Thank you. Always good to get an inside view. Thanks for that. You have to admit that the media view is going to be the main image for the population at large. Since all of the video coverage is of PW, he is ALWAYS going to be publicly associated with the disastrous outcome of the USF1 team. They should have lined up all their ducks in a row before going public. You have to have plans in place for each department, you have to have your software in place for your programming staff, engineers, administration clerks, etc. You have to have the personnel to design, mechanics, admin staff, and all of the other staffs necessary for a large corporate effort. That is the bar to be successful, It will take a corporate size effort like Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes, Renault, etc. You are not going to get that with a bunch of cast offs or others with little to no experience. That is a cold hard case of reality, but it is what it is... You have to have an F1 EXPERIENCED staff to have any chance whatsoever. F1 is at the level where it takes a HIGHLY talented individual with solid performance to nail a slot on a team. With the video released that interviewed one after another with no experience, they don't have a chance against seasoned professionals. IMHO they left themselves with too short of a time frame after they had gone public and when they displayed their staff with no experience I knew it was looking rather bleak. I really, really wish this team could have taken off. It would have been very cool to see a popular US driver in a US team. If the team could have survived a few seasons it could have garnered a groundswell of support with an "we against the world" mentality. But you have to have a corporate level effort to even have a chance. I don't think Peter Windsor is the "Rainmaker" he thought himself to be. This has to be a gut wrenching experience for him right now. His true role was as a "Rainmaker" that can lift a company off the ground and generate massive income for a company through his leadership and sales skills and vision to take the company FAR beyond where they would be with an average person in his position. PW had the connections from his many years in the sport. PW and KA really should have lined all of their ducks in a row and had the infrastructure in place with seasoned professionals before they went public along with the admin staff to keep everything running in a normal business model. You HAVE to have that in place to have a business with a sustainable future. I would be most interested to know more about Ken Anderson's role. Maybe you could start a thread on him and give us more info on his role in the USF1 team. You have to admit there has been very little media info and that's all we have to go on. Again, thanks for the inside info Frank
That has been the main problem it has been a nonexistent PR disaster. And thus open to all the flak from the start. No doubt we will get to know what really happened or should I say what did not happen in time.
amazingly good assessment Frank! spot on, on all points. over the weekend i'll see what i think i can safely divulge.
Now come on - you can't drop a bomb like that and not give us more info! I don't recall that KA really had much "in" with F1 other than having been involved with making/delivering parts (shocks?) which is where he got to know Windsor. How did Hurley get involved? I'd love to know that story! Do we need to schedule an f-chat gathering and get some beers in you before you give up the scoop? That can be arranged! I am not sure what PW's relationship with Mad Mad and Bernie is like, but I would have thought that PW being in constant proximity - and (when needed and allowed) contact with those two - would be instrumental in getting things off the ground. Or was KA the one talking to MM and the FIA about getting an entry? It seems more than a little... coincidental... that PW has now been involved with multiple fizzle-out F1 start-ups. He may have been largely a useful idiot in USF1-land, but he's certainly been the face of the team all along, and based on the BS he fed us in those TV puff-pieces, it's hard to imagine he was duped just like we all were.
Thank you very much for the kind compliment Many F1 fans on this forum are all trying to piece together the puzzle from the bits and fragments we receive from the media. Of course we all know we are going to get a slanted angle depending on their motives and agenda. That is unfortunately far too common. I really liked the vision and wish we could have made it possible. I would have loved to have worn a USF1 t-shirt to one of the F1 races at Indy or one of the future races in the US (possibly Long Beach or something similar?). Get everything all lined up and done behind the scenes before you go public with it. Make sure you can deliver before you show the world...and then deliver it...that's how you build a reputation. That way if you can't make it happen at least you can walk away and don't have the glare of the spotlight and millions of people viewing your agonizing plight... Some of the greatest dreams in the world have been made into reality by having a firm foundation and lots of thought, hard work and dedication along with a proven team manager that knows how to run it as a business as well...can someone say "Enzo Ferrari"? Enzo had years of experience running a racing team from his years with Alfa Romeo. When Enzo set up Ferrari he hired talented engineers, mechanics and others that were highly talented and skilled. He had the experience and knowledge of how to put the necessary infrastructure in place to run a factory level effort...plus Enzo got things done... PW is no Enzo... and it must be admitted neither is KA... Neither man has the experience or ability to start up and run a factory level effort. I feel really bad for the staff they have that did all that work and now aren't getting paid...especially for those that uprooted themselves and family to move there and now the carpet gets yanked out from under them... Frank
I don't really have a personal opinion of him, but he had a dream, he tried, and it didn't work out, thats life. But I give him credit for trying.
