In a story that has been originaly reported by The Inside Line, the USF1 HQ in Charlotte NC is reportedly up for sale.
There has been no official announcement, however the listing does indicate that the building is a Formula 1 race shop and that there had been $620,000 in renovations since last year. The lease was orginally until 2014, and this teamed with no second driver announcement has to have folks scratching their head. Seeing as though we have no current press release, it is uncertain what effects this will have on the championship entry, however if this proves to be the case, it does not look good. More to follow as information becomes available.
Ya….. I think Shaun called it…. another nail in the coffin for USF1. With Campos leaving his own team and USF1 selling their building it seems Bernie might be a prophet of the two teams not participating in 2010. I can’t possibly imagine why teams like ProDrive or Lola were not chosen. They really have much more racing experience and resources. I would have certainly chosen David Richards over Adrian Campos or Ken Anderson/Peter Windsor.
Shaun,
Might want to be careful on this one. The owner of the building is selling it. The listing states there is a tenant and they have a lease but I suspect USF1 is the lessor and the owner is just selling the building. I don’t think USF1 bought that building. Just FYI. This really doesn’t affect USF1.
Ah, good point, Todd.
I was a little suspect at first because I had not heard it anywhere…that is a good point Todd. Sketchy info at best for actual team impact. However I still would like a second driver.
A property can certainly be (and often is) sold subject to a previously existing lease. In fact the tenant’s rights sometimes trump those of the owner, or prospective purchaser, depending on the state. I would not take this as any kind of sign. It would be a selling point, actually if an F1 team was the prime tenant! (At least for me!)
Great point Susan…Maybe Peter will buy it and make me eat crow! On this particular one I would admit defeat. I will ask however…where is our car!!!
I’ll take the fall on this one. I was the one that pointed out the article on The Inside Line to Shaun. My bad for not reading the listing carefully enough. 🙁