Motor racing-U.S. F1 team say 2010 car is now being built

LONDON Oct 7 (Reuters) - The new U.S. F1 team have started building their 2010 car and will have it finished in time for testing in January, team principal Ken Anderson said on Wednesday.

"Our world headquarters is now complete and fully functional, and the 2010 race car is in the construction phase," Anderson said in a Q&A released by the team based in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"Thanks to our in-house design and engineering staff and the aid of our technical partners, for the last 10 to 12 months, the car has gone through thousands of iterations in a virtual environment," he added.

"With this virtual design, we can test and be sure that it's right from structural, design and engineering standpoints, so we don't have to make a part, test it, break it and start again.

"Our timing is according to plan, with an early November "roller" and a finished car in time for January 2010 testing," said Anderson.

He said a number of staff recruited from other Formula One teams would be joining formally at the end of the month.

"Building a team and a world-class manufacturing facility are a work-in-progress but we're ahead of schedule and are excited about going racing next year," added Anderson.

U.S. F1 are one of four new teams entering Formula One next year and are alone in being based in the United States rather than Europe.

Formula One's rulers have expressed concern in recent weeks, however, about the likelihood of the team being ready to start the season.

The sport's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said last month of U.S. F1 that "possibly they are doubtful" while International Automobile Federation (FIA) President Max Mosley referred to "all sorts of rumours about them".

The team had hoped to field an all-American driver line-up, but co-founder Peter Windson was quoted as telling the autosport.com website that no longer looked likely.

"Our ambition to run two young Americans is looking more difficult," he said.

"I'm still hoping we'll be able to run one American, but that's a tall order because there aren't many Americans out there with superlicences."

(Editing by Clare Fallon; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)