Ecclestone: USF1 and Campos Meta won’t make it
December 22, 2009 by Negative Camber
Filed under People & Events, Top Story
The Times Ed Gorman had a story yesterday in which he quotes commercial rights boss Bernie Ecclestone as suggesting that two teams won’t make the grid in 2010 in Bahrain.
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.
Specifically Gorman says Ecclestone was speaking of USF1 and Campos Meta. Campos Meta has signed Bruno Senna and passed two of the FIA’s mandatory crash tests using a Dallara chassis while USF1 is presenting their case that everything is fine and they are on track.
Much speculation has been made of USF1’s ability to design and build a car for the 2010 season. The cost to design and manufacture a car from a white sheet of paper is immense and while their charter was to be a new, different and economic team in F1 it seems that F1 has proven to be money pit that everyone knew it was all along.
The upside for Campos Meta is that they are using a pre-made F1 chassis from Dallara so much of the gray matter has already been bought and paid for by the Italian manufacturer. Driver Bruno Senna is rumored to bring large sponsor dollars and if this is the case, Campos Meta could hang on.
It is a noble charge to create a team from scratch but the costs must be immense and while you can work within a budget, your performance and ability to be competitive may seriously struggle. Is Ecclestone correct? CAn USF1 and Campos Meta field a competitive car or will the new friendlier and lower cost F1 still have teeth enough to bite even the most frugal of teams?
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I don’t have enough fingers to count how many times Bernie has come out in the press and stated something and it turned out to not be true. *cough cough* the British GP. I am just starting to ignore him.
True. Bernie likes to put pressure on those things and people that he has concerns about. He chooses to do that through the press. When he has misgivings about an issue or concerns, for whatever reason, he usually voices it publicly to stir the water and see what happens.
By suggesting these two teams won’t make it is his version of a press-induced Coulthard “man-challenge”. :)
Maybe we’ll get lucky and Bernie won’t make it either. If you take the time and count the rings on the back of his neck he’s about 120 years old.
heehee :) true! don’t you love Bernie though? What would F1 be without a bit (ok, ok, … sometimes an overdose of) controversy? a “perfect” motor sport, ran “perfectly” by “perfect” executives? what are we going to do without him? he is the only billionaire around! People want a billionaire to lead F1, not a jump-start nobody successor… Bernie is such a personality…AND, by the way, even when he is gone, his ghost will still be around to negotiate the commercial rights of F1… like the president of the board of directors will be “Bernie’s Ghost” – he ain’t going anywhere!
I feel as though Bernie is just pushing these teams to reveal more… especially USF1! Sort of a take on name-and-shame to get them to put up or get out. They’ve still got Stefan GP in the wings! I was a little surprised about Campos but USF1 seems to be awfully quiet (at least given what i hear in the UK) so I can understand if there are suspicions about them.
That’s a good point as back when the initial offer opened for new teams there were a few but now there may be more teams who have better financing in place that Bernie would rather see on the grid. Perhaps Stefan GP is one of them.
Look I hate Bernie but he’s on to something here. If Lotus (who started later) have crash tested a car USF1 has not then…. draw your own conclusions. Also speed tv has been very quite ever since the launch announcement in early summer? Where are all the specials and insider show with Steve Matchett? Where are they? Wasn’t this the team that supposed to have web cams setup in the factory so that fans could what the cars being built!?! Oh wait you ahve to have a CAR and a FACTORY first. How silly of me. I’m telling you right now that when Hurley backed out Peter and Ken went oh Sh!t and are backing on selling there grid slot to either Dave Richards or Stephan GP!! America we have now twice had the wool pulled over our eyes!!
Not so fast Bernie
http://racingwire.info/
Just the photo
http://racingwire.info/images/stories/200912f1usf1firstchassis.jpg
That’s Nick Craw next to the chassis, the first for USF1. Notice the engine mockup at the back. I guess Cosworth sent one over to take measurements.
PS: I tried posting this several times but I ran into issues everytime. Hope this goes through.
Not so fast Bernie. Go to racingwire.info
That’s Nick Craw next to the chassis, the first for USF1. Notice the engine mockup at the back. I guess Cosworth sent one over to take measurements.
PS: I tried posting this several times but I ran into issues everytime. Hope this goes through.
I am not sure about the source on this one. No time/date and the photo says Ken Anderson. It clearly is not Ken but Nick. There is nothing that would say this is USF1 other than than the author.
They needed to have Nick holding a newspaper with a date on it and a GPS location so we could verify. :)
In Peter’s BBC response today he says the chassis is done and they are waiting on engines from Cosworth. I know it’s Nick Fry in the photo, but could that photo be like a month old perhaps? Could they have kept it secret that long? Who knows.
its nick craw, not fry
from looks of the photo it also looks like they all theri sponsors painted on the car as well :)
Let me try that again…..
From the looks of the photo it appears they have painted all their sponsors on the car as well :)
Proofreading is a virtue
Whether Bernie is right or wrong seems almost beside the point to me. The teams have been selected for 2010 and the last thing they need as the try to hammer out sponsorship, suppliers, lines of credit and whatever else is Bernie popping up and casting doubt on their ability to make it to the grid.
Bernie should be talking up the new teams. Failing that (and I’m sure I’ve posted this line before) “If you can’t say anything helpful, shut the **** up.”