e92sam - 21 November 2009 02:02 AM

alandon01 - 20 November 2009 03:05 PM

The keyword here is skunkworks. I guessed that might be the model they were using in a post a month ago and I am glad to see they are. This explains why all the skepticism by the traditional F1 folks. If you have ever been in the skunkworks environment you will understand how they are going to accomplish being on the grid in 2010. The skunkworks model works well for high tech equipment requiring a short development time with a tight budget. It was good enough for the SR-71 Blackbird and the F117 Nighthawk so it ought to be good enough for F1. Can't wait to see the car!

I have some experience with Skunk Works operations and agree that the cost/schedule benefits should assist in fielding a car on a demanding schedule. Obviously, based on recent articles, this approach won't be beneficial in sustaining operations beyond initial fielding.

What I can't put together is trying to use a Skunk Works label to rationalize a lack of indicated progress on the program considering the following statements by USF-1.

"Q&A;: USF1 Formula 1 Team Announcement
Feb 24, 2009
Varsha: How accessible will you be to the media and to the fans?

Windsor: Something I’ve learned over the last year and half here in Charlotte is just how good a job NASCAR teams do for the fans and we are in the entertainment business. We’ve been reminding each other of that from day one. We want this to be entertainment. We want this to be a TV-led Formula One team if you’d like. And we are going to be that by definition, being so close to SPEED here and we’re also going to have our own television production facility inside of our headquarters. So, we are going to make this very fan friendly, not only here in the states, but globally. We are going to design the fan route. Fans are going to be welcome to come to our headquarters. There will be a tour they can. They can look at the car being designed and built. They can touch and feel a Formula One team for the first time and it will be a lovely experience to come here. We’ll have a state-of-the-art facility that will be as good as anything you see in Europe. It won’t be McLaren. It won’t be Ferrari because obviously we don’t have the history, but we’ll do it our way that’s compatible with being here in the United States. If you look at guys like Michael Waltrip, they way they operate their team, that is a case study on how to make motor sports (fan friendly). The way Formula One teams present themselves in America has always been very difficult for the fans to grasp what Formula One is all about. It is very technical. There is lots of money. But nobody ever talks about it and you can’t see the technology and then they go racing and maybe five cars race or maybe 26 cars race, then they all disappear again. Obviously, we have an opportunity here to sell Formula One to our fan base and we have a lot of Formula One fans here."

I think that is their plan for the furture. They may have wanted to do that right away, but realized, there just isn't time/money to spend on keeping people informed just yet. Getting chassis done, drivers hired, and other personell hired is the important thing right now. I think that stuff is planned more for once the season begins.