I’m included, and in this post I will investigate each of the 2011 F1 hopefuls and judge who I feel is the most likely to become the latest team racing in the pinnacle of motorsport.

Durango

If the 2011 grid slots were decided on liveries then Durango would certainly be racing in Formula 1, but unfortunately for them, they are not.

Durango Automotive SRL was founded in 1980 by Ivone Pinton and Enrico Magro and is based in Italy. They are currently fielding cars in the AutoGP championship.

The team have had a patchy history, and have in the past raced in GP2 where they took 3 race victories between 2005 and 2008. Not bad, you think? Financial problems caused the team to withdraw from the 2009-10 GP2 Asia Series season, and the final races of the 2009 GP2 Series season, leaving the future of the team in doubt.

Late last year, it was reported that Durango was being investigated for criminal tax evasion and fraud, and that it had been using a system of companies which constantly changed their names to issue bills with inflated figures in order to reduce costs and lower the payable tax. It was claimed by Il Gazzettino that Durango had unreported revenue of more than €12 million, false invoicing amounting to €11 million, unpaid tax of €3 million and a reduction of base tax to the tune of €16 million.

Also, their time in GP2 was littered with controversy, including controvening regulations by manufacturing their own parts rather than using Dallara’s spec equipment in 2006.

A certain Lucas di Grassi’s rear wing fell off at Silverstone later that same season, and the team were sent home after it was revealed that instead of sending them back to chassis makers Dallara, Durango had cut corners by repairing the structural parts of the car themselves…badly.

After a huge crash at Spa, Durango rocked up in Monza at the next race meeting with only one car, reportedly because Dallara had impounded their other car due to there being too many bad repairs from the team themselves. Needless to say, they were sent packing.

So, Durango, do they sound like a potential F1 team to you? No, me neither. Less said about them the better!

Cypher Group

Cypher Group is an American operation rising from the ashes of USF1, although the group has no direct links with the outfit formed by Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor, neither of whom are involved in the project.

The team are a mysterious and quiet bunch, but on their website they say “Cypher Group consists of experienced F1 engineers, designers and businessmen experienced in large-scale public and private sector finance, project and business management whose objective is to create a successful US based F1 team.”

It isn’t out of the question that Cypher Group may be collaborating with Toyota F1 in Cologne, hence the ‘experienced F1 engineers, designers and businessmen’ phrase. This would mean that they would be in an interesting position and be right in the running for the grid slots next year. A Cypher Group spokesperson explained: “We will only place a full application should we achieve fully the budget we believe is required to do this properly.”

However one thing is for sure, Cypher Group really do have an uphill struggle to win the PR battle and grid slots. The epic failure of USF1 means that any association with them leads to immediate snorts and laughter, and without any racing pedigree, I wouldn’t say that Cypher Group were really in with a chance of competing next year.

Stefan GP

It seemed for a period after the USF1 collapse that Stefan GP would jump in and take their place. They seemingly had the Toyota chassis and a structure that would see them immediately slot into Formula 1. They also claimed to have spoken to drivers such as Jacques Villeneuve and rally champ Sebastien Loeb.

However after they were rejected by the FIA, details about financial irregularities for Stefan GP’s parent company AMCO cropped up. Essentially, AMCO lied about working with Germany’s Federal Defence Force (Bundeswehr) on flight drones.

“After consulting with the system manufacturers of the drones KZO and LUNA we can confirm that in the Bundeswehr product there are no technologies of the Serbian company AMCO,” said a spokesman of the German defence department Bundesamtes fur Wehrtechnik und Beschaffung to Express.

AMCO is a limited liability company, founded on 14/03/2008 with a capital of 500 euros. Going further, the company that totals one single employee, realised 3315 Euro in 2009 and a net result of 42.7 Euro.

Something sounds very fishy behind Stefan GP, and while they seem to have a very professional setup on the face of things, it seems that it could be very different on the inside, and this could well be their undoing.

Epsilon Euskadi

While there seems to be something fishy going on behind every other 2011 F1 hopeful, there is no such trouble at Epsilon Euskadi.

The Spanish outfit competed in the Le Mans 24 hours in 2008, and has impressive racing pedigree, winning numerous titles in series including World Series by Renault and Formula Renault 2.0 Italia Winter Series with F1 graduates Robert Kubica and Jaime Alguersuari.

Personally, I feel that it is Epsilon Euskadi who have the greatest chance of being the next Formula 1 team. They have a great setup with their impressive Innovation & Technology Centre and have been successful in other forms of motorsport.

Who do you think will get the next F1 grid slots? Leave a comment!

F1 will return to the United States for the first time in 4 years in 2012, and Austin, Texas will serve as the host city of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix through to 2021.

There had been talk about the Grand Prix heading to New York or New Jersey, but a purpose built facility in Texas will hold the Grand Prix, as Bernie Ecclestone explained:

“For the first time in the history of Formula One in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event. Lewis Hamilton won the last Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in 2007, signalling the end to eight years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This however, will be the first time a facility is constructed from the ground up specifically for Formula One in the US.”

There is no further information as to who will design the circuit but you’d be brave to bet against it being Hermann Tilke…unfortunately.

This has to be great news for F1 and the USA. With the failure of USF1 it seemed unbelievably that Formula 1 was never going to conquer America, but now it has. Presumably this greatly bolsters the chance of a team from across the pond lining up on the grid in the near future.

The press release read:

“The USF1 Team have indicated that they will not be in a position to participate in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms that it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the Championship at this late stage.

In the coming days the FIA will announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season.”

FIA

“StefanGP would like to inform the public that the containers we sent on the beginning of February arrived in Bahrain. During next week we will show our Stefan Formula 1 car to the press as the final evidence that should put us on the grid in Bahrain.”

Stefan GP

Stefan GP have not been allocated a grid slot for 2010, yet they have still sent a container with their cars in to Bahrain for the opening Grand Prix. The team have expressed their disapproval of USF1′s actions, or rather lack of actions in the run up to Bahrain which is now just two weeks away:

“Dreamers from USA will have to explain their actions, because they are deliberately weakening F1 with dreaming of perfect world and fairytales about success. And success doesn’t come by talking but with hard work and lot of guts.”

Stefan GP

“The thirteenth team, USF1, appears to have gone into hiding in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the dismay of those like the Argentinian, Lopez, who thought he had found his way into the Formula 1 paddock, (albeit with help from chairwoman Kirchner, according to the rumours) and now has to start all over again. Amazingly, they still have the impudence to claim that everything is hunky-dory under the starry stripy sky.

Next, we have the Serbian vultures. Firstly, they launched themselves into a quixotic legal battle with the FIA, then they picked the bones of Toyota on its death bed”

This inevitably has led to the complaints –which seem to follow the Maranello squad everywhere- that they are simply being arrogant and upset that the order is being threatened. Well yes and no…

There’s a reason Ferrari is saying this; they aren’t just going to come out and damage a relationship with new FOTA colleagues for nothing. If the new teams can’t take the pressure then they will crumble. There’s no point getting into bed with a new team that’s going to hop right out again. There’s little point in being all sweetness and light to new teams who could potentially go running off to the FIA or Bernie for help and risk the strength and credibility of FOTA especially when there are big names on their side such as Mclaren and Mercedes. Bernie has also been fairly critical of the new entrants recently.

There’s a changing landscape which ultimately means a threat to the established order. There’s more competition at the front which will be tougher for Ferrari but there are also bigger names and therefore in theory, more weight behind FOTA. Additionally, there is still the possibility for FIA vs FOTA rows in the future so FOTA needs to stay together and stand firm. However, there could be internal struggles within FOTA anyway due to Ferrari has the prestige, Mercedes supply the most teams and two of which are the biggest names in the sport while Mclaren works out its own plans in the future.

Ferrari aren’t in an ideal situation at the moment; Brawn has gone, Schumacher too (he may be old but there was fifteen years spent building up a relationship and almost a brand to be sold), they no longer have the genius of Rory Byrne, Todt’s cunning is now at the top of the FIA, Stefano Domenicali has had a few tough moments already, they endured a terrible season last year and have high expectations for a driver who is returning after a pretty big injury. To top that all off, the Italian outfit is going through a transitional phase with Alonso while facing possibly their biggest championship fight yet.

This is just my speculation but privately perhaps Mclaren are thinking along the same lines as they are have a new driver too, Whitmarsh is relatively new in charge and has faced criticism in the previous season and they have the Mercedes engine situation in the future. Mclaren at least showed they could return to form last year unlike Ferrari who has had constant doubts because news on the F10 was silent for a lot of the time which adds to the sense that this is a vulnerable squad who are just lashing out.

That would be a touch naive to say it is the sole purpose for this tirade. Ferrari has the experience to deal with a changing situation but they are under pressure. We’ve still yet to see how much of a threat Mercedes and Red Bull Racing really will be but there is the anticipation of a close battle ahead. I doubt this season and the coming ones will turn out to be a disaster for Ferrari; in fact this could well be a new but very different golden period for them but there is still the uncomfortable experience of change at hand.

F1 can live without Ferrari but Ferrari can’t without F1. They may not like what is afoot but they’re stuck with it and trying to swing as much clout and momentum for their ideas as they can. They have achieved one major thing and that is that the three car idea isn’t going away. It doesn’t have a lot of support but with these blog posts and statements it is still in the public eye and so still on the table but it does seem highly unlikely it will ever come to fruition.

Ferrari are trying to get what they want but behind closed doors every team will be plotting and planning their future, this is just a different style. If you thought 2009 was dominated by politics then the theme doesn’t seem to be going away for this season.

According to site Momento24.com, Lopez’s father and his representative Felipe McGough have headed hastily to Europe to speak with Bernie Ecclestone in a bid to get the Argentinian driver on another team.

There have been rumours right from the off that the team wouldn’t make it to the grid, and now it is thought that USF1’s main sponsor – Chad Hurley of Youtube, has withdrawn his backing from the team due to lack of progress in development of the team’s car. Hurley is supposedly looking at moving to Campos, the other F1 newcomers who also face an uphill struggle to get to the grid.

It is reported that because Hurley has withdrawn his support, USF1 owner Peter Windsor can not afford to pay Cosworth for the engines and the American dream has therefore collapsed. This could pave the way for Stefan GP, who claim they have everything they need to race in F1, except two 2010 grid slots.

US F1 Team Executive Vice President Peter Windsor said:

“Securing ‘Pechito’ Lopez for our debut season has been a goal of ours for a long time. We’ve been following his career since he dominated the Renault V6 Championship in 2003 and we’re thrilled to have him on board as we return America to Formula One. Lopez is a consummate professional and born leader. The most revealing thing about his character was how he handled the disappointment of not racing for Renault after three years of testing with them in F1. Instead of moping around and feeling sorry for himself, he returned to Argentina and totally dominated the local scene, winning 38 races and three championships. He became a major star as a result and, in turn, the Argentine nation – a country where F1 is second only to soccer – has got behind him.”

The 26-year-old Lopez, who has over 6000km of test experience, Italian Formula Renault and Formula Renault V6 Eurocup championships under his belt said:

“This is a truly memorable day for me, my family and the people of Argentina. I have been working towards this day for much of my life and I can’t thank Peter and Ken [Anderson] enough for this opportunity. Of course a new F1 team faces many challenges but our goal is to improve with each race and build a foundation that will eventually see this team competing for wins and championships.”

“Everything has been agreed and the official announcement will be made on Monday.”

F1 debutants USF1 are the only team on the grid yet to announce any of their drivers for the 2010 season.

USF1 were originally planning a lineup including at least one American driver, but time constraints has forced them to look elsewhere.

It is thought that Lopez is being brought to USF1 as a pay driver, with a speculated eight million-dollar sponsorship package.

Many of the experienced drivers are already signed up for next season. However, drivers such as Pedro de la Rosa, Nick Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Wurz may be willing to join. However, Peter Windsor has already said that many of these drivers are not in consideration for the posts. To be honest, this could be a big mistake. Bringing on at least one experienced driver is essential for a startup team. Lotus and Virgin have already gone down this route, and will definitely help them start off.

There are many rookies to consider, such as James Rossiter and JR Hildebrand. Hildebrand was part of the young driver testing session in December, and drove for Force India. He was in the midfield in terms of lap times, but steadily improved across the 3 days. However, Windsor has told the official F1 website that they are likely to only bring on one rookie driver. This inevitably means considering one pay driver.

The favourite for the job here is José María López, an Argentinian touring car driver, who reportedly brings $8m in sponsorship with him. He has previous F1 experience, having tested an F1 car in 2004 and 2006. However, he was dropped from the Renault young driver scheme in 2006, after showing poor form in other competitions. If he is signed, it will be certainly because of his sponsorship money.

Without an experienced driver, USF1 could be in serious trouble. The rookie drivers may not be able to prove themselves, and without a pay driver, the team may fold. The driver line-up, in my opinion, is crucial to USF1′s survival. Whether they will make it to the grid, and show us their driver line-up, we will have to wait and see.

“Because we are a new team and start everything from zero the first time we will run the car will be in the United States at the Barber Motorsport Park in Alabama, the circuit that was nominated by the FIA for us.”

Windsor said that USF1′s debut test will take place “at the beginning of February”.

He said the special dispensation allows for three tests in the US, before the car is shipped to Spain “to do some testing there before we fly out to Bahrain”.

On the subject of driver selection, Windsor continued:

“We are very close to announcing our drivers. We’ve been talking to some great racing drivers over the last couple of months — and it is very difficult choosing from the good drivers that are around.

“I think there are still a lot and the difficult thing is to choose only two out of ten that are available. It’s a difficult job and I hate having to do that. We have not signed our forward deals yet in terms of the contracts, but we are pretty near to announcing.”