Here's the link, article pasted below in case it doesn't work - http://www.thatsracin.com/117/story/22232.html




New F1 team to be based in Charlotte, principal confirms
By David Poole
dpoole@charlotteobserver.com
Sunday, Feb. 08, 2009
F1 on TV | Global audience hits 600 million per race
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Formal announcement of a two-car American Formula One team to be based in the Charlotte area is planned for later this month, one of the two principals in that team confirmed to the Observer and ThatsRacin.com on Sunday.

Ken Anderson said in a telephone interview that "95 percent of what you might have seen" about those plans in publications and on web sites covering the world's most popular form of motorsports is true.

"We are looking at a couple of buildings in Charlotte, including one in the University area," Anderson said. He also said the team is close to signing one driver for the team that would debut in F1 in 2010.

Anderson is a design engineer with a long history of involvement in racing. He was a technical director for a Formula One team in the late 1980s before moving back to the United States and serving a technical director of IndyCar teams for Chip Ganassi Racing and A.J. Foyt Racing.

Anderson designed the G-Force car used in the Indy Racing League in 1996 and the next-generation IRL chassis in 2002. He was later technical director of Haas CNC Racing in NASCAR competition.

His partner in the effort is Peter Windsor, a former team manager for the Williams F1 operation who also worked for the Ferrari team and who has recently worked as a pit reporter for Speed's F1 broadcasts in America.

Anderson said the team would use American drivers.

"Not many people here know ... but there are talented Americans in Europe doing very well right now" in F1 developmental series, Anderson said. He also said he hoped the new team would become the "conduit" for future Americans to develop into top-tier international competition.

Anderson said an American team in Formula One makes sense.

"All of the teams' sponsors want a presence here and American companies are going global," he said. "Formula One is the biggest television show in the world, bar none."

Anderson said it would be cost-effective to run an F1 team in the United States since, in his words, "90 percent of the technology that exists in F1 comes from the U.S. anyway."

He said carbon-fiber chassis, braking systems, computer parts and software and many other elements used in F1 competition are made in the U.S. or by companies that are based here.

One asset at Charlotte-area based F1 team might use is Windshear Inc.'s wind tunnel that opened last year in Concord. The rolling-road tunnel, capable of testing cars at up to 180 mph, is the first of its kind in North America.

Max Mosley, the controversial president of the FIA, spoke with reporters in London about a new U.S.-based team last week.

"They are serious people, but I think they'll be the same as everybody else and they need the costs to come down if they want to be competitive," the head of the motortsports governing body told a small group of reporters.

The FIA and F1 teams have agreed to a wide range of regulation and budget changes for 2009, including longer-lasting engines, a ban on in-season testing and the biggest aerodynamic modifications in two decades.

Mosley said an independent team would need at least $64 million (50 million euro) to start, although the FIA is pushing the teams to lower that figure by 2010 amid the global economic downturn.

Honda, with a reported budget of about $290 million, pulled out of F1 in December. Super Aguri exited last April.

The ban on in-season testing would be a major boost to a North American entry because it would slash travel costs.

The Canadian Grand Prix was dropped from F1's 2009 calendar for the first time since 1987 because Montreal organizers had not paid their debts to F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone for the last three years, according to Ecclestone.

Mosley believes that a U.S.-based team could lead to F1 returning to North America after the United States GP was dropped from the calendar after 2007.

"From a sporting point of view, we should definitely have something in North America," Mosley said. "From a commercial point of view, I'm not really competent to say."

The Charlotte-based effort has a web site, USF1.com, but so far it consists only of a logo and a contact link.

Now all they have to do is to talk them into using carberated NASCAR engines to save money.

Actually, IIRC the Panoz cars were using a FI Yates Ford engine to clear the hood line. Cubic inches aside, I don't see why a good ol' American V8 wouldn't work in F1. Yeah, I know all about the heaviness of the pushrod valvetrain vs the current hydraulic F1 valvetrain, but I'm sure some type of American V8 could be adopted and be competitive.

I think current F1 rules are down to 2 liters displacement. That would be 2 cylinders out of a big block.

...FINALLY!

Now only if Bernie would die an untimely death.....all would be right in F1....

Only if they get rid of Max too.

......you are correct sir!

F1 cars are 600KG, with driver. 600KG is 1320lbs. A ~400lb (I think) LS* and whatever trans you would bolt to it + driver would be over half the minimum weight of the car! You'd have to build a relatively stout LS7 to make the power you'd need, plus the chassis would be heavier than normal because I don't think an LS* engine could be a stressed component (IOW part of the chassis).

The engineering in F1 is pretty unbelievable. IMHO even allowing the displacement with no penalty you'd be hard pressed to make a competitive F1 car using an LS7 as the powerplant.

BTW has anyone seen the composite CF/Magnesium cased transmissions they use??? Unreal.

Current F1 engines are 2.4 liter V-8's rev-limited to only 19,000.

Wouldn't necessarily have to be LS-based, just built here. I'm still amazed that the current NASCAR Chevy block comes from a foundry in England, and most of the other parts in the entire engine are not manufactured here.