with Spaghetti. Medium for Benoit and me, well done for Bernie please.

Actually that's pretty neat to have our "own" team on the grid. I read that aside from Youtube also BestBuy is going to be a sponsor, since they intend to start opening stores in Europe.

 

No crow or gloating here; but as respected as Benoit is; he is not the only source for F1 news....
Good to see an update regardless of who reported it....