I didn't see anyone post this yet and thought it was interesting. http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/080616154123.shtml "Following Super Aguri's demise, Honda may soon have another satellite Formula One team up and racing. Reports from Portugal claim that Ken Anderson, a well-known US engineer who has worked in prominent F1 roles, is in promising talks about setting up an American outfit. The reports said that while nothing is guaranteed, the Honda-powered team could be ready to debut as soon as 2009. Anderson was reportedly a Honda guest throughout the recent Montreal race weekend, meeting with team chiefs Ross Brawn and Nick Fry. None of the parties wanted to comment, but sources close to Honda have apparently said that the Japanese manufacturer is ready to sell engines, gearboxes and KERS systems to the new team. Anderson is said to be meeting with F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone in London this week. The US outfit would be assisted by Honda's North American arm, as well as several backers from within the US, while Takuma Sato is favourite for the lead cockpit. Portugal's Alvaro Parente, who made his F1 test debut in January as a prize for winning the 2007 World Series by Renault, was mentioned as a possibility for the other seat. The reports said Anderson's F1 team could be announced officially in mid-summer." I, as probably most of you, would love to see this happen. Hopefully a good enough American driver will come along someday to fill one of the seats. It'd be great to finally see F1 covered during the sports on the nightly news.
Thats just what they need is Sato as the lead driver. Then they are guaranteed to lose. Maybe they can dig up some of the other old drivers and toss their bones into the cockpit.
If they aren't a constructor, then won't they be considered a customer of Honda, which won't be allowed in 2010?
Unless an American-based team has top-notch equipment and drivers, it will do absolutely nothing for fan building and viewership numbers here. Nobody's going to care that the car in 17th place has an American driver that couldn't get a NASCAR ride -- especially when it's powered by Honda.
Haha, well scratch my last few sentences. I guess I'm the only one who would like to see it happen! Even if they replaced Force India as the backmarkers, I still like the thought of an American team in F1. More than that though, I'd like to have a Grand Prix in the US again.
I bet many of us would like to see a U.S. f1 team. Even as a backmarker. Got to start somewhere. Shouldn't it be a U.S. constructor though, not Honda? And welcome to f-chat.
If this team wants media and public attention, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti, already Honda drivers, would sell a few tickets to a USGP. Danica would bring them in in Europe and South America. Not sure about Asia. Danica is testing for Honda later this year. They may not run up front, but F1 will become better known in the USA.
+1, especially when the lead driver of the "American" team is Japanese and the second driver is Portugese!
Supposedly the Danica/Honda testing thing is a BS rumor. As for Honda sponsoring an American team in F1, if F1 wants to be "in America" it needs to do it with a successful team. As the previous poster said, Takuma Sato in the seat is a recipe for failure, especially combined with Honda running gear. Blech... no thank you. I'd put money on such an effort lasting 2-3 years and then fizzling out. Nobody would be interested, and no doubt Honda just wants a home for the beloved (in Japan) Sato, and the American who would sign that deal would be accepting failure before he even started, just to give Honda an out so as they aren't seen to have fired Sato. Bad deal all around. F1 doesn't really have a big enough presence in the USA for any domestic manufacturers to really give a crap (thanks Bernie! thanks Max!) and the US car companies don't really have enough presence in Europe for them to give a crap about F1 over there. I know Ford is big in much of Europe but there are other racing series that would benefit them a lot more than F1. If they want to tap into the goldmine that is the USA, they at first need to have at *least* a race in the USA, if not two. And they need more competition. Nobody wants to see a parade and just be told that F1 is sooo l33t that only the Euro illuminati can grasp it. And the fans would also like to watch the race with some skin in the game - i.e. a US team. But some engineer getting cars from Honda (or most of a car from Honda) and being Hondas beyotch and agreeing to put their driver in the car does not an American team make. Just take the money they would have spent on it and buy a few kilos of coke... at least they'll get some pleasure out of it and it would be more likely to turn a profit than this ill conceived F1 venture
I think that only applies to the construction of the car. Customer engines are allowed. Not sure about anything else outside of that.
I would contend that Honda and Toyota are US manufacturers. I was in the Toyota business in the early 90's and at that time, the Camry was more 'domestic' than a Crown Victoria --- but it wasn't 'American' because those working on the line weren't UAW members!
I don't see much "American" in this "American outfit." What I'd like to see is somebody like Penske or Ganassi put together a real American team...engine, chassis and drivers. Jack
Takuma Sato? No thanks. If any team actually considers him as a serious fill for a race seat,they don't belong in the championship. As for a U.S. team, I think a GM, Ford or Chrysler factory team would be better for sparking U.S. interest. I know it's a pretty far fetched idea, but we need at least one U.S. race, and a true U.S. constructor if the sport is going to gain popularity. A decent American driver would be key too.
Indycar uses Honda (Japanese) Engines, Dallara (Italian) Chassis, Firestone/Bridgestone (Japanese) Tires, but still considered "American Open-Wheel Racing" ... just need American drivers, and an American race venue.
+1 on the Penske or Ganassi idea, but what are the chances of them even being interested in that, much less the expense of such an idea? This all seems great in theory, but which American driver can we really have faith in to eventually be competitive in F1? Graham Rahal isn't even interested, Marco Andretti is a big maybe, and Danica would just be a big publicity stunt. Like Jack said, this can't just be another Super Aguri; big names and even bigger money would be required to even stay afloat in F1. An American version of Vijay Mallya might work.
I didn't know about this new rule... what will happen to ForceIndia-Ferrari, Redbull-Renault and STR-Ferrari? and on that note... why are the 2 other Ferrari-engined teams always at the opposite end of the spectrum from the Scuderia? I was waiting for that name to come up... team him up with Danica Patrick!
Gone. Unless they build their own car. Which Redbull said they will, but not STR. Too bad because the owner of A1GP was going to buy Spyker, and then the winner of the A1GP series would be his driver.
oh wait.. so why is the Force India even in F1 ? They have the most lavish hangout trailer, and are spending money for nothing... didn't the owner said that they will be successful in a few years? Will Force India build their own, just like Redbull? Or are they going to disappear like STR?
I think this information is wrong. Someone found the script to "Talledega Nights 2". Ricky Bobby creates his own Ah-mur-a-ken "Formula uhhhh" team and gets a Japanese co-driver, played by Jackie Chan (who, is Chinese of course but what does that have to do with anything made in Hollywood anyway). Not to spoil the movie but the final race of the year is in Monaco, which Ricky thinks is cool because he's never been to Africa. Hey, it can't be any worse than that Stallone racing movie...
You guys are confusing customer engines with customer cars. Customer engines have been and will continue to be allowed for the forseeable future. Customer cars are technically illegal now, but are being allowed most likely through some sort of settlement between the teams. With the demise of Super Aguri, STR and Red bull are the only teams sharing chassis. They do this by having a 3rd party design the chassis (Red Bull Engineering or something like that) and then both build their own. This skirts the rules enough to get by. It is also rumored that their may have been a payoff to keep teams like Williams and at that time Spyker from lodging protests and or making a big issue in the press. These small teams don't appreciate the fact that they struggle on tiny budgets to design their own car while STR effectively gets a free ride. It was originally planned that customer cars would be allowed outright in 2009. This was when Prodrive was to join the series, possibly with a customer Mclaren chassis. However this idea was squashed on the basis that F1 should be for constructors only. Customer engines are allowed by the regulations. A team may supply up to 2 other teams with their own engines. Williams (Toyota), STR (Ferrari), Force India (Ferrari), and Red Bull (Renault) all use customer engines.
