Big Trouble At USF1 - Team Wants To Miss First Four Races

How can any of the guys at USF1 have any credibility anymore?

They should be ready to race in Bahrain, if they aren't I'm afraid it's tough luck.

It's slightly unfair to the other new teams if they are allowed to race. Lotus only got the nod in september(?) and they are ready and Virgin are all set aswell.

I'm slightly p*****d off now. All thse youtube video's and facebook update's looked kinda cool, and now it turns out it was a load of hot air.......

To be fair to USF1, it's not really their fault - a few sponsors didn't pay up, which stopped the whole operation for quite some time (rumours are that they weren't even able to pay their staff's wages).

I was really looking forward to seeing how these guys would do as well.

I think they're obviously not ready so why rush now and join late into a season where the first few races they compete in will only be to gather information that they would have got from testing, putting them back even further behind. They will need to impress to gain good sponsors and that wont happen if they rush things. They should prepare to enter next year and be in good shape for the FIRST race. As the Grolsch ads used to say SSHHHLLLOOOOWW DOWN, Its not ready yet!

I don't understand how since they made their entry way back last year, they don't have anything ready. They were accepted at the same time as the other new teams, some 10 months ago. Virgin and Lotus employed the right people between them to get the car built, Campos chose to contract it off and USF1 pratted around getting shiny tools for their workshop and making crappy videos.

It doesn't matter whether it was built in a spotless facility or the garage you're renting from the council. To race in Formula One you need a CAR.
Everything else is of secondary importance.

They're a reckless operation in my opinion and don't deserve a place on the grid. They've got a choice now; clutch on to what obviously isn't going happen in the bleak hope that it might. Or do the decent thing and withdraw from the 2010 championship, maybe with an aim to enter in 2011.

Besides, what if USF1 do show up? They'll have had no testing, they won't have topline drivers and frankly they'll be slow.
Like Lola slow, 11 seconds off the pace slow.
Then they'll chuck it in after 2 races to save embarassment and by then it'll be too late for SGP to take the slot. Even if they do get themselves sorted, as an F1 fan it's now reached the point for me where i don't want USF1 present, they don't deserve it.

Well said. This has shades of the "Mastercard Lola" all over it.

I find myself agreeing with dave more and more each day which is rather worrying. Stefan go have shown enormous guts ineverything they gave done. They are the true spirit of formula one, and have the right idea, hence a formula one racing car. Usf1 should do the honourable thing and withdraw if they aren't ready for the start of the season. There is a team in the wings withmore passion and dedication, enter Stefan GP and there awesome press releases.

I just love how everyone is so quick to criticise. when USf1 was announced, the FIA had announced that there was to be a budgetcap of 40 mill., the budget goalposts have since been moved, and i feel this has attributed to a lot of the current problems that USF1 and campos had endured. sponsors suddenly facing the prospect of having to outlay more cash would understandably get ichy feet and renege on deals. this is hardly the fault of Anderson or windsor, and would lay more at the feet of the major manufacturers who decided they wanted to keep recklessly spending and played a rather risky game to try to achieve that, with several of the culprits now fallen by the wayside. Neither team have billionare owners or proton backing like virgin or lotus, who were able to outlay the cash without having to rely on sponsorship., so loose comparisions between the 4 teams are quite frankly stupid to make.

I'm with Dave H.
USGP F1 or what ever they are called, announced that they would be entering a car back in February, 2009. In fact, I saw a link this morning to comments made by Martin Whitmarh of McLaren welcoming them in a press release that was dated around February 25th., 2009.
A whole year ago. This was even before MM started playing around with budget caps
( correct me if I am wrong )
Then the FIA announced it was opening entries to extra teams months later.
SInce then, VIRGIN and LOTUS have actually produced a running car.
I feel they should not be given a chance,and perhaps STEFAN GP be given the place on the grid instead.

Having read Ciaran's comment about Stefan GP's press releases, I went over to have a look and found this.

http://www.stefangp.com/news006.html

I don't know who Phil is, but give them a slot on the grid, they're great!

You can blame the team, the FIA or the sponsors who pulled out but ultimately the people you have to feel sorry for are the guys working in the USF1 factory who may well not have a job in a few weeks. And, unlike Lopez, they can't just go to another team, open a cheque book and secure new employment.

upon thinking about it some more, i realized that there has been a precedent set for teams missing races, i do recall Arrows missed quite a few races when they were having money problems with out being excluded. cant see why the same wouldn't apply here

It's also too easy to be critical of USF1, so hear at Badger we're doing our best to give them the benefit of the doubt.

It's almost like an underdog thing - i.e. it was so obvious that they were going to find it tricky from the start, it's good to give them a chance, esp with them breaking the mould and running it all from the US.

Indeed it does - I imagine the USF1 car would probably look and go as well as the Mastercard Lola too.

They're better off not bothering - they are likely to just make the USA look really silly in front of global audience... a bit like George Bush did.

I would love to see StefanGP make it 2010 and surprise everyone. I wanna see the 'Serbs riding the Kerbs'... if only to use that as a headline...

True, but to see USF1 not even start the season doesn't look good at all for their campaign. They should move over and let StefanGP have a go. End of.

In 2002 the Arrows drivers intentionally failed to qualify for a race by slowing in the last sector of their laps. They got in a lot of trouble for it, raced next time out in Germany then withdrew from the championship. Had they simply not turned up at the race they'd have been excluded, as them was the rules with the old Concorde Agreement. Under the new one you can miss races but you will get a fine. But there's more room to manoeuver now.

I would be fairly certain that Stefan GP won't be granted an entry whatever happens. Basically their only options are either to buy out USF1 entirely - including their lease on the Charlotte facility and their debt to Cosworth - or to wait for USF1 to withdraw, then get special dispensation from the FIA to race (which would require agreement from all the teams, which - let's face it - wouldn't happen even if you kidnapped Frank Williams' pet cat and threatened to shoot it).

It could be that USF1 have no intention of starting the season at all, not in two races time, nor in four races time. It's possible that they've got their eye on coming in for 2011 instead, but if they withdraw now and the FIA allow SGP to compete, then that's the full grid of 26 cars and there won't be an opening for another team next year (providing they all survive).
So they'll stall until they're assured that only 24 cars will compete this year, and therefore potentially safeguard their place for next year.
Just a theory.

I don't know if they'd be allowed entry for 2011. I'm not sure, but I think if they don't turn up this year they forfeit their place. Maybe someone can clear that up as it's not really been talked about.

I'm pretty sure if they failed to turn up at all in 2010, that would pretty much eradicate any chance of them being allowed on the grid afterwards. That's probably why Prodrive weren't considered more seriously for a grid slot this time around.

@Dave H: Exactly what I was thinking of...