2011’s 13th Team

in OPINION by admin — March 27, 2010 at 11:46 am | 1 comment

2011 – Always looking to the future

The 2010 season is still so new that the drivers have barely established a pecking order, but thanks to the recent FIA announcement on entries for 2011, minds – and gossips – are already turning to the future.

It was announced on 19 March that “The FIA has decided to open a new selection process to identify a candidate team to fill any vacancy that may exist in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the start of the 2011 season. The FIA may also identify one or more possible ‘reserve’ entrants to fill such vacancies.”

Ever since, tongues have been wagging about possible entrants and their chances. The 2010 selection process caused widespread disbelief among fans when experienced racing outfits Lola and Prodrive were passed over for USF1, which withdrew from the championship moments before the season began, and ex-Campos Meta, now HRT, who were on shaky ground until Colin Kolles stepped in to haul the team onto the grid in Bahrain.

But the only teams to have announced their attention to apply thus far are Stefan GP and the Basque outfit Epsilon Euskadi, who were also strong applicants in the last round of entries. Joe Saward has this week written an excellent piece on his blog about the team, highlighting their achievements and motorsport background while showing off their impressive facilities in a series of photographs – if you haven’t read it already, you must seek it out.

Epsilon Euskadi was founded in 1999 by Joan Villadelprat, a Ron Dennis protege with an illustrious background in motorsport – he has held a variety of high-profile roles at McLaren, Ferrari, Benetton, Tyrell, and Prost. Villadelprat has had a long-term interest in promoting motorsport in the Basque region, and the team has won drivers’ and constructors’ titles in a range of race series, including but not limited to Formula Renault and World Series by Renault. Epsilon Euskadi fielded two cars in 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2008; they finished 17^th and 19^th in their class.

Stefan GP don’t need much in the way of introduction – the Serbian outfit have had an impressive number of column inches dedicated to their cause in recent months, and I won’t repeat them here. There are reasons both for and against Zoran Stefanovich’s team, but you can’t fault their perseverence. Of interest was the recent announcement that Stefan GP had ended its Toyota collaboration – any 2011 application will presumably feature a Stefan-built car.

So who will form the basis of the competition? If any current teams withdraw this season – and it’s possible, given the recent departures – more than one slot will be there for the taking, as the FIA’s intention is to have 13 teams competing. As no one else has officially declared their interest, it’s up to guesswork and conjecture. The most high profile of last year’s unsuccessful entrants are USF1, Prodrive, Lola, and N.Technology, but not all of them are certain to apply.

N.Technology is the least likely candidate – after last year’s failed application, the Italian touring car team sued the FIA in the French courts. The case, which centred on alleged irregularities in the selection process, was rejected by the court in November 2009. It’s unlikely that N.Tech will want to try again so soon, and it’s even less likely that the FIA would welcome them with open arms.

USF1 is more likely than you might think. If Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson were no longer involved, there is good reason for the FIA to approve the American outfit. First, Chad Hurley has invested a significant amount of money in the team and is said to be willing to pay a fine for this season’s non-appearance if he can get two cars and some racing out of his cash. Second, there’s the ever-alluring US market, which has proved elusive to Bernie’s charms in recent years. An American team with an American fanbase strengthens arguments for a US Grand Prix, and everyone knows how much Ecclestone wants to regain a foothold in the States.

There are the human considerations to take into account – a number of people uprooted their lives to take a chance with USF1, and were badly let down by poor management decisions. If the team get 2011 entry and are allowed to build a car, you can be sure that motivation to succeed would be sky-high.

Finally, there’s an interesting clause in the FIA’s 2011 selection process press release that could be a justification of a USF1 entry for the reasons I’ve outlined above: “All applicants will be expected to undergo thorough due diligence. By way of indication only, the applicable selection criteria will include: [...] (d) the FIA’s assessment of the value that the candidate may bring to the Championship as a whole.” Increased visibility in a large market could go a long way towards erasing the Ken n’ Pete show from our collective memories, especially if Hurley is able to appoint respected new management.

But given the fact that USF1 is currently synonymous with Formula 1 failure, the FIA might consider the risk of added humiliation too great to contemplate.

If so, Lola or Prodrive could be in with a chance, although neither team has yet confirmed whether or not it intends to apply for 2011 entry. The two teams compete for fan favourite among the 2010 nearly-rans, but both have history with the FIA that is widely believed to have affected their chances for entry this season. Whether the selection process will change under the leadership of new FIA President Jean Todt remains to be seen, but Lola and Prodrive both offer a history in motorsport, brand recognition, a fan following, and the ability to successfully field a race team.

The FIA won’t name the successful entrants until July, meaning there are months of speculation ahead.

Kate Walker