USF1 -- F1's All-American Challenger

[marcush.]

I'm sorry to say that anyone who believed this was a bona fide idiot unfortunately and needs to be wary about being taken in in the future. The interviews, shots of their equipment, shots of their supposed factory........it was all wrong. I don't doubt they had some talented people who could have made something happen, but weren't allowed to, but there was enough there to suggest this was a joke. I mean listen to this 100% bullshit interview with Peter Windsor where he rambles on about 'skunkworks' development:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-52-F2rWZ0A

What the hell? Seriously. How can klaxons not go off after that?

This is backed up by the article:

"On February 18, several weeks after we went to press, I spoke again with Windsor. During a rambling, emotional interview, he launched into a self-pitying diatribe berating me for my accusatory tone (!!!). He also insisted that all wasn't yet lost at US F1, and he told me that I might be hearing from him the following week with some surprisingly good news about the team. Alas, I never heard from Windsor again."

Whoever tries this again, if ever, needs to have a long chat with Roger Penske, or it needs to be Roger Penske. Penske was on the verge of establishing itself quite well in Formula One when they realised they simply couldn't manage two bases between the US and Europe. The same is true today. That whole split between building the cars in the US and assembling and prepping them in a shop in Spain is pure fantasy and could never have worked had they got that far. I mean hell, Peter Windsor hadn't even moved to the US. What does that tell you?

But penske had this before and he went out selling out to Günther Schmid of ATS after years of effort ...
I don´t think he needs that?

[segedunum]

But penske had this before and he went out selling out to Günther Schmid of ATS after years of effort ...
I don´t think he needs that?

Exactly.

[8ond]

But penske had this before and he went out selling out to Günther Schmid of ATS after years of effort ...
I don´t think he needs that?

Exactly.

Didn't Penske quit because his good friend crashed in one of his cars?

[Scorpaguy]

Who cares...I'm just glad someone had the guts to add another comment on this post! Its been days since anyone added a blurb. Funny....as long as there was a chance a US team might be a reality....everyone was up in arms. Now that we know the outfit was a scam....nobody will talk about the aftermath. I'd expected more gloating!

Still, I'd really like someone to dig up some info to give us an inside as to what was really going on in that "hall of mirrors" ...as well as find out if the principals have scurried off to a "hall of shame"!

[xpensive]

Does anyone know if there's an post mortem or something on the web to xplain what this "team" was really about?

Like what happened to the shop, Lopez money, Hurley's money and Anderson himself?

[Mr Alcatraz]

Who cares...I'm just glad someone had the guts to add another comment on this post! Its been days since anyone added a blurb. Funny....as long as there was a chance a US team might be a reality....everyone was up in arms. Now that we know the outfit was a scam....nobody will talk about the aftermath. I'd expected more gloating!

Still, I'd really like someone to dig up some info to give us an inside as to what was really going on in that "hall of mirrors" ...as well as find out if the principals have scurried off to a "hall of shame"!

Allow me to write Pee Wee's epitath:
Mr. Peter Windsor your words plans and actions were so obtuse, I believe you were abducted by aliens,
and had your brains jettisoned at a close proximity to Uranus :-"

[jon-mullen]

Does anyone know if there's an post mortem or something on the web to xplain what this "team" was really about?

Like what happened to the shop, Lopez money, Hurley's money and Anderson himself?

Yeah, we all had a vote and decided you should go ahead and write it.

Nah, afaik, this is the last real piece of journalism about them, from the NYT.

Jean Todt is apparently looking into what happened, but I hope he doesn't expect to squeeze blood from a stone.

[xpensive]

There is a great story about USF1 at racefax.com. The piece has a good overall perspective on the situation.

Here's to hoping the three new teams are still here at the end of this season and beyond. They look good so far. The Hispania mechanics are heroes.

That was a most informative piece bill shoe, interesting how they managed to waste 20 MUSD of Hurley's money without producing a thing really. So many amateurish details, such as the autoclave was to small for the whole monocoque because Anderson mixed up inner and outer diameters and going with Aluminium bulkheads which nobody in F1 done for ages? But it seems all this could have been halted already in October when visited be Nick Craw, but he became a cheerleader instead. Question remains if this was a deliberate scam or not, but signing Lopez to drive in January when they didn't have a tub to make a seat fitting?

But most probably, Anderson and Windsor are smoked.

[Ted68]

Didn't Peter Windsor end up in court when he "owned" Brabham a few years back?

[xpensive]

Didn't Peter Windsor end up in court when he "owned" Brabham a few years back?

Found this on the web, enjoy;
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2009/02/24/u ... m-f1-team/

[raymondu999]

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=34667

There's thestory. Very thriller-esque and mystifying...

[xpensive]

http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_ ... t_id=34667

There's thestory. Very thriller-esque and mystifying...

What? That piece was about MrM and his whipping activities, I think my contribution above was much more revealing. Showing that USF1 was not the first time PW displayed poor judgement, when I honestly think he was taken by Anderson.

[WhiteBlue]

Peter Windsor was seen in the Australian paddock AFAIK. So chances are that someone got a story which may come out at a time. But what will be the story? We basically know already what happened.

They did not start very early with the work but got delayed until the begin of August. Then they decided to do engineering, manufacturing and team operation all from scratch without taking any shortcuts such as buying a chassis (like Dallara or Toyota), using an existing development team (like Wirth) or employing a technical director with existing UK base (like Gascoyne). That was what all successful new teams did and what they did not.

So they had too much to do, in too short time with not enough money. But they tried and that is undeniable. People who say that this was a scam from day one to defraud money are obviously not looking at the facts. Fraudsters do not spend so much money obviously and then hang around to wait for the police to get them. I believe that this was a genuine attempt to create the team and it went wrong for the reasons I described above. We may hear some more details about the failure but the bones of the case are known.

[Mysticf1]

Peter Windsor was seen in the Australian paddock AFAIK. So chances are that someone got a story which may come out at a time. But what will be the story? We basically know already what happened.

Peter was assisting with track-side commentary @ the Melbourne GP.

[xpensive]

@ WB; I think that piece in racefax.com mentioned above supports your view, with the addition the lack of technical and managerial talent of Anderson, he simply didn't know what to do with the 20 MUSD he got from Hurley.

As I said, I think Windsor was just a tag-along who was a bit economical with the truth, taking Lopez money in January was stupid. But a deliberate scam? I doubt it.