[seperalem]

This result is fine by me, as I find it hard to imagine that Stefan F1 is anything but a scam. Maybe some sort of East European money laundering scheme.

USF1 at least pulled together a shop, though if the stories coming out are accurate it appears that Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor couldn't manage their way out of a wet paper bag.

[kasandrasikl]

Why not reopen the bidding for the last 2010 spot let Prodrive,Lola Stefan etc get there bid in then if Stefan are in the best shape to race let them race. That way you have gone thru the correct procedures & we get our 26 car grid. Could take a month or so making it a 24 grid for the first few races then Stefan join after that if they get the nod. I doubt any of the others have a car ready.
Alternatively can they not buy USF1's entry ?

[ggdfgtdfffhfyj]

Oh well, maybe a team that is a little stronger will fill the void next season.

Anyway... no USF1 in F1, no USF1 in FGP...

[DJElizardo]

1) No Stefan GP
2) "BMW" Sauber

I would comment on this but the words wouldn't be appropriate for a family forum.

FIA balls up yet again.

to be fair has Sauber asked for a name change
BMW Sauber= +0000000
Sauber (newentry)= - 0000000
0000000 = a fair amount of money
it dose suck big time that brawn to mercedes was given a free name change

[Vulkanevsel]

Sauber aleady lost that money when they didn't sign Concorde straight away, ¥€$? That's why they're 24 & 25 rather than where they would have been had nothing occurred. The BMW entry evaporated and Lotus Racing took their place. They have what would have been Toyota's spot.

[Incidentally, Brawn were counted as a new team last year - rather than a continuation of Honda - because their entry was allowed to lapse in a similar fashion while the team's future was uncertain.]

[9wQlZkIj]

Sauber aleady lost that money when they didn't sign Concorde straight away, ¥€$? That's why they're 24 & 25 rather than where they would have been had nothing occurred. The BMW entry evaporated and Lotus Racing took their place.

That's exactly what I thought. It takes the *expletive deleted* *expletive deleted* *expletive deleted*

[paydayus]

indeed
they had a chance for 13 teams but chose to be arses about it

GREAT way to summarize it in one sentence!

[paydayus]

A very good point, that many seem to have lost sight of.

I don't see it that way. When Toyota withdrew, 2 teams applied at the time to take their spot... Sauber and Stefan. Sauber got the nod, and Stefan should have been considered "first alternate" should another spot open up. What if SAUBER hadn't made it to the grid for some reason?

[dserbokim]

can it get more gimmicky?
this is crap. having Sauber to retain the BMW to keep the grid spot (or some bull like that... nonsense) and the argument of "too late to add a team"
Say what?? a team with everything in place (as in: at the track!) not being allowed to race?
I doubt something like this ever happened in F1.

I mean, entered teams not being able to race - we all have seen that in some series.
but a team being there and not being allowed in despite empty pit boxes... never seen this before. anyone?

[Vapepreab]

Why not reopen the bidding for the last 2010 spot?

Unless you know someone that can design, test in the wind tunnel, run through CFD, build (2 off) find an engine supplier, sponsors budget etc, in under a week - that aint gonna 'appen!

[MiniBoy]

Excellent decision by the FIA.

Stefan GP was not a long term outfit. A couple of chassis but no manufacturing base does not make an F1 team.

+1

Two cars, a dodgy PR department and a lot of smoke and mirrors.

[Xavier_Spinner_Wheels]

I'm having a massive portion of "I told you so" for breakfast this morning.

It was obvious that USF1 were doomed with an egotist and a fantasist at the helm. They've caused people to relocate and pin their hopes on a pipedream, and denied a grid slot to a team who might have otherwise enjoyed some success.

Stefan were never a serious proposition from the word go. They failed the initial vetting procedure (a procedure so poor that even USF1 scraped through!), they failed to appeal, they failed to buy Toyota when it still had an entry (because Zoran doesn't have as much funding as he'd like us to think), and they made absolute idiots of themselves claiming they'd be racing in Bahrain with a couple of untested cars and a driver line-up which would struggle to score points with a half-hour head start.

Hopefully we can put this sorry mess behind us, enjoy the 2010 season with a great mix of established grandees, up-and-coming maturing teams, and genuinely exciting new aspirants.

There can now be a rigourous vetting procedure for the vacant slot in 2011. Should USF1 or Stefan wish to re-apply then they should be free to, but this time the FIA needs to perform some proper due diligance rather than simply pandering to the market and hoping that the money will magically follow.

[Precturge]

Excellent decision by the FIA.

Stefan GP was not a long term outfit. A couple of chassis but no manufacturing base does not make an F1 team.

Exactly. There was nothing concrete about Stefan aside from he bought some Toyota chassis and maybe, but no one can confirm, some engines. He then threw his toys out of the pram - bad move.

If Stefan had all this cash and ability to buy a team why did they not get one of the original slots? Because they weren't good enough. Simple as that. They had a lot of PR, much like USF1 but very little besides a photo of Nakajima in a tub.

[hellenmoranov]

Excellent decision by the FIA.

Indeed.

[kasandrasikl]

Unless you know someone that can design, test in the wind tunnel, run through CFD, build (2 off) find an engine supplier, sponsors budget etc, in under a week - that aint gonna 'appen!

Exactly so Stefan would get the spot because the others aren't ready.
Hopefully we will get 26 cars next year.24 is better than 20 for this season but if Renault jack it in then we need others to take there & USF1's places.

[defenderfors]

is anyone really surprised - the 2 teams who weren't a team not on the entry list. will anyone notice or care some Bahrain? i very much doubt it.

[Adiamant]

I´m sorry that we wont se JW and the two very fast cars on the grid in Barain!!

[spineeupsenry]

At least the FIA could take new entries somewhere in 2010.

I regret the loss of the Toyota chassis which could prove as competitive as the Honda chassis last year ...

Also a shame not to see Villeneuve in action again imho. I've always appreciated his comments

[Poeetiol]

I´m sorry that we wont se JW and the two very fast cars on the grid in Barain!!

I'm guessing here that Mia, as us Swedes sometimes do, is mixing up W and V. Why anyone would want to see Jos back escapes me, though.

[JRixlcvF]

I'm guessing here that Mia, as us Swedes sometimes do, is mixing up W and V. Why anyone would want to see Jos back escapes me, though.

hehe

To add my voice to this debate: Excellent decision by the FIA. Granting entry originally to USF1 was THE mistake FIA made. Everything after that was right. Neither USF1 nor this Stefan thing belonged to F1.

Meanwhile, Welcome Lotus, Virgin, and Hispania! You'll all be more than 5 seconds off the pace, but who cares? So was Minardi once upon a time. But we still loved them!