The word in Paris is that the FIA has decided not to award the 13th Formula 1 franchise in 2011. This would not be a surprise, as it has been hard enough for the existing F1 teams to find funding in recent months and getting the sort of budget needed for a start-up has been a real challenge. There were, in any case, only two serious bidders left in the competition, after the withdrawals of ART and the Cipher Group, earlier in the summer. These were Epsilon Euskadi and the Villeneuve Racing/Durango combination. It seems that neither operation was sufficiently convincing for the FIA, in terms of technical back-up and financing. Epsilon Euskadi has an impressive factory in Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque country in northern Spain. This has all that is needed to do the job in F1, but apparently the team still lacks solid sponsorship contracts to go ahead. In some respects this is a classic chicken-and-egg situation, as sponsors are not willing to commit until there is an entry and a team cannot get an entry without sufficient sponsorship. What the FIA does not want is a situation in which it creates a lame-duck team that has no place in F1.
The three new teams in 2010 have struggled this year but the real test for them is how they do in 2011. Lotus Racing seems to be doing all right, and building up; Virgin Racing is sticking to its theories about CFD replacing wind tunnels. If the 2011 cars are more competitive then the other F1 teams will perhaps start to look more seriously at the Virgin financial model. As for HRT, it is difficult to know what the future holds. This is dependent on money being provided either by the owners, the board or from sponsors. Thus far the team has survived thanks to money from the drivers. This is not a longterm solution. Perhaps there is potential for HRT and Epsilon Euskadi to work together to form a more solid Spanish team, but in order to achieve that there will need to be changes in attitude and compromises made. An official announcement about the 13th team is expected in the next few days.
joeblogsf1 
I don’t see how any of these new teams could have been worse than HRT. Why is it fair for the latter to have a license and continue embarrassing themselves and the sport, but not for the others who might actually do a much better job. I think the FIA should authorize the power of revoking the license after seeing such a poor performance, as it is clear that even 3 years time would not be enough for HRT to become a respectable backmarker.
If there will be an announcement that no 13th team is selected for 2011, I hope that the FIA learn a lesson, too, and start the process for 2012 immediately, and select a team, if any, rather sooner than September next year.
Plus, I’d really like to see Hispania and Epsilon join forces: it’s a no-brainer, although that’s not usually the routes that F1 follows…
Joe,
Have you heard anything about Hispania working with Toyota next year, with the TF110 forming the basis of nextr year’s car? Could be a good move for them.
JamesF1
JamesF1,
Yes, I beleieve there is a deal between HRT and Toyota – but it is very expensive
I think the Fia is not making a good thing. All the speculation of the 13th team, it’s going to be spoilt. And about HRT I think that in fact it was like the only new team in 2010, because Virgin Racing had the big sponsorship from Virgin Group, and Lotus had all those sponsors because of the return of the Lotus name.
Do you think the FIA is trying to create a ‘franchise value’ for the existing teams?
If the FIA said that only 12 teams could compete in F1 for the next (say) 5 years – the existing teams would have an inherent value linked to their entries already being in place.
Well, if Toyota is demanding shedloads of cash for the TF110, it’s difficult to see where HRT are going to get the money. Which leaves them in a difficult situation — no car, no cash, and presumably no ability to produce a B-spec Dallara — although I suppose they could just bolt a regulation diffuser on and choose not to run KERS or the moving rear wing…
But the only sensible choice is surely to come to an agreement and enter into some kind of reverse takeover with Epsilon. It’s the only option which gives HRT a chance of having a competitive car — and given that Epsilon will now not get a 2011 entry, and will be up against the American consortium and the Todt consortium — both of which presumably have an inside line over Epsilon, be their facility and racing pedigree never so impressive…
I think Cypher will try and raise a budget for 2012.
Talking of Toyota, why haven’t they been fined for breaking the concorde agreement? Maybe FOM/FIA could smooth the HRT/Toyota deal, by reminding Toyota they signed a contract then didn’t honour it, and that there’s a $60,000,000 fine floating around somewhere.
The TF110 was, at least in every simulation I’ve read about, an RBR beater, had it ran this season. Like Honda before them, it would seem Toyota left just as they finally got their act together. Hopefully HRT has a deep-pocketed White Knight to make the deal work….
It seems to me the still obvious way forward for teams to enter F1 is the way Stewart Racing did it, by establishing in a lower formula and then moving up when the team was ready (in every sense of the word). It’s no guarantee of long-term success, but it’s at least guaranteed of having a solid program behind the effort.
The FIA need to open up entry to F1. The current method of selecting teams has failed to give us a full grid again and even when teams get glowing reports from the assessment procedure they can disappear from existence as soon as their management figure out what everyone else on the planet already knew.
To me anyone who can show up with a car that passes scrutineering and a driver who warrants a superlicence should be allowed to try to qualify/pre-qualify.
Had it not been for the current ridiculous proceedure we could have had Prodrive and Epsilon-Euskadi on the grid now with a couple of year’s worth of experience and development behind them. That has to be better than everyone’s time being wasted by going through this nonsenical application process.
I think when Lola and Prodrive announced that they were not bidding for the 2011 13th spot it was clear that the timelines were just not practical, unless they were willing to field a ‘lame-duck’ car which clearly they were not. None of the current new teams are finding it easy. Lotus looks the most promising, due to internal funding but even they need more self sustaining commercial funding sooner than later.