For some time, correspondents have asked me for my views on USF1, and I have replied that were I setting up an F1 team, I might find a place for Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson, but neither would be a top position.

This was private correspondence between friends. I never thought that USF1 would amount to anything, but I respect people's aspirations and did not want to harm the project. I thought that Bernie was wrong to cast doubt on USF1 last December because, while I thought he was correct, I thought his position should have elevated him above comment.

I have no power, except the power of argument, but Bernie wields real power.

USF1 has sent its remaining workforce home on unpaid leave. Meanwhile, the principals of the team are in denial.

Last year, all Formula One factories closed for a month to give the staff a break. Windsor complained about this, citing Good Ole American Can-Do. This attitude was stressed in the videos the team made and Windsor called it a 'skunk works'. As I recall, Lockheed did manage to complete aircraft and got them to fly.

Do you think that Prodrive or Lola would have failed to make a car? Manor, now Virgin, did it and that was a massive leap for them. Lotus began from scratch, having only been given an entry in September, and they were at the tests in Spain. Virgin, Campos (Hispania) and USF1 were all notified that their bids had been successful on the same day. They faced the same political aggravation over FOTA and a possible breakaway series which Ken Anderson is now blaming for the no-show.

Campos/Hispania took the sensible decision to subcontract the design and build of their car to Dallara. That meant they had to recruit fewer personnel and if you are going to build single-seaters, you locate to Northern Italy or Southern England. It is not that the locals are supernaturally gifted, but bright engineers from all over the world are attracted to companies who operate there.

Just as Toyota knew well before the story broke that they had problems, I guess that USF1 knew that it was in the doo-doo four or five months ago, perhaps longer. There is a timetable for a new car and when it was not being met, and not being met by a significant degree, you can imagine that morale plummeted.

A nosecone passed the FIA's crash test so I guess that was something.

Videos released by the team show a lot of work space being occupied by not much. When you enter the McLaren Technical Centre, you are amazed by the size, but you soon realise that it is all used.

Maybe Pete and Ken thought the wool could be pulled over the eyes of some employees. USF1 is based in Charlotte, NC, home to many NASCAR teams, so the excuse that Formula One is different to NASCAR may have worked, but only for a week or two.

In fact, NASCAR is no different to F1 in terms of professionalism. If personnel had not twigged that there were big problems, they would have done so when people were laid off. If you are behind, you hire, you do not shed.

Provided that you have the cash, which Windsor and Anderson claimed they had, making an F1 car is not that difficult, the hard bit is making a competitive F1 car. You get your engines from Cosworth, brakes from Brembo, transmissions from Xtrac, tyres from Bridgestone, and so on. Any number of designers can pen a safe, competetent, monocoque. The big money goes on the aerodynamic package and electronics.

Apparently, a key sponsor failed to cough up money in mid-January, but the writing was on the wall long before then,