FIA to announce 13th team

11/09/2009
NEWS STORY

Speaking in Monza, Max Mosley has said that the FIA will name the thirteenth team for the 2010 grid next week.

While negotiations continue regarding the future of the BMW F1 team, Mosley told reporters that the identity of the outfit which will replace the Munich squad on the 2010 will be unveiled next week.

The FIA had already swelled the 2010 grid to thirteen teams when in June it revealed that Campos Grand Prix, Manor F1 Team and Team US F1 had successfully passed its selection process. However, all that took a knock when, just over a month later, BMW announced its withdrawal from the sport, reducing the grid to twelve teams.

Since then there has been continued speculation as to the identity of the proposed thirteenth team, a situation further confused by unease over the original selection process.

While at least one of the original teams refused an entry by the FIA has now gone to the European Commission, complaining that its bid was refused because it wouldn't agree to use Cosworth powerplants, at least two other teams are known to be deeply unhappy at the way in which the FIA came to its original decision, indeed, there was widespread shock when Lola and Prodrive failed to make the cut.

Speaking to reporters ahead of this weekend's Italian Grand Prix, Mosley promised that a decision regarding the thirteenth team is imminent.

"Finally last night we got the final offers from the three most serious teams and in the next day or two, together with the due diligence people, we'll assess them and then we'll pick one of them," he said.

"BMW-Sauber are one of the three," he revealed, "but of course they are now effectively a new team because they didn't sign the Concorde Agreement. The other two are Epsilon Euskadi and Litespeed."

A number of consortiums are being linked with the BMW team, one of them led by Swiss A1GP star Neel Jani, while Peter Sauber is understood to be attempting to put a serious proposal together.

If successful, Epsilon Euskadi's bid would see a second Spanish team on the 2010 grid while Litespeed in hoping to return the legendary Lotus name to F1.

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Published: 11/09/2009
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