Op-Ed: USF1…a dream not worth saving
February 21, 2010 by Negative Camber
Filed under F1B Op-Ed, Negative Camber, People & Events, Top Story
More rumors swirl today regarding USF1 and it’s Titus Andronicus-like gore and tragedy. It seems that team owner Ken Anderson is appealing to the FIA’s grace and seeking some dispensation for missing a handful of races in order to get his shop in line and investors on board. It also appears that investor Chad Hurley has lost patience and is removing his cash from the operation. Some media outlets have Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson at odds with each other with Windsor leaving the team ( we’ll let you be the judge of that story).
Some have suggested that USF1′s only tangible asset at this point is a grid slot for the 2010 season and they may be keen to sell it to the Serbian businessman-turned-F1 team Zoran Stefanovic. Stefanovic has acquired the assets of Toyota F1 and is poised, by all appearances, to stand in the gap should USF1 fail to materialize. Stefan GP, or as we like to call them “Step-In GP”, is ready and willing but lack an official entry.
Convenient to suggest that Hurley may do a deal with Step-In GP for the FIA entry but to be honest, why would that asset be valuable when Stefanovic can simply wait and see what happens? THe FIA and commercial rights boss Bernie Ecclestone may not like the idea of granting teams entry just days before a race but they will do what they need to in order to protect their series. If they can convince Stefanovic to buy this entry from Hurley in order for him to recoup some of his lost investment dollars, so be it but I wouldn’t place a high value on that if I were Stefanovic.
Let us be honest with ourselves here. There is no reason to prolong this charade at this point. The Italian press is already calling USF1 a “bluff” and the world already views this an epic fail. Many US F1 fans were excited with the words that Peter Windsor used to describe the new team 10 months ago and were romanticizing about the Dan Gurney era or Phil Hill. Draping those memories with the American flag and resigning ourselves to the notion that a Charlotte North Carolina-based operation could work. In short, we suspended our disbelief in favor of a faith in Windsor and words.
I recommend the FIA and Formula One Management do nothing to try to prop up this team or prolong its existence.
It is a lost cause at this point and the sheer embarrassment is just off-the-hook ridiculous. F1B wanted the team to succeed but saw early on that there was something wonky about how it was being ran, the lack of PR efforts and outreach, the multiple emails and calls left unreturned etc. Something was amiss. Like many of you, we kept hoping for the best and tried to remain patient.
In the end, what is gained by allowing an extension? What outcome would be positive by propping up the team to get a chassis on the grid that is put together on the rush and assembled with no tests or resources to even put petrol in the car? This is a stillborn operation and it needs time to ferret out what it can and cannot do. In business, and management should have known this, it is often more important to define what you won’t do rather than what you will. What the team obviously cannot do at this point is race!
Let’s be honest folks, this is the pinnacle of motor sports not a weekend karting series. To be cobbling together parts and pieces to get a car on the grid could be damned dangerous. If former FIA president Max Mosley felt that this is what F1 needed from the privateer base, I fear he was very wrong. I’m not that comfortable with Campos Meta as it only has three weeks to get a car on the grid. The saving grace is that they are using a near fully-developed Dallara chassis and that has me feeling a little better about the prospect.
No one is more sensitive to the national pride of the USF1 project than I am but even that was tenuous at best as the team was not fielding American drivers under the auspices of a complicated Super License application process and that no American drivers had the qualifications to apply for one. Which prompted the question, does Jose Maria Lopez have one? The pride of a nation attached to an all-American team seemed noble by anyone’s measure but not realistic in a depressed economy and mounting expenses that I am assuming the owners did not anticipate.
Did Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor set out to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes? Of course not. Were they intent on misleading Americans and the F1 community at large? Not a chance. Were they under funded, overreaching and ill-prepared in a depressed economy with limited time? I think, yes. For this reason the FIA should allow a more mature and financially viable team like Step-In GP in the series to protect the racing and name of F1. Their obligation is to the world of F1 fans and not just to US fans who’d like to see a team flying the stars and stripes. The FIA must complete the due diligence of Step-In GP and be honest and accountable to the other teams in the series as to provide a healthy competitor who is safe and seasoned at some level so as to not pose a risk on the track.
USF1 should regroup and lick their wounds. I suspect given a years time they may well have a better understanding of what they are facing financially and make another go at it. If I am honest, the only real challenge, in F1 terms, that could come from the US would be an existing, well-ran team like Penske or Ganassi. These teams have the operations and capacity to field a car and get to the grid in competitive style. If the cost-cutting in F1 continues, these teams may be well seated to represent a real American presence in F1 and have a damn good possibility of being competitive instead of the obvious also-ran status of USF1 should they be lucky enough to get to the grid in three weeks time.
Even if we could save USF1 now, who thinks they would be safe, competitive and financially viable enough to make all the races and carry the expense of the year without a nominal ROI? F1 privateer teams all have the dubious task of attempting to build and run a business with other peoples money and anyone who has been down that road, like me, can tell you that it is a difficult proposition. USF1 only warrants our dogged determination in saving if we feel it is a viable competitor and by that I mean within the realm of competitive…not race winning. I don’t see that happening any time soon.
As Americans, are we so starved for a US team that we would prolong this debacle just to get a car on the grid and watch it run around for a few laps 4-6 seconds off the pace? OR should we re-double our efforts behind something more akin to a real American operation? I vote the latter because we shouldn’t let our passion for F1 and American involvement cloud our better judgment.
With all deference to Windsor and Anderson, what I do believe this episode has taught us is that while many suggest this proves the US is not a place for F1…I argue the opposite. We have shown a passion and willingness to get behind a US operation even to the point of suspending our disbelief in the face of obvious and glowing errors and misnomers.
I have seen a few stories on blogs and F1 sites in Europe stating the Stefen GP has a backlog of unpaid bills of the past few months. If that is true, I don’t see them lasting very long even if they are given a spot. They aren’t part of the concord agreement at this point, so they don’t get money for travel either. It will have to come out of their pocket. I haven’t heard of any sponsors coming on board either yet. Good ole Super Zoran may soon find himself out of money as well.
The economy is tough right now. Autosport reported today that with Virgins problems in testing, they are now behind in getting things done on their car as far as realiability goes. Poor Saubers car still has no logos on it.
It could be a very tough season for all teams, just not the new ones.
We in the United States will not get another chance for an F1 team, race, or even taken seriously for years to come in the world motor sports stage because of this failure. And that is what bothers me the most.
Perhaps then, Hurley’s money does make sense from a Campos or Stefen GP point of view but I have to think he is once bitten, twice shy. If I am Zoran, I wouldn’t pay a premium for the entry slot because what else is Bernie going to do? Who else will be ready in three weeks? t he entry slot is worthless if Bernie needs all the teams on the grid. If he is resigned to tell the world that Max’s privateer plan didn’t work out that great and we are going to be one team short, then so be it. I don’t see Bernie having any trouble saying they will be a team short this year because Americans couldn’t get their crap together.
Dodgy game between Zoran and the FIA/FOM. I would hold out on paying a premium for the slot but then offer a stipend a few days before because Zoran needs to make sure he gets on the Concorde Agreement or all his cash is spent for nothing too. Bernie knows that all too well.
very well said, the biggest disappointment in my eyes is that of all the new “privateer” teams, is that USF1 had the most time to do what was needed. They announced their intentions a very long time ago.
As far as being underfunded thats their own fault. By saying nothing, and implying that everything is ok. USF1 lost a chance at some real sponsorship dollars. There where rummers of Best Buy coming in as a title sponsor. If USF1 was more open to their needs, then maybe a site like yours could have maybe helped show Best Buy that maybe there was money to be made from being a Title sponsor, maybe.
Don’t you think Rockstar or Monster would LOVE to go up against Red Bull? Starbucks, Microsoft, Apple even. I sure other “google” money would have come to invest if Chad Hurley was made to feel happy.
Did Ken say in the NY Times interview that Chad was still involved with the team as well? As far as I have heard, it’s just speculation that Chad wants to take his money elsewhere.
Of all the new times for the 2010 season, USF1 was the one that most fans wanted to succeed. We need more visibility in North America and what seemed like an exciting idea on paper has failed to transpire. You cannot knock their ambition, but sadly the execution, planning and finance seems poor in comparison.
Hear hear! I am very sad for the outfit, and was very excited about the prospect. And I still think the idea is excellent. I just hope that one apparent failure (I shall suspend disbelief a little longer, just in case) doesn’t pole-axe the principle forever.
It was the one that most AMERICAN fans wanted to succeed. I’m fairly active on a bunch of over-seas F1 forums, and I can tell you that USF1 was definitely NOT the team (of the four new ones) that most Non-American fans wanted to succeed. Far from it actually.
That said, I’m very sad that USF1 couldn’t pull it off. I was really pulling for them. As an American F1 fan, I’ve been excited about the prospect of a US team in F1 from the start.
From a F1 fan perspective, sporting integrity and quality at stake, I don’t think you need USF1. Heck, judging by their testing, I don’t think Lotus or VR belong, either. If the new teams actually showing up with cars are back of the pack, what good would more lapping material provide? Granted, we should give them a long-term chance at success, but the combinations of sponsors and car makers are hardly inspiring. With Schumacher and perhaps JV back alongside the present cast of characters, and no sign that USF1 will be bringing truly overlooked quality talent into the sport, the F1 purist in me says cut em loose.
Now, from a US fan perspective, I’d like to see something open wheel and American out there. We have gobs of talent stuck in Indycar or misdirected into NASCAR. I know Indycar’s elite would be at least as good as Fisichella or the like (but once USF1 starts signing up pay drivers from anywhere in the world, are they fulfilling that goal?). But if you are going to move that talent into F1 through an American vehicle, it will need to be better considered and funded than this attempt (I’m starting to think GP2 would be a better purist route, and the Ganassi/Penske the better commercial one). If they see anything in Anderson et al, maybe they should just defer them a year — what’s the point in rushing to be there midseason — and if they think they are a bunch of manifesto-drafters and dreamers (which I am beginning to think), just cut em loose.
I’m increasingly inclined towards cut em loose on the theory that the longer they drag this out claiming they are trying to get American sponsors to fund them, the more it looks like we don’t support the sport. Which might have a grain of truth but is not the message American racing fans want sent if we want a team anytime soon. Unless Best Buy has all but signed a massive sponsorship deal that just needs time, and will save the team and bring it to the grid for sure, they might do us a favor by quitting and not poisoning the well.
Unfortunately I do fear the loss of USF1 is really the death of the dream of an US based team for a long time to come (again!). While the idea of Ganassi/Penske taking up the mantle sounds great, they haven’t shown any interest in F1 in my lifetime, so why would that change now? Also they might not be the best ones to try anyway. Sure they have established teams and gobs of experience, but if I’m not mistaken (and oh how I usually am) they don’t actually build or design any of their own cars. Sure they could take a Campos rout and have someone else do the design work, and build, but I actually don’t like the idea of “customer cars”. That’s why I felt that a partnership, or new attempt at F1 should be done by someone like Panos who has a history in designing/building high end race cars in the US.
I can’t imagine a worse climate to try and launch a team, and in the end that may have been the undoing. That said, I think a US based team can succeed but you raise an interesting point, that it may well take someone with deeper US roots (Penske or Ganassi) to make it happen.
I’ve always found it odd that some, who create a mess, can’t simply say, “This is one big f—ing mess and we are done with it – sorry.”
I’m a U.S. based F-1 fan and had an optimism expectation of USF1. It all sounded good for quite a while. Memories of Dan Gurney and his team, though short lived, were reconstituted. Well, my minor cheering for USF1 evaporated over the past two weeks. I’ve said my good-byes and have moved on.
I hope Hurley finds some team to dump some U.S. money into – now or later. It would please me to see a U-Tube sponsor decal on an undetermined F-1 car of the future. As stated by the Captain, Panos could be a good candidate.
It always struck me that, of the new-for-2010 teams, USF1 was the only successful entrant that had no prior infrastructure or experience. Even the “Lotus” entry was based on an F3 team (of sorts).
I have to agree that it seems more likely that established racing teams like the ones you mention always stood a better chance of making the grid (yet alone racing success). I would go so far to suggest that USF1 should have started by running a car in IRL/GP2/F2 and building up their own infrastructure and talent-base before making their entry into the heady world of F1.
From my antipodean perspective, there has never been a “Team Australia” in F1. Any success on the part of Australians has simply inspired feelings of nationalistic pride after the event. This, to me at least, only reinforces the previous point.
Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part but I know Mazda has done such a terrific job at the grass-roots level in racing in the States. Bob Varsha pointed that out in our interview with him. I think an interesting possibility would be Mazda/Ford with Penske or Ganassi would be a really cool venture. It would take some time but I really do think these teams have the talent, know how and desire to make it in a slimmed down F1. Mazda could seriously use the global branding and make a good lump and the American angle is the US-based team and some Ford ownership.
They could use Hurley’s involvement and it would sell cars on Monday which is always a critical ROI. There are enough global companies in the US to get excited about this venture as well. Target, McDonald’s, Coke, Pepsi and many medium sized companies to fill in the gaps. This would work! They need to hire me to make it happen.
The only real reason I can see for why USF1 has had such difficulty in getting sponsors was their strategy of running silent when they were granted an entry spot. I’m sure there are many big companies that (regardless of the financial woes) would have gone to a team with such a niche position as the only Formula 1 team based in the Americas. I mean the banks have been on the rise (well the banks except Citi) and everyone else is starting to pick up… you can’t expect companies to sponsor a team that no one is sure about – and i can only see it getting harder if the team now admits they’ll need to miss the first 4 races!
You know a big part of the USF1 failure is the fact that they made things harder for themselves. I’m not talking about the overoptimistic words they were saying but about the building of the car procedure.
They wanted to built it in the US and have also a base in Europe, something very difficult. They also wanted to make everything themselves from scratch except the engine. And they wanted to do things in new ways with new people instead of putting for starters some old experience staff.
They should have let at least the gearbox to a third party. A good agreement with Williams would be nice there. Also the car should have been built and manufacture in Europe where it’s easier because of the infrastructure that exist there to help you built an F1 car. They should have left only the logistical offices in the US. Sure they wanted to make it the American way but survival is more important. If they managed to have a strong team and find strong partners in the US they could move later on.
They also started too late. They where waiting for the FIA to give them the entry but did nothing to be ready for when they got the entry to start working immediately. Until they got it they where home watching cartoons. A team that has a base, employees and machinery because it already has other GP2, GP3 teams maybe can afford doing something like that(although they all said they already had designs and models in the air tunnels) but not if you have to built everything from scratch, find a building, find people etc. And WTF! was all that talking about waiting the engine to built the car later on? You don’t need the engine you idiot, you already have the dimensions and the specs for that.
As about there marketing abilities. Well we all know how well that went. It’s amazing how a team with a planning 1.5 year before couldn’t find sponsors. They didn’t have just 4-5 months like the others. They had a lot more time to find the money. And since they where obviously not building a car at that time what the hell where they doing? I thought they where looking for money so they can have what they need. But they failed miserably.They should have realized that they don’t have the necessary funding a long before this date if they were looking for money for a year ahead than any other and still couldn’t find any money.
The single biggest problem with F1 and getting a new team on the grid is the antiquated system of only allowing a certain number of teams to compete.
If the system allowed for as many teams to join the series as wanted, USF1 would not have a problem. They could have registered their interest, taken their time to get their sh!t together and arrived halfway through the year to compete in qualifying.
USF1 were basically forced to jump into F1 and grab an available grid slot knowing that those open slots are so very rare and hard to come by.
If only there was unlimited teams allowed to battle it out for a set number of grid places this would not have been an issue for USF1 at all.
I agree with every word you said in this editorial.
There are a lot of people to blame in this. Bernie for his constant doubt, unwillingness to help, and destroying the home race of USF1. Max for letting the team proceed with such meager resources and not doing his due diligence with the team. Of course there is the management team of USF1 who over promised and under delivered.
This is just a sad, sad episode in American Formula One history.
I’m pretty astounded by the negativity here. Where’s the indefatigable American optimism?
A few Thoughts:
SGP can’t buy the grid slot for USF1 because, as the FIA has pointed out before, you can’t sell the grid slot. All you can do is sell the team. If SGP wants to buy USF1, and race as USF1 then ok, but otherwise it’s a non issue.
USF1 got into the game, as did the other new teams, with the expectation of a budget cap. Well, FOTA quashed that and that changes the landscape for sponsorship and investment into USF1. With a budget cap, sponsors could expect USF1 to be reasonably competitive with a modest budget. Without that cap, the sponsors know very well that USF1 would now likely be at the back of the grid without a major infusion of cash, making them a less attractive option for sponsorship.
The FIA, FOM, and FOTA should all recognize that the playing field changed drastically from the day these teams submitted their applications and support their efforts to get to the grid. If they want new teams on the grid, then they should be willing to be a little patient and offer a little support. If having new teams is good for the sport, and I think everyone thinks so, then they should all be willing to help the new teams get on their feet. If I were McLaren, I’d seriously think about stepping in and lending a hand. What PR coup that would be.
Now I agree that USF1 havn’t done themselves many favors with their tight-lipped-ness, but if Hurley is backing out, then I lay a large portion of the blame on him. I seriously doubt I would ever do business with a guy who reneges on on his partnerships like that. Nobody enters into a partnership in motorsport expecting an immediate ROI. You get into it because you love motorsport. Leave the ROI for the sponsors.
So maybe PeterKen have been a little naive, but I think a large part of the blame should go out to the FIA’s bait-and-switch, Bernie’s big mouth and Chad Hurley’s gutlessness.
C’mon folks! Let’s rally ’round the flag. Being the underdog is the American way, why should our F1 team be so different?
The solution is: regroup for 2011…
And take Jimmie Johnson and Lowe’s on board. The kid might actually be good enough to race over there. The sport he’s in now is dead, thanks in part to him. Rick Hendrick could afford to add this to his cap, as well.
That gives him a year to get his Super License, and Lowe’s enough time to develop a strategy to bring on Pepsi, the Hendrick Winery, and whoever else they want to fill the sides of the cars with.
That would give the rest of us a reason to root for the guy again.
I am a Greek fan, living in the US, and this whole USF1 story reminds me of the very first time Greece qualified for the world cup. Initially, the excitement looked like it could never end. It was history. Then, then team came in the US to compete in the finals. After 2 weeks, the team left with a negative 11 score (we received 11 goals in 3-4 games and scored none). The whole event was history that nobody wanted to remember. Having said that, I, like many on this post, believe that USF1 should let this chance go and seriously prepare for the challenges that F1 is known for. I think most Americans would agree that they would rather see no US-backed car in the grid than see it at the end of the grid on each and every race. I was standing by to see what the US could do (and at some point I was hoping for the big surprise) but it is clearly not the right time for big time. F! will still be there next year and the year after. So, grab your pop-corn and sit tight b/c shit will get crazy in the coming season!
I just gotta say….It’s hard to hear something that doesn’t make a sound.
I hope they can get their act together and continue to invest and find sponsors for a team in the future. I agree with Todd that maybe they need to grow up a little bit and be better funded in order to compete.
But they cannot play this quiet game with the media and their fans in the market they’re trying to attract!
Best of luck to USF1XYZ. I’m sure they’ll probably lose their grid slot this year, but maybe in 2 years or so, this project will turn out ok.
One ramification of their quietness is that it’s hard to distinguish dated rumors from current ones so everything looks dark. It’s hard to even know what the basic facts are, much less the truth of the opinions swirling around them. For instance, BBC’s Wednesday F1 rumors mention that USF1 is in trouble because a potential sponsor bailed. Is that the old one we heard about last week, or has the replacement bailed too? We can’t tell and that can’t help them sell the team.
i totally agreed with NC, but i want to add that another sad thing about this story is ’cause Anderson and co and Mosley bullsh.t some potential really good team as Prodrive, Epsilon Euskadi (rally rich),or Lola have been excluded. Fia has to explain now how they decided to admit usf1 and give them a slot, the only asset seems to be the nationality and the name of the team, but it was really an empty box! i really wanted to know how Max decided..