#AMERICAN EAGLE RACING - A Proper American Team Joins The Grid (Hard/Hard)

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unborn dagger
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Wait, an American team that's not Andretti joining the grid?

Well, there's a thought process behind this. With Andretti's bid to join the F1 grid failing at the last hurdle, Andretti quietly decides to instead bolster their stock back into their IndyCar operation, building a super team poised to compete firmly at the front with rivals Penske and Chip Ganassi. After their experiment with Romain Grosjean fails and Alexander Rossi moves to rival Arrow McLaren, Andretti puts all their eggs behind the talented pairing of Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood, while acquiring former Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson to fill out their ranks. With the money invested from their F1 bid, Andretti works to make their IndyCar infrastructure and team stronger, and this shuffling might result in their strongest challenge to Ganassi's new ace Alex Palou (remember that guy?), multiple time champion and veteran ace Scott Dixon, and Penske's Josef Newgarden.

Okay, but what does all of this have to do with this alleged 11th F1 team?

Well, eventually the FIA finally approves an 11th team joining the grid, under the promise that this team will provide two young up and coming drivers a spot on the grid, along with a clear path to improvement. The team is expected to finish above the bottom of the order by the end of the season, and will be under quick pressure to provide results.

With Andretti no longer interested in joining the Formula 1 ranks, this opens the door for a brand new team - and after several bids from highly touted teams, it's a team with a promise for American crossover that appeals to the interests.

Say hello to Gold Eagle Racing!

Gold Eagle - a name that has some strong affilation to it with bonafide American roots. The eagle is very symbolic with the United States - and Gold, obviously, because this team's aspirations is to finish at the front of the grid. They want to be #1 - by any means necessary.

It will take time. But it will happen. Because it has to.

polar fox
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Yess, Gold Eagle Racing. Short name is GER?

unborn dagger
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This is one of the hardest starts possible, with a few adjustments.

I've decided to put the extra point originally slotted for the Design Center into the Factory, while giving our team a starting point for income with the Tour Center and a Helipad.

In order to compete immediately, you have to spend money to make money - these two important facilities will do that for us.

The improved Factory will allow us to churn out parts a little quicker, and will help us long term to have this important upgrade done and dusted - it gets us one step closer to an ideal Level 3 without having to invest the extra money.

It cripples us to not have the extra improvements from a better Design Center, but that's a tradeoff I'm willing to take in order to make sure we have enough parts for the season.

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polar fox
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We've decided to go with the German powered Mercedes engine for our inaugural season.

It received a nice boost in engine power while also remaining the most durable option on the grid. With our team being a true startup in many ways, having a durable engine should help keep us under the cost cap provided we get the Engine Cooling up to snuff.

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polar fox
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I go sleeping offline etc, good luck with your save

unborn dagger
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When you host a young team in so many spots, you need to have a promise of potential immediately - so in this aspect, I decided it was for the best to have two drivers who can contribute immediately when the car is up to snuff. One is a proven commodity who has always had the talent to drive in Formula 1. The other is quite unknown, but his story is incredible to think about in a scope.

In Car #1 - former F2 Champion, the French prodigy himself, Theo Pourchaire! Theo is an outstanding young driver who many fans have wanted to see on the Formula 1 grid for years. In this world, "Teddy Porkchops" doesn't join Arrow McLaren in IndyCar - he's instead joining the new American team with a seat open and available, with a good faith contribution from Sauber who were chomping at the bit to secure their top driver a seat on the grid with Audi's takeover looming.

And in Car #2 - IndyCar'sPato O'Ward makes the HUGE jump to Formula 1! A move that shocked IndyCar and F1 fans alike, Pato is a young driver who has been affiliated with McLaren for several years. You want to know just how talented Pato is and how he can drive in F1? Let's put it like this: Pato O'Ward earned his super license with his outstanding drives in IndyCar and remaining a consistent championship contender - and that's without driving for the top three teams in IndyCar! Pato will provide a ton of crossover appeal for American fans interested to see how the Mexican IndyCar star does driving at the top level of motorsport.

I decided to pair Theo and Pato with two decent engineers to support the team and make it appear as if we invested most of our resources into getting a good starting point on track. The rest will come with developing our young staff, developing the team's infrastructure, and of course - improving the car to provide quick results.

Let's get this show on the road!

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So, if you're familiar with my "Worst To First" save from the previous F1 Manager, here's a few house rules I've set for myself similar to that save:

  • I'm not allowed to poach or negotiate with any drivers currently on the F1 grid unless my team finishes higher than theirs OR the driver[s] are entering free agency. Same rule applies for any staff members. (The exception comes with affiliates - affiliates are fair game.)

  • I will select a primary affiliate I intend to develop with the hope they will enter the grid within three seasons.

  • If I decide to continue playing as my own team, I'm not allowed to change unless I win both championships.

  • I'm not allowed to change off this team unless I win both championships. I may decide to see if I can beat this team in the future and go to a "Worst to First" style save, but I want to see what happens with this grid before I do anything.

unborn dagger
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First iteration of the car's livery. Let's go!

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BAHRAIN QUALIFYING REPORT

Well, our first qualifying session is in the books and...it didn't go as bad as I anticipated, which is a good sign considering the talent of our drivers.

Not qualifying P21 and P22 is a win in my book - but getting one car into Q2 is extraordinary. The shocker? It was Pato O'Ward - not Theo Pourchaire - that pulled off the feat.

Granted, it's plausible we could have had a full Q2 appearance had Theo not run into traffic on his final lap. Pato was lucky in that regard.

Pato, of course, was nowhere near the cutoff time for Q3, but the fact he made it to Q2 bodes well for his potential in F1. The crossover from IndyCar doesn't appear to be affecting the young Mexican star too much.

We'll start our first Grand Prix ever from P16 and P18. We're not expecting to score, but we're expecting to have a clean race and stay competitive with the back of the pack. We hope we will finish ahead of the very bottom. It remains to be seen how this car will handle in race trim, but we'll make the best go of it we can!

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BAHRAIN STARTING GRID

  1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  2. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  3. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  4. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  5. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  6. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  7. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  8. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  9. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  10. George Russell [Mercedes]

  11. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  12. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  13. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  14. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  15. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
    16) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  16. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]
    18) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  17. Alex Albon [Williams]

  18. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  19. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  20. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

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BAHRAIN RACE REPORT

It was a tough inaugural weekend for the new American team on the Formula 1 grid, and they're quickly finding out life isn't easy when you're competing at the pinnacle of motorsport.

IndyCar sensation Pato O'Ward certainly had a tough go on the grid, sliding down the order quickly and finishing P21. Theo Pourchaire wasn't as successful either, but Pourchaire had about as good of a day as he could have with a finish in P20.

Both Gold Eagle drivers finished 2 laps down, but managed to finish ahead of expectations. The team is taking a bright side approach to this weekend.

"We were happy to be at least one spot above our projection", quipped the Gold Eagle team principal. "But we never like to start off finishing in the rear, much less well off the pace. We knew coming in we were going to have our work cut out for us. A contender isn't built in one weekend. So, it was critical for us to have two clean drives from Theo and Pato today. On that front, job well done. We'll probably struggle in Jeddah as well, but we have hope our car will start turning a corner at Suzuka. Our team will work hard in the factory and on the paddock to improve every time we show up to compete."

Pato O'Ward: "Yeah, just a tough day overall for us, myself in particular. I knew there would be a learning curve coming in to Formula 1 from IndyCar. The hybrid system, DRS, the weight, the amount of downforce - it's a very different kind of race here. But I have to be better for the team. We had decent pace in qualifying, but we just couldn't put it together for the race. It's on me to drive better while the team works hard to give us better cars for the season. We hope we'll be right up there in the midfield before the summer break."

Theo Pourchaire: "I gave it everything. We had some good moments but right now we're just not very fast. There's good potential with the car, but it's not going to come right away. Right now, I'm just happy to have a clean drive."

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BAHRAIN RACE RESULTS

🥇 Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
🥈 Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]
🥉 Lando Norris [McLaren]

  1. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  2. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  3. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  4. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  5. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  6. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  7. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  8. George Russell [Mercedes]

  9. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  10. Alex Albon [Williams]

  11. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  12. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  13. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  14. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  15. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  16. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]
    20) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]
    21) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  17. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

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JEDDAH QUALIFYING REPORT

More of the same from our guys.

Pato is once again showing he's got some pace in qualifying - he's 2-0 vs Theo head-to-head in that department - but the question is whether or not he can have a better race than the one he had in Bahrain.

Our boys finished exactly the same as they did in qualifying, however Pato's final lap in Q2 ended in near disaster with a crash out of the hairpin going into Sector 2. He managed to bring it home safe with only a damaged front wing, so nothing to be concerned with thankfully.

It's a one-stopper this time around, which should hopefully go better for us. Maybe we'll get lucky and get pulled in a DRS train just enough to hold position.

And maybe I'll win the lottery in real life, while I'm at it.

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JEDDAH STARTING GRID

  1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  2. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  3. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  4. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  5. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  6. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  7. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  8. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  9. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  10. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  11. George Russell [Mercedes]

  12. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  13. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  14. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  15. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]
    16) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  16. Logan Sargeant [Williams]
    18) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  17. Alex Albon [Williams]

  18. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

  19. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

  20. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

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JEDDAH RACE REPORT

Well, no upgrades - but thanks to the tight track in Jeddah, we were a little more racey with some of the grid. We could keep up in a few DRS trains toward the back, but we just simply don't have the pace to fight at this moment.

Theo Pourchaire continues to be brilliant in limited spots - he saved his best overtake for last, pulling ahead of Valtteri Bottas for P17. We'll take that. Pato O'Ward, however - he's still having some issues making the adjustment, and his race pace is nowhere to be found. But he kept the car out of the wall, so all in all it's fine. I'm hoping he finds some pace either with the car updates or with proper development.

Safety cars changed this race at the front big time. I almost gasped when I saw Oscar Piastri was leading - and Max Verstappen was nowhere near the front. That opened the door for Charles Leclerc to take the checkered flag as Ferrari actually made a great strategy call for their top driver, and it's helped Ferrari get an early advantage on Red Bull in the championship.

Our main rival at this point in time is Sauber. We're a lot closer to them than we think, but we have to upgrade the car to get ahead and stay ahead. Hopefully, we'll do just that.

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JEDDAH RACE RESULTS

🥇 Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]
🥈 Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
🥉 Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  1. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  3. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  4. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  5. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  6. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  7. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  8. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  9. Alex Albon [Williams]

  10. George Russell [Mercedes]

  11. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  12. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  13. Logan Sargeant [Williams]
    17) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  14. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  15. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]
    20) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

DNF - Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber], crash
DNF - Nico Hulkenberg [Haas], crash

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MELBOURNE QUALIFYING REPORT

Rain made for an interesting session for our guys, and especially since we have a new underfloor equipped to the car - it won't make us faster immediately, but it should pull us closer to Sauber in terms of performance.

In any event, Theo Pourchaire had an outstanding session for the team, securing a P12 start for tomorrow's race. I'm expecting he'll lose a lot of those positions, but he's far and away our best chance for points while Pato O'Ward gets acclimated to the Formula 1 lifestyle.

Speaking on Pato, I'm starting to get annoyed with his minor mistakes. Too frequently he's having spins and lockups, and it's costing us valuable time with evaluations. When Logan Sargeant is having cleaner races than he is, that's a huge problem.

It was nice to see Theo flirt with a Q3 appearance in the wet session. I didn't expect it to happen, but I also didn't expect him to perform quite as well as he did. We almost had a full Q2 appearance, but Pato got knocked out at the last moment despite a pretty tidy final lap.

I don't expect to make much in terms of race pace with the cars. But if we can finish above Sauber, we'll be on the right track.

slim briar
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WTF is a kilometer 🦅

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MELBOURNE STARTING GRID

  1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  2. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  3. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  4. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  5. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  6. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  7. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  8. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  9. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  10. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  11. Alex Albon [Williams]
    12) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  12. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  13. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

  14. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  15. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

17) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]
18) Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
19) George Russell [Mercedes]
20) Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]
21) Logan Sargeant [Williams]
22) Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

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MELBOURNE RACE REPORT

WE BEAT SAUBER IN THE RACE! LET'S GO!!!

Okay, so maybe it took a red flag from Pierre Gasly to get to that situation, but we were already ahead of them on merit by the time that happened.

The underfloor has pushed us in the right direction. We're still off the pace, but Theo and Pato were more racey with the grid today than they were the previous two weekends. I'll consider that a huge win for the team moving forward, and hopefully the front wing upgrade coming in for Suzuka will push us up a little further.

Theo had one unfortunate spin that relegated him to the back at one point, but he still managed to recover well and finish ahead of Pato once again. We're closer and closer to fighting the midfield on merit.

Theo Pourchaire: "The car feels better than it did in Bahrain. We could definitely race a little more today than we had been able to before, but we're still a long way from where we want to be. The spin I had before the red flag, I wasn't happy with it because I probably could have finished a little higher, but I'm happy with the drive today."

Pato O'Ward: "This has been a challenge for us these past three weeks. I'm still working to get up to speed and be able to keep up with Theo during the race, but my team has been giving me great support. I could feel the difference the underfloor upgrade made on the car. Hats off to the team for their hard work at the factory. We'll keep pushing and hopefully we'll give them a show they can be proud of. We were able to have a good fight right there at the end with Hulkenberg and Sargeant, we just didn't have enough to get Hulk at the line. The fact we can say this about the car now is a very good sign going forward. Still, we're not happy with P18. We want to be at the front, but I know it takes time. But we're very happy that we managed to beat the Saubers, so that's one small step forward we're happy to take."

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MELBOURNE RACE RESULTS

🥇 Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
🥈 Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
🥉 Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  1. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  2. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  3. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  4. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  5. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  6. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  7. George Russell [Mercedes]

  8. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  9. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  10. Alex Albon [Williams]

  11. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  12. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
    16) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  13. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
    18) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  14. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  15. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  16. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

DNF - Pierre Gasly [Alpine], crash

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SUZUKA QUALIFYING REPORT

We didn't really get our best runs in qualifying. I made a big mistake during the run plans for practice, so I was down an extra pair of soft tyres all together - lesson learned on that front - but even with the attempted alternate strategy, traffic on a tight track just made sure Theo and Pato couldn't make anything happen.

We were firmly knocked out in Q1 despite our new front wing upgrade. On the bright side, our closest rivals in Alpine and Sauber couldn't make the transfer either. So it makes a good situation for us from the back. We'll give everything we have to make a good day - we should not finish in the very back, but we're still not fast enough for the midfield yet.

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SUZUKA STARTING GRID

  1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  2. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  3. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  4. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  5. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  6. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  7. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  8. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  9. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  10. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  11. George Russell [Mercedes]

  12. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  13. Alex Albon [Williams]

  14. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  15. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  16. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

17) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]
18) Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
19) Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]
20) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]
21) Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]
22) Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

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SUZUKA RACE REPORT

All we're looking for at this stage of the season is tangible progress. We're much better now than we were in Bahrain and Jeddah.

I'm willing to look past Theo's lockup on his first stint to see that as far as the back of the pack goes, we're competing on merit with Alpine and we've clearly found pace ahead of Sauber. And both Theo and Pato managed to improve from their starting spot for two solid finishes we can keep building on. There isn't a ton of excitement happening on the grid for us, but the fact I saw Theo AND Pato making solid overtakes and having good battles - that's very important for this stage of our development.

We're still some way off from competing with the likes of Williams, Haas, and VCARB. But the fact we're challenging Alpine and clearly ahead of Sauber is a good sign. I'm hopeful we'll get some points on the board soon enough and be able to coast for the rest of the season.

Until then, we keep plugging.

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SUZUKA RACE RESULTS

🥇 Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
🥈 Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
🥉 Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  1. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  2. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  3. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  4. George Russell [Mercedes]

  5. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  6. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  7. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  8. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  9. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  10. Alex Albon [Williams]

  11. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  12. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]
    16) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  13. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
    18) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  14. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  15. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

  16. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  17. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

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GE INVESTORS "CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC" WITH F1 TEAM PROGRESS

The American-backed investors supporting Gold Eagle Racing's bid remain confident with the team principal through the first four weekends, but are pressing for a more immediate return on investment.

"We understand the team is young and many facilities have quickly been launched to support the team and the car's development," says an anonymous source within the investment team's chain of command. "But we've made it clear to the team principal that we want to see results in the immediate future. We're not expecting the team to compete with Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren this soon into the game - and the team principal understands that - but we're not happy with being in the back, either."

TV ratings from American audiences have gone up, not only due to the growing interest in the sport but also due to the participation of a true American team with American-owned facilities. Officially the team is operating out of Nevada, with a base of operations not too far away from Las Vegas.

While fans have noticed the team has not been competitive straight away, the team's popularity is slightly turning up due to crossover appeal from former IndyCar sensation Pato O'Ward and from the team's growing social media presence from O'Ward, teammate Theo Pourchaire, and technical chief Jason Hubbard.

"Our team is working tirelessly to get the car up to snuff. We're working quickly to bring results for the team and our fans. It's truly special to have an American operation inside Formula 1, and we intend to be here for several years. These past two weekends have been vital for us to see the results of our hard work starting to pay off, but we obviously want more. We've done well to get ahead of some of our competitors, but now we want more. Finishing on the lead lap would be a good breakthrough, but we have to get the car capable enough for Theo and Pato to push it there.", remarks Hubbard.

Continued...

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The team's steady progress has already made an impression on some Formula 1 fans who have been waiting for an 11th team to join the grid and make things more interesting. We were able to speak with the team principal for his vision on Gold Eagle's long-term future.

"Obviously, our goal is to be World Champions. You don't drive in Formula 1 if you want anything less. In most cases, that's not a one-year project. We obviously can't just throw money at everything and expect to have a car to compete with Verstappen, Norris, Leclerc, Lewis, and the top drivers on the grid. We have to earn it, and that's endearing to a lot of fans, let alone the fans we have watching in the United States. But what I really want more than anything, I want a team that isn't just a contender, I want a team that can produce and develop driver talent at an elite level. Obviously Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes have done an excellent job on that front, and I want this team to be something like that. Something that says when you drive for Gold Eagle, winning isn't just the end result. It's the expectation."

It's bold ambitions like this that push the team forward. The team's primary sponsor, ABAOS Technology, have been extremely helpful in securing many of the team's resources. The team principal says their funding has helped the team get many facilities constructed and improved in quick order, which should help them produce a more competitive car. They're hoping to score points before the summer break, but the team principal believes that objective may be met sooner than the team believes.

"I think we can get our first points before Silverstone, or even right at it."

The team investors sent out a statement in response to the team principal's desired objective:

"We would love to see points before Silverstone, and we think the team can achieve that. We're cautiously optimistic in their progress so far, and we want to see continued improvement."

So far, so good.

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SHANGHAI SPRINT QUALIFYING REPORT

It's only a sprint session, but Gold Eagle had both cars fully participating in SQ2. We expected not to go any further, but that's a good sign for progress on qualifying. Our hotlap pace is getting there - whether or not that translates to the race is a different story.

Theo Pourchaire has two new upgrades on the car with a new chassis and sidepods, while we wait for more funds to be able to update Pato's car as well. We threw a lot of our money into facilities and getting them online, so we're in a situation where we're now strapped for cash. So long as the boys deliver during the race, we'll get our money back while we wait for the new month's funds.

On merit, Theo is a lot faster than Pato and remains our best chance to score points. But Pato has been showing promise the past two weekends, and I'll see what he can do in a car that's not exactly up to the current spec.

A lot would have to happen for us to score on the sprint, but I want to see if the updated car for Theo leads to him being able to fight the midfield pack more consistently. I'm also going to pay attention to how Pato manages with the Alpines and Saubers hot on his tail.

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SHANGHAI SPRINT STARTING GRID

  1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  2. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  3. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  4. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  5. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  6. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  7. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  8. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  9. George Russell [Mercedes]

  10. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  11. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  12. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  13. Alex Albon [Williams]
    14) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  14. Logan Sargeant [Williams]
    16) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  15. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  16. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  17. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  18. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

  19. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  20. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

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SHANGHAI SPRINT REPORT

Well, no points for the team - but very encouraging signs of progress from both drivers.

The updates on Theo's car made him a lot more racey in the opening laps. He was pulling off excellent moves on competitors with faster cars than he had, but of course the cars behind would overtake with DRS eventually. And with everyone having to pick when to manage their tyres to make the one set of mediums last the entire race, it made Theo especially vulnerable. Still, he had a great battle with Alex Albon that Albon just barely ended up winning at the last lap.

And Pato did what he had to do, he held serve and didn't lose any traction. He stayed ahead of our rivals and had a clean race. That's a very great sign for his development.

Fight on, Gold Eagle.

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SHANGHAI SPRINT RESULTS

🥇 Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
🥈 Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]
🥉 Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  1. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  2. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  3. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  4. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  5. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  6. George Russell [Mercedes]

  7. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  8. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  9. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  10. Alex Albon [Williams]
    14) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  11. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
    16) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  12. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  13. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  14. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  15. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

  16. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  17. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

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SHANGHAI QUALIFYING REPORT

Nothing much to report on for the qualifying session. More of the same from our guys. The only difference is that Pato's final lap may have been ruined by traffic, which I'm starting to find matters a ton.

Q1 was extremely clogged at the end of the session with cars trying to find space for a final flier. You could hardly find any around with one wave of cars starting their laps early, and then a few others coming out extremely late so that a lot of laps were bottled by Turn 1.

No such issue with Theo's final flier in Q2, but it's obviously not enough to get us into the top 10 shootout at this point in time.

We'll see how the race goes. No idea how the tyre strategy will look, although I know the deg is not very friendly here.

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SHANGHAI STARTING GRID

  1. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  2. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  3. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  4. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  5. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  6. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  7. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  8. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  9. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  10. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  11. George Russell [Mercedes]

  12. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  13. Alex Albon [Williams]
    14) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  14. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  15. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

17) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]
18) Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  1. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  2. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  3. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

  4. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

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SHANGHAI RACE REPORT

I spoke too soon about Pato's progress.

Three spins on his behalf prevented us from having a better day than we could have anticipated. We were probably going to finish ahead of both Haas drivers on a risky two-stop strategy (risky in the sense of timing and available compounds), but Pato made sure that just wasn't going to happen.

He still managed to finish only one spot down from his starting position, but it's results like this that frustrate me to no end. These unforced errors will make me want to put an early end to his three (!) year deal. Of course, I shouldn't be so hard on him because you expect mistakes like this to happen with a rookie who has next to no F1 experience...but on a day where we can have potentially two cars finish inside the top 15, we need every positive development we can get.

Speaking on that front, Theo did a great job on that front. Mistakes made in tyre allocation probably prevented him from having a better fight with Alex Albon, but the car is able to fight the midfield with him behind the wheel. We'll wait for funds to come in to catch up the rest of the car on development and manufacturing, but right now I'm satisfied with the team's progress.

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SHANGHAI RACE RESULTS

🥇 Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]
🥈 Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]
🥉 Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  1. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  2. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  3. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  4. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  5. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  6. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  7. George Russell [Mercedes]

  8. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  9. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  10. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  11. Alex Albon [Williams]
    15) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  12. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  13. Logan Sargeant [Williams]
    18) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  14. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

  15. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  16. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  17. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

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MIAMI SPRINT QUALIFYING REPORT

Once again, a partially updated car on Pato while Theo more or less has the fully updated spec.

With the financial trouble this team has, I'm starting to see that perhaps I reached a little too hard to get those facility upgrades rolling. But considering our marketing is not strong, we're a new team, and it's going to take time to build this thing up, I shouldn't be too surprised. I'll just have to get creative about what specs the team runs for practices and during races to maximize our performance. Hopefully, our car improves enough to keep our race performances strong and so we can start building up our car to be better.

Miami yielded our strongest performance yet for any qualifying session. P13 and P14 is a very solid showing. It's not likely we'll contend for points without some luck and good strategy, but at this point we just need to bring the cars home for clean finishes and be wise about our money from this point forward - especially since I know we've overspent our initial budget.

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MIAMI SPRINT STARTING GRID

  1. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  2. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  3. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  4. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  5. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  6. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  7. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  8. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  9. George Russell [Mercedes]

  10. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  11. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  12. Alex Albon [Williams]

13) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]
14) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]

  1. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  2. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  3. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  4. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  5. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  6. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  7. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

  8. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

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MIAMI SPRINT REPORT

The boys had a good showing today, and an entertaining battle with Lewis Hamilton for P11.

It's not points, but it's progress. We're doing much better on track and have some hidden pace in the car. We could very well be sneak candidates for points if things go our way, provided our qualifying goes about as well as it did for us with the sprint.

I'm hopeful the money issues will resolve themselves. I may have to bite the bullet on this season since I screwed up on management and what sponsors I should take - but I know better for the next round.

In the meantime, let's hope we can march forward and stay strong.

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MIAMI SPRINT RESULTS

🥇 Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]
🥈 Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
🥉 Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  1. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  2. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  3. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  4. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  5. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  6. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  7. George Russell [Mercedes]

  8. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]
    12) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]
    13) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  9. Alex Albon [Williams]

  10. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  11. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  12. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  13. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  14. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  15. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

  16. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

DNF - Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB], crash

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MIAMI QUALIFYING REPORT

....What just happened?

We absolutely scammed our way into Q3. There's no way this should be happening.

But it is. The rain changed everything for us. We got our runs right and managed to catch a lot of the grid sleeping in Q2. We got the crossover right and waited until the track changed from full wets to inters - that pushed us over into the top 10 shootout, a result that is a huge overachievement for the team.

There's no way we hold those positions in a dry race. But we may hold a very slight chance for points.

I'm not holding my breath. But I'll take the temporary victory.

It's a P5 start for Pato O'Ward, and P8 for Theo Pourchaire. Let's push.

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MIAMI STARTING GRID

  1. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  3. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  4. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

5) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]
6) Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  1. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]
    8) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

  2. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  3. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  4. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  5. George Russell [Mercedes]

  6. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  7. Alex Albon [Williams]

  8. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  9. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  10. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  11. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  12. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

  13. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  14. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]

  15. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

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Because I'm an idiot went ahead and did Imola while forgetting to post about Miami, I'll just briefly summarize what's happened so far between the two weekends:

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TEAM UPDATE FOLLOWING MIAMI & IMOLA

So, while we're still struggling for money and I'm manufacturing to have spare parts ahead of time - the car is at least in a stable spot ahead of Sauber and Alpine, and just a little behind the RB/Williams/Haas triangle.

Miami went about as well as we expected. We knew the cars would slide down the order, but we managed to get both cars to finish in the top 15. It was a decent effort, we were a lot more racey than we have been.

Wet qualifying ruled Imola. Unfortunately, the grid learned from Miami so we couldn't steal a Q3 apperance on that weekend. But we could have flirted with a points finish if we had a safety car go our way - and it didn't. Theo probably would have finished P12 if I had managed the pit stop a little better, and it seemed a lot of the grid were keen to attempt the two-stop. Still, P14 and P16 for us even with a slightly mis-managed one stop is a result I'm happy to take.

As the championship races go, Ferrari are still Red Bull's primary rival, although Red Bull have been dominant the past two weekends. Verstappen has added two more wins to his belt as the season swings into Monaco - Charles Leclerc's home race.

You have to imagine this is going to be an odd feeling for Pato O'Ward, who would normally be racing in the Indy 500 on the greatest day in motorsports.

I want to be able to research for next year's car, but I'm not able to do that when I'm having to spend money to make sure we have enough spare parts for the time being - and just because I need to make sure both Pato and Theo have the fully updated car up to spec.

All the board wants from us is P9 this season. They're happy with our performances, and are okay with both cars finishing inside P16.

On that front, maybe I can hold out just long enough to research a few times and have a decent car for next season.

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MONACO QUALIFYING REPORT

Wet race, wet weekend.

We had a decent outing in Q2. Just a few tenths off the top 10 shootout, but in a decent spot for potential points if things flip our way. This is probably the closest we'll get on a track that's very hard to pass on, so maybe we can get lucky with the right strategy and hold out. Historically, the overcut should be the right play here...but hard AI makes that more or less a wash since they almost like to push every lap and go for the two stopper anyway.

We'll see what happens!

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MONACO STARTING GRID

  1. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]

  2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull]

  3. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]

  4. Lando Norris [McLaren]

  5. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]

  6. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]

  7. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]

  8. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]

  9. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]

  10. George Russell [Mercedes]

  11. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]
    12) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]

13) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]
14) Alex Albon [Williams]

  1. Logan Sargeant [Williams]

  2. Pierre Gasly [Alpine]

  3. Kevin Magnussen [Haas]

  4. Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]

  5. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]

  6. Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

  7. Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]

  8. Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]

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MONACO RACE REPORT

Holy moly, the AI are DUMB.

Everyone except us and Albon started on the full wet tyre...when the track was barely wet. It was an Inter start, and we took full advantage to the front.

We got good pitstops to keep the boys in the top 10 when the race did call for wets, but a puncture on Pato's return to the pit for slicks effectively ended his chances of scoring in the points.

As for Theo? We will gladly take a P6 finish in a race we had no business finishing P6 in.

Amazingly, you had to finish on the podium in order to be on the lead lap in this race.

Once again, the AI are D U M B. DUMB.

Rack 'em up, let's see if we can coast for the season with those points.

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MONACO RACE RESULTS

🥇 Max Verstappen [Red Bull]
🥈 Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]
🥉 Lando Norris [McLaren]

  1. Sergio Perez [Red Bull]
  2. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari]
    6) Theo Pourchaire [Gold Eagle]
  3. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]
  4. Yuki Tsunoda [VCARB]
  5. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin]
  6. George Russell [Mercedes]

11) Pato O'Ward [Gold Eagle]
12) Alex Albon [Williams]
13) Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes]
14) Lance Stroll [Aston Martin]
15) Daniel Ricciardo [VCARB]
16) Kevin Magnussen [Haas]
17) Nico Hulkenberg [Haas]
18) Zhou Guanyu [KICK Sauber]
19) Pierre Gasly [Alpine]
20) Valtteri Bottas [KICK Sauber]
21) Esteban Ocon [Alpine]

DNF - Logan Sargeant [Williams], crash

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AMERICAN EAGLE RACING - A Proper American Team Joins The Grid (Hard/Hard)