Drastic selection for candidate teams in 2010

Bernie Ecclestone has announced that teams hoping to enter F1 next year will have to go through a very stringent selection process to convince him that they truly deserve a place in the pinnacle of motorsport.

The F1’s chief financial officer wants to avoid situations where teams enter F1, race a few times, and then withdraw due to lack of financial resources.

« It will not be a “first come, first served” system. We are not going back to the days when anyone could arrive, do a few Grand Prix races, and disappear when they ran out of money. We only need three additional teams. »

« Some top players are not happy, but nobody said they were going to leave, » Ecclestone explained to the English newspaper Express, referring to the possibility that participating teams might withdraw this season.

Until now, only BMW and Ferrari have threatened to leave the sport following the introduction of the new budget cap for 2010, but neither of them has officially confirmed it.

With three spots remaining in F1 for 2010, there will obviously be some disappointed parties since there are up to 5 probable candidates for next year: USF1, Lola, iSport, David Richards’ team (under the name Prodrive or Aston Martin) or even Super Aguri!

Recently questioned about the drastic selection process to enter F1, David Richards admitted he is still searching for financial partners for his team but believes that his past in the category – having been the director of Benetton and BAR – will be a strong argument in the eyes of Bernie Ecclestone.

« The FIA will make a judgment on the most appropriate teams to enter F1. I hope that our credibility will put us in a good position. We were there before and we have done it before in many motorsports, » added Richards.