USF1 shuts down, stefan GP denied 2010 entry

There are only 7 days left until the Formula 1 circus fires up their engines for the first Friday free practice of 2010. Much has happened over the winter, and we’ll try to cover it all in our F1 preview this week.

The big news is that when the cars start rolling on the track, 2 teams will not be there at the first race. USF1, the much hyped outfit from Charlotte, NC has effectively shut down operations this week. There was much speculation over the last 4 weeks, with insiders at the company spilling the beans on missed payroll, lack of organization, lack of funding, and most importantly, lack of an actual car. Why did USF1 fail? Money, according to team boss Ken Anderson. A key sponsor failed to deliver promised funding to the team, and without money, supplies thinned out, and development came to a complete halt. This caused the team to ask for a 4 week no-show, and now, complete withdrawl from 2010 competition.

Out of all this turmoil, a new team, Stefan GP, was waiting in the wings expecting the imminent failure of USF1 and to take over their 2010 grid slot. Team owner Zoran Stefanović had purchased the rights for Toyota’s 2010 car after Toyota officially pulled out of Formula 1 in November 2009. 2 drivers conditionally signed with Stefan GP, Kazuki Nakajima, and 1997 F1 Champ Jacques Villeneuve. Unfortuantely, to the dismay of Villeneuve fans in North America, the FIA has released their official 2010 entry list, where Stefan GP was not a part of. The FIA stated that it was simply too late for a team entry to be changed, with the first race weekend in a little over a week. Funny, because Campos, which changed their name to Hispania, didn’t even unveil their car until this morning.

Bad news for North America, as we will not be seeing a North American team, nor a North American F1 Champion race. At least we have Montreal…