| Formula 1 has always seemed to have a hostile | | | | immediately could only have been a surprise to |
| relationship with America. It is difficult to know | | | | Windsor and Anderson. They obviously thought |
| why, but there certainly seems to be a curse | | | | they had backing when they really did not. |
| associated with the relationship. The news in 2009 | | | | Following the failure to make the grid, USF1 was a |
| that an American Formula 1 team would be | | | | going concern in name only. Eventually, the World |
| launched was met with much ado. Alas, the USF1 | | | | Motor Sport Council launched an investigation into |
| Team never even made to the track and has | | | | what went wrong. It has just released its findings |
| now been permanently banned from the sport. | | | | and they are not pleasant. The investigators |
| The team was the idea of Peter Windsor and | | | | determined Windsor and Anderson had badly |
| Ken Anderson. Both had a long history in | | | | underestimated the cost of launching and running |
| motorsports and Windsor in particular had been | | | | a team, and thus had no realistic hope of every |
| involved in the running of major teams like | | | | making the grid. Given this, the council fined the |
| McLaren. The two promised a new way of | | | | team 225,000 pounds and barred it from ever |
| running a team in a financially responsible manner. | | | | competing in the championship in the future. |
| The promises were never kept. | | | | So, now what? Will we see another American |
| USF1 looked to be in trouble from the start. Part | | | | Formula 1 team launched at some point? It seems |
| of it was pure bad luck and a certain lack of | | | | very unlikely. The only hope would seem to be a |
| common sense. Launching a Formula 1 team in | | | | groundswell of support arising from the new race |
| the middle of the Great Recession was not | | | | to be held in Austin, Texas for the next 10 years. |
| exactly a move that forecast success. The fact | | | | Based on past excursions into the United States |
| the team ran into funding problems almost | | | | by F1, I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. |