Looks like there won’t be a 13th team on next year’s F1 grid after all. This is after the sport’s governing body announced that none of the parties bidding for the slot vacated by USF1 have met its requirements.“Following the press release of 19 March 2010 calling for expressions of interest to participate in the 2011 and 2012 seasons of the FIA Formula One World Championship, a number of interested parties expressed their interest. It was considered that none of the candidates met the requirements to be granted an entry into the championship. Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be granted,” the FIA World Motor Sport Council statement read.
Since March, there were a number of interested parties. Some withdrew halfway (GP2 regulars ART and US based Cypher Group) to leave Epsilon Euskadi and Villeneuve Racing in the chase. The former was rejected a year ago while the latter is a partnership between 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve and Italian ex-GP2 team Durango.
They haven’t fully given up though; Villeneuve is reported to be considering purchasing an existing team. “Of course it’s disappointing, but we just shift the focus now and turn our attention to alternatives,” he said.
F1 2011 STARTED WITH NO NEW TEAM
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Oleh
ProtonCLUB
