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GURSS: Prospects for American F1 Success
Written by: Jade Gurss   
03/10/2009
Mooresville, NC
 
Faster. Louder. The weekly column on SPEEDtv.com by Jade Gurss. (Harold Hinson Photo) ยป More Photos

As the countdown to the start of the 2009 Formula One season nears an end, thoughts continue to focus on the prospects of the new US Formula One team – now known by the name of “US GP Engineering” due to Formula One Management’s objections to the name USF1. What are the realistic chances of this new lean team meeting their goal of becoming a victorious F1 team sometime in the near future?

The USGPE is merely a good idea at this point, with very little staff, no shop or racecars in place or even designed. These are all major steps that seem to be in motion, in addition to hiring crew members and a marketing/sales and public relations staff to help find sponsors to pay the bills and get the word around the world. Once the hiring is done, it’s likely to take at least a full season for the all-new combination to begin to gel into a proper team. Look at the stability among the key positions among the current top teams, and you’ll see what Team US is chasing.

They do already have one advantage: the use of the Windshear Inc. wind tunnel near Charlotte, one of the finest in the world, designed by team principal Ken Anderson. With the aero packages being so vital, this is a key component in their toolbox.

The other key component is still to be determined: the engine manufacturer. This decision will be critical. If the “lump” doesn’t have major grunt, even the finest new design will be for naught. The best recent example lies in the performance of last year’s two Red Bull-owned teams. The Junior team (Scuderia Toro Rosso) outperformed their bigger brothers at Red Bull Racing primarily due to the benefits of Ferrari power (and the skills of a brilliant Sebastian Vettel – the youngest man to win an F1 race) versus Renault power. You can’t substitute for horsepower (or driving virtuosity), so this choice will be the key to early prospects.

While the new “lower-budget” world of Formula One is said to be the reason the team principals Peter Windsor and Anderson give for their timing of entry, the existing teams will have at least a one year head start of racing under the more restrictive current regulations. Again, no matter how successful the design, the team will be starting from a disadvantage. Nothing substitutes for the mettle gained in the heat of actual battle.

While they have publicly announced
four major investors, the team will be sponsor searching in a very tough economic climate, and must show some spark of promise to lure and keep major sponsors. Budget is usually the king, but, again using recent history, look at the pace of a small team like Super Aguri, who occasionally outperformed the high-dollar parent Honda team with an aging chassis. Of course, even that didn’t stop the Super Aguri team from going out of business entirely.

Finally, the element that mesmerizes most fans: the choice of drivers. The team has said they would prefer American-born pilots, which limits the pool of candidates. My gut tells me the names most prominent in the rumor mill – Danica Patrick and Kyle Busch – aren’t really prospects. Which leaves promising youngsters like Charlie Kimball and Jonathan Summerton. Summerton has won on the A1 GP level and shows great promise, but how successful will a team be with two inexperienced and very young drivers? Who will take the lead in testing to develop and tweak the car to its limits? Much like the rest of the personnel, allow several years for new drivers to acclimate to the F1 circus and to truly become competitive.

So, one hopes the US GP Engineering folks have investors with deep pockets and even deeper patience, because reaching their goal of being a winning team is – at minimum – a five-year process. But, it’s a thrilling and noble goal because it is such a steep mountain to climb. I wish them the best – and look forward to seeing American colors flying on a Formula One grid again in 2010.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Jade Gurss is the owner of fingerprint, inc., a sports publicity company. He has written two New York Times Best Sellers, including what is believed to be the biggest-selling motorsports book in American publishing history (Driver #8 with Dale Earnhardt Jr.). His two decades of publicity and marketing experience involves nearly every category of motorsports, including nine innovative seasons as NASCAR publicist for the Budweiser brand and Earnhardt Jr. His blog can be seen at: http://fingerprint.typepad.com
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