USF1 reportedly still holding out hope for 2011

AutoBlog: USF1 reportedly still holding out hope for 2011

Easy come, easy go. Only it was anything but an easy arrival for USF1, the highly anticipated and much-hyped American grand prix team that was slated to hit the grid this past weekend for the start of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. And in the end, much as Bernie Ecclestone predicted, the team failed to make it.

FIA president Jean Todt had dispatched his technical chief Charlie Whiting to assess where things stood at USF1 headquarters in South Carolina, and reported back on the construction of several cars at the factory. As it turns out, that wasn't enough to get them to the starting grid and joining Virgin, Lotus and HRT which did.

According to reports, USF1's management is still holding out hope that they could join the grid for next season. In order to do so, they'd have to retain a workforce that largely blames the team's two principals – Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson – for misleading and mismanaging the team's entry, re-apply through a selection process which the FIA intends to re-open for next season, and face possibly penalties from its World Motor Sports Council.