15 teams apply for final place on 2011 F1 grid

[John S]

    I don't know which bit suprises me most, the 15 applications or the front running status of a team fronted by the son of the FIA President? I think most of us expected the old boy network & nepotism to be firmly off the aggenda with the new look FIA

No less than 15 teams have applied for the final place on the 2011 formula one grid.
Italian website 422race.com reports that the governing FIA has now written to all those who expressed interest in the place made vacant by the demise of USF1.

June 21 has been set as the deadline for the teams' actual application and dossier, at which time EUR12,750 must be paid.

The frontrunners must be successful GP2 team ART, headed by FIA president Jean Todt's son Nicolas, and the Spanish Le Mans competitor Epsilon Euskadi.

422race.com claims that more than one team may be selected by the FIA, in case HRT or Sauber run further into financial trouble.

OneStopStrategy.com, today

[Jericoke]

To be fair, it is editorialising that puts Todt's ART at the top of the list, nothing official... the writer is simply assuming business as usual.

However, if ART is successful at GP2, that should put them at a front running position regardless of ownership, shouldn't it?

Hopefully if ART is in, then Todt will sell his share of the team (which will be worth a fair bit more with an official F1 entry!)

Is Sauber really in a more tenuous position than Lotus or Virgin (or Williams?) or is the writer just trying not to pick on the new teams exclusively?

[Scott]

I guess that explains why Massa is going to pack his bags...sounds like his management has bigger fish to fry.   

[Williamsfan]

ART have done well in GP2, in fact they've led 3 drivers to the title (Rosberg, Hamilton and Hulkenberg) so why shouldn't the team that helped get them into F1 be a front runner for F1 as well?  It was considered a feeder series for teams and drivers alike.

[Alianora La Canta]

I think Sauber is in a more tenous position than Lotus in terms of sponsorship but that it won't sink while Peter Sauber's at the helm. Hispania is in danger but I don't think it will fall either. Still, it never hurts to have a reserve in place just in case the unexpected happens - last year being a case in point.

It doesn't surprise me that ART's a frontrunner; indeed I would be questioning the sense of the people at the FIA if it wasn't. As long as Jean keeps out of the process and the people who make the decision don't put ART in just to curry favour with their boss, it should all work out OK.

[stealthhaggis]

I was reading the other day that Epsilon Euskadi are the favourites to land the slot if they can prove they can finance themselves for 2 years, to the FIA.