Motor Sport’s governing body, the FIA, have formally confirmed the entry list for the 2010 Formula One season—with potential newcomers US F1 omitted from the grid.
The financially-troubled team had asked the FIA if they could miss the first four races of the season in order to attract extra sponsorship, but have instead been told that they must re-apply if they are to be on the grid for the following season.
Three new teams are lining up—Lotus, Virgin Racing and Hispania Racing—with Toyota deciding to leave the sport.
There are also two team name changes. Last year’s winning constructor’s Brawn GP have been taken over by Mercedes, while BMW Sauber have reverted back to being the Sauber team, although they have to retain the BMW title for this season due to legal obligations.
Meanwhile, there is also no place on the grid for the proposed Serbian-backed Stefan GP team, who had been hoping to gain a late entry in place of US F1. CNN
A subsequent statement released by the FIA said: “The US team have indicated that they will not be in a position to participate in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship. Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms that it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the championship at this late stage.
“In the coming days the FIA will announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season.”
Other points to note are that Campos have changed their name to HRT following last month’s acquisition by Spanish businessman - and existing shareholder - Jose Ramon Carabante. The team are yet to reveal who will be team mate to already announced driver Bruno Senna. Formula 1
2010 Official Entry List published by the FIA:
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1 Jenson Button 2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team 3 Michael Schumacher 4 Nico Rosberg Red Bull Racing 5 Sebastian Vettel 6 Mark Webber Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 7 Felipe Massa 8 Fernando Alonso AT&T Williams 9 Rubens Barrichello 10 Nico Hulkenberg Renault F1 Team 11 Robert Kubica 12 Vitaly Petrov Force India F1 Team 14 Adrian Sutil 15 Vitantonio Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 16 Sebastien Buemi 17 Jaime Alguersuari Lotus Racing 18 Jarno Trulli 19 Heikki Kovalainen HRT F1 Team 20 TBA 21 Bruno Senna BMW Sauber F1 Team 22 Pedro de la Rosa 23 Kamui Kobayashi Virgin Racing 24 Timo Glock 25 Lucas di Grassi
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