2010 Formula One - New team entry process

The FIA announced its intention to open up the grid, aiming for a total of 13 teams for the 2010 Formula One Season. In July 2009 selected three new teams from 15 new applicants, as well as confirming the entry of all 10 existing teams. The existing F1 teams, under the FOTA organisation, are understood to have agreed a system of technical support to assist new teams. This compromise proposal would involve the supply of parts and design knowledge to the new entrants, but not full customer cars, in return for which the budget cap idea was dropped.
Successful Applicants
The three new teams which were included in the July 2009 entry list were:
* Hispania Racing, a Spanish-based team originally led by former racing driver Adrián Campos, who lodged an entry for his Campos Racing team in conjunction with Meta Image, under the name Campos Meta, prior to a takeover by José Ramón Carabante.
* Virgin Racing, headed by F3 owner John Booth and former team owner Nick Wirth was an unknown entrant until the FIA published the 2010 entry list on 12 June 2009. The team was originally entered as Manor Grand Prix prior to Virgin's investment.
* US F1 Team, a group led by designer Ken Anderson and former Williams employee Peter Windsor.
Following the withdrawal of BMW Sauber in July 2009, another grid slot became available, and was awarded to:
* Lotus Racing, a partnership between the Malaysian government and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs. Mike Gascoyne, whose previous Lotus entry with Litespeed was unsuccessful will be the technical director.
Under new ownership, the BMW Sauber team was later able to regain its place on the grid, after Toyota withdrew in November.
Unsuccessful Applicants
The unsuccessful applicants are known to include:
* Brabham, team established by German company Formtech, led by Franz Hilmer, acquired the rights to the Brabham Grand Prix name and submitted an entry for the 2010 Formula 1 season. Formtech had already purchased the assets of the Super Aguri Formula 1 team in June 2008, after Super Aguri's bankruptcy in May 2008. According to previous reports the former Force India managing director Colin Kolles was also involved in the project. The original Brabham founder Jack Brabham was not consulted on the use of his former team's name, and the Brabham family have threatened to take legal action against the usage of their name.
* Epsilon Euskadi, an established Spanish team which has run cars in various junior single-seater formulae, and has also built its own Le Mans Prototype.
* Lola Cars, British racing car constructor Lola Cars, which has been involved in Formula One several times in its history, confirmed that it submitted an entry for the 2010 championship. Although the FIA asked that Lola be placed on standby in the event of a team withdrawing, on June 17 the company announced that it had requested its entry be officially withdrawn. However, Lola owner Martin Birrane said that if another spot opens for 2010 season, they'll be ready to relaunch the project.
* Team Lotus, established by Formula Three team Litespeed and designer Mike Gascoyne who had recently parted with Force India, and purchased rights to the Lotus name from David Hunt. A separate group using the Lotus name, Lotus Racing, was later successful in gaining an entry, following the withdrawal of BMW Sauber.
* March Racing Organisation, a proposed team established by fans of the sport and supported by their donations.
* N.Technology, lodged application following success in World Touring Car Championship, but withdrew its entry following FOTA's announcement of a breakaway series, not wanting to be involved in a series without the presence of the manufacturers. MSC, the British company behind the entry, later challenged the selection process for new teams at the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris; on 25 November 2009 the Tribunal upheld the FIA's process and ordered MSC to pay the FIA's costs.
* Prodrive F1, led by Aston Martin chairman and Prodrive founder David Richards, announced their application to enter Formula One with financial backing from Dar Capital. This followed a previous attempt to join F1 in . With Renault looking to exit the sport ahead of the 2010 season, Prodrive was confirmed as a potential buyer in December 2009.
* Stefan Grand Prix, a team backed by Serbian engineering company AMCO and named after team principal Zoran Stefanovic. Stefan GP continued for some time to secure a place on the 2010 grid, despite not having an entry. They planned to enter using a car developed from Toyota's 2010 car, and had announced drivers. The team was forced to abandon a planned circuit test due to its failure to secure a supply of tyres, However, their entry was finally rejected on 4 March by the FIA following the withdrawal of US F1 (which they had planned to replace), with the Federation stating "It is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the championship at this late stage."
* Team Superfund, a new team established by former driver Alexander Wurz and funded by Christian Baha, the owner of Superfund Group.
Experienced sports car team Ray Mallock Limited had originally intended to submit an entry and run with the Cosworth spec engine, but ultimately decided against it, citing the current budget cap row and uncertainty over the 2010 regulations as reasons for their decision. They have not, however, ruled out a future entry bid.

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