Posts tagged USF1
Formula1 to Return to USA in 2012
May 26th
Bernie Ecclestone on Tuesday announced via his official website that the USA will host a round of Formula1 again from 2012 in Austin, Texas.
An interesting detail to note straight away is that rather then using an existing race track or building a street circut, a permanent race track specifically designed for Formula1 and other potential support race will be built from scratch.
Tavo Hellmund, from Full Throttle Productions who are the promoters of the event said “For the first time in the history of Formula 1 in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event”. The designer of the circuit is yet to be named, however suspicions obviously point to Hermann Tilke who has created the majority of the recent modern Formula1 circuits.
Mr Tavo said in his official statement ““We are extremely honored and proud to reach an agreement with the F1 Commercial Rights holder. We have been diligently working together for several years to bring this great event to Austin, the State of Texas, and back to the United States. All parties involved have a great amount of trust and confidence in each other and are committed to establishing the F1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas as a prestigious global event.”
The deal will see Austin host the GP through until atleast 2021, making the United states once again a permanent stop in the Formula1 calendar.
USF1 Shutdown
Mar 3rd
Well a certain F1 factory for sale in Charlotte no longer comes with a paying tennant if reports from Autosport are true.
According to Autosport, they have been informed by ‘high level sources’ that USF1 has been shutdown.
Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson were reportedly not present at the factory when the announcement was made to the remaining staff. This was done by production manager Dave Skog who told staff to take an un-paid leave yet are still technically employed by the team.
Whilst there is still no official comfirmation from the team, it appears the phone lines at the factory have been disconnected.
Stefan Grand Prix in the meantime look set to take USF1′s spot on the grid and have been anticipating such an event now since earlier in the year and as a result have been making preparations to be present at the first round in Bahrain.
Early rumours that the team has applied to postpone it’s entry till 2011 have not yet been confirmed or denied, but it appears that is no longer an option for the team. We will keep following this story as it develops.
USF1 to postpone Formula1 entry till 2011
Mar 1st
USF1 according to SpeedTV has petitioned the FIA to defer the team’s entry into Formula1 until 2011.
The team principals of the USF1 have offered to pay a surety bond as proof of their intentions to race next year estimated to be well in seven figures.
No reports yet on what this means for campos meta.
We will be following the reports and as this story breaks report it.
Official: USF1 sign Jose Maria Lopez
Jan 26th
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.”
John Anderson joins USF1 Team
Jan 11th
USF1 have today issued a press release announcing that racing legend, John Anderson has joined the team as their Team Manager, effective immediately.
John Anderson, who is originally from Sydney, Australia, moved to the USA in 1980 after successfully running a race prep and fabrication shop.
Most recently, Anderson was the team manager for Gil de Ferran’s American Le Mans Series (ALMS) organization. “The parallels with the ALMS car and an F1 car, with their complexity and performance envelope, are very similar,” he said. “An F1 car is of course the pinnacle of construction and technology, and to be involved is a high point of my career.”
The team manager role has been one that Anderson has been practising since the early 1980s. Not only will Anderson be coordinating the team in the U.S. and in Europe, acting as a liaison between the engineers and shop staff and spearheading testing, but he’ll be an informal team psychologist. “It’s about getting the right group of guys who can work, live and play together, and also understanding where everyone’s strengths and weaknesses are,” said Anderson. “Ken and Peter Windsor have put together a strong group, and I can only help to strengthen the bonds and be a part of America’s resurgence in the top motorsport in the world.”
