So the American Dream is over and USF1 has failed to make it to the 2010 championship. Campos barely got there but there is no doubt that USF1 became a laughing stock and may even have harmed the image of the sport – at the very least they have raised very important questions about the selection process, and why they were chosen over other, seemingly stronger and more valid proposals.

Now I fully admit that hindsight is a wonderful thing, but surely the FIA should have known that USF1 were among the weakest of the applications to join F1 in 2010 – after all, many were saying it at the time.

The way I see it, when the 2010 entries were handed out the new teams fell into one of these categories:

1) Already running a racing team in one of the junior categories like GP2, F2, F3, LMP etc
Advantages: Experienced at running a team and operating cars at races. Strong chances of finance through reputation plus existing contacts and sponsorship deals. May have young drivers under contract who are ready to step up.
Disadvantages: Do not have the facilities or experience to design & build their own car.
Chances of making it to the grid in 2010: Medium
Examples: Manor, Campos. In the past you could include Jordan, Sauber, Stewart

2) Already building their own racing cars
Advantages: Already have the facilities or experience to design & build their own car. Strong chances of finance through reputation plus existing contacts and sponsorship deals. May be able to attract drivers who have raced their cars in the past.
Disadvantages: Do not have experience at running a team and operating cars at races.
Chances of making it to the grid in 2010: Medium
Examples: Dallara, Lola, Wirth

3) 1 and 2 together
Advantages: All of the above.
Disadvantages: None of the above.
Chances of making it to the grid in 2010: High
Examples: Epsilon, Prodrive

4) Buying another team
Advantages: Off-the-shelf deal which comes with a car and a team ready to go. May come with drivers already.
Disadvantages: Expensive – do they really have the money? May not be a team for sale, unless they are poor performers. Subject to FIA approval.
Chances of making it to the grid in 2010: Medium
Examples: Stefan

5) A major car company
Advantages: Almost certainly have the money and the technology to go it alone.
Disadvantages: None really
Chances of making it to the grid in 2010: Medium/High
Examples: Lotus (backed by Proton)

6) None of the above
Advantages: None
Disadvantages: Never run a team before. Never designed a car before. No facilities to manufacture a car. Potentially no finance and no sponsorship links. No chance?
Chances of making it to the grid in 2010: Low
Examples: USF1.

I can see why the FIA thought – at the time – that Manor and Campos could make it. They were already running teams in the junior categories, even though they used customer cars, so they were part of way there (just like Jordan and Stewart, when they made the step up to F1). All they had to do was design and build a car – or get someone to do it for them – and find the money. Manor linked up with Wirth, landed Virgin, and made it to the grid comfortably. Campos linked up with Dallara and had cash troubles – despite the promised popularity of F1 in Spain at the moment – but that was not the fault of the FIA, and they just managed to squeeze in with about a week to spare.

But based on the criteria above I cannot see why they chose USF1. They were not an established team (like Manor or Campos). They were not an established constructor (like Dallara or Lola). They were not both these (like Epsilon or Prodrive). They were not manufacturer-backed (like Lotus). They were not buying an existing operation (like Stefan).

It could have been for political reasons (the Cosworth/FIA/FOTA thing). It could have been for marketing reasons (taking the sport back to America, even though they have no race). It could have been that they were taken in by Windsor’s sales patter, or chose not to believe the evidence.

Now Peter Windsor was boasting that he and Ken Anderson had been planning this for 5 years, and that they had a budget for 3 years which was secured before anybody talked about budget capping, which means it could have been in the region of £100m per year.
So where has this money gone? If it was there, then what happened to make it disappear? And if it was not there, does it mean that Windsor and co flat lied to the FIA, their business partners, staff and drivers? Either way that is serious mis-management.

Could the FIA have foreseen how things were going to turn out, once they had given them the entry? Possibly, possibly not. But based on the criteria above, should they have got that entry? And should they have got it ahead of other, stronger candidates like Epsilon, Lola and Prodrive? In my opinion, definitely not.

No matter the reasons for their selection, there is no doubt it was a mistake, and Max should bear responsibility for it and come clean about his reasons – making the FIA’s ‘due diligence’ public if necessary.