American F1 project making progress

AUTOSPORT first revealed the plan, which is being led by Parris Mullins, the advisor to YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley during his involvement at US F1, last month.

Mullins travelled to Montreal last weekend to continue discussions with teams about possible options for the future, which he has made clear will be with a current team rather than as a start-up operation.

Paddock speculation has already linked him with both Sauber and Scuderia Toro Rosso, because of his good personal links with Ferrari, but Mullins insists he is totally open-minded about how he gets involved.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT about how his visit to Montreal had gone, Mullins said: "Over the course of these three days progress has been huge. There was only so much I could do from the US anyway, and all the right people are here congregated in to one area.

"I made a lot more progress this weekend than what I was expecting, I hope to be making just as much progress between now and Valencia so we will see. The project is moving ahead.

"More options have come up. As I have mentioned before I had several different ideas for not just myself to enter the sport, but also for the group of people that I am representing. So more possibilities have popped up. It has been a very productive weekend."

Mullins confirmed he met Ecclestone over the weekend to discuss his future F1 plans, and said he had got some positive feedback.

"Like I have said before, if the project makes sense Bernie is willing to help," he said. "If it makes sense then he will get behind it. I am taking it one step at a time, going at his pace and following his advice."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said a few weeks ago that the dream for his team was to link up with an American outfit to run a third car.