The Tale of Four Teams: F1 Newcomers Rough Race onto the Grid

Photo Credit: Lotus Racing


Coming as news midway through the 2009 Formula 1 season, the world racing sanctioning body accepted entries of four new teams to complete in the F1 world circuit in 2010.

USF1 Team, Campos Meta, Manor Grand Prix and Lotus Racing were the successful applicants out of 15 organizations known to have made proposals to the FIA. Determined to increase the car count and team representation in the major open wheel racing series, the 4 teams brought into the series under this arrangement will become the first entries to deploy an unique effort devoted to lower cost racing. Running spec engines supplied by the Cosworth and common Xtrac racing transmissions, the financial relieve of not building these expensive car components will stride to allow these teams to be reasonably competitive at a lower annual budget than the established Formula 1 teams.

Rewarded the coveted spots on the 2010 Formula 1 grid, these four auto racing teams committed themselves to almost 9 months of work in building a grand prix racing group. In the case of three of these teams, 2/3rds of a year run sported some interesting drama.


Virgin Racing (Formerly Manor Grand Prix)

One of two teams upgrading themselves from an F3 series, Manor Grand Prix linage included the fostering of a younger Lewis Hamilton in 2004. As the team takes to the 2010 grid, Manor Grand Prix is now known as Virgin Racing after the team's name was changed to reflect the title sponsor and majority owner the Virgin Group. Signing the driver will piloted the now defunct Toyota F1 effort, the Timo Glock announcement can as one of the first driver linked to the new 2010 teams. With 36 Formula 1 race starts of experience, Glock will enjoy the lead driver position with Virgin Racing over F1 rookie Lucas di Grassi. Grassi joins the new F1 team with history running for Manor Motorsport in the 2005 Formula 3 Euroseries.


Lotus Racing

Lotus Racing has assembled their Formula 1 effort with minimal complications. Rising from the ashes of Colin Chapman's once iconic Team Lotus grand prix group, the Lotus badge returns in 2010 after a 15-year hiatus. The new incarnation of Lotus in Formula 1 is created through the united efforts of the Malaysia's Proton parent company and the crew members located in the Lotus Racing facilities in Norfolk, England. The team steadily built itself with some enviable pieces that even established teams were struggling to set in place including a dedicated team principal Tony Fernandes, the team rests on strong financial footing with corporate partners recently added CNN International as a sponsor. Mike Gascoyne took the reins of the team's Chief Technical Officer traveling with over 20 years of Formula 1 experience in working for McLaren, Tyrrell and Toyota's F1 effort. Naming veteran Formula 1 drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen as pilots the Lotus' T127 race car for 2010, the Lotus Racing team should be at least a stable mid-pack grand prix team.


The USF1 Team

Equating to the biggest drama in the Formula 1 off-season, the fate of the USF1 Team had been the talk of the motorsport world. The USF1 Team had been eagerly followed by North American race fans who have long been seeking a greater presence in what is considered the World's top auto racing series. With the team's conception occurring well into 2008, the team was co-founded in February of 2009 by Formula 1 media legend Peter Windsor, former de Ferran Motorsport principal Ken Anderson, and Youtube creator Chad Hurley. As of March of 2010, USF1 appears to have withdrawn plans to contend in the upcoming Formula 1 season. Reports have indicated that staff for the team have been layoff as plans to get USF1 into Formula 1 for 2011 is being championed by Ken Anderson and Chad Hurley.

Initially plotting to feature an All-American driver lineup, the USF1 Team had been rumoured to be charming American racers AJ Almendinger Kyle Busch and Danica Patrick. 1997 F1 World Champion driver Jacques Villeneuve was also mentioned as connected to the team but the negotiations never materialized. In late January, Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez was named to one of the two vacant seats. A second driver has never been named for 2010 and Lopez has just recently been released from the team.

Stefan GP, an ambition Serbian-based F1 effort initially turned down for one of the four F1 team entries, has also been hinted to propositioning the team to sell their spot on the 2010 F1 grid. As the season opening race in Bahrain nears, the USF1 Team has officially sought a 12-month deferral from the FIA as they plan to ready the team for 2011. A revised entry list published on the Formula 1 official website March 3 excludes the USF1 Team from the car roster.


Hispania Racing F1 (Formerly Campos Meta)

Amidst the media coverage around the troubles of the USF1 Team, a similar but less featured Formula 1 story has been transpiring around Campos Meta. Founded by Adrian Campos, previously an owner of F3 and GP2 teams, Campos Meta's application to become a 2010 Formula 1 team was bolstered by the organization's plan to have reputable chassis builder Dallara supply their cars. Late last year, the team attracted some notable attention by announcing 2008 GP2 points runner-up Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Formula 1 great Aryton Senna, would debut in Formula 1 in 2010. However, as Formula 1 team planning extended beyond the new year, Campos Meta's progress apparently stalled.

By February of 2010, Campos Meta's capacity to make the 2010 Formula 1 season was in serious doubt as cash flow to the effort fell dry. Before that, F1 CEO and president Bernie Ecclestone voiced concerned about the financial strength of Campos Meta along with the USF1 team. Ecclestone's predictions have since been supported by team owner Adrian Campos confirmation the start-up team's financial issues admitting to BBC Sport "sometime we have the money sometime we don't". Realizing their inability to field a team for 2010, team financier Jose Ramon Carabante took control of the race entity recommitting the team under the new name Hispania Racing F1. Bruno Senna retains his ride and speculation has the free agent driver Jose Maria Lopez joining the Hispania Racing F1 team. As the Bahrain Grand Prix nears, the team is optimistic about completing in the 2010 Formula 1 tour.


Almost a week away from first practice during the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix race weekend, the more established teams of Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull Racing is still destined to be the class of world open wheel auto racing. Making efforts to build the best teams possible, the three new teams in Formula 1 racing changes from team formulation to openly fighting for every position in the 24-car field through the season. When Lotus Racing, Hispania Racing F1 and Virgin Racing cars are finally unleashed into the 2010 Formula 1 grid, maybe through all the hard work that the upcoming grand prix season will bring, these new F1 entrants can celebrate a skillful victory in the motorsport business.

USF1 Team Stalls in Making 2010 Formula 1 Debut: Team Execs Deny Complete Closure

About two months ago, the trials and tribulations of the USF1 Team were beginning to show steps moving in the right direction. Announcing Argentinian driver Jose Maria Lopez late in January, the USF1 Team was also securing strategic corporate partnerships in building their first car inside the Charlotte, North Carolina headquarters. Since that time, there had been many warning signs indicating the inability for the USF1 Team to make the grid for the 2010 Formula 1 season opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Today (Tuesday March 2nd), the most transparent occurrence to the American race team shuttering resulted as the USF1 Team's only driver Jose Maria Lopez has been released from his contract.

While speculation existed since December on the USF1 Team's preparedness to ready their entry for 2010, team representative were refuting those claims officially. According to one media outlet, it was rumoured that the upstart Formula 1 team has yet to take delivery of their spec Cosworth engines and Xtrac gearboxes leaving their competition car incomplete. Through the USF1 team's official website, the new auto racing organization were making every attempt to show that progress was definitely being made on developing the race vehicle. Photos illustrated the team's manufacturing capacity as well as video relating to the design of vehicle aspects including the front nose section and the electrical wiring.

Despite this preparation, signs of USF1's troubles became apparent as there has yet been a sighting of the Formula 1 car. At the beginning of this year, the team tipped off an anxious crowd of American motorsport followers with a planned test of a completed vehicle on North American soil. Once scheduling a shakedown of their USF1 car at Barber Motorsport Park in early February, the month past without a single lap performed by the team.

Pledging that the USF1 Team still has life, co-team principal Ken Anderson has been insistent on mentioning that the USF1 Team organization has not folded. In fact, Anderson speaks positively about competing in the 2011 Formula 1 tour. However, these plans might depend on an investigation by the Formula 1 sanctioning body, the FIA. In recent weeks, FIA president Jean Todt has corrected a misquote that left the impression that the FIA would excuse the USF1 Team from missing the first events of the season. In fact, USF1 could face penalties for breaching the Concorde Agreement (in a nut shell, a contract that grants missive financial considerations to teams and governs the team's business within the sport).

Jimmie Johnson Shows His Hand at NASCAR Sprint Cup Shelby American in Vegas

Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR

As a Canadian, I feel my need to apologize to NASCAR for turning my attention away from the 400 mile race Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as I just had to watch the Olympic Men's Hockey finals between Canada and the United States. Judging published accounts of Sunday afternoon's TV Ratings in Canada and the United States, it's fair to say I was not the only one who watched the brilliant 3-2 victory of Team Canada's male athletes in a hard-fought effort through overtime.

Through all the excitement and the sheer volume of the major hockey event, I have to candidly admit that the feeling of watching the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway was comparably underwhelming on this afternoon.

Started under a bright sky in front of a reportedly sell-out audience at the 1.5 oval, the Las Vegas native Kurt Busch pole position gave him and his #2 Miller Lite Dodge lane choice for the Shelby American start. Choosing the top side, Busch's decision immediately turned out to be an unwise decision following the drop of the green flag. Holding the lower line, fellow front row starter Jeff Gordon motored his #24 Chevrolet around the #2 Dodge to take the lead. Setting the course of the day, Jeff Gordon would lead often through the 400 mile event.

Gordon led for the first 52 laps until Roush Racing's Greg Biffle was able to sneak by the Hendrick Motorsports #24 car on a restart from a caution. As Biffle claimed the top spot, the green flag period was very short-lived. In fact, according to the track alert lights, the field was still under yellow flag conditions. Wisely acting on the side of driver safety, a yellow flag was thrown by NASCAR so they could correct the signaling error. Taking only 3 laps under caution until the race could be restarted, this signaling problem would creep once more on lap 109 when the issue was fully remedied.

With 7 caution periods overall in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Las Vegas, the incidents are fairly tame for the most part. However, a caution drawn on lap 94 would reflect the only multi-car accident in the race involving three cars which have shown competitiveness through the early stage of the 2010 Sprint Cup season. Creating the 5th caution of the Shelby American race, the Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing #1 Chevrolet of Jamie McMurray slipped up into his teammate, the #42 of Juan Pablo Montoya through turn 4 on the racetrack cited earlier in the race as being slick. Spinning out Montoya, the red #42 car ran up the track striking the turn 4 wall enough to infect serious damage to the car's deck lid area. As Kurt Busch came through the turn 4 area, he became the only non EGR casualty of the situation as he made contact that damaged the right front corner of his blue Dodge. McMurray was apologetic in the aftermath of the accident taking responsibility for the costly day for Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing. All three cars suffered damage requiring extended attention of their crews but finished the event only at most 20 laps down.



Photo Credit: Stephen Dunn/Getty Images for NASCAR


The Hendrick Motorsports duo of Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson led all but 30 of the 267 laps of the Shelby American at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Little else happened through the race as only Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, and the odd appearance of Scott Speed were some drivers who mixed up the complexion at the front of Las Vegas Motor Speedway when the Hendrick Chevrolet were pitting or were bypassed on pit strategy. The other Hendrick Motorsport cars were having mixed days in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Shelby American as Mark Martin was able to hold on to the top 10 while Dale Earnhardt Jr fell from a 4th place starting spot to the lower part of the top 15 after 200 laps.

Being a match race between Gordon and Johnson at the end, Johnson who was running 2nd place since the mid-way point of the race out-powered his teammate and part-owner on lap 251. In the final run, Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevrolet also gave way to the #29 Chevrolet of Kevin Harvick (who fought his way from a 34th place start) relinquishing the runner-up to the Pennzoil car. With considerable distance to Johnson, Harvick ran out of laps to catch Jimmie Johnson for the second straight week.

Again, Jimmie Johnson's #48 Lowes Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports successfully streaked claim to a 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup race trophy. Requiring a methodical climb from 20th place at the beginning of the event, Johnson wins his 49 career event in the major stock car racing series.

Behind Johnson, Harvick and Gordon was the #5 Hendrick car of Mark Martin followed by the Roush Racing's #17 of Matt Kenseth. Finishing 5th, Kenseth is effectively gelling with his new crew chief Todd Parrott working in their second race together in 2010.

After 3 races in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup series season, Kevin Harvick continues to hold the lead in the early going. Last week at Auto Club Speedway, Harvick chuckled in response to the significance of leading this still infant season an told about his lead. Holding a 47 markers ahead of teammate Clint Bowyer, the #29 car's 32 position improvement in the Shelby American 400 miles race and win in Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide series round should at least keep a smile on the driver's face. A beneficial event to Hendrick Motorsports two lead teams, Johnson leapfrogs 7 positions to 5th but Jeff Gordon also surged by 9 spots in the overall points standing.



2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup
Shelby American
Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Pos # | Car # | Driver | Sponsor/Car Make

1) 48 Jimmie Johnson   Lowe's / KOBALT Tools Chevrolet
2) 29 Kevin Harvick    Pennzoil Ultra Chevrolet
3) 24 Jeff Gordon      DuPont / Pepsi Max Chevrolet
4) 5 Mark Martin      GoDaddy.com Chevrolet
5) 17 Matt Kenseth     Crown Royal Ford
6) 20 Joey Logano      Home Depot Toyota
7) 14 Tony Stewart     Old Spice / Office Depot Chevrolet
8) 33 Clint Bowyer     Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet
9) 9 Kasey Kahne      Budweiser Ford
10) 16 Greg Biffle      3M Ford
11) 31 Jeff Burton      Caterpillar Chevrolet
12) 99 Carl Edwards     Aflac / Kelloggs Ford
13) 00 David Reutimann   TUMS Toyota
14) 47 Marcos Ambrose    Kingsford / Scott Branded Products Toyota
15) 18 Kyle Busch       M&M's Toyota
16) 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard / AMP Energy Chevrolet
17) 98 Paul Menard      Moen / Menards Ford 
18) 39 Ryan Newman      Tornados Chevrolet
19) 11 Denny Hamlin     FedEx Ground Toyota
20) 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Gold Filters Toyota
21) 78 Regan Smith      Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet
22) 82 Scott Speed      Red Bull Toyota
23) 6 David Ragan      UPS Ford
24) 34 Travis Kvapil    Long John Silver's Ford
25) 43 A J Allmendinger Valvoline Ford
26) 12 Brad Keselowski         Penske Dodge
27) 19 Elliott Sadler         Stanley Ford
28) 77 Sam Hornish Jr.         Mobil 1 Dodge
29) 66 Dave Blaney         PRISM Motorsports Toyota
30) 38 David Gilliland         Taco Bell Ford 
31) 83 Brian Vickers         Red Bull Toyota
32) 7 Robby Gordon         Monster Energy Toyota
33) 13 Max Papis         GEICO Toyota
34) 1 Jamie McMurray         McDonald's Chevrolet
35) 2 Kurt Busch         Miller Lite Dodge
36) 37 Kevin Conway          Extenze Ford
37) 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevrolet
38) 71 Bobby Labonte         TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet
39) 36 Mike Bliss         Kim Kardashian Fragrance Chevrolet
40) 26 Boris Said        Southern Pride Trucking Ford
41) 87 Joe Nemechek     FrontRowJoe.com Toyota
42) 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota
43)     09 Aric Almirola    Phoenix Racing Chevrolet