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Lopez looks to quit US F1

Jose Maria Lopez with Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor in happier times © Sutton Images

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• Drivers:
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• Jose Maria Lopez
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• Peter Windsor

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• US F1

The manager of the only driver currently under contract with US F1, Jose Maria Lopez, is working to extricate his client from the team.

Victor Rosso, who is part of the Argentinean driver's management team, told Cadena 3 Cordoba radio that manager Felipe McGough has been working on extracting Lopez from his contract. He also said McGough is trying to get back the US$830,000 advance that was paid to secure his drive.

Campos, which is likely to be renamed Hispania Racing, has already signed Bruno Senna and looks set to announce Indian GP2 driver Karun Chandhok as its second driver. This leaves only the test driver role for Lopez.

McGough said the Lopez group has a "good relationship" with Campos' new owner Jose Ramon Carabante. "We have already told him that Lopez is free, they are aware of everything, and now we are waiting to see what is decided in Europe. We are looking at anything that allows Jose Maria to stay in Formula One, even as the reserve driver," said McGough. He added that one possibility is that Lopez could drive in the Friday-morning practice sessions, a similar deal to that of Force India test driver Paul di Resta.

In the interview he was also particularly critical of team principal Ken Anderson. "Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor will travel to Argentina in the coming days to give us an explanation about everything that has happened, since the sole responsibility is theirs. The main culprit is Ken Anderson. He deceived the FIA, FOTA [Formula One teams' association], FOM [Formula One Management] and broke the Concorde Agreement. "

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