08/01/2010
NEWS STORY
US F1 sporting director Peter Windsor has revealed that his team's 2010 contender will make its track debut in America rather than at one of the European pre-season tests.
The American outfit, which appears to have made a significant step forward in the two weeks since Bernie Ecclestone expressed doubts as to whether it would actually be on the grid next season, is due to make its test debut at the Barber Motorsport Park in Alabama early next month.
"Because we are a new team and start everything from zero the first time we will run the car will be in Alabama," Windsor told the official F1 website, "the circuit that was nominated by the FIA for us.
"We've got the dispensation from the FIA, which is fantastic," he added, "because we are not based in Europe. We are the only team that does have a test circuit outside Europe, so it is totally logical for us that we run the car the first time in the US at the beginning of February."
While the established teams are due to test at Valencia from February 1 and then head to Jerez for a four day session that gets underway on February 10, US F1 might not join its European rivals until the second Jerez test beginning on February 17 or possibly as late as the Barcelona test on February 25.
"We are allowed three sessions in the US," he revealed. "Then we will ship the car to Spain to do some testing there before we fly out to Bahrain."