Formula One: New Teams
A lot has been said about all of the new possible Formula One teams that were vying for a position in the new season of F1 2010. All possible entrants except for one of them came out of the woodwork when the 30 then 40 and later 60 million pounds budgets were announced.
Just who are these masked men?
First off is the USF1 Grand Prix team that crispy Nicky Lauda says makes no sense at all (I suppose one must have a GP in their country of origin before one can enter GP racing)! Announcing themselves way before the proposed and then forcibly mandated budget rules, this team is owned by Ken Anderson and Peter Winsor. Advocating an American driver line-up and a chassis machine under construction already, this team was accepted by the FIA was inclusion for next year but maybe that isn’t a good thing for them either. I am sure this Made in America effort was planning to compete with the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Williams to name a few.
Next up is the Spanish Campos Grand Prix team led by Adrian Campos, a one-time GP driver and also successful team owner. With a car that will be manufactured by prolific constructor Dallara, this entry will bear watching and should also be taken seriously as it has been in development for three months now and is not affected by the budgets approved for next year. There are rumors of various drivers involved and I would hope that finally Giorgio Pantano gets a nod here, as he is as deserving as any other driver available.
Manor GP is the last of the accepted entrants and Nick Wirth, a respected designer engineer is designing and building this car. It remains to be seen if this team has the budget to truly enter into F1 as they were counting on the proposed budget restrictions of 45 million pounds, that according to Principal John Booth. Also, there is growing controversy over this entry as it is being revealed that some monkey-business was in play involving FIA Chief Stewart Alan Donnelly approving this entry over much better qualified candidates. It is revealed that Donnelly has some business connections to this fledging team, so it seems correct to say that it pays to who you know!
I am at a loss as to why the Lola GP effort was not one of those accepted, as this famous constructer would certainly build a beautiful chassis and add true value to the field. Martin Birrane has done a tremendous job since taking over the house that Eric Broadley built and has been calculated in every step of their growth, expanding into separate divisions that operate independently. They have recently announced that their program is therefore cancelled and that is truly a shame!
Additional entrants denied were in no order, Prodrive GP run by former BAR team manager David Richards and tied to Aston Martin, Lotus GP that was to have a car designed by Mike Gascoyne, Brabham GP which is seriously contested by the family of Sir Jack, Superfund which has former driver Alex Wurz involvement and maybe others that I can’t think of right now. More discussions and viewpoints on these Formula One team possibilities later.
Finally, there is discussion concerning the Cosworth engine being allowed (or not) to run at a higher RPM range than the rest. Apparently that will not be the case and some are suggesting that this engine will not be competitive since it seems to use more fuel that the current generation of F1 power plants. It is too bad that Cosworth were not able to continue to develop this engine program to keep abreast of the progress the others have made in spite of the “so-called” engine freeze regulations.