As we've reported to you less than a week ago, it all started when Brian Bonner, the head of business development with US F1, decided to leave the organization and switch focus entirely to B4 Marketing, a company that he co-directed in parallel with his commitments in Charlotte.
However, an unnamed source has told us that Bonner's leaving the team did not happen without a severe consequence for US F1, as the team seems to have lost their primary sponsor in the process. We currently cannot confirm the news, but our source tells us that Locstein Group was supposed to be announced as primary sponsor of the US organization only days after Bonner's quitting his position within the team.
Rumor has it that Locstein were on their way to pouring some $10 million into the team's accounts for the 2010 season of Formula One. This all changed when the Swiss based investment firm realized the team will have some problems getting their stuff ready by the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix, and decided to leave the team together with Bonner.
Again, we cannot put our signature on anything at the moment, as this piece of information was provided to us by an unnamed source. That doesn't mean we're not inclined to believe it though, as only a few days later the co-owner of US F1 Ken Anderson told the media that his team has some deep financial problems and will ask the FIA to grant them permission to miss the first 4 rounds of the season.
Additionally, Anderson insisted that YouTube's Chad Hurley is still very much involved in the US F1 project. So, if Hurley is still in, something had to cause the team's drop into turmoil... maybe the loss of a primary sponsor?
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