Racing Eagles

USF1: Epic Fail

It's over.

The dream is on life support and the plug is about to be pulled.

It didn't take this story from Adam Cooper of SpeedTV about Jose Maria Lopez being told the team wouldn't make it. It didn't take Viv Bernstein's story in the New York Times about the financial problems of the team. The simple fact is as soon as they started missing dates they promised, we knew they were in trouble. The deeper we got into this off season, the more apparent it was that the team was going down.

I don't want to crush all remaining hope because nothing is official yet, but USF1 are less than a month away from the start of a new season with no car, one driver, no sponsors, and no money. They're done for.

That hurts.

First off, I have to give my utmost sympathies to the men and women at the USF1 factory. I don't know any of them, but I know they all went to the teams with the best intentions. I hope they are able to find new work. This wasn't your fault.

I can predict the articles and stories that are going to be coming from this disaster. One angle will be people admonishing America and our lack of support for this team and the sport in general. This is totally and utter crap.

My first "official" piece of USF1 merchandise!

My Speculation: Do we need to add Dario to the potential USF1 driver list?

This is just speculation on my part. So please GMM or other armchair journalist who don't do due diligence, this isn't a news story but me putting some dots together.

As I've noted on a previous post, John Anderson was today announced as the team manager for USF1. Dario Franchitti has a close relationship with Anderson. He was his team manager when Dario won his 2007 IndyCar championship. In my opinion, this deal makes sense for both parties. Dario is one of the most recognizable personalities in American open wheel racing.  He also has pretty much nothing to prove in the IndyCar series. For USF1, it gives them a vastly experienced driver that is recognizable and marketable on both sides of the Atlantic. Even with Dario having a contract with Chip Ganassi next year, it is a possibility.

How he would do in F1? I am not sure.

A Open Letter to Peter Windsor...

Dear Peter Windsor;

First off let me say up front that I am a fan. I've enjoyed your work on SpeedTV for years. For American Formula One fans like me, you have been a great sources of Formula One news and opinion. Even as the internet opened up the greater world of Formula One media to people like me, you were a great source of information through your pit lane reporting and writing with SpeedTV.

When I heard that Ken Anderson and you were starting a Formula One team, I was excited. After all, I stated this blog because of it. Finally Americans would return to Formula One in the footsteps of Dan Gurney and Roger Penske. We can finally show the world that we can do more than just NASCAR in America. I am a fan of the team. I want USF1 to be successful.

So please, don't discount what I am about to say. As one of my old editors once said, "I criticize because I care."

Peter, you need to be smarter about how you and the team handle the media and public.

I've restrained myself from saying this for weeks on this blog. However, after reading the blog post you wrote on the USF1 website on January 1st, I cannot restrain my criticism anymore.

I know from personal experience that people get misquoted in the press. That people can twist statements to fit their own opinions. Much has been written about USF1 that has been unfair and blatantly biased against Americans. With all that said, the team has not done a good job in portraying itself to the media and public. I've tried to give you all the benefit of the doubt that I can give, but I cannot get over the fact that you and the team are shooting yourselves in the collective foot.

Eight things I would like to see USF1 do.

There is nothing worse than a armchair quarterback. It's a guilty pleasure to presuppose everything and think you can do better than the professionals. I know things are more complicated than what they seem. That said, as an observer, this is eight things I would like to see USF1 do.

Peter and Ken, feel free to steal ideas.

1: Let your actions speak louder than your press releases: A photo a car passing a crash test will do more than a thousand interviews of Peter Windsor trying to put out a wildfire of doubt. Even if it isn't the final design, it will show that you guys are making progress.

2: Get a on-line team store going: It was the one glaring thing that was missing from the initial team website. People love paying too much money for shirts, coffee mugs, mouse pads, ect with logos on them. Get on the horn with your clothing partners at Alpinestars about this.

3: Get some Americans in the pitlane: As an outside observer, USF1 looks more like Windsor-American racing. Americans might designing the car but so far, none are to be seen in the pitlane. Announcing an American race day engineer or two might do the trick.

4: Get any type of sponsorship deal arranged: I know that statement is simplistic. It takes a lot of time and effort to get companies to sponsor a race team, especially in these tough economic times. However, there is opportunity out there. One of them is the company that bought out Mr. Hurley's company, Google. Something needs to be seen on the sponsorship front. Even if it is a relatively minor sponsor.

5: Make your high-manufacturing credentials a selling point: One of the things about auto sports in general is the industry does a terrible job telling their story to the public. One of the things that Formula One can show to America is the cutting edge of manufacturing. With Boeing slowly moving into South Carolina and with the auto sports industry in Charlotte, the Carolina area is slowly becoming the hotbed for American manufacturing. USF1 can be the face this new revolution, if it can tell its' story.

6: Have a one-on-one with Bernie and tell him to shut up: Formula One is the only sport I have ever seen where the head of the sport so willingly throws people under the rug like Bernie does. Twice he has come out and caste doubt on USF1 and the other new teams. I don't care if it might be true or not, the fact that the head of the sport so willingly cast doubt on people in his sport is ridiculous.

7: Sign Johnathan Summerton and Alexander Rossi as test drivers right now. American racing fans need carrots for the future. We know we are not going to get two American drivers this year.I know these guys really don't bring in money, but it will confirm the commitment you made so many months ago about bring American talent into the sport.

8: Sell on the team's on-line store, a "USF1" branded toaster. If you haven't seen the Midweek Motorsports videos on USF1, here they are. It is a little harsh, especially towards Peter. I would love it if they took it on the chin and turn this around to sell some product on the team's website. Bring on the two slot USF1 toaster!

So what are some other ideas for USF1, please leave your idea in the comments.

USF1: We need to see SOMETHING!!!

The natives are getting restless.

Bernie Ecclestone statement earlier this week that the USF1 project is "in doubt" can be excused as the ranting of a crazy old man.

Then again... there is a serious grain of truth to this. Despite being the only new team that seems to be showing progress towards, USF1 has a long way to go to show us that they will be on the grid next year. We haven't seen a car, we haven't seen any drivers signed on, and we haven't seen any major sponsorship deal outside of the Hurley money. Things have been really quiet lately, perhaps a bit too quiet.

So please USF1, show us something. Bernie has shaken faith in the team. Go out and show him wrong. Give us a taste to restore creditability.

Williams F1 "Inside Track" and their other multimedia presentations

Before every race SpeedTV posts "Inside Track" which is a race preview program produced by Williams F1. Out all the team on the grid, the team that I believe does the best job with new media is Williams. In addition to the "Inside Track" program, there are several other things they produce that I enjoy:

The AT&T Williams Team podcast: Unlike Force India and Renault's podcasts, Williams produce their podcast in-house. It's hosted by Clair Williams and interviews the drivers and various other members of the team. They however make the podcast more than just about how they did on the track. They get into the personalities behind the team and gives us mere mortals a glimpse into the life of a F1 team.

Their blogs: The team and each of their drivers have blog which is featured on their site. What's nice is the material they present is very diverse. What other team could say they've done a blog post on their accounting department?

All the little thing: There is a bunch of little stuff which I enjoy. For example, I can't imagine how much work it took to complete this interactive factory tour. On the other end, I really like how simple and vast their photo gallery is. Overall I really like Williams' web site. It simple, gives fans a lot material, gives sponsors proper recognition throughout the site, pretty well designed, and simple to navigate.

The USF1 team discussed when they launched that they were going to be a more interactive team with in-house TV production facilities and such. Well Mr. Windsor and Mr. Anderson, here is the bar. I am really interested to see what you come up with.

Why USGPE should not go under the proposed FIA budget cap.

The recent spat between FOTA and the FIA over next years' budget regulations has caused great consternation in the sport the last two weeks. The idea of a two tiered championship for the sport has caused a schism so bad, that the grid may not feature a red car for the first time in the sport' history.

Since USGPE have already lodged their entry for the 2010 season, they have a rather interesting decision to make. Do they support the team that are revolting against the proposed cap or go along with the FIA and Max Mosley? It will all come down to whether Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor support a budget caps or the teams.

I personally think it is a terrible idea for Formula One and for USGPE to support the FIA proposed budget cap. If USGPE a hear to the budget caps, then they would have ceded all control of their team to the FIA. It's simple as that. As the only legitimate team coming onto the grid next year, they are the only team in a position to a hear to the rules set forth by Mosley. Besides that if USGPE turns it back on the rest of the teams on the grid, I believe it will have terrible consequences down the road. After all, everyone believes that this fight is about a budget cap for the sport. Not quite, it is about Max getting control of the wallets of the teams. After all if the teams are losing money, wouldn't they naturally cut back? Why does the FIA need to dictate to the teams what they are already know and doing. If we are going to lose teams because of cost in the sport, then oh well. Renault have been playing that game for years and Toyota would be better off teaming up with Williams F1 then propping up their own outfit. My point is this; Formula One survived for decades with Ferrari being the only manufacturer in the sport. Grand Prix racing survived two world wars and countless manufacturers and teams leaving. We will always have Formula One. The question is who will control the sports' destiny.

USGPE would be in a lot stronger position if they supported FOTA. It would submarine the argument that Max has been propagating that this new budget cap is needed to attached new teams to the sport. More importantly, it will help USGPE integrate in the paddock for the long-term. The future of the sport does not belong to Max or Bernie but with the teams. In the end, they are what make the sport Formula One. They will be around a lot longer than Max and Bernie.

Plus, if USGPE does show potential and their income grows with sponsors, why on earth would they limit themselves?

Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor can make their impact felt on the sport right now. Just say no to the budget cap. However, I get the feeling that they will continue to stay low and won't say anything till their entry is accepted. The question is, who else will be on the grid in Melbourne next March?

Ideas for USGPE: Being Fan Friendly

One of the things from the USF1...ah... USGPE press conference from a few weeks back that really got me excited was when Windsor stated:

“We are going to make this a very fan-friendly team, not only in the States but globally. We are going to design the fan-route - they will be welcome to come to our HQ, they will be able to tour, look at an F1 car being designed and built. They will be able to touch and feel an F1 team for the first time.”

Out of all things I heard this is the one thing that got me really excited. Excited enough to start my own fan blog. This something that I and millions of F1 fans have demanded for years and have been constantly disappointed. This idea is of "fan-friendliness" is a key if Formula One is ever to grow and retain fans; not just in the United States but worldwide.

The sport has a mountain to climb in being more fan-friendly. Both FOTA and the FIA have indicated this as one of their priorities going towards the future. However there are differencing in opinion with Bernie who feels it is not job of sport but of the race promoters to deal with the fans.

Ideas for USF1: Sponsors

Sponsorship... many people hate them. Actually, I like them. Without these companies investing in motorsports: ticket prices would be higher, the media coverage would be less and the sport would be less without their dedicated reveune streams.

As USF1 builds towards next season, they will be hopefully picking up several prominent sponsors to provide support for the team. This isn't strictly in a monetary form either. In the world of F1, because of the technology, many companies get involved for technical development reasons. However with the current economic slowdown, will American companies get into F1 and USF1? I say absolutely! Despite the economy, F1 is still one of the best buy for worldwide advertising.