As has been suspected for some time, USF1 is struggling to get to the season opening Grand Prix in Bahrain. In fact the team has requested the FIA to miss the first 4 races of the season.
Talking to the New York times, Ken Anderson confirmed the request and that a sponsorship had fallen through.
“We’re working with the F.I.A. to clarify how many races we can miss,” Anderson told the paper.
“In an ideal world, we can miss the first four races and show up in Barcelona,” Anderson said.
Asked if the F.I.A. penalty for missing races could be severe enough to put USF1 out of business, Anderson said: “I guess anything’s possible. But what would be the point of that? Why would they give us a franchise and just, the first time there’s a bump in the road, yank it and put it out of business? That’s definitely not the message that I’m getting from them. They want to help us, not shut us down.”
“We have a timeline in place that if we get a decision quickly, that triggers funding and we’re good to go,” he said. “If it takes another week or two to make a decision, it keeps backing up.”
To date the team has only named one driver Jose Maria Lopez, though his involvement in the team has also been the subject of speculation.
