US F1 Fined, Banned From Competing By FIA

[Sonzilla]

http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-us-f1-fined-banned-from-competing-by-fia/#viewSingle99213269

The FIA has confirmed that it has penalized US F1 for failing to take part in this year´s World Championship - although the team does not exist anymore and its remnants were finally broken up in a recent liquidation auction.

If nothing else, the action serves as a warning to future entrants that they will not get away lightly if they fail to show up. The process to select the 13th entry for 2011 is currently under way.

The full text is as follows:

"During the extraordinary hearing that was held in Geneva on 23 June 2010, the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council examined, in application of the new disciplinary procedure adopted at the beginning of 2010, the failure of the USF1 Team to take part in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, for which it had been selected and had registered.

"Having had this disciplinary procedure submitted to it by the FIA President, who did not attend the hearing, the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council has found the USF1 team guilty of having infringed the FIA International Sporting Code, the sporting regulations of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and the obligations resulting from its entry in this Championship.

"In these circumstances, the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council has decided to impose the following sanctions against USF1:

"A fine of 309,000 euros (a sum equivalent to the Entry Fees for the Championship);

"The disqualification of USF1 (which definitively deprives USF1 of the right to take part, in any way whatsoever, in any competition);

"And the payment of the costs incurred by the FIA within the context of this disciplinary procedure."

 

[Ardius]

What a very late and very vague ruling. Does this ban apply to everyone involved with the team or just the name "USF1"?
Who gets fined? Windsor? Anderson?

There's a distinct lack of holding people accountable here.

 

[lbsf1]

How can they fine a team that no longer exists anymore?
What good is banning them, except just to follow the rules of what to do in that situation. Its sort of like red carding a player in football who is being taken off being injured.
Confusing like most things motorsport bodies do.

 

[Pescara for GT5]

What is the point, and USF1 asked for one more race so they could be ready, and the FIA is now going to punish them for not being ready to compete in time in a tough economy such as this, who is getting fined exactly is my question.

 

[Ardius]

What is the point, and USF1 asked for one more race so they could be ready, and the FIA is now going to punish them for not being ready to compete in time in a tough economy such as this, who is getting fined exactly is my question.

USF1 were having a laugh asking to miss races, they were never going to make it regardless.
Ken Anderson deserves every sanction he gets, unfortunately, he's gone missing ever since. Like I said, people are not being held accountable and its a disgrace. 👎
Banning Anderson from the sport would suffice in my opinion, maybe fine him too.

I advise you to read this:
http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-what-went-wrong-in-americas-comeback/

And come back and tell me that punishing USF1 (or rather Anderson) is unfair.

 

[Pescara for GT5]

USF1 were having a laugh asking to miss races, they were never going to make it regardless.
Ken Anderson deserves every sanction he gets, unfortunately, he's gone missing ever since. Like I said, people are not being held accountable and its a disgrace. 👎
Banning Anderson from the sport would suffice in my opinion, maybe fine him too.

I advise you to read this:
http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-what-went-wrong-in-americas-comeback/

And come back and tell me that punishing USF1 (or rather Anderson) is unfair.

You proved me wrong, Anderson deserves a fat fine, it sounds like he had no idea what he was doing.

 

[daan]

It's not exactly a fine. It just means that their entry fee, which they had already paid, will be kept by the FIA.

The defunct USF1 team have been banned from Formula 1 and fined 309,000 euros(£255,000) for their failure to compete in this year's world championship.

The fine is equivalent to their entry fees to the championship - which will be simply retained - and the costs of bringing a disciplinary case.

The team now have seven days to launch an appeal, but they are not expected to contest the verdict.

The rest of the BBC article

 

[prisonermonkeys]

What good is banning them, except just to follow the rules of what to do in that situation.

It's to stop them from coming back. They failed once because of their own mistakes; to let them back in opens up more potential for embarrassment - and takes up a place that could have been better used by another possible entrant.

 

[Northstar]

It's to stop them from coming back. They failed once because of their own mistakes; to let them back in opens up more potential for embarrassment - and takes up a place that could have been better used by another possible entrant.

I think it was also to sort of send a message to teams trying to get into the 2011 season that if they get the spot and fail to show they will get fined and banned.

I think the FIA's only mistake with this is the timing of it.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

It seems like it takes them ages to make any rulings. We had to wait months to find out anything on Spygate.

 

[niky]

Took them more than long enough.

What a fiasco this was.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I think the only reason these sanctions have come now is because the Geneva meeting is their biggest annual meet. It's where the next season's regulations are handed down. Given the seriousness of the USF1 situation, they obviously felt it was best to wait until now because they clearly wanted to make a statement.

 

[Azure Flare]

They were a disgrace to American motorsport and Americans as a whole, I'm glad they're no more.

 

[yeti]

Took them more than long enough.

What a fiasco this was.

Really?

Does it matter - they're not going anywhere.

C.

 

[NapoleonMikey]

They were a disgrace to American motorsport and Americans as a whole, I'm glad they're no more.

Do you care to explain this? Im not quite sure how they represented Americans at all. I think they represented a race team, but that like saying Virgin represents the UK and its people.

 

[Radracing]

They should let anyone with a complete F1 car that complies with the current rules for the following season to be able to do qualifying laps from the off season testing. And if they meet the 107% they get a pass to run the season provided they can prove sufficient funding and also qualify at the races.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Do you care to explain this? Im not quite sure how they represented Americans at all. I think they represented a race team, but that like saying Virgin represents the UK and its people.

Wasn't the idea behind USF1 to have an American race team that Americans can get behind? I think they put that US in the team name for a reason. Virgin isn't called UKF1.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Wasn't the idea behind USF1 to have an American race team that Americans can get behind? I think they put that US in the team name for a reason.

Well, that was the idea, but it was hardly an American effort. Anderson is British, Windsor is Australian. Their drivers were a Brit and an Argentine. In some respects, that may have been a good thing: run the team for a year or two without American drivers and get up to speed with the rest of the field. Then, when USF1 is ready, pick up someone like Alexander Rossi so that he has a chance at being competitive. However, based on Anderson's running of the team and the way he and his son constantly re-did whatever work the designers had come up with so that it was in line with their vision, it was a vanity project. The USF1 name was there for political reasons: because they made themselves out to be the key to the untapped American market, they had a better standing with the FIA.

 

[NapoleonMikey]

Wasn't the idea behind USF1 to have an American race team that Americans can get behind? I think they put that US in the team name for a reason. Virgin isn't called UKF1.

So Hspania Racing Team (HRT) is the official team of Spain and represents the Spanish people? Just because I name my team after a country doesn't mean that that team now reflects on the people of that country. Like interludes pointed out the team was not even formed by Americans and the only major player in the team that was American was Hurley. So how they disgraced America as a hole is beyond me. Why it seems like Americans seem to be in a state of "the rest of the world hates us and its these peoples fault" (mainly with the people against bush, but they also point out others such as this case) is beyond me. How these people who I never met, and are not even Americans by birth, disgraced me and this country, I would like to here a reasonable answer.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Windsor and Anderson are just two people. The team was based in the US. In my eyes it was the effort of an American team trying to gain entry to F1.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Windsor and Anderson are just two people. The team was based in the US. In my eyes it was the effort of an American team trying to gain entry to F1.

Yes, but would the rest of America agree with you? Would they be willing to support an "American" team that was not run by Americans, ran two drivers who were not Americans and a car that was not designed by Americans?

The only things that were American about the team were their name and their base. Force India might not run Indian drivers, but at least they are owned by an Indian (and while they're based in the UK, that's because most Formula 1 teams are ... USF1 were doing themselves no favours setting up shop on the other side of the Atlantic).

While it would have been nice to see an American team, USF1 was a farce, and they got what was their due.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Yes, but would the rest of America agree with you? Would they be willing to support an "American" team that was not run by Americans, ran two drivers who were not Americans and a car that was not designed by Americans?

Since most Americans don't follow F1, they would've just seen the name and made their judgments on that.

Being based in the US is a pretty huge thing since as you say even an "Indian team" is based in England. And in America nationalities aren't a huge thing unless you're running for President.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Still, it doesn't mean they were actually American. Once it became apparent that they were in trouble (real trouble, not the made-up trouble that came because people don't like Windsor), making themselves out to be from the States reeked of being a marketing plot, a sweetener to get the FIA interested in them. In hindsight, they were never up for the task of entering Formula 1, and I very much imagine they would never have been considered without the USF1 name. They used America to launch a vanity project; Ken Anderson dreamed of having his own team and his actions as team principal - ie feeing the need to do absolutely everything - prove as much. They were not American in name or in spirit; the only thing that vaguely connected them to America was their location.

Being based in American might be a pretty huge thing, but only if you're actually based in America - USF1 was going to have a forward base in Spain for easier access to the European and Middle Eastern events. They'd spend more than half the season outside America.

 

[Ardius]

The point is ludes, the team was named USF1. Now are you really trying to say that doesn't bring any nationalistic implications with it?

Ferrari is seen as an Italian team when many times they have had staff from various countries, especially the Schumacher-domination years. What makes them Italian? They are based in Italy, they are run by Italians and owned by Italians but...oh the employees are not all Italian..guess they aren't Italian then .

There is nothing "vague" about it. They couldn't have been more American if they had tried unless they had hired only Americans. They even said at one point they were going to hire only American drivers, which later changed to hiring American drivers when they are ready.
Their entire marketing strategy was to play the "we're American" card too.

They should let anyone with a complete F1 car that complies with the current rules for the following season to be able to do qualifying laps from the off season testing. And if they meet the 107% they get a pass to run the season provided they can prove sufficient funding and also qualify at the races.

The FIA do do that. Problem with USF1 was, they had no funding and no car. They didn't even need to be within 107%, they just had to have a safe car that passed the crash tests.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

The point is ludes, the team was named USF1. Now are you really trying to say that doesn't bring any nationalistic implications with it?

Ferrari is seen as an Italian team when many times they have had staff from various countries, especially the Schumacher-domination years. What makes them Italian? They are based in Italy, they are run by Italians and owned by Italians but...oh the employees are not all Italian..guess they aren't Italian then .

There is nothing "vague" about it. They couldn't have been more American if they had tried unless they had hired only Americans. They even said at one point they were going to hire only American drivers, which later changed to hiring American drivers when they are ready.
Their entire marketing strategy was to play the "we're American" card too.

Yes. Their marketing strategy. Like I said, America was an untapped market at the time. They saw that as a way in, and they played it as such. The problem is that if you take away the whole American-ness thing, you're not left with much. In fact, they probably wouldn't have been chosen. They used the image of being American to get themselves more credibility when they should have focused on the racing side of things. The difference between USF1 and Ferrari is that Ferrari have had sixty years to become synonymous with Italy.

 

[Ardius]

So you're saying that the team has nothing American about it at all and it was all just a marketing ploy?

I'm lost for words.

They were based in America. They employed quite a lot of Americans by the looks of it. They were attempting to buy supplies from America. They wanted American drivers. They had an American racing license. They were going to test their car initially in America. The car was going to be designed and built in America.

Just because they didn't succeed because of some of these rather dumb decisions doesn't mean they weren't American.
They would have been more American than Renault is French or Force India is Indian thats for sure.

I really don't get it, how on earth in your opinion were they were going to be American without 100% of the staff being American?