FIA opens 13th team applications for 2011

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The FIA will try to fill the vacant place on the grid left by US F1 next year.

Following a meeting of the World Motor Sports Council in Bahrain today the FIA also said it will appoint a reserve entry for the 2011 season, in case the new team or one of the existing teams is not able to compete.

Among the unsuccessful applicants in the two rounds of tenders held last year were Prodrive, Lola, Epsilon Euskadi, N.Technology and Stefan Grand Prix.

The FIA is also considering its course of action against US F1 following their failure to reach the first round of the championship. It said in a statement:

With regard to the USF1 team’s non-participation in the 2010 championship, the World Council mandated the FIA President, in full compliance with the new code of practice for disciplinary matters, to take forward the most appropriate action.

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Keith Collantine
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44 comments on “FIA opens 13th team applications for 2011”

  1. As an American, I am holding out hope that the US F1 team will get a second chance. The team has two bases and full manufacturing capacity. They just massively underestimated the time and resources.

    However, as a realist, I doubt that will happen.

    Maybe if they get rid of Ken Anderson. From the reports I have read, he seemed to be the main bottleneck in their production process.

    Although, I do give them credit for realizing that it is better to not show up at all than to show up with half a car and not be able to complete the season, as is likely with HRT.

    1. I honestly believe the only way a true US team would make it is if Andretti or Penske picked up the position. Andretti just signed this teenage kid who is amazingly fast, one would hope he has some grand scheme for him.

      1. I would support Penske.

      2. Penske was an F1 constructor years ago, but for some reason he chose to focus on IndyCars. (Although arguably in the late 80s / early 90s IndyCars were almost as elite as F1.) He could afford it, being worth $1.3 billion according to Forbes, but I suppose he is just not interested. I don’t know why, but it is a shame because he is probably the American that had the best chance to pull it off.

        1. Rick Hendrick could also pull it off. He’s got an automobile empire, he owns NASCAR, and he can easily line up sponsors (probably even more so than Penske can).

    2. Jarred Walmsley
      11th March 2010, 18:38

      I can tell you right now Jean Todt will not let USF1 apply again next year or if they do he will not accept it as ElliottB said below the only way I see a US team in F1 is if an existing racing team,i.e. Andretti, Penske, Chip Gannassi etc… decided to move into F1 other wise I believe Prodrive will be the team on the grid in 2011 hopefully powered by Aston Martin

      1. Could a load of top Indy Cars not team up for an assault on F1? I don’t think there’s much chance any single American team could be successful, but if they picked the best employees and resources from all the American teams they’d probably have something to work with

        1. IndyCar teams dont have to consruct their own cars. Its a spec-racing series, so it wouldnt really translate to F1.

      2. Prodrive is not the best option. I would prefer Lola getting the seat. I don’t understand this love affair many of you have with David Richards.

  2. That is ridiculous that there is a car ready race, and that would have been quite competative because it was designed by an established team, but it is not allowed to race this year, but they could apply and enter next year with a car that would have been good thias year, but will have lagged behind every team by next year!

    1. The problem I had with Stefan’s entry, even if all their funding claims were accurate, was their plan for 2011.

      It is all well and good to have an out of the box midfield car for next season. But, they would have to build their 2011 car from scratch, and I heard nothing about their infrastructure or their manufacturing capability.

      1. Besides we have no proof of anything that Zoran said.

      2. My point exactly.

    2. too be honest i cant see usf1 being in f1 i meen they spend all that time fafing about telling bernie we will be there and the fia go down to the usf1 factory and theres just a box of bits

  3. It will be interesting to see how many applications the FIA gets. Most of last year’s applicants were attracted by the prospect of a budget cap; now that this has been done away with (a vacuous “resource restriction” agreement – whatever that means – in its place) there is little to draw new teams to F1.

    I’m sure USF1 and Stefan GP will reapply; maybe some new names will pop up as well. I don’t expect Prodrive or Lola to lodge a new application – though I imagine the usual gaggle of Prodrive apologists will be arriving soon….

    1. Sorry am I late?

      What’s wrong with Prodrive?

      1. They had their chance for 2008 and blew it. Whatever way you want to look at it, they badly mismanaged their entry – cavalierly assuming that the customer car rules would be accepted by all the teams, and failing to make a contingency plan in case that did not happen (such as commissioning an external manufacturer such as Dallara to build a car, like HRT did this year, which would always have been legal). I know it’s fashionable to blame the FIA for Prodrive’s failure to turn up in 2008 but the team should shoulder the blame for their disorganisation.

  4. Okay, great, the FIA have opened applications for 2011. Can they at least make a QUICK decision this time around instead of dragging it out for months!! That way the team has plenty of time to prepare and we dont have to endure the agony of another team struggling to make the grid.

    I also would love to see USF1 given a second chance, but realistically don’t see it happening.

    1. I don’t know about getting the decision QUICK.

      I just want them to get it RIGHT this time.

  5. The position needs to be in the hands of a team that are capable of developing a car with proven experience, management and know-how.

    If Prodrive are overlooked again on this one, I for one would be a little annoyed and I’m sure Dave Richards would be too. The man has been trying to get into F1 for 3 years to no avail.

    If prodrive dont get the position then I suppose Lola would be the next best option.

    USF1 has to a be no-go though. They claimed they had everything in place to make a decent, competitive car at the start of 2009 but delivery nothing. Sorry guys, but F1 is ruthless business and they clearly cant cut it.

    1. Prisoner Monkeys
      11th March 2010, 22:11

      If Prodrive are overlooked again on this one, I for one would be a little annoyed and I’m sure Dave Richards would be too. The man has been trying to get into F1 for 3 years to no avail.

      If the grid entry was given on the basis that a team had been trying to get onto the grid for several years, Zoran Stefanovic would be getting it before Dave Richards since Stefan have been trying to get onto the grid since 1997.

      1. Dave Richards has been in or around F1 since 1997.

        1. Prisoner Monkeys
          11th March 2010, 22:29

          Yes, but he hasn’t been trying to get onto the grid with Prodrive since then. James’ original post implied that the grid positions should be granted to whoever has been waiting the longest.

      2. Very true, but as I also said, the team needs to be capable of developing a car, which I dont believe Stefan would have been; have proven experience, which Stefan only had to a degree as they recruited staff who had lost their jobs when Toyota pulled out; and the know-how on how to run an F1 team, something I dont think Stefan GP would have had.

        Stefan lacks/lacked a sustainable plan, if one at all. Their funding was somewhat questionable, as was they’re behaviour towards the FIA. That was probably the nail in the coffin.

        Prodrive did have, perhaps not one now, a sustainable business plan and a sensible leader with great technological knowledge. The man in charge know’s what he is doing. Stefanovic doesnt come accross as someone with a clue to me.

        1. Prisoner Monkeys
          12th March 2010, 2:13

          Prodrive’s original “plan” called for the to purchase a chassis from McLaren – and it didn’t have a contingency for when the established teams opposed it.

          1. Yeh, that was the original, but did they not apply last year? To me, that indicated they were willing to build their own motor.

            They also planned to bring Aston Martin into the sport. Sounded like a plan to me.

  6. I wonder how this reserve position is going to work.

    Who’s going to design, build and test a car with no real hope of getting a slot?

    On the other hand, Sauber was on the reserve list and when Toyota suddenly quit, they got it.

    Will FIA put some clause in the contract that if the new team doesn’t present a reasonably “competitavely” running car in pres season testing, that it can kick them out and let the reserves come in?

    1. It will be interesting to see how the reserve team system works.

      Aside from unusual circumstances this year with Toyota and StefanGP, and BMW and Sauber, who in the future is going to able to assemble a team, design and build enough of a car just in case they get called up?

      If the original entrant isn’t going to be ready on time, having had months and months of lead time, how is a reserve entry going to get a car together at the last minute?

  7. The 13 team limit is rubbish. A team with two cars and a budget for a season should be allowed to take part.

    1. Prisoner Monkeys
      11th March 2010, 22:13

      While circuits like Shanghai and Bahrain could no doubt hold as many as sixteen teams very comfortably, you’re only as strong as your weakest link – Monaco can only hold twenty-six cars safely.

  8. I feel the reserve team has been included because the fia expect one of this years teams will disappear at some point so 2 new teams will be required. Also please no requirment 2 use cosworth power !

  9. Prisoner Monkeys
    11th March 2010, 22:23

    I’ve never understood the love for Dave Richards. Sure, he was in Formula 1 managing BAR, and yes, he had success in other categories includig the World Rally Championship, Le Mans an the British Touring Car Championship. But when he got his hands on a 2008 grid entry, he mis-managed it just as badly as USF1 did theirs.

    It’s easy to blame the FIA for failing to get customer chassis regulations passed, but it goes deeper than that. From a very early date, Richards had banked on a customer chassis, claiming that it was the only way he could make the grid – and he wanted to use a McLaren MP4-23. Williams opposed the notion because combined wih a Mercedes engine, which was and still is the best in the field, Prodrive F1 would essentially be a second McLaren team under a new name. They’d be privvy to the same level of success, not because they had worked their way to the top, but because they had simply bought their way in. And if Richards could buy a chassis, then others could, too. Legitimate racing outfits like Williams would die out as a series of teams with deep pockets simply purchased success.

    Yet Dave Richards apparently didn’t consider this. He was banking on the regularions being passed, and applying enormous pressure to get it through. If it were Ferrari doing this, then maybe they’d have some weight, but Richards was just a minnow at the time. He wanted a customer chassis, and he clearly didn’t stop to think “Hey, what happens if somone opposes this?” because he never had a backup plan. To me, that’s a serious case of mismanagement.

    But no, because he’s Dave Richards and he runs Prodrve, he fans love him. Sometimes I think they want to ee him simply because there’s a chance we might see a Gulf livery. Seriously, that’s the reason why you’re wanting them in!? He is’t even that interested in racing: he wants to revive the Aston Martin name (despite having only competed in half a dozen races in 1959 and 1960, none of them producing any results, so it’s hardly a revival) and he wants to run Mercedes engines so that he can get Mercedes engines in Aston Martin road cars. That’s right, he’s entering Formula 1 as a business deal.

    I’m sorry, but I’d rather see someone who can a) run a legitimate racing team and b) actually cares about racing than Richards.

    1. Sure, DR botched his original chance to get Prodrive into F1. But there’s no confusion over the rules this time. Everyone knows the score, what they would have to do, etc. History can’t repeat itself, as little as it does in F1 anyway.

      Secondly, at least DR actually has proven competency in F1, even if it’s not first-class. Two outfits of lesser pedigree were chosen over his, and only one has made it, and just barely.

      I want Prodrive to get in. Why? Because then we could put an end to this endless “we have no proof, but Prodrive would definitely have been a success/failure” argument, because they look like a more reliable option even despite their past, and after this yeat’s farce, if they do get in then we can be reasonably sure the FIA will have made the right decision. They’re bound to be a little more stringent after all.

      As silly as it is to say Prodrive should be in just because you like them, it amuses me that a lot of people who don’t want them in base their own arguments mostly on dislike or distrust of DR.

      And who knows? They may not even apply. At least we won’t go through all this again.

    2. American_F1_Fan
      12th March 2010, 21:20

      Correct me if I am wrong (and I could well be), but wasn’t Prodrive’s entire 2008 entry based on racing a customer car, from the start? Didn’t DR say that they were going to race a customer car and if customer cars weren’t allowed then he would withdraw?

      I keep seeing everyone say “Prodrive had no backup plan”, but I was of the impression that there was no backup plan because they were not interested in constructing their own chassis, at least for the 2008 entry. They have since re-applied with the intent of building their own chassis, so I’m talking strictly about the 2008 entry.

      1. That’s exactly it. The FIA wanted to bring down costs by allowing teams to run customer cars. Prodrive said they could afford to do that, applied and won the place.

        When the FIA then failed to get the regulations in, Prodrive couldn’t participate. Of course they weren’t going to be able to design and construct cars on the same budget they’d planned to buy customer cars with.

        I understand some people don’t like the idea of having customer cars in F1, which I think is where Prisoner Monkeys is coming from, and I appreciate that (though I don’t necessarily agree).

        But I really don’t see how you can hold anything against Prodrive for not being able to compete in 2008. Once the FIA failed to get the customer car regulations passed it was never going to happen.

  10. Is this going to be like running a train service in the UK? You don’t actually have to have an F1 car and just run a bus instead?

  11. I agree that USF1 will reapply, but I also think they won’t be allowed in. The only way I see it happening is if they bring in Andretti or some other team that can expand into their existing infrastructure. Hopefully not Penske because that name is crap to hear; not a bad team though. USF1 will have to have a fully disclosed and guaranteed budget, maybe a name change cause that name is lame, and the FIA will have to make their decision sooner as existing teams start work on there 2011 cars mid season.
    I think everyone agree’s on the slow decision problem, but one point that was pretty new to discussion is the idea that anyone with a team and cars should be allowed to compete. I say yes. They have to pass crash tests and all that, but if they have drivers with Superlicenses and can make it to the track, lets have em. Then, we can have our qualifying session wherein the cars that make the grid on Sunday have to be within a certain time limit to even be considered and thus improving the chances all the cars will be on the same lap at the finish. If they are within the race qualifying times, they then get to qualify for pole/grid position. Why not? The funny thing is, I don’t really think part time participation could afford them the high price of the super license, nor the other expenses; and how about profit sharing? How would that get divided if anyone could show up? We would need a whole new concorde agreement from the ground up!

  12. I hope Aston Martin (prodrive) gets it.

    1. Prisoner Monkeys
      12th March 2010, 2:14

      Dave Richards has already said Formula 1 is “not relevant”.

      1. I’m actually starting to dislike Prodrive just for how many times they are mentioned :P .
        There’s nothing to suggest that they would have or will make F1. They had a chance before, I’d like someone else to have a go. We have plenty of big names if F1 already, we don’t really need them even if it would be nice

  13. Damn right USF1 should be allowed to reapply. I do agree with a lot the thoughts here that they should bring in some new heavy weight aka Andretti. I do think they should keep the name USF1, sorry it is also my dream and 1000s of others here in the US to have a US based F1 factory.

  14. I think USF1 will reapply but will only have a chance of getting accepted if the quality of the other applicants is of a low standard or if there is a major management reshuffle at USF1.

    Hopefully a decision will be made relatively soon so whichever team is chosen has sufficient time to get ready.

    As for the reserve list, because of the time required to set up a team and get a car ready the only way I can see it working is if a team currently on the grid quits during the first part of the season as if the 2011 13th team failed it would probably be too late for a completely new team to replace them.

    One of the reasons I am disappointed USF1 and Stefan GP won’t race season is because I would have liked to have seen what cars they had, and if there was anything no one else had thought of, yes I know that USF1 hadn’t built a car and Stefan GP had got theirs from Toyota.

    1. I hear ya on the first part. Perhaps the ebst thing they could do is get a major American motorsports name to buy into the scheme- even in a small way- and change the name to follow. We’ve already seen Penske in F1- just imagine how much better “Hendrick F1” or even “Petty Grand Prix” would sound when compared with USF1 :)

  15. pro drive for F1
    10th August 2010, 17:29

    Prodrive should enter for the 2011 season they make great cars and should make a good a good f1 car unlike hrt virgin and lotus are at least making progress

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