USF1 has been hit with a 309,000 euro fine for its failure to take part in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship.

A statement issued by the FIA this afternoon reads:

During the extraordinary hearing that was held in Geneva on 23 June 2010, the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council examined, in application of the new disciplinary procedure adopted at the beginning of 2010, the failure of the USF1 Team to take part in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship, for which it had been selected and had registered.

Having had this disciplinary procedure submitted to it by the FIA President (who was not present at the hearing but represented by an external lawyer), the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council has found the USF1 team guilty of having infringed the FIA International Sporting Code, the sporting regulations of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and the obligations resulting from its entry in this Championship.

In these circumstances, the Judging Body of the World Motor Sport Council has decided to impose the following sanctions against USF1:

A fine of 309,000 euros (a sum equivalent to the Entry Fees for the Championship)

The disqualification of USF1 (which definitively deprives USF1 of the right to take part, in any way whatsoever, in any competition)

The payment of the costs incurred by the FIA within the context of this disciplinary procedure.