F1 rumor mill in full swing
All is not so clear with USF1 and Manor. The American team based in Charlotte has not yet found its base in Europe, has not yet shown a real product. They say that they can use a car from another manufacturer, perhaps Lola, who was among those who had launched its own entry then were rejected by the FIA. We hear the owners Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson have started negotiations with Toyota to get the Japanese engines instead of the Cosworth. Why? When in doubt, follow the money…..We now hear that Kazuki Nakajima could be one of their drivers fully funded by Toyota.
As for Manor, the John Booth team will have the support of Richard Branson of Virgin, who will leave Brawn. Nick Wirth (former Simtek) is working on the design of the car. Wirth's work, as revealed by Autosprint, is CFD, with the computer simulation replacing the wind tunnel. We hear that British F3 driver Max Chilton could be one of the drivers despite little experience, and Adam Carroll. We will update our F1 Silly Season page with this info a bit later.