It may not amount to much, because the team barely exists in anything but name, but the FIA has announced that it has decided to punish USF1 for its failure to appear in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The FIA has ruled that the team will be fined € 309,000 euros – a sum equivalent to the entry fees for the World Championship – and the team has been disqualified from taking part in any competition. The team will also be asked to pay the costs incurred by the FIA in the disciplinary procedure.
The reality is that the money has probably already been paid by USF1 as part of the entry process, but this will stop any attempt to claim it back.
joeblogsf1 
I assume the toaster idea, that USF1 had, did not fly either…
Perhaps they should have concentrated more on development and less on media hype.
US F1 was dead on arrival as were its founders
Given that the team is in financial ruin and the garage-sale of remaining USF1 bits not repossessed, apparently generated mere pennies on the dollar, it’s probably dead-on likely the FiA aren’t expecting to see the fine repaid.
What would be a rather nice addenda to this decision, in my view, would be for the FiA to further bar Mr. “Falcon Cars” Anderson from future wastings of time on behalf of the F1 community as a whole, and American F1 fans in particular.
As an American, and an F1 fan, I was hardly gutted by the team’s failure. However, I was thoroughly embarrassed by the incompetent effort and angered by the negative effect this counterproductive effort could have in building broader F1-appeal in the US. Further, they’ve made it just that much harder for a North American team to be taken credibly — unless it’s backed by a billionaire sportsman like Larry Ellison (who likes his racing in sailboats or BMWs).
Simply said, F1 would do well to keep characters like Anderson on the otherside of the pitwall.
Makes me think of Nascar. About 50 cars turn up and compete for the 43 slots for the race. Do they punish someone who fails to turn up for qualifying as negotiated? I don’t know, but I wonder how this move of the FIA is perceived in the US.
I find this amusing on so many levels.
“Let’s BAN THEM!”
“But they’d still exist as a team. We can’t have that!”
“Well…then…let s fine them out of existence! Since we know they didn’t have enough money to be here in the first place, surely they’ll never even THINK of trying to race again. Because, you know, they failed so badly in the first place they should be punished!”
OKAY, WE GET IT. USF1 screwed up. Can we try not to make it harder for new/smaller teams to actually want to try? There’s a reasonable process (duly deserved here to an extent) and then there’s overkill. Nobody will want to play when the if the consequence of failure is so over the top.
It’s no wonder investors are hesitant over the F1 biz and small teams. sheesh.
LOL. I can’t believe Peter Windsor & Co. wasted everyone’s time. Time to bury your head in the sand and disappear y’all. Or do they get an “E” for effort. Maybe I’m too cynical.
Ban an non-existent team that has no intention of racing again…what a great idea. And for my next trick I’ll fine a company with no one money that’s” probably” not legally obliged to pay single cent.
does the team that is banned include Windsor, Chad Hurley and Anderson?
Waht if they try to return in a different guise?
Joe,
What’s Peter Windsor doing nowadays ?
I suspect the fine was made to ensure that there could be no claim against the FIA for the return of the entry money that USF1 originally paid.
It could just be possible that the administrator to the USF1 bankruptcy could go after the return of the entry fee as it was sitting in an account as an unused sum of money, unlikely, but possible. Its also possible that one of the former owners might have requested its return (!) Anyway, with a fine the matter becomes moot.
This move looks more symbolic than anything else. The FIA has to be seen to enforce its own rules and ensure that anyone leaving the championship faces negative consequences. Less important for teams that take themselves out of the championship using the methods USF1 did (there will always be teams and people with reaches that exceed their grasps), but it deters those already in the championship from leaving before their contracted time in F1 ends.
As an American F1 fan, I’m insulted by the FIA. With teams like HRT, Virgin, and Lotus running so slow that they can’t get out of their own way. USF1 bowing out of the championship should be viewed as a favor to the sport, and should not have been punished at all.
For decades now the Formula 1 community has consistantly disrespected it’s American fans, with the lack of American drivers in quality cars, lack of American teams, and the choosing of Indy to host an F1 race. The road circuit at Indianapolis was half the size it needed to be. Though we were grateful to have it. Tony George ruined Indy for all the forms of racing there when he decided to cut diamond grooves into the oval track.
I personally believe they should not be building a new facility in Texas. Rather, they should be racing at the Infineon Raceway in Sears Point California. Or better yet, return to the famous corkscrew at Laguna Seca.
At least the LOTUS, HRT and VIRGIN Teams have made it onto the grid . They produced cars, not hot air..
With regards running F1 cars at Laguna Seca, not a hope in hell of that happening..
We haven’t seen any decent American drivers, and there’s nothing to stop some-one in USA producing a car..
Leguna is a nice thought, but the circuit is too small for f1..Bit of a shame really.
But back on to the subject of the FIA’s Ban and Fine. USF1 should give them “the finger” with regards to giving them any money…. I think USF1 have lost enough as it is.