USF1 Team today announced that they have signed twenty six year old Argentine, Jose Maria “Pechito” Lopez to race with them in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The announcement was made from the US-based outfit’s headquarters in Charlotte, N.C

“Securing ‘Pechito’ Lopez for our debut season has been a goal of ours for a long time,” said US F1 Team Executive Vice President Peter Windsor.

“This is a truly memorable day for me, my family and the people of Argentina,” said Lopez. “I have been working towards this day for much of my life and I can’t thank Peter and Ken enough for this opportunity. Of course a new F1 team faces many challenges but our goal is to improve with each race and build a foundation that will eventually see this team competing for wins and championships.”

Being previously a contracted Renault driver, he has completed thousands of kilometers in and F1 car. Lopez has had a long carer in open wheel racing, winning the 2002 Italian Formula Renault Championship and scored several podiums in F3000 and GP2.

Lopez will be the 24th Argentine to race in Formula One, sustaining a heritage that began sixty years ago when Juan Manuel Fangio and Froilan “Pepe” Gonzalez took the F1 world by storm.

Team Principal, President and CEO Ken Anderson said finding the right drivers was a major part of forming US F1 Team.

“So many things go into starting a Formula One team from scratch,” Anderson said. “You can nail every step along the way but if you don’t have the right guys in the seats, everything else is for naught. With Jose Maria Lopez we have further positioned ourselves for a successful 2010 debut campaign.”