Youtube CEO Chad Hurley joins USF1
The upcoming new Formula One team, USF1 has confirmed that it will be backed by YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley. Hurley will provide "visionary guidance and corporate strategy expertise" to the new team that is to start racing in 2010.
USF1, led by Formula One veterans Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor, is bidding to become the first American team to win a Grand Prix since Dan Gurney’s Eagle in 1967. USF1, which was formally accepted by the Federation de l’Automobile (FIA) on Friday, July 31, when it signed the Concorde Agreement, is currently designing its racecar and developing its sponsorship portfolio and driver lineup.
“I am thrilled to be a part of America’s first Formula One team in more than 40 years,” Hurley said. “Getting in on the ground floor of a project of this size and scope is a tremendous opportunity, and I look forward to helping shape the USF1 vision and corporate strategy for years to come.”
In his role as USF1’s primary investor, Hurley will bring his entrepreneurial ingenuity and unique outlook on social media to USF1 while also providing corporate strategy and visionary expertise to the startup operation. Hurley will be a major force behind the team’s goal to showcase that a U.S.-based team with American technology can compete again in Formula One and eventually win races in the most prestigious and most celebrated motorsport in the world.
“Chad’s addition to the team is a victory for USF1,” said Anderson, USF1 president, CEO and team principal. “Bringing in a businessman with his level of credentials, and experience in developing and fostering a vision for startup companies, is an honor, and we look forward to taking on the Formula One challenge together in 2010 and beyond.”
Hurley is credited with helping take YouTube, the world’s largest video sharing site, from a simple idea to a cultural phenomenon which in 2006 was awarded “Best Invention of the Year” by Time Magazine.
“This is a great day for USF1,” said Windsor, executive vice president and sporting director for USF1. “Chad’s commitment to this team is vital and his visionary expertise and leadership will help steer us into the future as we look to attract best-in-class sponsors, drivers, employees and fans in our quest to compete at the highest level of motorsports.”
For much of the last 10 months USF1 has been designing its racecars from its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, the motorsports capital of the United States. The location of the 40,000 square-foot facility provides accessibility to top-level staff members and the highest concentration of racing-specific suppliers, technical analysis companies and testing partners in the United States.
Formula One is the world’s most popular and recognizable form of motorsport featuring racing’s most advanced cars and talented drivers. In 2009, Formula One is holding 17 races in 16 countries that are televised in nearly 200 countries with worldwide viewership of race broadcasts likely to exceed 600 million people.
