04/03/2009
NEWS STORY
USF1 would appear to be dead and buried before it even turned a wheel.
Visitors to the new team's website last week, following the press conference at which the project was officially confirmed by Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson, will have discovered the site "unavailable". Subsequently, visitors were redirected to a new site named USGPE.com.
It now appears that the team behind the project has been forced to change the name from USF1 to US Grand Prix Engineering after Formula One Management (FOM) objected to the use of 'F1' in the team's name.
While Windsor was positively gushing in his praise for Bernie Ecclestone following his support of the USF1 project - the Englishman allowed the team to use the official 2008 season film used at the FIA Awards Gala for promotional purposes in terms of investors and sponsors - it will be interesting to hear the reaction at this enforced name change.
With the sport suffering as a result of the global financial crisis, and only nine teams currently confirmed for the season opener, to many this latest move might appear somewhat petty.
Race fans in the United States already have plenty to feel aggrieved about. Other than the fact that F1 is not visiting North America this year for the first time since 1958, many US races fans will remember the shambles that was the 2005 United States Grand Prix, when only six cars took part.
Ecclestone has previously fought, without much success to be honest, to enforce ownership of the term 'Grand Prix'. It remains to be seen whether he feels he also owns 'United States'.