I am glad that they are investigating. It must be asked though... where were these guys the last three months?

I knew this was coming.

Some in the media has started to blame the negative press about USF1 as one of the reasons for why USF1 failed. They are citing the famous cartoons that came from the Midweek Motorsports team as their case in point. The theory goes that things like the cartoons poisoned the waters with the public and potential investors.

Sam Collins told the Midweek Motorsports team as much in their Formula One preview podcast this week. He isn't alone. Even Joe Saward mentioned in his season preview issue of GP+  that the videos didn't help the team.

(Sidebar: To be fair, Joe Saward properly points out in his article that the team waxing on about Danica Patrick and Kyle Busch didn't help the team in the creditability department to begin with. Anyway, I recommend that anyone who has a passing interest in Formula One to subscribe to Joe's digital magazine GP+. Trust me, it is well worth it.)

These are just the latest examples that come to mind. There is a belief out there that the negative vibe expressed by many (which I include myself from late November on) had a a hand in sinking USF1.

I think they're wrong.

Here is my argument. First on the cartoon front, the timing doesn't match. The first video came out the last week of October. If we believed Ken and Peter's original schedule which had the first car ready in November, these cartoons shouldn't have mattered. By the time the first video came out, the team was already being ridiculed by a growing legion for it's pompous statements and meager results. The cartoons didn't create the criticism, it only amplified it.

Also, to blame these cartoons for hurting USF1 is like a student complaining that the bus ride to school had a negative impact on their penmanship homework assignment. USF1 was an aborted, last-minute rush job. The lack of progress made from their February 2009 announcement to when we first heard trouble at the team in October is what sunk USF1. In that time they showed us nothing. The lack of progress and the Soviet-era apparatchik-esq statements started finally catching up with them by October.

It might be easy to criticize the makers of these cartoons for hurting USF1. However, it's at tad bit disingenuous. This team had a eight month grace period before the rumbling started and the cartoons came out. They had the time and opportunity to get sponsorship, get drivers, and show progress. They didn't.

Besides, they are only freaking cartoons.

Second, the toaster cartoons was a lost P.R. opportunity for the team. One of the lessons that I've learned in the world of instant media is that you have to be good about addressing criticism. In USF1's case, they waited too long to start taking it on the cheek and turning the toaster thing into a positive.

For example since they had their "state of the art studio," they could of made a viral parody video with Ken designing a toaster, Peter calling up people to sell them, Lopez testing the toaster in a simulator, and showing members of the team putting a toaster together. Instead of addressing the issues raised in the cartoons or turning it into a positive they sat on their hands, ignored it, and hoped it went away.

That tactic doesn't work anymore. Silence is the worse way to respond to criticism now. In the world of twitter and public opinion, silence only confirms what people fear. Ask Tiger Woods if his few days of silence after his Thanksgiving incident helped him much in the court of public opinion? They needed to acknowledge it at least.

So outside of the timing being wrong for legitimate criticism of the cartoons and the lack of P.R. savvy by the team, what is wrong with the notion that the cartoons are somewhat at fault? Simple, the cartoons were an accurate description of the team.

To blame the cartoons for being apart of USF1's downfall is like blaming the media for all the violence they portray in their mediums. The team never made a solid case in the court of public opinion that they were legitimate. The awkward interviews done by Steve Matchett and Bob Varsha come to mind in this regard. Nothing they put out, except for maybe the drawings to Racecar Engineering and a few videos, never really assured the motorsports community that this team was going to make it. Looking back on it, the cartoons were more accurate then we could ever possibly imagine when we first saw them.

We can blame cartoons, the FIA-manufacturer wars, Bernie, Max Mosley, Ferrari, American businesses, bloggers, the Formula One media, and the tooth fairy all we want for the team's downfall.

The fact remains that USF1 failed to deliver on what they promised. Simple as that. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The Contenders.

1: (-) Ferrari - The Ferrari is the car that took the biggest leap forward this off-season. Alonso looks like he is squarely in charge and revving to go. Not only that but Massa looks strong after his extra long off season. It all adds up to a great season in prospect for the red team.

2: (-) McLaren - McLaren is also having a good off-season. I put them behind Ferrari because of two things. Number one, I don't know how the Hamilton versus Button partnership will pan out. Things seem to be simmering right now, but have the potential to flair up at any time. Second,  I think Hamilton is going to have a hard time with the new regulations. A heavy car plus a "tail happy" driving style doesn't help tire wear. Still, I rather have those problems then what the new teams are facing.

3 (-) Red Bull Racing - Even though it looks like the rest of the grid has caught up to Red Bull, they remain a strong contender this year. Sebastian Vettel has another year of maturity under his belt and Webber has the taste for victory. The question is can Newey design a car that is not only a fast car, but a bullet-proof one as well?

The Best of the Rest

4: (-) Williams - I am trying to keep my expectations with this team in check. For years they've looked promising in pre-season testing only to fail with the start of the season. The difference this year is that I think they have a stellar driver line-up for once. "The Hulk" looks like he is going to be great. Rubens is the stable, mature hand that this team has needed for almost a decade. Things looks good so far. However as I said, they have disappointed before.

5: (-) Mercedes GP - I think Brawn will design another winner. However, I really question their driver line-up. If I told you that team "x" replaced a 29-year-old world champion and a race winning driver with a with a 41-year-old world champion and a driver who hasn't won a race; don't you think that is a down grade? I certainly do. I'll even go this far. Mercedes GP is the first team I've ever seen where I rather have their reserve driver (Nick Heidfeld) in a race seat than either one of their two regular drivers.

Ligier (AKA F1 Purgatory)

6: (-) "BMW"-Sauber - It was a tough transition, but this team has made it through alright. The car looks half decent. I don't know how Pedro will do, but I think Koybayashi will be really interesting to watch as the season goes along.

7: (-) Force India - Vijay Mallya just had his "I'm Keith Hernandez" moment. Firing Ian Phillips, especially with less than two weeks before the start of the next season, is an exercise in stupidity. I am not sure about this team anymore. When you let egos get in the way of common sense, you are bounded to fail.

8: (-) Toro Rosso - If you want to talk about a dark horse, then Toro Rosso is it. These guys might just surprise at the start of this season. They've been near the top in testing so far. Not only that, they've been able to put a fair bit of mileage in. Bold prediction: I think they will score a point one or two of the first three races this season.

9: (-) Renault F1 - Renault is a team that I am not sure about anymore. Three years of bad results, new team principle, a rookie driver, and one decent driver. Seeing how Robert Kubica and Eric Boullier build this team from the ashes of the Briatore era is going to be interesting.

Minardi

10: (-) Lotus Racing - These guys have grown on me a bit. They've respected the history of Lotus. They've been measured and practical in their approach. So far they've under promised and over delivered. Basically, they did everything USF1 didn't. They may not have the pace yet, but so far so good for this start up.

11: (-) Virgin Racing - It doesn't look good for Virgin (insert joke here.) I would be shocked if they finished even one of the first three races. I think it is safe to say that Branson is going to be wearing a dress on a Air Asia flight soon.

MasterCard-Lola

12: (-) HRT F1 Team - No testing + marginal management + chassis maker = Mastercard-Lola part two... at least they have a car on the gird unlike...

13: (DNS) USF1 - "DNS" doesn't seem proper. USF1 was more like a turd in the party punch bowl.

Last year's results:

Poles: 0

Fastest Laps: 2 (Germany, Singapore)

Points: 26 points (8th in the championship)

Drivers: Fernando Alonso (26 points, 9th in the championship,) Rounds 1-10: Nelson Piquet Jr. (0 points, tied for last in the championship,) Round 11-17: Romain Grosjean (0 points, tied for last in the championship)

Changes:

Romain Grosjean - out

ING - out

Robert Kubica - In

Vitaly Petrov - In

Three Questions:

1: Can Renault compete again?

I am surprised that Renault is still in Formula One. Even though they have sold most of the team off to Genii Capital, Renault has kept a stake in the team. They continues to build engines for the team and for Red Bull Racing.

Actually, I think Red Bull Racing has really saved the factory team. Would Renault have re-upped on the Concorde agreement if both their factory and customer teams weren't doing well? I don't think so. However, you can't underscore how bad it has been at this team the last few years. Especially last year with Crashgate coming to a head.

Yet if you look closer, the politics of the team over shadowed the fact that Renault F1 has produced lemons the last three years. 2010 was Renault's worse year since 1978. The car never looked competitive even in the hands of Fernando Alonso. Now with two new drivers, new owners, and new staff; things might be looking up for the team.I am glad they picked up Eric Boullier as a team principle and retained Bob Bell. However, I think the team is in for a rough year.

The car last year was one of the worse on the grid. It is impossible for the team to make up that much ground on the front runners this winter. True, I think they have the second best engine on the grid, but the chassis is a mess.

2: What to make of Vitaly Petrov?

Vitaly Petrov comes to Formula One with probably the second best seat out of all the rookies. It was certainly the best seat on the grid that money could buy. We know the kid has the money and connections at home. However the question that matters is what can he do on the track?  Looking at his career so far, there isn't much there and what is there isn't encouraging.

He finished 2nd in GP2 last year. However, he was in his fourth season in that series. By GP2 standards, that Barrichello-esq. Outside of his GP2 history, he only has a few series championships in both the Russian Lada Cup and Russian Formula 1600 championship.

That's not inspiring. What about versus his teammates in GP2? Can that give us an idication of what this guy could do?

Petrov raced against two drivers who have or will drive in Formula One. One is Romain Grosjean and the other is Luca di Grassi. Petrov was Luca di Grassi's teammate in 2008. Even though di Grassi didn't join the team till three races into the season, di Grassi still out performed Petrov in championship points 63-39. Then we go to 2009. Petrov was teamed up with Romain Grosjean. Grosjean was slightly better than Petrov. Even though Petrov beat Grosjean in the championship 75-45, it must be remembered that Grosjean missed the last four races of the GP2 season because he was called up to replace Nelson Piquet Jr. at Renault. Up to that point of the season, they were pretty evenly matched.

So what to make of all this. First off, the guy has some talent. Has he earned a chance? I would say yes. Will he do well in Formula One? I don't think so. I think Grosjean is a good rubric of how Petrov will do. He will struggle. He will crash out in more than one race this season. He will  take his lumps. If he shows some improvement, he might score a points or two.

Add to this that Renault number two drivers never had the best track record in recent history. It just doesn't look good.

3: Can Robert Kubica step up and lead?

Robert Kubica is a talented driver and proper racer. On driving talent alone, he is one of the top eight drivers on the grid. However, what the waxing coverage in AUTOSPORT won't tell you is this guy is missing a key piece of being a world champion: the ability to lead and develop a car.

Last year it was the tale of two drivers for me. Both Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica had terrible cars to begin the season. Lewis put his nose to the grindstone. He was encouraging McLaren on, helping them develop the car, and lead the team back. He gave quality, calm, and insightful feedback to the team to bully the car back to competitiveness. He gave it his all. Sometimes he went over like he did last year in Monza but it was special to see that much desire. It was a remarkable piece of growing up from the guy. I found it even more impressive than his first two season in the sport.

Robert Kubica did the opposite. He shrank from the challenge. Instead taking charge, he threw fits at BMW-Sauber. He complained and bitched over the radio, not giving the quality feedback that is needed to improve the car. What stuck with me more than the weekly complaining during free practice last years was a scene during one of the qualifying sessions (sorry, forgot what one) where it showed him in the garage, rolling his eyes at his engineer with his hands on his hips. That the moment I stopped being a Kubica fan. He failed to lead. He failed to show the maturity needed to build confidence in the team. I personally think that is what sunk BMW-Sauber on the track if anything.

Now he is going to a team in the dumps. The team needs someone to build around. It is going to be almost the exact situation he left at BMW-Sauber. Will he stand up to the challenge or will he roll his eyes again? Kubica will get the points this season. He might even get a podium. However, if he wants to start winning on a consistent basis and being a true contender, then he has a bit of growing up to do. There is more to being a champion than just driving fast.

Tea Leaves...

Best Case Scenario: Rob Bell and Eric Boullier are able to stop the bleeding at Renault. They build a car that is a huge improvement from last year's model. However, it still won't be enough to compete with the front runners, thus sticking Renault near the back of the midfield. The car makes improvement as the season goes along.

Vitaly Petrov hits the ground running, finishing races and slowly climb up from the back of the pack as the season progresses. By the end of the season, he scores a couple of points. Robert Kubica finally grows up, puts his big boy pants on, and leads this team. He puts in the work to develop the car over the course of the season. He is able to get into the points every two or three races with perhaps one or two podiums. Renault finally has it's feet firmly on the ground, progressing towards a brighter future.

Worse Case Scenario: Renault makes another absolute dog this year. Petrov lives up to the reputation of Renault number two drivers of the past and proves to be worthless on the track. Robert Kubica doesn't take that next step, continues to show a lack of maturity, and sulks for another season. Rob Bell and Eric Boullier are unable to bring this team together.

It's been one wild year since this blog began. Before I get into the details, a few things first.

First off, I would like to thank each and everyone of you who've read, commented, clicked, and gave the time of day to this site. I deeply appreciate it. I hope you continue to come by and perhaps read a bit of my nonsense.

Yes, that means I will continue blogging. I will continue call this site "Racing Eagles." I will continue writing my boring rants and random crazy thoughts. I will be continuing to look at Formula One from an American standpoint and tell the IRL what they should be doing. I love motorsport too much for something like this to deflect me away. 

It's been obvious that it has been a difficult couple of weeks for Formula One fans over here in the states. Many of us, including myself, were excited about the prospect of Formula One team being based in the states. That was one of the many reasons why I decided to start this blog. I wanted to follow this team from start to end. However I didn't realize when I started that the end would come this soon.

To see this dream die hurts. To have it shown to be something of a laughing stock is a kick to the man region. Personally, I've gotten to the point where I am just dejected and angry with the whole thing. Perhaps I was naive from the beginning. A lot of people were. We WANTED this to work out. We wanted this team to do well. We were smitten with the potential without a firm footing in reality. We went along with it, some for way too long.

As for me, the first sign that this team was in trouble is when I was in the terminal of Portland International Airport, waiting for a flight to Texas, when the news of Jose Maria Lopez coming to USF1 with a large check hit. Over the months of December and January, I came to the slow realization that this team just didn't have it all together. Then when news broke in mid-February that things were worse  than we could possibly ever imagine, I knew it was over.

However, this all doesn't really matter. Excuses will fly about, "exclusives" to websites will be given, and perhaps a book or two will come out about this whole sad affair. It's all done with. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We must move on with all of our lives.

As we move forward, I hope that certain lessons will be learned from this whole affair.

• I hope the FIA looks at new teams closer during the whole of the preseason to make sure they are viable. After all, as soon as USF1 "lost" their sponsor in January, the FIA should of set a date limit and then pulled the plug.
• I hope this causes a long think from Bernie and the rest of the paddock on how to approach the United States. There is a core F1 fan base here. However, if the sports wants to make inroads in the US, it will have to make certain concessions and be smarter in how it carries itself. Hopefully, they will work something out in the future to give us a Grand Prix back, even if it is back at Indy.
• I hope that SpeedTV learns that there is a price to pay when they under-report a story because a friend is involved. I am a little upset at Varsha using friendship as an excuse to not do his job. Also, Steve Matchett should of truthfully articulated what his facial expressions told us when he toured the USF1 factory. I still like the SpeedTV team, however I don't trust them like a used to. At least they didn't bring back Peter.
• I hope that real American racing teams like Penske, Ganassi, and other see that there was a lot of grassroots support for this team and perhaps start to think about giving Formula One a go. USF1 was the right idea with the wrong people in control. For something like USF1 to work it needs the established knowledge and relationship that these teams have developed over decades. Like Rome, a Formula One team cannot be built in a day.
• I hope that the epic failure of this team doesn't discourage fans. I've been contacted and talked to more Formula One fans then I could possibly ever imagine here in the states. It amazes me that we still have this many fans for Formula One after literally decades of abuse and bad luck. I hope Bernie or the FIA realize that and gives us a decent chance to show what we can do.

Finally, I hope that the non-management USF1 employees move on to greener pastures. In reality, they are the only ones that suffer. Many of them gave up lucrative jobs and moved cross country to be apart of USF1. Only the team turned out to be a nightmare. Each and everyone one of them should hold their head up high. This was not your fault.

As for Peter Windsor, Chad Hurley, and Ken Anderson. I know you came in with high expectations. I know you probably meant everything you said at the SpeedTV launch more than a year ago. However, you failed. You failed royally. I know you will have excuses like the manufacturer-FIA wars and sponsors falling through, however that doesn't change a thing. This was your team and you failed spectacularly. I would have more sympathy for you, but the way you acted as thing were falling apart was not only undignified but rather sicking. Telling employees to mislead to fans, lying to everyone of where the team was at in development, and just the utter B.S. that came with following this team. That Jose Lopez press release comes to mind.

What sealed the deal with me is your refusal to look into the eye of your employees, the very men and women you asked to come to work for you, that the team was done for. The fact that you were not there to tell the people who gave up everything to be apart of this team is disgusting. That the kind of stuff you see from Gordon Gecko-type Wall Street investors, not a race team that I want to support.

To be honest, finding out what louses Mr. Anderson, Mr. Windsor, and Mr. Hurley has helped me with closure. USF1 was run by arrogant scumbags who couldn't balance a checkbook, treat employees with respect, or manage their surroundings. Formula One is much about being a smart businessman as a designer or PR representative. None of these guys had a clue.

Frankly I hope the FIA laughs you out of he room if you ever try to enter the F1 Championship again. I'm just ashamed that I though something of you three once. I feel lucky as well that these "men" never wrote me back last February when I inquired about a position with the team. Bullet dodged there.

However, I don't want to close on a bitter tone. Enough tears have been spilled on the bar by this blog over USF1. It is time I say goodbye so this blog can move on.

The flag will drop in Bahrain next week and life in the F1 universe will continue as normal. I will be getting up at 3:00 AM as I usually do to watch the race and chat on Sidepodcast. After all, this sport is nothing without people to share opinions, jokes, ideas, theories, and a common experience with. In the end, Formula One isn't about the cars, paddocks floozies, sophomoric  millionaires, or the teams. F1 is a place where for three hours we forget the rest of this world. It where we suspend the realities for a moment, enjoy a beer, talk to friends, and cheer on who we want to win.

I just hope that someday the U.S. will get Formula One right. Whether it is a team, a driver, or even a another Grand Pirx; I hope we have a chance in the future to show we do support this sport and we can be successful in it. Not dominating just successful. The hex that we seem to have on this nation will someday be lifted.

- Dan Brunell