In un momento segnato da grandi fattori negativi, che spirano contro l’automobilismo da corsa, giunge una notizia che apre una piccola speranza per il futuro. Dopo l’abbandono della Honda e gli interrogativi che altre squadre si sono posti sul loro avvenire nel Circus, la probabile nascita di un nuovo team statunitense, battezzato USF1, sembra come un arcobaleno dopo la tempesta. La presentazione della scuderia dovrebbe avvenire a fine mese, mentre il debutto sarebbe fissato per il 2010, con la benedizione di Bernie Ecclestone, boss incontrastato della Formula 1. Il progetto sarebbe il frutto dell’impegno dell’inglese Peter Windsor e dall’americano Ken Anderson, che ha lavorato in Indycar e Nascar, prima di essere nominato direttore tecnico della Ligier. Windsor, invece, ha prestato servizio presso Williams e Ferrari ed è oggi uno stimato telecronista. Lo slogan della nuova formazione potrebbe essere “Made in America”. Il quartier generale dovrebbe sorgere a Charlotte, in Carolina del Nord. Pare che sia stato sottoscritto un accordo per utilizzare la nuova galleria del vento Windshear, già attiva in quell’area. USF1 intende essere una vetrina per la tecnologia e i piloti a stelle e strisce.
The rumor of a new all-American team joining the Formula 1 championship has breezed in and out of the F1 paddock for over a year now but once again the rumor is heating up. Several F1 news sources are reporting that former Formula 1 engineer Ken Anderson is teaming up with Speed Channel pit reporter Peter Windsor to join the championship in 2010. Whispers of this new effort being linked to American Honda persist although there are significant barriers to that becoming a reality. For one, Honda Performance Development has their plates full with supplying engines to the Indy Racing League and running Acura's LMP1 and LMP2 program in American Le Mans. Even with the recent dumbing down of the F1 technical regulations it would be a major undertaking for HPD to get involved in F1 at this point, especially in light of the global recession that has dried up motorsport funds across every major championship. However, if American Honda was involved it would most likely be in the form of technical support. It's plausible that they could build engines for the new team and since engine development is frozen their only responsibility would be producing a supply of engines and providing as-needed technical support . Or American Honda could just be a sponsor of the new team The other major possibility is that Ken Anderson could either purchase parts of the defunct Honda F1 operation or acquire it in full. On one hand this would save the fledgling team a lot of time and expense but it would run counter to their stated goal of an All-American operation (as HF1 is based in England). Since the rumors point to a debut date of 2010, there may not be any confirmation of these rumors in the coming months. But with the current ongoing financial woes of the F1 World Championship, a new team cannot come soon enough for F1. And for heart-broken Honda F1 fans a team to root for would certainly be welcome.
