The 24th has dawned and we await the announcement of the American F1 team, USF1, due at midday on SpeedTV. Against all odds (and my prediction), the rumor has firmed up into fact over the last few weeks with Peter Windsor leaking snippets of information to the press and much discussion amongst the fans of how it might work.
Peter Windsor
While details of the intended headquarters (Charlotte, NC), European base and strategy will no doubt be the main focus of the announcement, I cannot see the most important issue, funding, getting much of a mention. Without the involvement of some major sponsors, the team will never happen and we can only hope that the effective PR seen so far continues until the necessary backing has been found.
F1 fans are nothing if not creatures of hope, of course, and we already have our lists of potential drivers drawn up. Without a car to put them in, however, that is a mite premature and so I look forward to the announcement impatiently, willing it to be a viable proposition but fearing worse.
I will update this post once the broadcast has gone out.
Update
Having watched the announcement, I have to say that USF1 is a serious venture with interesting and innovative ideas on entering F1. Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor made it clear that they were aware of the problems involved in setting up a new team and had good answers to all of them. I think we can begin to be excited by the prospects opening up for both the sport and the States.
To my surprise, the matter of funding was dealt with and one has to look at NASCAR to see what the team envisages: lots of small investors and no major sponsor whose withdrawal could be catastrophic for the team. This dovetails nicely with the plan to use the many component suppliers in and around Charlotte rather than build everything in-house, thereby keeping costs down while ensuring publicity for their partners. It is a Minardi-like concept with much more viability in that the technical knowledge and ability is already greater and more concentrated in the region the team has chosen as its birthplace. Expect to see the names of component manufacturers on the car rather than banks and energy drinks.
Transport has been mentioned as a possible difficulty for the new team with every GP being an "away game" for them, but I agree with Ken Anderson when he says that this is not a huge handicap in a world where everything is managed at a distance and travel is an accepted fact of life. With the British GP questionable in the future, it may not be long before the majority of teams have no home race anyway.
It does sound, too, as though the lessons of accessibility of the team have been learned from NASCAR; the importance of fans is recognized and there are plans to allow them real access to the facilities and members of the team. That counts for a lot in a country where the fans are used to instant access through TV and other media. Although the team obviously knows the history of American involvement in F1 and two of its statesmen of the past (Mario Andretti and Dan Gurney) were wheeled on to give the stamp of approval, I wonder if they realize the full extent of the goodwill and support they already have from the abused American F1 fans - I cannot imagine that any of them want anything but success for the USF1 team.
Much was made of the support of Ecclestone and Mosley but perhaps a more telling factor was mentioned as an aside: America now has the vice presidency of the FIA in the form of Nick Craw, a possible replacement for Mosley, should he ever be induced to leave the sport. That has to be important for the future of both USF1 and any future USGP.
Everything seems to be coming together quite nicely. I like the realism of the team owners and their clear plans for doing things in their own way, rather than just following the usual guidelines for entering the sport. We have seen that costs have become the crucial factor to survival in F1 and it is time that new methods of funding be found if the sport is to remain viable. USF1 may just be showing the way.
Incidentals
Autosport has several quotes from the announcement that make the team's plans pretty clear - well worth a read. And I am glad to see that Scott Speed was mentioned as a possible driver, since I think he has the potential to be an important part of USF1's initial effort in the sport. Alone amongst current American drivers, he has experience of setting up and developing F1 cars for the races.
Finally, today's announcement has inspired my wife to go public with her own F1 blogging efforts. To get a truly American viewpoint on the best darn motor sport in the world, have a read of Andrea's F1 in America blog.