US team assessing American drivers

Eurosport - Fri, 12 Jun 15:32:00 2009

The new US-based Formula One team due to debut next year is already assessing American drivers and will decide on them soon according to co-founder Peter Windsor.

FORMULA 1, us F1 - 0

"We've got a shortlist of drivers and we've already had the first of our week of evaluation of young Americans," he told the BBC.

"There are some very good young Americans out there, and we will be making a decision about that pretty soon.

"Before we did anything, we needed to get official entry from the FIA. We now have that and from now on it will be guns blazing."

Team US F1 were one of three newcomers named by the FIA in a controversial 2010 entry list and will be the only ones not based in Europe.

Windsor described Friday's formal announcement, the reward for years of preparatory work by him and partner Ken Anderson, as "a humbling moment."

"Our ambition is to first of all prove that we can design and build a car in the United States as distinct from Europe, which is the normal place to design and build cars, and be competing as an American team," he said.

The other aim, he added, was "for the team to be around for a long time."

Windsor is a journalist and former Williams team manager while Anderson has previous experience as an engineer in both F1 and Indycar.

They unveiled their project in February with the all-American team to be based in Charlotte, North Carolina - the heart of NASCAR country.

There are currently no American drivers in the sport and no North American races either, with Canada removed from this year's calendar after the departure of Indianapolis.

Drivers previously mentioned include second generation racers Graham Rahal, Conor Daly and Marco Andretti as well as NASCAR's Kyle Busch, former F1 racer Scott Speed and AJ Allmendinger.

The team has entered under regulations that offer an optional £40 million budget cap in exchange for greater technical freedom.

However eight of the existing 10 teams, including champions Ferrari, have refused to accept that and have threatened to leave unless the rules are rewritten.

"We were planning this team three or four years ago, long before budget caps and the recession and all this stuff was even thought about," said Windsor.

"We are just coming in to take our place, if you like, in the sport and where it falls is where it will go. But obviously we hope like everybody else that it will be one championship and we will be competing in that.

"We'll be racing next year, we've just got to get on," he added. "We've got a massive project and a massive job ahead of us and that's the challenge we face."

Reuters

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  1. Some may say that Scott Speed is not a F1 material, but­ he is the only current driver who has modern day F1­ experience. I thought he did pretty well against his­ then team mate Luzzi, who was a F3000 champion before­ entering F1.

    I think Speed should be given a chance.­ He is an American after all. Too bad, JV and JPM­ aren't American. They don't qualify.

    From ferraribeng, on Mon 15 Jun 9:50AM

  2. It is a laugh to see the ignorance of the world­ displayed here. In the US NASCAR is NOT the only form­ of motorsport. Places like Sebring , Road America ,­ Laguna Seca and the former F1 track in Long Beach just­ to name a few venues. SCCA, ALMS, Formula BMW , Skip­ Barber Formula Mazda are just a small list of­ organizers.
    The SCCA has 25 classes of open wheel,­ sports racers, Showroom Stock so there are even more­ places to look for drivers.
    So before you think we only­ speak NASCAR I will remind you of win by the Corvette­ again today at LeMans, and yes the drivers drove on the­ circuit that turns right.
    Remember this is the home of­ some of the greatest sports car races ever with the­ Can-Am series. Finally, before you brand me as crazy­ American I was born and raised in England before moving­ to the States.

    From Mad Limey, on Mon 15 Jun 4:21AM

  3. Scott Speed and Juan-Pablo Montoya are like Road Runner­ and Speedy Gonzales, They just a sponsor atraction so­ the team could scoop some money. Scott Speed let me put­ it like what Gerhard Berger said in F1 mag February­ Issue " Scott Speed is not F1 Material, he is­ inconsistence and doesn't want to improving his­ ability " Montoya after six years of racing only­ bag 7 win with 2 good team with none F1 title and in­ his last season in F1 he wreck his car in Indy, pissed­ off with Ron and Kimi saying that everything was their­ fault and now joining one of the most difficult­ championship in the world and never win a race.

    From Iceman jr, on Sun 14 Jun 6:16PM

  4. Put Juan Pablo & Scott Speed in a moped race and­ they probably wouldn't win that either. Nascar­ doesn't allow a driver's skill set to be fully­ utilized.

    From JackD, on Sun 14 Jun 4:08PM

  5. Folks, America is not without faults but the mindless,­ historically inacurate bashing just makes the posters­ look dumb and ignorant.

    Yes, unfortunately the­ popularity of circle-track racing in the States,­ especially stock cars, is incompatible with open-wheel­ road course racing and American talent (a large,­ well-financed pool to draw from) often goes in a­ different direction than F1. I don't like it ...­ but they didn't leave it up to me to choose for­ them.

    I'd like to think that F1 drivers have­ many more times the talent of their stock car­ counterparts but the two are actually very different­ ... like apples and oranges. Just look at how Scott­ Speed and Juan Montoya are doing in Nascar. They both­ kinda suck at it. You'd think drivers that were­ able to compete at all in F1 (and win in Juan­ Pablo's case) would clean house in something like a­ Nascar 'Sprint' or 'Cup' car but the­ series, skills, strategy, teamwork are so, so­ different.

    Having said that, I'd like to see what­ Scott Speed could do in a decent F1 car (although USF1­ is unlikely to be decent for at least a few years of­ competition). Another pick for a try outs would be­ Lawson Aschenbach from the Speed World Challenge­ Touring series. While he's not doing open wheel­ currently, he has a karting background and is a very­ good, aggressive driver ... 25 years old.

    From Bror Jace, on Sun 14 Jun 3:29AM

  6. Talent attracts money.

    From sky, on Sat 13 Jun 8:58PM

  7. I'd like to know how Peter Windsor came up with the­ money to form the USF1 team. His salary from­ Speedvision can't be that high.

    From Luis, on Sat 13 Jun 7:59PM

  8. The NASCAR drivers would have an easier time driving­ the F1 circuits, than F1 drivers would at places like­ Daytona and Talladega. Once you get past the first turn­ on the first lap, it tends to be a "follow the­ leader" situation on the F1 circuits.

    From Luis, on Sat 13 Jun 7:57PM

  9. Dan #56

    I haven't really thought about that.

    From Donald D, on Sat 13 Jun 7:20PM

  10. dunkyt2006

    It's not about the war - it's about­ teaching those damn yanks a bit of respect!

    From Donald D, on Sat 13 Jun 7:17PM

  11. There are no drivers in america. It's a nation of­ commuters & cruisers. God forbid they drive faster­ than 70, they wouldn't be able to handle such­ speed! Actual driving is forbidden by law, you're­ only allowed to go from point A to point B as slowly as­ possible. If you dare break that law and try to drive­ in a rational manner, you will be treated as a most­ wanted criminal.

    From JackD, on Sat 13 Jun 6:59PM

  12. WW II, wot the FK are you lot on about, stick to the­ subject on here or eff off to a history forum. GOD­ !!!!!

    From duncan, on Sat 13 Jun 6:43PM

  13. portista . Maybe you should read your history . The­ allied forces AGREED that Soviet forces were to take­ Berlin , the reason they wanted to enter Berlin first­ was becaused they were the ones that paid the highes­ price in human lives during the war . By the way the­ U.S. was involved in the war as of Dec 1941 , remember­ Pearl Harbor ?

    From barry w w, on Sat 13 Jun 6:32PM

  14. i m commenting on MARNIO FROM PERU

    From Azarul, on Sat 13 Jun 6:15PM

  15. #61, not to my taste, Danica is a bit better looking.

    From duncan, on Sat 13 Jun 6:12PM
  16. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    usa also create wars...many of them...usa is a nation­ that thirsts for blood....shame on usa...nothing could­ be proud of...

    From Azarul, on Sat 13 Jun 6:11PM

  17. try Cristiano da Matta maybe

    From lukehenry1995, on Sat 13 Jun 6:09PM

  18. Has anyone told them there are no oval tracks in F1,­ #52 damn right, Danica Patrick would be a great­ addition to F1.

    From duncan, on Sat 13 Jun 5:54PM

  19. Hey dont get too fanatical, NASCAR is race to you know­ it's not just left turn but the car was not as­ limber as open wheel car it's hard just to bend it­ side way it's take alot of energy to do so, also­ racig in speedway is stressful cause you must to­ calculate your speed with the car ahead of you cause­ when you lift your foot of the pedal the car just­ fumbling and start hitting the barrier or other car. so­ its hard

    From Iceman jr, on Sat 13 Jun 5:52PM

  20. kfm, ah think yule find it was micheal andretti wot wur­ in mclaren as senna's team mate

    From jack butler, on Sat 13 Jun 5:22PM
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