The past decade has been frustratingly difficult for the American Formula 1 fan. A much-hyped event at the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway dropped off the schedule after 2005's Michelin tire debacle, which saw only the six Bridgestone-shod competitors contest the race. American driver search winner Scott Speed flamed out with Scuderia Toro Rosso and now races stock cars.
Last year saw no North American races on the grid at all, and with two American-based teams unsuccessful in bids to join the sport, a period that started off with so much promise has led to a bleak present for the sport stateside.
Jonathan Summerton is aiming to change all that.
The 22-year-old Kissimmee, Florida native has been making quite a name for himself by winning races and contending for championships across the globe. Summerton took America's lone win in the national team-oriented A1 Grand Prix championship, winning the spring 2008 feature race at Shanghai.
He scored four wins in last year's Atlantic Championship, tying season champion John Edwards in points (Edwards took the tiebreaker with one more second-place), and posted strong finishes while moonlighting with Andersen Racing in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. These performances attracted the attention of both potential American-based F1 entrants, and he was working closely with the Cypher Group on an F1 program for next year.
Off track, Summerton connects with his fans better than most drivers. He frequents Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, giving his fans an inside look into the life of a professional race car driver.
While visiting Louisiana State University, Summerton took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions for us.
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Let’s start with the basics. How did you first get into racing? When did you decide that you wanted to do it professionally?
JS: I started racing in Go Karts when I was 12 and well basically from day one I was set on being a World Champion and making a career out of it. I love racing it's my passion and life.
You've had experience racing in Formula BMW, Formula 3, and A1GP, traveling across the globe to do so. How did racing (and winning) in those three series shape you as a driver? Do the drivers, teams, and fans over in Europe treat racing differently than they do here in the States?
JS: Well of course over there, there are a lot more people who know and live for racing but the excitement in America is very similar. Driving all over the world in those series was amazing and was an experience of a lifetime. It has helped me learn to travel and depend on myself more and keep myself motivated while on the road. It also has helped me build a family with my teams. It is great and I really enjoy bringing the team together and having a family on the road.
Last year was one of the best of your career, with some strong Indy Lights finishes and almost winning the Atlantic title. Do you attribute last year's success to anything in particular? Looking back on it, does any one race in particular stand out?
JS: Well for me everything was great. I am determined to be the best and win in whatever I do. It was also great last year having so many people behind me supporting me and well of course just having my fans behind me and friends and family has always helped and motivated me more and more everyday. Without them I wouldn't be the person I am today. It was a great season and I really enjoyed it.
Unfortunately we haven't seen too much of you this year. What have you been doing to pass the time?
JS: Haha well been keeping busy training hard and working hard on finding sponsors. I have had a lot of deals come and go that many haven't heard of but as many know was working on a deal with Cypher Group for F1 and well we were almost there but decided we wanted to have everything ready to go when we do it. I know they will be back and well they are a great group of people and was great working with them. Now I am concentrating on finding funding for next year.
Have you had any luck on the sponsorship front? A lot of teams have been taking on pay drivers in recent years to pay the bills. Do you see that trend continuing in the near future, or do you think things are primed for a turn around?
JS: Well I think this is where racing needs to change up a little cause a few years ago teams were wanting the best drivers and had sponsors behind them now it seems they are struggling just like the drivers and well of course money is key now. I am working feverishly to find sponsors and it's just part of the job :)
You’ve worked with a number of the top teams in Atlantic and Indy Lights over the past couple of years, as well as some top teams in your time in Europe. Did you have a favorite team to work with, or a team that you felt you worked best with?
JS: Well all of them have been great. I would never say there was a best as they all had different qualities but I will say working with A1GP Team USA was a fun and exciting experience every time traveling the world together with them.
You’re also one of only a handful of drivers to have run in both the current Dallara Indy Lights chassis and the Swift Atlantic car. Was one of those cars easier to drive than the other? More fun to drive? More reliable?
JS: I would have to say they were both really fun. The Swift could have done with more power but they both had their own aspects that were fun. I must say I haven't found a car I didn't enjoy driving. They are all racecars and what can I say driving is fun!
Have you been keeping up with this year’s Formula 1 and IndyCar seasons? What do you think about the way things have been going this year?
JS:Yeah of course. Racing is what I live, breathe, and eat! Things are very exciting in both series. I gotta say the new Indy Car is looking great and what Randy is doing there is great. I hope sponsors come on board there and help the series become bigger again. F1 now that is just awesome to have 5 drivers as close as they are fighting for the title. Very exciting!
An American-based Formula 1 team, USF1, was supposed to join the grid this year, with no luck. Another entry (Cypher) wasn’t granted entry for 2011. Now there are rumblings that the new track in Austin is going to be behind schedule, and that traffic will be outrageous. Why do you think Formula 1 is having such a hard time stabilizing itself in the United States? As a driver with F1 aspirations, do you see this as a hindrance to your goals, or does it only motivate you more to make it to that level?
JS: Well with Cypher actually they withdrew their entry as we were wanted to have everything ready and well we didn't so to be fair to the others and FIA we withdrew. As for F1 it is a very hard gig to get into. High in cost and lots of work to do so. Of course not having any major things of F1 happening for America in teams, tracks, and drivers it is very hard to break in but it can be done and hopefully I will do it!
As far as drivers go, you have a pretty strong online presence - you use Twitter and YouTube a lot, and interact with your fans as much as possible. What's your favorite part of using social media as a driver? Do you think other drivers will come to embrace it as you do in the near future?
JS: Interacting with fans is fun and I love doing it. You get to hear outside stories, hear about their opinions and what they want to see and well of course build up a support group. I can't express enough how I enjoy bringing fans into my shoes and letting them tell me what they want to see cause I know there's lots of cool and interesting things in racing. I can't say it enough though I am always trying to get new fans and followers on Facebook, youtube, and twitter as I love filling people in on what they want to know about the sport and my life.
What's the best piece of advice a fellow competitor ever gave you about racing? And what advice would you offer young drivers looking to follow in your footsteps?
JS: Stay focused and never let any door close. Always stay grounded and remember where you came from! Never miss an opportunity! Go out there and do your best interact with everyone and enjoy every minute. You have to believe in yourself first before others will!
Anything else you'd like to tell your fans and readers?
JS: Thank you for all their support and feel free to chat to me on Facebook or twitter and send me any suggestions or things they would like to hear about or know more about for my future videos on youtube! My fans mean the world to me and are the ones who have believed in me and kept me pushing on towards my dreams and I want to say a big THANK YOU to them and everyone for their support.
Finally, what do you think the future holds for you? And what do you think the future holds for American open-wheel racing in general?
JS: Can't really say all I know is a world championship I am sure ;) As for American open wheel racing I am sure things will become strong again we all just have to come together.
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We'd like to say a big THANK YOU to JS for taking the time to talk to us. You can check out his personal website at http://www.formulajon.com, his Twitter account at @JSummerton, and his YouTube channel jsummertonusa.
Showing posts with label USF1 Team. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USF1 Team. Show all posts
Friday, September 17, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
USF1: It Was Fun While It Lasted
USF1, a proposed Formula 1 team that was to compete in the 2010 Formula 1 season, has reportedly officially shut down, just over a year after its creation.
Its demise comes as no shock to insiders, who have been reporting for the past month or so that the team was on the verge of collapse. While two of the other four teams new to the grid in 2010 have launched their cars, and a third was recently rescued from the brink of disaster, USF1 could not put anything together in time for the season, soiling the names of technical director Ken Anderson and former team manager Peter Windsor.
The USF1 saga has been nothing short of a disaster, and those of us paying attention would probably rather forget the sad tale. But for those interested, here is a timeline of relevant events to the team's brief history:
2009
February 24: Anderson and Windsor appear on the Speed Channel, announcing their intent to field a team in the 2010 Formula 1 season. The goal would be to create a completely American team, based in the States, that fielded only American drivers. The FIA had recently announced its intention to open up the grid to new teams in 2010. Windsor was, at the time, a pit reporter for Speed, and one of the only people the channel sent to every race on the F1 schedule.
June 12: USF1 is granted entry to the 2010 Formula 1 season, alongside the Campos Meta team and Manor Grand Prix. None of the three teams will enter 2010 as they were originally granted entry. USF1 will be based out of a shop formerly used by top NASCAR teams.
July 29: USF1 signs the sport's Concorde Agreement after squabbling between the sanctioning body and teams already in the championship ends.
August 7: Windsor tells Sports Illustrated that USF1 will not take on pay drivers for the 2010 season, reaffirming the team's goal of providing American drivers with F1 opportunities.
August 19: Windsor reveals that one of the team's primary investors will be Chad Hurley, founder of YouTube.
September 16: Computerized images of USF1's car, as yet unnamed in the design process, are revealed on a SpeedTV.com webcast. Anderson suggests that a rolling model will be built within the next month.
October 30: USF1 announces that it will establish a secondary base in Alcaniz, Spain, at the Motorland Aragon circuit. The team did not want to waste time and/or money shipping integral equipment back to its Charlotte, NC base during the European rounds of the season.
November 21: Argentinian driver Jose Maria Lopez announces that he will drive for USF1 provided he can secure $8 million worth of sponsorship.
December: USF1 signs British driver James Rossiter to a contract. It is not announced to the press. Chassis moulds are completed, but sit for a month waiting to be laid up.
December 22: Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of F1, expresses doubts publicly that USF1 and Campos will make it to the F1 grid in 2010. "I think the people we expected to perform will and those that we thought wouldn't, won't," he says to British newspaper The Times.
December 23: Windsor refutes Ecclestone's doubts that USF1 will be ready for the start of the 2010 season. USF1 launches a fully functional website.
2010
January 15: Hurley tours the Charlotte facility and, according to later reports, becomes aware of problems with the team. Paychecks due to team members on this date are late.
January 18: More CGI renderings of the USF1 Type 1 are revealed on racecar-engineering.com. Author Lawrence Butcher refutes widespread public doubt that the team's race shop is fully functional, providing a photographic tour of the shop. The article also says that USF1 can build its entire car in-house, but that time constraints are forcing them to outsource some of the work.
January 20: Paychecks due on January 15 arrive to team members.
January 25: Lopez signs with USF1.
January/February: In a team meeting, Windsor rhetorically asks his team who thinks that USF1 will not make the grid for the start of the season. Every crew member raises a hand.
February: Rossiter's sponsors seek reassurance that all was going well with USF1. After guarantees could not be made, Rossiter exits the deal. Windsor tells Lopez that the team is in trouble, and Lopez, too, begins to look for a way out.
February 10: In response to rumors of USF1's struggles, and the suggestion that the Concorde Agreement allows for teams to miss up to three races, the FIA releases a clarifying statement that confirms teams will be penalized for missing races.
February 18: Multiple sources report that crash testing for the car in England, press interviews, and all other testing of the Type 1 has either been been called off or was never scheduled in the first place. The blame is placed on sponsors not coming through. The USF1 website goes down, but the team uses social media to affirm it still exists.
February 19: Anderson announces that USF1 cannot possibly make it to the first race of the season. He says that Lopez remains under contract, the team has a five-year lease in its Charlotte shop despite the fact that the building itself is listed for sale by its owner, and the team can build a car in time for the fifth race of the season with additional money. The USF1 website is restored.
February 20: Anderson petitions the FIA for a reprieve from the first four races of the season, in order to allow the team to finish building the car. The team would then debut in early May in Spain.
February 24: Charlie Whiting, F1 race director, inspects the USF1 shop for fitness. An insider suggests that only Hurley can save the team, accusing Anderson and Windsor of mismanagement.
February 26: Chad Hurley discusses merging USF1 with another team for the 2010 season, but talks are unsuccessful. Anderson and Windsor oppose the deal.
March 1: USF1 asks to have its entry into the sport delayed until 2011. Speed announces a replacement for Windsor on its F1 broadcast team, journalist Will Buxton.
March 2: All team employees are put on unpaid leave. Lopez is officially freed from the USF1 contract, and his legal team is working on reclaiming the $830,000 advance he paid to join. Blame for the team's failure is placed on Anderson. Neither Anderson nor Windsor can be reached for comment.
USF1 may yet be restored to F1 in time for the 2011 season, but at this point it appears unlikely. Its position on the grid will likely be forfeited, and the legal mess may just be beginning for the failed organization. Where this leaves Windsor and Anderson is anyone's guess.
Its demise comes as no shock to insiders, who have been reporting for the past month or so that the team was on the verge of collapse. While two of the other four teams new to the grid in 2010 have launched their cars, and a third was recently rescued from the brink of disaster, USF1 could not put anything together in time for the season, soiling the names of technical director Ken Anderson and former team manager Peter Windsor.
The USF1 saga has been nothing short of a disaster, and those of us paying attention would probably rather forget the sad tale. But for those interested, here is a timeline of relevant events to the team's brief history:
2009
February 24: Anderson and Windsor appear on the Speed Channel, announcing their intent to field a team in the 2010 Formula 1 season. The goal would be to create a completely American team, based in the States, that fielded only American drivers. The FIA had recently announced its intention to open up the grid to new teams in 2010. Windsor was, at the time, a pit reporter for Speed, and one of the only people the channel sent to every race on the F1 schedule.
June 12: USF1 is granted entry to the 2010 Formula 1 season, alongside the Campos Meta team and Manor Grand Prix. None of the three teams will enter 2010 as they were originally granted entry. USF1 will be based out of a shop formerly used by top NASCAR teams.
July 29: USF1 signs the sport's Concorde Agreement after squabbling between the sanctioning body and teams already in the championship ends.
August 7: Windsor tells Sports Illustrated that USF1 will not take on pay drivers for the 2010 season, reaffirming the team's goal of providing American drivers with F1 opportunities.
August 19: Windsor reveals that one of the team's primary investors will be Chad Hurley, founder of YouTube.
September 16: Computerized images of USF1's car, as yet unnamed in the design process, are revealed on a SpeedTV.com webcast. Anderson suggests that a rolling model will be built within the next month.
October 30: USF1 announces that it will establish a secondary base in Alcaniz, Spain, at the Motorland Aragon circuit. The team did not want to waste time and/or money shipping integral equipment back to its Charlotte, NC base during the European rounds of the season.
November 21: Argentinian driver Jose Maria Lopez announces that he will drive for USF1 provided he can secure $8 million worth of sponsorship.
December: USF1 signs British driver James Rossiter to a contract. It is not announced to the press. Chassis moulds are completed, but sit for a month waiting to be laid up.
December 22: Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of F1, expresses doubts publicly that USF1 and Campos will make it to the F1 grid in 2010. "I think the people we expected to perform will and those that we thought wouldn't, won't," he says to British newspaper The Times.
December 23: Windsor refutes Ecclestone's doubts that USF1 will be ready for the start of the 2010 season. USF1 launches a fully functional website.
2010
January 15: Hurley tours the Charlotte facility and, according to later reports, becomes aware of problems with the team. Paychecks due to team members on this date are late.
January 18: More CGI renderings of the USF1 Type 1 are revealed on racecar-engineering.com. Author Lawrence Butcher refutes widespread public doubt that the team's race shop is fully functional, providing a photographic tour of the shop. The article also says that USF1 can build its entire car in-house, but that time constraints are forcing them to outsource some of the work.
January 20: Paychecks due on January 15 arrive to team members.
January 25: Lopez signs with USF1.
January/February: In a team meeting, Windsor rhetorically asks his team who thinks that USF1 will not make the grid for the start of the season. Every crew member raises a hand.
February: Rossiter's sponsors seek reassurance that all was going well with USF1. After guarantees could not be made, Rossiter exits the deal. Windsor tells Lopez that the team is in trouble, and Lopez, too, begins to look for a way out.
February 10: In response to rumors of USF1's struggles, and the suggestion that the Concorde Agreement allows for teams to miss up to three races, the FIA releases a clarifying statement that confirms teams will be penalized for missing races.
February 18: Multiple sources report that crash testing for the car in England, press interviews, and all other testing of the Type 1 has either been been called off or was never scheduled in the first place. The blame is placed on sponsors not coming through. The USF1 website goes down, but the team uses social media to affirm it still exists.
February 19: Anderson announces that USF1 cannot possibly make it to the first race of the season. He says that Lopez remains under contract, the team has a five-year lease in its Charlotte shop despite the fact that the building itself is listed for sale by its owner, and the team can build a car in time for the fifth race of the season with additional money. The USF1 website is restored.
February 20: Anderson petitions the FIA for a reprieve from the first four races of the season, in order to allow the team to finish building the car. The team would then debut in early May in Spain.
February 24: Charlie Whiting, F1 race director, inspects the USF1 shop for fitness. An insider suggests that only Hurley can save the team, accusing Anderson and Windsor of mismanagement.
February 26: Chad Hurley discusses merging USF1 with another team for the 2010 season, but talks are unsuccessful. Anderson and Windsor oppose the deal.
March 1: USF1 asks to have its entry into the sport delayed until 2011. Speed announces a replacement for Windsor on its F1 broadcast team, journalist Will Buxton.
March 2: All team employees are put on unpaid leave. Lopez is officially freed from the USF1 contract, and his legal team is working on reclaiming the $830,000 advance he paid to join. Blame for the team's failure is placed on Anderson. Neither Anderson nor Windsor can be reached for comment.
USF1 may yet be restored to F1 in time for the 2011 season, but at this point it appears unlikely. Its position on the grid will likely be forfeited, and the legal mess may just be beginning for the failed organization. Where this leaves Windsor and Anderson is anyone's guess.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Cooper: USF1 Lost Rossiter to KV
The United States' Formula 1 team, currently in a state of disarray, looks even worse with the recent release of news pertaining to the team losing a driver.
SpeedTV.com's Adam Cooper reports that James Rossiter, now destined for an IZOD IndyCar Series ride with KV Racing Technology, had signed with the team as early as December. Rossiter was committed to bringing $8 million of sponsorship with him, as the team had mandated for any drivers.
However, the $16 million that Rossiter and Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez were to bring to the team was not enough. The team's vehicle, the Type 1, still has not been launched, and thus far all that anybody has seen of it are some CGI renderings of 3D models.
Rumors have been circulating for months that the American team would not be ready in time for the start of the season, and while team sources adamantly have denied this speculation for months, the past few weeks have seen everything fall apart for the Charlotte-based organization.
Despite signing two drivers with F1 testing experience, the team could not make any guarantees to either driver about making the grid for the start of the season. Both drivers pulled out of their deals within the past month, reported Cooper. Lopez is now searching for another seat in Europe.
Ironically, Rossiter's landing place at KV reportedly has connections to another Formula 1 team. His No. 32 Marisco Liqueur Dallara-Honda reflects the livery that the Lotus F1 team ran from 1972 to 1986. Lotus recently announced that they looked to return to the Indianapolis 500 this year, and it doesn't seem a stretch that Rossiter is the driver with which they will do it.
The new, Malaysian-backed Lotus F1 team runs the Cosworth spec engine that the series put in place for this season. The Cosworth Group is led by Kevin Kalkhoven, the "K" in KV Racing Technology. Not only that, the original Lotus team (whose colors and heritage have been licensed to the new entity) was British-based, and former F1 test driver Rossiter was born in Oxford.
SpeedTV.com's Adam Cooper reports that James Rossiter, now destined for an IZOD IndyCar Series ride with KV Racing Technology, had signed with the team as early as December. Rossiter was committed to bringing $8 million of sponsorship with him, as the team had mandated for any drivers.
However, the $16 million that Rossiter and Argentinian Jose Maria Lopez were to bring to the team was not enough. The team's vehicle, the Type 1, still has not been launched, and thus far all that anybody has seen of it are some CGI renderings of 3D models.
Rumors have been circulating for months that the American team would not be ready in time for the start of the season, and while team sources adamantly have denied this speculation for months, the past few weeks have seen everything fall apart for the Charlotte-based organization.
Despite signing two drivers with F1 testing experience, the team could not make any guarantees to either driver about making the grid for the start of the season. Both drivers pulled out of their deals within the past month, reported Cooper. Lopez is now searching for another seat in Europe.
Ironically, Rossiter's landing place at KV reportedly has connections to another Formula 1 team. His No. 32 Marisco Liqueur Dallara-Honda reflects the livery that the Lotus F1 team ran from 1972 to 1986. Lotus recently announced that they looked to return to the Indianapolis 500 this year, and it doesn't seem a stretch that Rossiter is the driver with which they will do it.
The new, Malaysian-backed Lotus F1 team runs the Cosworth spec engine that the series put in place for this season. The Cosworth Group is led by Kevin Kalkhoven, the "K" in KV Racing Technology. Not only that, the original Lotus team (whose colors and heritage have been licensed to the new entity) was British-based, and former F1 test driver Rossiter was born in Oxford.
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