Peter Windsor's World

January 1, 2010 - Charlotte
It's great to be back in the USA! We're all complaining a little about everything closing down for the New Year but – believe me – America is currently much more industrious than the UK. Here, at our home base, we were quiet on Christmas Day (naturally) and then again today. The UK – and most of Europe – basically shut down on December 18 and will not stagger back to life until January 4. That's 16 valuable days lost in the too-short life of the F1 European winter.

And that's not all: remember the August F1 shut-down that was introduced for the first time in 2009? Well, it's happening again in 2010. Understand that most of Europe closes for August and you kind of understand the decision. Unless you're American, that is. As in Australia, August for Americans is just another working month in which some people maybe take a week or two away. There's no nationwide shut-down, as such – not of the type that regularly afflicts massive F1 teams like Ferrari. For years all of their suppliers have been shutting their doors for the month of August – and for years the European teams have been complaining that the situation has been growing worse, not better.

There was an F1 team meeting vote in the early fall about whether the 2009 F1 August shut-down had been a "success". I was impressed to hear the McLaren guys say that it was a waste of time and that most of their staff had found it all very frustrating, but sadly these were lone voices: the majority of the teams, led by Red Bull, it seemed to me, are firmly committed to the summer shut-down. And so shut down we will.

For now, though, it's winter in Charlotte; no doubt about that. It's a nice winter, though: the skies are invariably blue come lunch time and out the back of our factory, in the loading bays, we've already had the first of our team barbecues. Try doing that in the middle of the European winter!

I consistently make the comparison between here and there because our American base is the essence of US F1. I count on one hand the F1 people who, when we spoke about it, immediately grasped the logic of locating our team in North Carolina – and so you don't need me to tell you that "popular" F1 opinion was that it couldn't be done. Aside from the ease of setting up a facility like ours – the US F1 factory was an empty shell 14 weeks ago, remember – there is the support system around us. And the lack of congestion. And, for a company operating on the global stage via a European regulatory hub, the order and method of the US working day. You start as Europe is entering its afternoon frenzy, fresh and ready. You match that until lunch time – and then in the afternoon you move forwards, untroubled by interruptions from the F1 world outside. I remember my factory days at Williams as endless series of meetings and fragmented discussions; there were never the productive five or six hours we now have in the American afternoon.

So it's great to be back. The place is full of energy, full of expectation. No-one is taking anything for granted; everyone is working as hard as the human system will allow.

And the first chassis – top, bottom and nose – sits upon the Bay Cast flat plate in the R&D shop; it looks gorgeous. Soon we will be fitting all the electrical components, spring/damper units and suspension arms; the front and rear wing main planes are nearly finished and over in California Kenny Hill and Gordon Kimble are not too far away from completing the first batches of axles, hubs and bearing clusters. The car grows, in other words, with every passing day. It draws you like a magnet, away from your desk, just for a few moments, again to see its line. Then you quickly walk over to the boys in the composite department, where they're laying-up another mold, or to the machine shop, where the guys are programming another front upright. Then the phone rings and you're back in your office, talking on speakerphone, watching out the window as yet another group of visitors pulls up and walks towards Reception. Some are fans, flying in on spec from places like Florida or Wisconsin; most are suppliers or contacts, keen to help and only too happy to play a role.

I hope you like this website. As I've said before, it's for you, the F1 fan. Let us know what you think. Give us your input and your ideas. The stats – the website, Facebook, Twitter and video hits – tell us that you love it; remember, though, that this is just the start. We haven't yet raced; we haven't yet finished our first car. Huge growth is ahead of us – and that includes this site, too.

Thanks to everyone who so kindly sent gifts and cards over Christmas. I love the Paul Newman book; the Jim Clark driving gloves are a perfect fit; and I think Spencer Owyang's Christmas tree bauble will be the envy of every Ducati owner in the country.

Best wishes to everyone for a happy and healthy 2010.