US F1 Team - Team Shutdown

Team Shutdown

By mid-February, it was widely reported that the team was in imminent danger of collapse due to financial problems, and that Hurley had withdrawn his backing from the project. On February 20, Ken Anderson said that the team were asking the FIA if it could miss the first four races of the season and begin at the Spanish Grand Prix. He said the FIA were working with him to evaluate options for the team. Furthermore, Anderson said that Peter Windsor was still in the project, and that Chad Hurley remained with the team. He also weighed up the fact that López could take his money to rival team Campos Meta but he hoped he'd stay with US F1. On February 23, Locstein, a Swiss-based financial services firm and potential sponsors of the team, released a press statement saying "When it was apparent that the team was not able to participate in the entire 2010 season, Locstein elected to withdraw from further involvement with USF1". The withdrawal sparked fresh allegations about the state of the team's finances, forcing the FIA to evaluate the situation further.

In late February, senior team personnel accused Windsor and Anderson of fundamentally mis-managing the team, with any and all decisions having to go through Anderson before they could be approved, creating a hold up in the design and build process. The personnel claim the team had known it was in trouble as early as December, but it was not until February that Windsor and Anderson were made aware of the danger - when all of the staff members unanimously expressed doubts that USF1 would arrive in Bahrain. On February 24, FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting inspected the team's facilities in order to assess its readiness for the 2010 season. A week later it was revealed the team "was not capable of competing".

On February 26, journalist Adam Cooper reported that Hurley was in discussion with Zoran Stefanović to try and merge US F1 with Stefan Grand Prix - Anderson and Windsor were said to be against the move. Stefanović subsequently acknowledged that negotiations had taken place, but that they had been unsuccessful. Subsequently on February 28, it was revealed that Anderson and Hurley has formally asked the FIA to defer their entry until 2011, offering to post a seven-figure bond as proof of their intentions to race. The FIA subsequently announced, however, that the entry process for 2011 would be fully re-opened.

On March 2, the team personnel were dismissed from duties. Neither Anderson nor Windsor were found to comment on the subject. José María López was freed from his contract with the team the day before the factory shut down. His manager, Felipe McGough, blamed Anderson for the downfall of the team and stated that Anderson had "deceived the FIA". The FIA published an updated 2010 entry list on March 3 which did not include US F1, and included an addendum that the team "have indicated that they will not be in a position to participate in 2010". The same day, Anderson spoke to Autosport, explaining why US F1 would not be on the grid for the 2010 season. On April 1, the Charlotte Business Journal reported that the team had closed permanently, citing "serious economic and funding challenges."

Further with the shutdown it was revealed that the team had bought two trailers for the transportation and support of Formula One cars from Brawn GP. As the team failed to make it to the grid the high court put them for sale on eBay to pay off one of the team's creditors.

On June 24, the FIA World Motor Sport Council conducted a disciplinary hearing into US F1's failure to compete in the 2010 season. The team was fined €309,000 plus the costs of the hearing, and banned from competing in any FIA-sanctioned championship.