At least, it appears that way.
Several Argentinian media outlets are reporting that contracted driver Jose Maria Lopez is actively seeking another F1 drive, with support from Bernie Ecclestone, having been told yesterday by USF1 sporting director Peter Windsor that the team would not be able to give him machinery with which to make his F1 debut.
Head of business development Brian Bonner has taken up a position with Akron-based firm B4 Marketing. There remains no sign of a car, or of the component parts necessary to construct one. It is believed that the USF1 Type 1 was booked in for official FIA crash testing but that the team did not turn up. As far as the shakedown the team had publicly stated would take place at Barber Motorsports Park this month, Petrolheadblog understands that the track received an enquiry about available dates for a shakedown run which was not subsequently followed up.
Consider this. Williams, a team entering its 33rd season in its current guise, launched their 2010 car at the beginning of this month. The car shown at launch, a launch which took place on the date planned by the team some weeks in advance, was the only FW32 in existence at that time. At the end of the second pre-season test in Jerez last week, the team’s second chassis was still at the Williams factory in Grove, still not ready to go.
Official scrutineering prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix takes place in 21 days time. Even if USF1 have the finances and the staff to carry on, that’s 21 days in which to complete a car, launch it, go through some kind of initial shakedown and systems check, complete a second car and ship the equipment from North Carolina to Bahrain. While that’s going on, a second driver is needed, as is traditional when a team is required to enter two cars. Adrian Valles, hailing from an area in the extreme east of the USA known previously as Spain, was reported to be that driver and to be bringing 8 million Euros of sponsorship money with him. It can be assumed with some degree of safety that were Valles and his backers set for USF1, official confirmation would by now have been issued.
YouTube CEO Chad Hurley seems to have realised that the game is up, with associates of Hurley having ran the rule over the Dallara project due to supply Campos Meta’s cars for 2010. The Dallara is almost complete and has passed FIA crash testing, but as Campos are known to still want the car once they have the funds to pay for it, whether Hurley will follow up his initial enquiries is unclear.
Waiting in the wings, making enough noise to disrupt the headline act, are Stefan GP, who are still aiming to test at the end of this month but don’t have a tyre contract. Bridgestone, F1’s official tyre supplier, is unwilling to provide any tyres to a team without an official entry, so the demothballed Toyotas – now in Serbian red – may yet remain idle. Recent speculation places Indian driver Karun Chandhok at Stefan, in a move that would suit Bernie just fine. F1’s commercial supremo is working hard to secure support and backing for a Grand Prix just outside Delhi, support that would come more easily if he had an Indian driver to market alongside the existing Force India team. Said Indian driver has an influential father and brings around $6 million in sponsorship too, but none of that means a lick unless the car has rubber on each corner.
It seems certain that USF1 can be struck from the 2010 entry list. It seems equally certain that should Campos or Stefan GP appear in Bahrain, they’ll be in something of a mess. Today in Jerez, the Lotus T127 completed 76 laps in largely damp conditions, running reliably all day on its first test appearance. As previously reported here, Lotus did not have an entry until last September. If USF1 have been unable to show any sign of a completed car despite having been granted an entry in June and begun preparations some time earlier, what kind of questions should be raised about the management of the whole operation?
